PAGE 1 – THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF THE SHARIA

PAGE 2 – HOW THE WILL OF GOD MAY BE KNOWN REGARDING CONTEMPORAY ISSUES

PAGE 3 – AUTHORITY

PAGE 4 – IMPORTANCE (GUIDE TO LIFE, ACCURACY)

PAGE 5 – DIFFERING UNDERSTANDINGS OF IJTIHAD

PAGE 6 – GLOSSARY

Nature and Authority of the Shari’a

In technical terms it is a clearly defined way of following the guidance of God that was left as a pattern for Islamic living by each of the messengers: Muhammad [SAW] left a Shari’a left for the Muslims that was based on the rules and regulations of the faith. We have seen this through the way Muslims pray five times a day keep the fast, obtaining the five pillars. The Shari’a is never an arbitrary law made up by the prophets or by a vote
Sunni interpretations;
Individual opinion’s and Qiya’s play an important role in many Sunni legal traditions, forming the basis of much of Sunni jurisprudence. In addition to tafsīr, the sunnah, and ijma’, Sunni traditions generally regard Qiya’s as the fourth source of deducing the law.
Other methods of legal judgments such as mafhm al-nass (the clear implication of the text), tamthil (similarity or likeness), istihsan, or istislah (consideration of public interest), either explicitly rely on Qiya’s or use methods of analysis that are similar in their understanding of Qiya’s. In Sunni traditions, there are a range of attitudes regarding the validity of these methods. The Sunni Hanbalis, rejected Qiya’s, arguing that they rely on personal opinion in law-making would mean that each individual would ultimately form their own subjective conclusions.
Shi’a interpretations;
Not unlike the Sunni Hanbalis, the Shi’a rejected subjective opinion because of the multitude of perspectives that would arise from it. There are various instances in which the Qur'an disapproves of a divergence of beliefs such as the following:

“And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere” (Surah 8: Ayah 46)

Ijma;
Ijma is an Arabic term referring