The Application of Sharia

Overview

Branches of law (fiqh).
Sharia is applied through the branches of fiqh (“understanding”), covering: worship; family relations; inheritance; commerce; property; civil/tort; criminal; administration; taxation; constitutional questions; international relations; war and ethics; and more.

Schools of jurisprudence.
Four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi‘i) and two major Shi‘ite schools (Ja‘fari/Twelver and Ismaili/Fatimid) codified Islamic law by the 10th century. From then to now, fiqh has remained largely fixed. Despite some variation and greater room for ijtihad in traditional Shi‘ite practice, the major schools agree on well over 70% of substantive matters. Al-Azhar (Sunni) formally recognized Shi‘a Islam as legitimate in 1959, and Iran’s 1989 constitution explicitly recognized the four Sunni madhhabs alongside Ja‘fari fiqh.

Scope and objective.
Under Sharia, doctrine, practice, theology, and believers are subject to a comprehensive code. Jihad is fought in obedience to that code with the stated aim of imposing Sharia globally. Sharia is the law of the land in Dar al-Islam (where it is implemented) and the objective in Dar al-Harb (where it is not yet implemented).

Character and constitutional conflict.
Sharia prescribes a total system—legal, political, social, economic—with harsh penalties for certain offenses and categorical rules affecting women, non-Muslims, apostates, sexual conduct, and more. In these respects it is at odds with U.S. national sovereignty, the Constitution, and the liberties it guarantees.

What Mainstream Legal Voices Say About Sharia’s Central Claims

Abdur Rahman I. Doi (Shariah: The Islamic Law):

• “Allah is the Lawgiver and the whole ummah… is merely His trustee.”
• The Islamic state views Dar al-Islam as a single commonwealth with one ideology “in all matters both spiritual and temporal.”
• Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone; the community’s rule-making is derivative, not law-creating in its own right.
  Implication: Sharia and majoritarian democracy are incompatible in principle.

Mohammad Hashim Kamali (Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence):

• “Sovereignty in Islam is the prerogative of Almighty Allah alone.”
• Neither ruler, assembly, nor community determines ultimate values; at most, the people exercise delegated or executive authority.
  Implication: Popular sovereignty is not the source of law; divine law is.

Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee (Theories of Islamic Law: The Methodology of Ijtihad):

• Islam is a “complete way of life,” with Sharia at its core.
• “No other sovereign or authority is acceptable to the Muslim, unless it guarantees the application of these laws in their entirety.”
• The laws extend across every area of life: politics, private transactions, criminal justice, traffic, ritual, international law, taxation, finance, white-collar crime—everything.
  Implication: Comprehensive application is the goal, not selective accommodation.

On immutability and consensus.

• Doi: Sharia “was not revealed for limited application for a specific age. It will suit every age and time… Its injunctions… do not become obsolete.”
• Classical doctrine holds that, within the first two centuries after Muhammad’s death, recognized scholars reached consensus (ijma) on core issues. Once consensus attaches, that rule becomes permanently part of sacred law.
• Yusuf al-Qaradawi (MB spiritual leader): “The Sharia cannot be amended to conform to changing human values and standards. Rather, it is the absolute norm to which all human values and conduct must conform.”

Quranic Framing Often Cited for Judgment by Divine Law

As summarized by Doi:

• “And if any fail to judge by the light of what Allah has revealed, they are not better than those who rebel.” (5:50)
• “…they are no better than wrong-doers.” (5:48)
• “…they are no better than unbelievers.” (5:47)

Implication: Ruling by man-made law, instead of divine command, is condemned in escalating terms.

A Contemporary Textbook Example

In the popular English-language school text What Islam Is All About (used in U.S. Islamic schools and even in some federal prison programs):

• “Allah’s laws and commandments must form the basis for all human affairs.”
• “The basis of the legal and political system is the Sharia of Allah. Its main sources are the Quran and Sunnah. Muslims dream of establishing the power of Islam in the world.”
• “The law of the land is the Sharia of Allah.”

Bottom Line

Across classical schools and mainstream jurists, Sharia is presented as a comprehensive, immutable legal order in which sovereignty belongs to Allah, not the people; the community’s authority is derivative; and the aim is full application “in every area of life.” By design, that framework conflicts with a constitutional system grounded in popular sovereignty, equal protection, individual rights, and man-made law as the supreme law of the land.

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