Sharia (شَرِيعَة) is the name for Muslim law: the path of guidance Allah set out in the Quran and through the Prophet ﷺ, for worship and for every part of daily life. The rulings scholars derive from it are called fiqh.
The term
Sharia (also spelled shariah or shari'a) is what Muslim law is called. More exactly, it is the path of guidance Allah gave in the Quran and through the Prophet ﷺ, covering worship, family life, money, food, manners and justice. The detailed rulings that scholars work out from it are called fiqh. So if a question asks "Muslim law is called...", the answer is sharia, and "Islamic jurisprudence" is fiqh.
Sharia comes from the root sh-r-ʿ. In old Arabic, a shariʿah was the way down to a river where people and animals came to drink: a clear, well-used path to water. Water gives life, and the sharia is the path to what gives life to the soul. The word is in the Quran:
ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَٰكَ عَلَىٰ شَرِيعَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ فَٱتَّبِعْهَا وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَآءَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Summa ja'alnaaka 'alaa sharee'atim minal amri fattabi'haa wa laa tattabi'ahwaaa'al-lazeena laa ya'lamoon
"Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know."
Quran 45:18 · translation by Sahih International
A close word, shirʿah, appears where the Quran speaks of earlier prophets: "To each of you We prescribed a law and a method" (5:48). And Allah "has ordained (sharaʿa) for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah" (42:13). The beliefs of all the prophets were the same; the details of their laws differed, until the final sharia came with Muhammad ﷺ.
| Sharia | Fiqh | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The guidance revealed by Allah in the Quran and Sunnah | The scholars' understanding of it: the detailed rulings |
| Who makes it | Allah, through revelation | Qualified scholars (mujtahids), through careful study |
| Can it be wrong? | No | A scholar can be mistaken, so schools can differ |
| Example | The command to establish the prayer (2:43) | When Asr begins; what breaks wudu |
Each school adds its own methods, such as istihsan and custom (urf) in the Hanafi school. The full picture is in our guide What is Sharia?
A madhhab is a school of fiqh. Sunni Muslims follow four: the Hanafi (Imam Abu Hanifa, died 767 CE), Maliki (Imam Malik, died 795), Shafi'i (Imam al-Shafi'i, died 820) and Hanbali (Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, died 855). Most Twelver Shia Muslims follow the Ja'fari school. The schools agree on the great majority of questions and respect each other. Where they differ, it is on details, like this one:
Witr is wajib, a step below fard: three rakahs with one salam, with the qunut dua before the ruku of the third rakah.
AmalKit gives the Hanafi position first and shows the others where they differ. See Hanafi vs Shafi'i for more examples.
| When | What the sharia guides |
|---|---|
| On waking | Wudu and the Fajr prayer |
| At meals | Halal food, saying Bismillah, eating with the right hand |
| At work or school | Honesty, keeping promises, no cheating, no interest (riba) |
| With family | Kindness to parents, the rights of a spouse and children |
| With money | Zakat, charity, writing debts down (2:282) |
| At night | Isha and witr, the duas before sleep |
Every act falls into one of five rulings: fard (obligatory), sunnah or mustahabb (recommended), mubah (allowed), makruh (disliked) and haram (forbidden). Most of daily life is simply mubah.
| Arabic | Say it as | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الشَّرِيعَةُ الإِسْلَامِيَّة | ash-sharīʿah al-islāmiyyah | Islamic sharia |
| مَقَاصِدُ الشَّرِيعَة | maqāṣid ash-sharīʿah | The goals of the sharia: protecting religion, life, mind, family and wealth |
| الشَّرْع | ash-sharʿ | The revealed law |
| شَرْعِيّ | sharʿī | According to the sharia; lawful |
| حُكْم شَرْعِيّ | ḥukm sharʿī | A ruling of the sharia |
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Sharia (also spelled shariah). It is the path of guidance from the Quran and Sunnah. The detailed rulings scholars derive from it are called fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence.
Sharia is the guidance revealed by Allah and cannot be wrong. Fiqh is the human understanding of it, worked out by scholars, which is why the schools can differ.
Yes. Quran 45:18 says: "Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it." The Arabic for "an ordained way" is shariah.
The four Sunni schools of fiqh: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, named after Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
Its acts of worship, such as prayer and fasting, are for Muslims only. Muslims living in non-Muslim countries follow the law of the land, as part of keeping their agreements.