QUR’AN AND HADITH

THE SHAR’AH
 WHAT IS THE SHARI’AH

• This lecture discusses the Qur’an and Sunnah as the foundation of the Shari’ah
as law in Islam.
• It examines the the primary and secondary sources of Islam Shari’ah and how
they are applied in daily lives of Muslims
• To appreciate the essence of the Shari’ah, it is important to understand the basic
meaning of Law
WHAT IS LAW?
• Law in simple terms has to do with a system of rules which are
established to protect the rights of individuals, and to maintain peace
and order in a society
• Laws are therefore used to regulate individual as well as societal
behavior (Mumuni, 2004: 29)
 THE SHARI’AH

• In Islam, Shari’ah is the law. It literally connotes the clear path or

the high way to be followed
• It provides rules and regulations that relate to how humankind is to
relate to Allah and fellow humans as well as the environment
• It permeates every aspect of a Muslim’s life
 THE SHARI’AH

• It therefore caters for the spiritual, moral, ethical, intellectual,

political, and socio-economic wellbeing of a Muslim
• It helps the Muslim to identify his or her purpose on earth which is to
worship Allah which is expressed as (Ibadah) Q51:56
Ibadah is any kind of human behavior and actions be it mental or
physical which is done with consciousness of Allah and conducted
in accordance with the divine principles and guidance which are laid
down in the Qur’an and Sunnah (Mumuni, 2004:29)
• Thus, if a Muslim acts in accordance with the spirit and letter of the
Shari’ah, that act is Ibadah or worship
• For example, teaching, working diligently and being a responsible
parent or citizen of a nation is Ibadah
• Essentially, shari’ah trains a Muslim to imbibe God-consciousness,
piety, fear and love of Allah
• The highest form of Ibadah contained in the Shari’ah is the five
pillars of Islam
• Shari’ah also regulates humankind and its surroundings as the social
life of a Muslim forms a vital component of it
• This was demonstrated in Madina when the Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) established the first Islamic state and received revelations
which came as laws to regulate the political administration of the city
• The social laws which came as revelations and those initiated by the
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) all became part of the Shari’ah
• Again, some of these laws were punitive in nature
 PENAL SYSTEM IN THE QUR’AN

• To regulate societal behavior, the Qur’an prescribed punishment for

certain crimes and these included
• Homicide (death)
• Theft (amputation of hands)
• Fornication (100 lashes)
• Adultery (stoning to death)
• However, these penal codes are prescribed as deterrent to humankind
from committing crimes in society. Thus, countries such as Saudi
Arabia, Iran etc. where the Shar’ah is effectively practiced, the crime
wave is very low
• Significantly, these penal codes are not arbitrarily applied
• It has to be enforced after careful investigations have been done
• It can only be applied in an Islamic state
• For example, to apply the punishment on theft,
• There must be two witnesses to validate the evidence put forward
• The victim must not be a minor, insane or compelled into acceptance
• He or she should not have been hungry when the crime was committed
• Thus, it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt before the sanction can be
applied
• However, these penal codes have been severely criticized and condemned by
some Human Rights Activists as outmoded, cruel, inhuman and barbaric, for
example, Amnesty International
• Again these punishments should be understood and appreciated within the
Arabian context
• Importantly, the shari’ah as we have it today is the outcome of a gradual
process of the development of Islam since its inception
• It is composed of the explicit commands of Allah in the Qur’an
• The Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
• The Individual and unanimous opinions of the companions of the
Prophet (SAW) (Qiyas and Ijma)
 SOURCES OF THE SHARI’AH LAW

• The sources of the shari’ah law are divided into primary and
secondary sources
• The Primary Sources are made up of
• The Qur’an
• The Sunnah
 SOURCES OF THE SHARI’AH

