• Origin of Muslim Law
• Muslim law or Islamic law is known to be originated from the divine and not like
the man-made laws that are passed by the lawmakers and are governed by the
principles of modern systems of law. Islam signifies submission to the will of
God and means peace, purity, salvation, and obedience. Muslims believe that
there is only one god, Allah.
• The traditional Islamic law or Islam's legal system is well known as
Sharia, it is an Arabic word which in the literal sense is referred to as
the way. Sharia is originated from Allah and that is the reason that
Muslims consider it as holy.
Muslims considered it a word of god' which regulate and evaluate
human conduct. The Sharia is also derived from Prophet
Mohammed's principles and by some of the Muslim legal
scholars who interpreted his teachings. It is said that Islamic
jurisprudence is also something that goes back to the lifetime of
Mohammed. For Muslims, the Quran' is the only disclosed book
of Allah.
In the case of Narantakath v. Prakkal (1922) ILR 45 Mad 986, it
was stated that there are two basic beliefs of Muslims, first, the
existence and oneness of God, and second was the belief in the
truth of Prophet Mohammed's mission.
Sources of Muslim Law
The primary sources of Muslim law are the
1. Quran,
2. The Sunnat (the way of the Prophet),
3. The Ijma (consensus of Islamic scholars), and
4. The Qiyas (reasoning by analogy).
• Other secondary sources are
1. Judicial decisions,
2. Customs and
3. Legislation.
• In Shia Law there are only two chief sources of
1. Quran
2. Ahadis:- What Prophet said and done.
• Primary Sources:
1. Quran
• The word Quran is derived from the Arabic word Qurra which means to
read. Every word of Quran is the word of god, communicated to the
Prophet Mohammed through angel Gabriel for the benefit of mankind, at
different times, places, and situations during the period from 609 to 632
A.D (23 years).
The whole body of the Quran was given to the world in small
incomplete parts during the lifetime of the Prophet. The Quran was
never compiled or arranged in a proper form. In the starting, it was
written down on palm leaves, skin or parchment, so it was
available in this form only.
• The Quran was structured in Arabic and it consists of 114
chapters, which are known as suras. The suras contain 6666
verses which are called Ayats and the total number of 77, 934
words.
• The suras contain 6666 verses which are called Ayats and the total number
of 77, 934 words. Out of these verses, 200 dealt with legal principles such
as marriage, maintenance, transfer of property, inheritance, etc.
• The Quran was disclosed over two periods which are:
• Meccan
• Medinan
• The words of the Quran is divine in nature, it cannot be amended, revised, or
modified by any institution or human agency. The sacred book has been
translated into a number of languages as well.
Case:- Aga Mohammad Jaffer v. Koolsom Beebee and others,
It was a judgment delivered by the Privy Council on 7th April 1897.
It was observed that where a passage of the Quran was interpreted
in both Hedaya (a work of Sunni Law), and in the Imamia (a work
of the Shia Law) it was not open to a judge to construe it in a
different manner.
The courts should not compare any traditional settled law with
Quran.
2. The Sunnat
• Sunnat is also known as Hadis or Sunna, it is the traditions of
the Prophet Mohammed. The term Sunnat means a procedure,
the trodden path or a way of action. Quran consists of the words
of Allah but on the other hand, Sunnat indicates some
precedents, acts, language, and the practice of the Prophet.
Whatever the actions of the Prophet were or the Prophet said or
did was considered as a tradition. According to Islamic law,
there are two types of revelations i.e. manifest (Zahir) and
internal (Batin).
• The Traditions of Sunna comprises of:
Sunnat-ul-Fail
• Sunnat -ul-Tuqrir
• Sunnat-ul-Qaul
• Sometimes, the Prophet gave his opinion or after consulting
with some of his companions but most of his verdicts were
influenced by divine authority. He was considered as a role
model and others were inspired by whatever he did. This was
known as Sunnat-ul-fail, which means whatever he did by
himself.
• There were many instances when in his presence people did some
acts which were in accordance with the Quran. The acts of the
people which he allowed without openly expressing his consent
through words were known as Sunnat -ul-Tuqrir'. All the enjoined
words & the precepts of the Prophet were known as Sunnat-ul-Qaul.
3. Ijma
• Ijma is a consensus within Muslim jurists on a particular legal issue.
In simpler words when Quran and other traditions were not able to
provide any rule of law for a particular problem, the jurists
unanimously gave their decision and this was referred to as Ijma.
• Those people who had much knowledge and learning about the
law were known as Mujtahids (jurists). The Ijma derives its
power and authority from both the Quran and the Sunnat due to
which it can never be contradictory to anyone of them.
There are two types of Ijma or consensus:
• Ijma-al-ummah (community consensus)
• Ijma-al-aimmah (religious authorities consensus)
• Qiyas
• Qiyas is the fourth primary source of Islamic law, it means
analogical reasoning. The term in the literal sense is known
measuring or ascertaining the length, quality, and weight of
something. There are no clear authorities of Qiyas in the Quran.
However many legal jurists have provided several proofs from the
Quran and Sunnat and also from the practices done by the
companions as indirect evidence to support the authority of Qiyas.
• The Hanafi school of thought very strongly supports
Qiyas. As Abu Hanifa quoted - The knowledge of ours is
an opinion; it is the best we have been able to achieve.
He who can arrive at different conclusions is entitled to
his own opinion as we are entitled to our own.
• Secondary Sources:-
1. Judicial Decisions
• Our Indian judiciary at several instances interpreted Muslim law
in several cases. All these interpretations is generally relied
upon primary sources. Legislation, opinion of jurists and courts
have settled many important legal anomalies using judicial
interpretations.
2. Customs
• Customs are basically practices that people follow continuously
for a long period of time. In fact, it is followed for so long that it
obtains the status of law in some cases. In Muslim law there are
various customs which regulate the practices of people.
3. Legislation
• Muslim law in India is not codified, but the parliament has made
some laws to regulate Islamic practices. For ex. The Muslim
personal law (Shariat) Application Act, 1939.This act deals with
the marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among
Muslims.
