sharia
Quranic legal system
Sharia is Islamic religious law derived from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
It governs not only religious practice but personal conduct, family matters, and in some countries, criminal justice.
In Western political discourse, sharia often appears in debates about religious law versus secular governance: Critics argue sharia is incompatible with democratic values.
The term is also spelled shariah. (Capitalized Sharia appears in formal or academic contexts.)
Islam's central scripture
Permitted under Islamic law
- haramForbidden by Islamic law
- permissibleSanctioned by authority
- forbiddenNot allowed
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
morality · virtue · piety · justice · integrity · duty · conscience · modesty
Formal legal determination
- verdictOfficial court decision
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- codificationOrganizing rules into system
courts · qadi · tribunal · arbitration · jurisdiction · precedent · application
Islamic successor-led government
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- statehoodCondition of being sovereign
authority · penal · criminal · apostasy · blasphemy · secularism · theocracy · reform
Formal union between partners
- divorceLegal end of matrimony
- custodyProtective care or control
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- dowryMarital property transfer
polygamy · guardianship · maintenance · lineage · paternity · matrimonial
Islamic ritual prayer
- zakatObligatory Islamic charity donation
- hajjMuslim pilgrimage to Mecca
- ablutionRitualized washing of body
- prayerAddress to deity
fasting · pilgrimage · almsgiving · ritual · purification · mosque · Ramadan · Mecca
No added cost for borrowing
- bankingFinancial institution transactions
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- lendingTemporary provision of resources
- usuryExtortionate money lending
prohibition · ethical · contracts · transactions · profit-sharing
Quran
Islam's central scripture
mufti · fatwa · scholarly · interpretation · consensus
halal
Permitted under Islamic law
- haramForbidden by Islamic law
- permissibleSanctioned by authority
- forbiddenNot allowed
righteousness · morality · virtue · piety · justice · integrity · duty · conscience · modesty · chastity
ruling
Formal legal determination
- verdictOfficial court decision
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- complianceAdhering to requirements
codification · courts · qadi · tribunal · arbitration · jurisdiction · precedent · application
caliphate
Islamic successor-led government
- constitutionInherent physical or structural makeup
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
statehood · authority · penal · criminal · apostasy · blasphemy · secularism · theocracy · reform · implementation
marriage
Formal union between partners
- divorceLegal end of matrimony
- custodyProtective care or control
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
dowry · polygamy · guardianship · maintenance · lineage · paternity · matrimonial
salah
Islamic ritual prayer
- zakatObligatory Islamic charity donation
- hajjMuslim pilgrimage to Mecca
- ablutionRitualized washing of body
prayer · fasting · pilgrimage · almsgiving · ritual · purification · mosque · Ramadan · Mecca · obligatory
interest-free
No added cost for borrowing
- bankingFinancial institution transactions
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- lendingTemporary provision of resources
usury · prohibition · ethical · contracts · transactions · profit-sharing
- Islamic LawShariah, fatwa, fatwas, qadi, mufti
- ruleslaw, rule, guideline, bylaw, standard
- Islamic governancecaliph, caliphate, sultanate, emirate, emir
- Islamic Politicscaliph, caliphate, emir, emirate, sultanate
- religious lawreligious law, canon law, sacred law, Mosaic law, Torah laws
- Caliphatecaliph, caliphate, Umar, Ali, successor
shariasecular law
Legal code without religious basis
civil law · secularism · human law · common law · constitutional law
shariasecular humanism
Nonreligious ethical philosophy
rationalism · empiricism · moral relativism · atheism · materialism
- Sharia lawIslamic religious legal framework
- sharia complianceFollowing Islamic legal requirements
- sharia courtReligious body applying Muslim jurisprudence