Answer 1A hadith is a saying of Muhammad or a report about something he did. Over time, during the first few centuries of Islam, it became obvious that many so-called hadith were in fact spurious sayings that had been fabricated for various motives, at best to encourage believers to act righteously and at worse to corrupt believers' understanding of Islam and to lead them astray. Since Islamic legal scholars were utilizing hadith as an adjunct to the Qur'an in their development of the Islamic legal system, it became critically important to have reliable collections of hadith. While the early collections of hadith often contained hadith that were of questionable origin, gradually collections of authenticated hadith called sahih (lit. true, correct) were compiled. Such collections were made possible by the development of the science of hadith criticism, a science at the basis of which was a critical analysis of the chain of (oral) transmission (isnad) of the hadith going all the way back to Muhammad. The two most highly respected collections of hadith are the authenticated collections the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. (Sahih literally means "correct, true, valid, or sound.") In addition to these, four other collections came to be well-respected, although not to the degree of Bukhari and Muslim's sahih collections. These four other collections are the Sunan of Tirmidhi, NASA'i, Ibn Majah, and Abu Da'ud. Together these four and the two sahih collections are called the "six books" (al-kutub al-sitta). Two other important collections, in particular, are the Muwatta of Ibn Malik, the founder of the Maliki school of law, and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of law.

Answer 2

The answer to your question (because the above, while right and good, did not answer the question well) is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the living, breathing, walking Qur'an. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the very embodiment of the Qur'an. He is the exegesis of the Qur'an. Without the teachings of the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) we Muslims would not know how to live by the Qur'an. The Qur'an says "pray". Muhammad teaches us how, and when. The Qur'an says "fast". Again, Muhammad shows us what fasting is all about.

Every detail that we need to know in our lives came from the best, most noble example of humanity. Those who hurl insults at Muhammad do not know the truth. Even those who think they have an argument about his marriage to Aisha - the young wife - do not know the facts.

May the Peace and blessings of Almighty God (Allah) be upon our Prophet - the Final Messenger to Mankind - Muhammad.

False

The truth is that Sharia law is based on:

• the holy book Quran
• the Sunnah.

Quran is the holy book per God revelation to prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Quran is human authored and written text. Quran is God true words and not human words.

The sunnah is prophet Muhammad sayings and practices.

A Critical Reaction to Coulson - Islamic Law

It is the weakness of the Islamic legal system that caused it to become progressively less effective at promoting the very ideals it was designed to safeguard. N. J. Coulson argues in his Doctrine and Practice in Islamic Law that there is a significant gap between the ideal and practical application of shari'a that caused this weakness. As the Islamic system of jurisprudence evolved after the death of the Prophet Mohammed, rules came to be adopted and administered in an increasingly complex superstructure of teachings, interpretations, and common practice reinterpretations. By trying to produce an answer for every legal question that could arise, scholars wove a legal web that was both challenging to comprehend and overly restrictive of the qadi's authority. Coulson argues that these inherent weaknesses are what caused good men to avoid the position of qadi at all costs.

Meanwhile, political leaders also wielded their power over the judge, or qadi, in an effort to influence legal decisions in their favor. Although the relative level of political interference oscillated over time, this factor was, without question, an obstacle to producing morally appropriate legal decisions. Consequently, many pious Muslims refused to knowingly accept a position in which they would be swayed by political pressures and possibly make immoral decisions. As a consequence of this pressure, scholars argue, many Muslims were surprisingly reluctant to accept the role of qadi, or judge.

Rather than accepting this notion that fear of political reprisal, alone, deterred pious individuals from accepting the position of qadi, Coulson maintains that it was the very nature of Islamic law that prevented the pious from assuming the role of judge. By emphasizing personal accounts, transcripts, and historical records, Coulson outlines certain characteristics of the common shari'a law that made it difficult to arrive at a decisive judgment on controversial matters.

Interpreting the shari'a was a daunting task partly because this code was, itself, a speculative attempt at interpreting the will of Allah. Complicating the issue, according to Coulson, this legal code became nothing but a religious ideal. It should be noted that during these first four centuries after the Prophet, the teachings of Islam spread swiftly. The contents of the shari'a were less relevant partly due to the fact that they were being interpreted by people living very different lives, far away from the villages where the Prophet lived and they confronted daily challenges that the Prophet had never heard of.

