Sharia (Arabic: ; also Shar'ah, Shari'a, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic

law, also known as the Law of Allah. Islam classically draws no distinction between religious,
and secular life. Hence Sharia covers not only religious rituals, but many aspects of day-to-day
life, politics, economics, banking, business or contract law, and social issues.
Fiqh means to follow the orders (ahkam) of Allah. According to Islam, the purpose of creation
of human beings is to submit to the will of Allah, i.e., to lead a life in this world according to the
ahkam of Allah. Islam teaches that we are actually created for the next world (akhirat) and not
for this temporary world. The life in this world is a trial period for all human beings in order to
judge who follows the ahkam of Allah and who does not. In order to follow the ahkam of Allah,
it is essential to acquire knowledge and understand the ahkam of Allah (i.e. fiqh).
difference between Fiqh and Sharia?
Sharia is ingrained Islamic Law stipulated in Quran and Hadith and encompasses Aqeedah, life,
practices, politics etc

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence, basically in a brief sense an expansion of the sharia and it also
complements the sharia. Basically Sharia is abstract and rules etc can vary in different contexts
and it is the job of faqih to deduce practical interpretations i.e. instantiate sharia
Sharia
Etymology
The term Sharia itself derives from the verb shara'a, which according to Abdul Mannan Omar's
Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an connects to the idea of "spiritual law" (5:48) and "system of
divine law; way of belief and practice" (45:18) in the Quran.
General
Mainstream Islam distinguishes between Fiqh, which means 'understanding of details' and refers
to the inferences drawn by scholars, and Sharia, which refers to the principles that lie behind the
fiqh. Scholars hope that fiqh and sharia are in harmony in any given case, but they cannot be
sure. Sharia has certain laws which are regarded as divinely ordained, concrete and timeless for
all relevant situations (for example, the ban against drinking liquor as an intoxicant). It also has
certain laws which are extracted based on principles established by Islamic lawyers and judges
(Mujtahadun). The sharia as interpreted by Islamic lawmakers is believed by Muslims to be
merely a human approximation of the true Sharia, which is understood as the divine and eternal
correct path. In deriving Sharia law, Islamic lawmakers are not, therefore, actually creating
divinely correct or incorrect actions beyond question, but rather attempting to interpret divine
principles. Hence Sharia in general is considered divine, but a lawyer's or judge's extraction or
opinion on a given matter is not, though the process and intention to refer to Allah's law is
divinely sanctioned. An Islamic lawyer or judge's attempts to rule according to Sharia, can be
described as 'ruling by Sharia'. For Sunni Muslims, the primary sources of Islamic law are the
Quran, the Hadith or directions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the unanimity (ertsulovneba)
of Muhammad's disciples on a certain issue (ijma), and Qiyas (drawing analogy from the essence
of divine principles). Qiyas various forms of reasoning, including by analogy are used by
the law scholars (Mujtahidun) to deal with situations where the sources provided no concrete
rules. The consensus of the community or people, public interest, and others were also accepted
as secondary sources where the first four primary sources allow. In Imami-Shi'I (Shiism) law, the
sources of law (usul al-fiqh) are the Qur'an, prophet Muhammads practices and those of the 12
Imams, and the intellect (aql). The practices called Sharia today, however, also have roots in
local customs (Al-urf).Islamic jurisprudence is called Fiqh and is divided into 2 parts: the study
of the sources and methodology (usul al-fiqh - roots of the law) and the practical rules (furu' al-
fiqh - branches of the law).
History and Background
The authority of Sharia is drawn from 2 primary sources, as well as two secondary sources. The
first major source is the specific guidance in the Quran, and the second source is the Sunnah,
literally the 'Way', i.e. the way that Muhammad lived his life. (The compilation of all that
Muhammad said, did or approved of is called the Hadith.) A lesser source of authority is Qiyas,
which is the extension by analogy of existing Sharia law to new situations. Finally, Sharia law
can be based on ijma, or consensus (konsensusi, tanxmoba). Justification for this final approach
is drawn from the Hadith where Muhammad states; "My nation cannot agree on an error." The
role of ulema, i.e. scholars, is critical, since they are the ones who study the Islamic law and
therefore have authority to represent it. Sharia has largely been codified by the schools
(madhhabs) of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh). The comprehensive nature of Sharia lawis due to
the belief that the law must provide all that is necessary for a person's spiritual and physical well-
being. All possible actions of a Muslim are divided (in principle) into 5 categories: obligatory
(valdebuleba), meritorious (damsaxureba), permissible (nebis darTva), reprehensible (dagmoba),
and forbidden. Fundamental to the obligations of every Muslim are the Five Pillars of Islam:
The Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) - the declaration that there is none worthy of worship except
Allah (Arabic: God) and that Muhammad is His messenger. Ritual Prayer (Salat) - establishing
of the five daily Prayers. Obligatory (religious) almsgiving (Zakat) - which is generally 2.5% of
the total savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the annual
produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor. Fasting
(marxva) The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) - this is done during the month of Zul Hijjah, and is
compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it. If the Muslim is in ill health or
in debt, he or she is not required to perform Hajj. They do this to show moral importance to
Allah, and to join the Ummah (family of Islam)
Sections of Sharia law
Sharia law is divided into two main sections:
I The acts of worship, or al-ibadat, these include:
1. Ritual Purification
2. Prayers
3. Fasts (marxva)
4. Charities
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca
II Human interaction, or al-mu'amalat, which includes:
6. Financial transactions
7. Endowments (shecirva)
8. Laws of inheritance (memkvidreoba)
9. Marriage, divorce, and child care
10. Foods and drinks (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)
11. Penal punishments
12. Warfare and peace
13. Judicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)

