Lesson 8 - Islamic Law

Question 1

What does Sharia law involve?

Answer 1

• • not just a right way to live, but the way of prosperity, health and reward,
• • not just concerned with external actions, but internal motivations.
• • not only a moral code, but also a penal code
• • ideal to be determined and followed

Question 2

What are the 4 sources of Sharia law?

Answer 2

1. ) Quran
2. ) Sunna (Muhammad’s example mainly via the Hadith)
3. ) The Consensus (ijma) of the Muslim community
4. ) Reasoning through analogy

Question 3

What are 5 categories of human actions according to Sharia Law?

Answer 3

1. ) Obligatory or necessary - mandatory, omission is punished.
2. ) Recommended - actions that are rewarded, while omission is not punished.
3. ) Permissable - actions that are neutral and permitted and legally indifferent.
4. ) Disapproved - actions that are discouraged or abhorred, but not punished.
5. ) Forbidden - prohibited and punished by law

Question 4

What are the 4 major schools of law in Sunni Islam?

Answer 4

1. ) Hanafi School
2. ) Maliki School
3. ) Shafi’i School
4. ) Hanbali School

Question 5

What are characteristics of the Hanafi School?

Answer 5

• • founded by Abu Hanifi
• • most popular and largest school
• • uses the Quran and Sunna/Hadith, but also adopts reason through analogy when these are silent

Question 6

What are characteristics of the Maliki School?

Answer 6

• • founded by Maliki ibn Anas
• • allows some place for consensus
• • oldest school and very conservative

Question 7

What are characteristics of the Shafi’i School?

Answer 7

• • founded by al-Shaifi’i

- - compromise between Maliki & Hanafi schools, so reject the role of private judgement

Question 8

What are characteristics of the Hanbali School?

Answer 8

• • founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbali
• • accepts only the Quran and Sunna/Hadith
• • Most conservative, rejects both consensus and analogy
• • Saudi Arabia

Question 9

What are the issues surrounding modern application of Sharia law?

Answer 9

• • To what extent is Sharia open to interpretation (every school is different)
• • to what extent can Sharia be contextualized for the modern world
• • to what extent should Muslim countries seek to implement Sharia
• • To what extent should Muslims living in non-Muslim countries seek after Sharia
• • To what extent is Sharia compatible with western democracy

Question 10

What are some controversial Sharia?

Answer 10

– husbands are permitted to beat their wives; adultery is punishable by flogging/stoning to death; theft is punishable by amputation; apostasy is punishable by death; honor killings

Question 11

What is the relationship between law and theology in Islam?

Answer 11

Law, rather, than theology has the primary emphasis in Islam. Is it obedience to the will of God rather than fellowship in the knowledge of God’s nature, which is paramount. Islam is essentially submission, not communion. It is orthopraxy, more than orthodoxy.

Question 12

What is the Muslim view of Salvation compared to the Christian view?

Answer 12

• • Muslim’s view is about scales (21:47). The good outweighs the bad. Salvation is about good works, faith in Allah, and the Quran.
• • In Islam Forgiveness is an impersonal act of arbitrarily divine power. In Christianity, forgiveness is a personal act of purposeful & Powerful yet completely divine grace.
• • Allah is not engaged in self-revelation or self-glorification in the matter of human salvation, and there is no gospel that gives a singular coherence to the Islamic perspective.