In any case, the shari'a was inadequate as a concrete source for direction in difficult cases of jurisprudence because it failed to answer practical questions of daily life. As new situations arose and decisions were made, additional precedents were enshrined in codes such as the ijtihad and 'urf, which were derived from personal reasoning and common practice. As different individuals and circumstances contributed to these codes of conduct, divergent viewpoints occasionally emerged on identical cases.

This structure of religious and legal ideals snowballed into an increasingly complex superstructure of socially-accepted norms and laws. Into the 11 th century, the documented legal system became so voluminous and varied that it was difficult for individuals to adhere to and more importantly, for the qadi to use in making decisive judgments. In attempting to answer every conceivable issue that could arise in court, the system actually prevented the qadi from applying his own beliefs to the particular decision at hand. This only furthered the distaste that pious Muslims held for the position of qadi and reinforced their unwillingness to assume the position. Not only did the qadi frequently face constraint from political authorities, he was also limited in his ability to interpret and apply the law.

Finally, it must be recognized that the pious qadi, once he possessed authority, was generally quite anxious that he would act immorally and violate the will of Allah if he chose wrongly in a particular case. It was perceived that by accepting the position of qadi, the individual took on a dangerous responsibility, that of trying to determine what Allah would have wanted. In this sense, by making an error in judgment, the qadi was also going against the will of Allah. This created a stressful situation for the person who had the unfortunate responsibility of interpreting complex moral and legal codes with the knowledge that an error in interpretation or reason could lead to his eternal damnation.

Incredibly, the pressures to not err were so acute that on one occasion, an individual who refused appointment to the position of qadi declined even to nominate others for the post. He feared that the nominee would judge wrongly and then he would be complicit in that individual's sin. It is difficult to understand such a system. A pious Muslim would dread nominating another to the position of judge; for fear that an incorrect judgment would render them both culpable for an error, albeit an accidental one. Implementing this type of legal code is strikingly cumbersome; influenced by a tremendously complex relationship between interpretations of the truth, pressures to live by the truth, and finally, the need to interpret previously elaborated notions of the same truth, but in a new light and for a new situation.

It is ironic that the individual's very anxiety about doing what is right is what prevented the qadi from firmly establishing the institution of a pious judge, who determines what is right. Instead, the judge shirked his authority in order to not make incorrect judgments. In time, the qadi became dependent on asking scholars for advice and deferring to other courts for rulings in order to avoid culpability. Consequently, other branches of judicial administration appeared, one of which existed specifically to handle cases in which the qadi was in doubt. Effectively, the fear of making an error in judgment prevented the chosen leader from enforcing religious ideals in a practical manner.

Why did this society not develop the notion that an unintentional misinterpretation of the law does not result in condemnation? Instead, the religious and judicial leaders adopted the attitude that it is better to make no decision at all on what is right, rather than to make an incorrect one. It was based on this uncertainty that scholars created rigorous codes of law that were, themselves, often even more impractical to implement. In this case, it was the very lack of courage on the part of the qadi that weakened the system of justice, which is ironically the very purpose for which the institution of the qadi was developed. Coulson would argue that this is understandable, however, as the laws themselves were based on a religious and moral idealism that was unenforceable.

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The Islamic laws:(Shariah/FIQH)

A collection of laws for our daily needs including prayers, food, marriage, rights of parents and children, business dealing, borrowing, responsibility and rights towards human being and animals, burial, punishment, war, treaty etc. From birth to burial/death all inclusive procedures and practices.

Following are the few general laws:

"Allah hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine flesh, and that which hath been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (2:173).

And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you and have chosen for you as religion Al-Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (5:3)

"They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say: (all) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained, ye teach them that which Allah taught you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention Allah's name upon it, and observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account" (5:4)

Volume 7, Book 65, Number 288:

Narrated 'Umar bin Abi Salama:
I was a boy under the care of Allah's Apostle and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Apostle said to me, 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating.


"Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands..." (Qur'an 24:30-31)

"Ayesha (R) reported that Asmaa the daughter of Abu Bakr (R) came to the Messenger of Allah (S) while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asmaa! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." (Abu Dawood)

Women must not dress so as to appear as men.
"Ibn Abbas narrated: 'The Prophet (S) cursed the men who appear like women and the women who appear like men.'" (Bukhari)

Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He)
descends each night to the earth's sky
when there remains the final third of the night, and He says:
"Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it?
Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him?
Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him?"
Hadith Qudsi 35

The Prophet once asked his companions: "Do you think if there was a river by the door and one of you bathed in it five times a day; would there remain any dirt on him?" The Prophet's companions answered in the negative. The Prophet then said: "That is how it is with the five (daily) prayers; through them Allah washes away your sins."

Holy prophet said:"as bath removes stain or filth from a body prayer removes all the sins of a person or Muslim. Some of them could be the five pillars

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There are four main souces of Islamic law:

1. The Quran:

   Muslims believe theQuran

   to be the direct words of Allah, as revealed to and transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad. All sources of Islamic law must be in essential agreement with the Quran, the most fundamental source of Islamic knowledge. When the Quran itself does not speak directly or in detail about a certain subject, Muslims only then turn to alternative sources of Islamic law

2. The Sunnah:

   Sunnahis the traditions or known practices of the Prophet Muhammad, many of which have been recorded in the volumes of

   Hadith

   literature. The resources include many things that he said, did, or agreed to -- and he lived his life according to the Quran, putting the Quran into practice in his own life. During his lifetime, the Prophet's family and companions observed him and shared with others exactly what they had seen in his words and behaviors -- i.e. how he performed ablutions, how he prayed, and how he performed many other acts of worship. People also asked the Prophet directly for rulings on various matters, and he would pronounce his judgment. All of these details were passed on and recorded, to be referred to in future legal rulings. Many issues concerning personal conduct, community and family relations, political matters, etc. were addressed during the time of the Prophet, decided by him, and recorded. The Sunnah can thus clarify details of what is stated generally in the Quran.

3. Ijma' (consensus):

   In situations when Muslims have not been able to find a specific legal ruling in the Quran or Sunnah, the consensus of the community is sought (or at least the consensus of the legal scholars within the community). The Prophet Muhammad once said that his community (i.e. the Muslim community) would never agree on an error.

4. Qiyas (analogy):

   In cases when something needs a legal ruling, but has not been clearly addressed in the other sources, judges may use analogy, reasoning, and legal precedent to decide new case law. This is often the case when a general principle can be applied to new situations.

Dear all,

Although Islamic law is used in various Islamic countries, more specifically it is not strictly but followed up to and extended in Saudi Arabia.

zishan

Well Zishan you are wrong. The Countries that use Islamic Law as their Basic Laws are

1-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

2-Republic of Yemen

3-Islamic Republic of Iran

4-Sultante of Oman

5-United Arab Emarties

6-Algeria

7-Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

8-Islamic Republic of Mauritania

9-Republic of Sudan

10-Somalia

11-Nigeria(Muslims Areas)

and this is some countries use Islamic laws within other laws:

1-Islamic Republic of Pakistan

2-Kuwait

3Qatar

4-Bahrain

5-Jordan

6-Palestine(Gaza)

7-Indonesia(Muslims Areas)

8-Malaysia(Muslims Areas)

9-Bangladesh(Muslims only)

10-Egypt(Muslims only)

11-Libya

12-Tunisia

13-Morocco

14-Iraq

10- Comoros

11-Mali
All Muslim majority countries.

Sharia law is based on:

1. Quran, Muslims holy book revealed by God to prophet Muhammad (PBUH),
2. Sunnah, prophet Muhammad (PBUH) teachings (sayings and practices),
3. Qias, comparing with similar cases in Quran or Sunnah. For example, drugs are forbidden although not mentioned in Quran and Sunnah but because drug effects are the same when compared with alcohol (that is forbidden in Quran and sunnah explicitly), and
4. Ijmaa, issues where all Islam religion leaders agree upon.

Shari'ah is muslim/islamic law.