Fiqh

Etymology
The word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning "deep understanding" or "full comprehension".
Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources (which
are studied in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and the process of gaining knowledge of
Islam through jurisprudence. The historian Ibn Khaldun describes fiqh as "knowledge of the
rules of God which concern the actions of persons who own themselves bound to obey the law
respecting what is required (wajib), sinful (haraam), recommended (mandb), disapproved
(makrh) or neutral (mubah)".This definition is consistent amongst the jurists.
In Modern Standard Arabic, fiqh has come to mean jurisprudence in general, be it Islamic or
secular. It is thus possible to speak of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. as an expert in the
common law fiqh of the United States, or of Abdel Razzaq El sanhouri Pasha as an expert in the
civil law fiqh of Egypt.
Introduction
The Qur'an gives clear instruction on many issues, such as how to perform the ritual purification
(wudu) before the obligatory daily prayers (salat), but on other issues, some Muslims believe the
Qur'an alone is not enough to make things clear. For example the Qur'an states one needs to
engage in daily prayers (salat) and fast (sawm) during the month of Ramadan but some Muslims
believe they need further instructions on how to perform these duties. Details about these issues
can be found in the traditions of Muhammad, so Qur'an and Sunnah are in most cases the basis
for (Shariah).
Some topics are without precedent in Islam's early period. In those cases, Muslim jurists
(Fuqaha) try to arrive at conclusions by other means. Sunni jurists use historical consensus of the
community (Ijma); a majority in the modern era also use analogy (Qiyas) and weigh the harms
and benefits of new topics (Istislah), and a plurality utilize juristic preference (Istihsan). The
conclusions arrived at with the aid of these additional tools constitute a wider array of laws than
the Sharia consists of, and is called fiqh. Thus, in contrast to the sharia, fiqh is not regarded as
sacred and the schools of thought have differing views on its details, without viewing other
conclusions as sacrilegious. This division of interpretation in more detailed issues has resulted in
different schools of thought (madh'hab).
This wider concept of Islamic jurisprudence is the source of a range of laws in different topics
that govern the lives of the Muslims in all facets of everyday life
Importance