• The Secondary sources consists of

• Qiyas
• Ijam
 THE QUR’AN AS PRIMARY SOURCE OF
ISLAMIC LAW

• The word Qur’an is from the root word qara’a which means to read
or recite. Qur’an means recitation or reading, and as a scripture, it
must be read
• This was demonstrated when the first revelation commanded the
Prophet to Read!
• The Qur’an is the word of Allah sent through angel Gibriel word for
word to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years
• Muslims generally believe that the Qur’an was preserved on a well
protected tablet called Lawhil-Mahfuz (Q85:22) which is in heaven
and from there it was revealed to the Prophet (SAW) as and when the
need arose
• The Qur’an was revealed and written in Arabic because the Prophet
(SAW) was an Arab and the Qur’an made reference to this in (Q14:4)
• It is made up of verses called Ayah or Ayat, which means the sign of
Allah presence in creation as a reminder to humankind of the Mercies
and Bounties of Allah
 STRUCTURE OF THE QUR’AN
• The Qur’an is made up of 114 chapters called surah (suwar pl)
• The shortest surah is Kauthar (Q108) with 3 verse or Ayat
• The longest surah is Baqarah (Q 2) with 286 verse or Ayat
• It is divided into Makkan and Madinan suwar
• The Makkan suwar are the revelations the Prophet (SAW) received before his
migration to Madina (Pre-Hijrah)
 STRUCTURE OF THE QUR’AN

• The Madinan suwar are the ones which came after the migration of
the Prophet (SAW) to Madina (post-Hijrah)
• The Makkan suwar are 92 and the Madinan suwar are 22
• These suwar differ in style, characteristics and themes
 MAKKAN CHAPTERS

• Style
• They are short
• Poetic
• Emphatic
• Rhythmic
• Easy to remember
 MAKKAN CHAPTERS

• Theme
• Emphasis on the belief in Allah
• Centered on the fundamental doctrine of Tawhid( Oneness of
God)
• Equality of humankind
 MAKKAN CHAPTERS

• Day of Judgement
• Heaven and Hell
• Good moral conduct
• Reward and Punishment
• Full of warnings
• Narratives of previous Prophets
 MADINAN CHAPTERS

Style
• They are long and prose-like
Themes
• Acts of worship
• Prayer
• Fasting hajj
• War fare
 MADINAN CHAPTERS

• Give details of moral principles

• Divorce
• Inheritance
• Marriage
• Peace
• Thus, the Madinan chapters are legislative in character
• The Qur’an is further divided into portions, sections and parts for
easy recitation
• It is divided into 7 portions called Manzil
• It is also divided into 30 sections called Ju’z
• Then it is further divided into 60 parts known as Hizb
As a revelation, the Qur’an refers to itself by other names which
depict its purpose and nature and some of these names are
Al-Kitab (The Book)
Al-Hudah (The Guidance)
 NAMES OF THE QUR’AN

• Al-Furqan (the distinguisher)

• Al-Nur (the light)
• As-Shafa’ (the healer)
• Ad-Dhikr (the reminder)
 NAMES OF THE QUR’AN

• Al-Hikma (the wise)

• Al-Haqq (the truth)
As a guidance for humankind, it is the primary source of regulation
and serves as the foundation of Islamic Jurisprudence
• It thus has legislations on
• constitutional provisions
• International law
• Jurisprudence
• Penal laws,
• Civil law
• Personal and Family laws
• Economic and Financial legislations
 SUNNAH AS THE SECOND PRIMARY SOURCE
OF THE SHARI’AH

