Sources of Islamic Law

Around the turn of the 8th century, a difference in legal approach arose amongst
Islamic thinkers as to how legal matters in Islam would be assessed. The
traditionalists (hadith) relied solely on the Quran and the Sunnah (traditions) of the
Prophet. Such a prevailing thought emanated from Medina. The non-traditional
approach relied on the free use of reasoning and opinion in the absence of reliable
hadiths, and this emanated from Iraq. The reason for the difference in technique is
that in Medina, there was an abundance of reliable hadiths that scholars could
depend them. In Iraq, the sources that were available were not as reliable as in
Medina. Therefore, a hadith narrated by Imam Malik (from Medina) was more
reliable than by Abu Hanifa (from Iraq) who had to use analogy in the absence of
reliable hadith. Muhammad al-Shafi (died. 819) was concerned about a common
methodology for all schools of Islamic law. His efforts resulted in the systemization
of al-fiqh, the following four sources of Islamic law:
1. the Quran
2. tradition of the Prophet;
3. Qiyas or analogies;
4. ijma or unanimous agreement.

The Qur'an
Here is a plain statement to mankind, a guidance and instruction to those who fear
Allah (3:138). The Quran addressed those issues and tried to replace old tribal
customs with better reforms. For example, the Quran rejected customs such as
idolatry, gambling, liquor, usury, etc. It also improved the status of women by
proclaiming women's equality to men and providing women with rights in the areas
of marriage, divorce and inheritance, which was never given to the women in Arabia
before.
The sharia or foundations of Islamic law, are derived from specific verses of the
Quran. Much of the Quranic matter consists mainly of general moral directives as to
what the aims and aspirations of Muslims should be. There have been so many
different interpretations of the Quran that is difficult to sometimes know its true
understanding and meaning directly. This however is an ongoing challenge for
scholars to this day. Only the Holy Prophet had the right understanding of the Quran
and its interpretations.
Sunnah of the Prophet
You have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern of conduct for anyone
whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day (33:21). As the last messenger of Allah,
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) brought the Quranic teachings to life through his
interpretation and implementation as leader of the Muslim community. The Sunnah
of the Prophet generally means the sayings of the Prophet; his deeds; and his

approval of certain acts which he had knowledge of. The record of the Prophet's
words and deeds were recorded in narrative hadiths by his immediate companions
and scribes. These Reports were transmitted before finally being compiled decades
after the death of the Prophet. In the first centuries of Islam, it should be stressed
that the Prophet was no other than a human interpreter of the divine revelation; he
was the best interpreter of the Quran and as such was the ultimate starting-point of
the Islamic Sunnah.
Qiyas or analogy
The third source of law, Qiyas, is reasoning by analogy. The reason of the Islamic
rule must be clear. For example, because the Quran clearly explains the reason that
consumption of alcohol is prohibited because it has an intoxicating effect on the
person, an analogy can be drawn to drugs which induce the same affect. But
because the Quran does not specifically state the reason why pork is haram,
Muslims cannot justify banning another meat product with a similar cholesterol
level. The use of analogies varied among scholars; for example, Spain's Ibn Hazm
(10th century) rejected the use of Qiyas, whereas Imam Abu Hanifa of the Hanafi
school (8th century) applied them.
Ijma or unanimous agreement
Ijma constitutes a unanimous agreement of a group of scholars on a specific issue in
the Shafi's methodology. If questions about a Quranic interpretation cannot be
assessed by hadiths or the Quran, scholars apply their own reasoning to come to an
interpretation. Looking back in time at the evolved consensus of the scholars, it
could be concluded that an ijma of scholars had been reached on this issue.
Because ijma is not simply the consensus based on past scholars, the concept of
ijma poses the problem of having to look to the past to solve the problems of the
future, and previous scholars didn't can never address the same issues that are
challenging Muslims today in a different mode of living.