Fiqh means to follow the orders (ahkam) of Allah. According to Islam, the purpose of creation of
human beings is to submit to the will of Allah, i.e., to lead a life in this world according to the
ahkam of Allah. Islam teaches that we are actually created for the next world (akhirat) and not
for this temporary world. The life in this world is a trial period for all human beings in order to
judge who follows the ahkam of Allah and who does not. In order to follow the ahkam of Allah,
it is essential to acquire knowledge and understand the ahkam of Allah (i.e. fiqh).
Two Sources of Fiqh There are two main sources of knowledge of fiqh: the Quran and the
Hadith. While the holy Quran is available in a single book form, the literature of Hadith is
scattered in different books written over different times.a) Holy Quran. b) Sunnah. Holy Quran
is the word of Allah as revealed to Holy Prophet (SAW) and Sunnah means the sayings, actions
and silent approval of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the Holy Imams (AS). There are over 6000
Quranic verses and around 70,000 hadiths (Sunnah). Both the Holy Quran and Sunnah have
equal status as far as wajibat is concerned. If one wajib is mentioned in Sunnah only, it has same
weight as one wajib mentioned in Quran only.
A Mujtahid is an alim who has acquired a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Quran
and the Hadith. A Marja is that Mujtahid who is the most knowledgeable (highest ranking)
among all Mujtahids.
Islam expects every Muslim to either become a Mujtahid or do taqleed of the highest ranking
Mujtahid (i.e. follow a Marja). Hence taqleed is wajib for all Muslims who can not become a
Mujtahid. A mujtahid writes a book of ahkam (Islamic Laws), which is used by his followers
(muqallideen) to know his rulings (fatwa) about different issues.
According to Hadees, if we do not acquire knowledge of fiqh, we may die as the biggest kafir or
the biggest munafiq (Aarabee).Islam reminds us that our real life is the life hereafter, which is
forever. Our present life on this earth is short, temporary and a trial period for the next
permanent (real) life. This life is a transit in our ultimate destination to heaven or hell. This
present life is a test period to judge who obeys the orders of Allah and who does not.
According to Hadees of Imam Ali (AS), anyone who follows Islam without the knowledge
of fiqh is on the right path but is going in the wrong direction.!
In Islam, lack of knowledge of fiqh (shariah) is not an excuse for not following tenets of Islam
correctly.
Lack of knowledge of fiqh about a good deed can sometime lead to punishment (azaab) instead
of reward (sawab) from Allah even though the intention may initially be good. There are many
examples of this.
Story of a wife, who after the death of her husband, donated all his property and wealth to the
poor, but she earned hellfire because she did not know the rules of fiqh that after the husbands
death, his property and wealth must be distributed to heirs according to the Islamic laws of
inheritance. According to fiqh, the wife gets only a small portion of husband's property and
wealth. After husband's death, she can not even spend his money on his children unless the
husband has made her as his wali (guardian) during his life time or through a will. Writing of
Will (wasiyah) is very important for people living

HISTORY & FIQH
Some knowledge of history is essential to understand how our Holy Imams (AS) propagated the
knowledge of Fiqh and also to understand the philosophy/logic of some masail of Fiqh. Open
dissemination of Fiqh knowledge was started by the 5th Imam, who is also known by the title
BAQIRUL ULOOM. Our 5th & 6th Imams are known by a common title of SADIQAIN.The
real benefits of martyrdom of Karbala started appearing in the time of the 5th Imam, when
people started enquiring openly about real Islam and its laws.The 5th & 6th Imams established
the first Hawzae Ilmiya (Islamic University). They also gave knowledge about the established
system of Taqleed and Khums.According to all Muslims (including Wahabis), the best family
lineage in the world is family of our Holy Prophet (SAW) through Bibi Fatima (AS) and Imam
Ali (AS).Our 5th Imam has unique distinction of having Masoom grandfathers from fathers side
as well as from mothers side. The father of 5th Imam was Imam Zainul Abideen (AS), the son
of Imam Husain (AS). The mother of 5th Imam was Fatima, the daughter of Imam Hasan (AS).