Verified Document

Islamic Law Essay

Islam Plurality is built into Islam's legal and ideological foundations, complicating the political and social structure of the religion and its institutions. Principle means by which to explore and critique the complexity and plurality of Islam include the Hadith and the various schools of Islamic law. Because of the relatively equal veracity of all six books of the Hadith, and of the various schools of law, there is no singular authoritative body in Islam. Each region of the world has instead opted to emphasize some teachings and some legal schools over others.

The Hadith is a collection of writings reflecting the traditions, actions, and actual sayings of Muhammad. The Hadith comprises six books, compiled in the ninth and tenth centuries, and are viewed as "second only to the Quran in their practical significance and authority," (p. 74). The "soundness of their claims of transmission" is one of the central issues in the reliability or veracity of the Hadith (p. 74)....

Soundness therefore refers to the quality of the source material. Because different individuals compiled the six books of the Hadith, there are presumably different degrees of reliability or soundness in their material. Scholars have identified the Sahih al-Bukhari and the Sahih Muslim as "the most authoritative" (p. 75). Sunni and Shiite Muslims disagree on the relative status, reliability, and soundness of the six books of the Hadith.
There are several law traditions in Islam, but there are four main Sunni and one main Shiite school in addition to the Sharia. The Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanafi schools are the primary four. Because the Ottomans had embraced Hanafi law and had subsequently colonized so much of what are currently Muslim regions, Hanafi remains a predominant branch of Islamic law. Differences between the different schools of law can be loosely lumped into two camps of traditionalism vs. rationalism, but that would also be oversimplifying the differences…

Sources used in this document:
Reference

Kamali, M.K. (1999). Law and society. Chapter 3 in The Oxford History of Islam. Ed. Esposito. Oxford University Press.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Islam in Africa Islamic Law
Words: 1907 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

In fact there are signs of turmoil among religious as well as ethnic groups. An internal war between the Hausa and another tribe called the Yoruba resulted in 300 deaths. More recently tribes called the Tiv and the Jukun have executed tribal raids. In fact, between the successful election of a civilian President in May of 1999 and the end of 2001, over 10,000 Nigerians died in regional conflicts

Sharia Islamic Law Indonesia Should
Words: 1734 Length: 5 Document Type: Thesis

Lastly, sharia law violates human rights and creates a nation divided between Muslims and non-Muslims. Such a division undermines the traditional values that Indonesia has with respect to unity across multiple islands, races and religions. If these values are eroded, the nation could be eroded as well in the wake of economic collapse, social unrest, and potential succession from the republic. Therefore, sharia law should not be imposed in

Islam and America
Words: 2289 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Jewish values neither ban the rights of abortion, nor do they allow undiscerning abortion capabilities (Yadgar, 2006). Women who are the solitary carriers of their babies have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies; however in Judaism, abortion is only allowed if there is some deathly threat to mother. After testifying, men are obliged to have education as similar to the God who strived for improvement

Islam in the Age of Globalization the
Words: 2322 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Islam in the Age of Globalization The three major religions in the 21st century are all Abrahamic in historical basis. These religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity remain at the edge of political, social, and cultural issues, particularly now in that globalism has become so predominant. These religions are noted as Abrahamic because each uses the basic teachings of the Prophet Abraham in their general world view. All three faiths are monotheistic

Islamic Women -- Ottoman Empire Islamic Women
Words: 5039 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Islamic Women -- Ottoman Empire Islamic women who lived in the Ottoman Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries are the focus of this inquiry. What was their social life like in terms fun, vice, pleasure, and other activities that involved sensuality or illegal interactions? What do various authors report regarding the activities women engaged in during this era the Ottoman Empire? This paper reviews and critiques the literature relating to

Islamic Finance What Is Islamic
Words: 3766 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

Sometimes there is lack of sufficient money available to fund important projects and the price of loanable funds is normally high, showing the paucity of savings. In low-income economies, it is hardly a surprise that savings rates are small, as most disposable income is needed to be used for making purchases of necessities of daily living, and a lot of families just cannot bear to make financial provisioning for

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now