WHAT IS SUNNAH?
• Sunnah denotes pathway, behavior, practices, manner of acting or
conduct of life
• It also means normative practice or model of behavior or standard
practice
• In Islamic law, Sunnah refers to the normative practice established by
the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that is the model and exemplary
behavior of Muhammad (SAW)
• The Sunnah therefore refers to the sayings, deeds, acts, customs,
practices, conventions and silent approvals of Muhammad (SAW)
• Also, the companions of the Prophet observed and noted what he did
and said and they emulated these in their daily lives
• Importantly, Qur’an 33:21 states that the Prophet exemplifies the best
conduct and so serves as the role model for all Muslims
• Thus, today, Sunnah is observed as the established practice of
Muslims which is said to have originated from the time of the Prophet
• It is also the wish of every Muslim to live and conduct their lives in
conformity with the normative behavior of the Prophet
Composition of Sunnah
• Furthermore, Sunnah has two components
• We have the practical behavior of the Prophet
• verbal sayings and these verbal sayings are technically referred to
as Hadith
• Hadith which signifies communication comes in varied forms
such as story, tales conversations or narration
• Accordingly, in Islamic law, Hadith represents the sayings or
narrations of the Prophet Muhammad
• So, Sunnah as a source of shari‘ah consists of the Hadith and the
practical deeds, acts, customs and conversations of the Prophet
(SAW)
• These acts and sayings were all seen as inspirations from Allah and
Muslims are enjoined to take the Hadith seriously as stated in Q53:3-
4, Q3:30, Q33:36
What then is the difference between the Qur’an and the Sunnah?
• The Qur’an was revealed through angel Gibriel verbatim
• The Hadith was revealed without letters and words
The Qur’an and the Hadith are thus, essential for the guidance of a Muslim
In consequence, Islam is incomplete without the Prophet Muhammad
(SAW)
• Because he practically epitomized the will of Allah on earth
• And so, among his companions, some specialized in his deeds and
practices and others focused on his Hadith
• For example, Imam Malik ibn Anas was an authority in the practices of
Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
• Abu Hurayrah was an expert in the Hadith or sayings of the Prophet
• He was a key figure among the Ashab-ul-Suffa, a group of
traditionalists who were always in the Prophet’s mosque who learnt at
first hand and preserved the traditions of the prophet (SAW)
• Also, the Sunnah complements the Qur’anic injunctions because the
Prophet (SAW) gave additional directives and regulations on
religious and social issues in Madina
• These directives and regulations were not directly from Allah as such
became secondary to what is in the Qur’an
• Hence, Sunnah evolved as a secondary source of the Shari’ah
• It gave further explanations on the Qur’anic teachings about Salat,
Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj
• It also deals with issues of peaceful co-existence and brotherhood in the
society
• How to relate to parents and the respect and obedience to authority
• All these laws are preserved in the Hadith literature
• The best and famous Hadith literature with respect to the Sunnis is the
SIHAHU-SITTA (the six sound collections)
• These sound collections are
• Sahih of Imam Bukhari
• Sahih of ImamMmuslim
• Sunan of Abu Dawud
• Sunan of Ibn Majah
• Sunan of al-nisai
• Ja’mi of At-Tirmtdhi
Though not a direct revelation from Allah, the Sunnah forms an
important component and a primary source of the Shari’ah. As society
evolved, the Muslim ummah faced new challenges which needed solution
hence the introduction of Qiyas and Ijma as secondary sources of the law
 SECONDARY SOURCES OF THE SHARI’AH

• The secondary sources evolved after the death of the Prophet (SAW) when
Muslim were confronted with new challenges particularly when Islam
encountered other cultures
• As a result, the Qur’an and Sunnah had to be supplemented to
accommodate the new challenges of the day
• This called for reinterpretation and rethinking and the two methods used
to guide the process are Qiyas and Ijma
What is Qiyas?
• Qiyas means an analogical deduction from the Qur’an and the Sunnah
• It implies a systemic form of an individual Muslim cleric’s reasoning
deduced from the Qur’an and Sunnah
• If these deductions do not contradict any part of the Qur’an and
Sunnah, they become law in Islam
• The most natural and simple form of reasoning is Ra’y
• It is a considered opinion of an individual Islamic scholar on an issue,
which means it is personal views on matters that have not been
clearly stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah
• Ra’y played a significant role before the process of Qiyas evolved
after the death of Prophet (SAW)
• This was because he was the embodiment of the Islamic law and with
his demise, Muslim scholars had to continue with the development of
the Islamic law
• These scholars were able to legislate new laws using analogy with
existing laws in the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the new laws were, in
their judgement most pleasing to Allah and the Prophet and nearest to
the truth
• The Qur’an in several verses enjoin Muslims to reason and reflect
and the Prophet is known to have accepted the opinions of his
companions in matters which he was not directed by revelation
• Thus, exercising personal opinion on legal matters is encouraged and
had helped to formulate new legislations for the development of the
Muslim ummah
• However, Qiyas does not become law applicable to a community or a
region unless it has moved to the next stage which is Ijma.
• WHAT IS IJMA?
• It is the consensus of Islamic scholars or the average general opinion of a
community or a region in relation to a new law formulated
• It helps to check the stray and ineffective opinions held in a given
community
• It is as such, used to authenticate a new legal principle that emerges as a
result of Qiyas
• Essentially, Ijma ensures a gradual unification of varied views on a
problem and to determine the authenticity of a Qiyas
• Qiyas and Ijma are therefore legal tools used to formulate new
legislation to deal with changing circumstances in the society