The Sources of Sharia

Sharia draws its authority from four sources: the Quran, the Sunna, ijma (scholarly consensus), and qiyas (reasoning by analogy). The Quran—held to be the uncreated, eternal word of Allah—is primary. The Sunna (especially hadith) records what Muhammad said and did. When explicit rulings aren’t found there, jurists turn to ijma and qiyas to settle questions and extend the law.

The Quran

• Considered Allah’s uncreated word, revealed in Arabic to Muhammad over ~22 years (610–632).

• Muslims regard its guidance as timeless and universally applicable.

• The text has 114 suras; early revelations are associated with Mecca (often milder), later ones with Medina (often more legal/commanding).

• The book is not arranged chronologically but roughly from longest to shortest suras, which complicates reading and context. A standardized codex was produced under Caliph Uthman (~650), with earlier variants suppressed.

Abrogation (al-mansukh wa-l-nasikh)

• Later revelations can supersede earlier ones. This matters because some verses conflict; jurists therefore rely on abrogation to determine which rule governs.

• The Quran itself articulates the principle:

“When we cancel a message, or throw it into oblivion, we replace it with one better or one similar.” (Q 2:106)

• In practice, Medinan verses take precedence over Meccan ones on the same topic; later Medinan verses can override earlier Medinan verses. Judges must know the abrogating/abrogated passages of their school.

Progressive Revelation

• Revelation unfolded in stages matching the early Muslim community’s circumstances: restraint in Mecca; permission to fight after the move to Medina; then offensive commands as power grew (e.g., Sura 9). Examples frequently cited by Sharia-adherent ideologues:

  “Fight and slay the unbelievers wherever ye find them…” (Q 9:5)

  “Fight those who believe not in Allah… even if they are of the People of the Book… until they pay the jizya… and feel themselves subdued.” (Q 9:29)

Verses Cited for Supremacism and Separation

• On exclusivity of the faith:

  “Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam will never have it accepted of him…” (Q 3:85)

• On non-Muslims:

  “…the most vile of created beings.” (Q 98:6)

• On alliances:

  “Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors…” (Q 5:51)

• On divine punishment imagery used polemically:

  “…some He transformed into apes and swine…” (Q 5:60)

Bottom line for the Quran section: Abrogation plus progressive revelation yields a doctrinal footprint in which later, more commanding Medinan texts govern key legal and political questions in Sharia.

The Sunna

• The Sunna comprises what Muhammad said and did; legally, the hadith are the operative part (the Sira is biographical background).

• Among many collections, six are classically “sound,” with Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim regarded as the most authoritative.

• Sharia rulings routinely combine Quranic verses with hadith-based details (definitions, procedures, penalties).

Ijma (Consensus)

• When explicit rulings aren’t found in the Quran or Sunna, jurists rely on consensus among grand scholars of the past.

• The principle is grounded in Quranic and hadith endorsements of the community’s agreement (e.g., “My followers will never agree upon an error”).

• Once consensus attaches, it becomes part of the immutable body of law for that school.

Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)

• Reasoning by analogy extends existing rulings to new cases by comparing causes and principles found in the Quran, Sunna, and ijma.

• All four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Shafi‘i, Maliki, Hanbali) accept ijma and qiyas; Shi‘a jurisprudence substitutes ʿaql (“reason”) for Sunni ijma tied to caliphal authority, but in practice functions similarly to reach legal conclusions.

Practical Implications

• Because abrogation privileges later Medinan rulings and consensus locks in past determinations, Sharia’s political-legal core is treated as fixed and enforceable, not a flexible, modernizable ethics code.

• Jurists don’t personally reinvent these doctrines; they apply their school’s settled rulings, with ijma and qiyas filling gaps under the umbrella of the Quran and Sunna.

---