"Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition."
Islamic Law (Sharia) is a comprehensive legal system that covers all aspects of life, including personal morality, economics, and politics.
"Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources of Sharia: the Quran, sunnah (authentic hadith), qiyas (analogical reasoning), and ijma (juridical consensus)."
"In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to Allah's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations."
"Sharia has never been the sole valid legal system in Islam, and has always been used alongside urf (customary law) from the beginning."
"Traditional jurisprudence (fiqh) distinguishes two principal branches of law, ʿibādāt (rituals) and muʿāmalāt (social relations)."
"Four Sunni Madhhab (legal school of Sunni Islam), Hanafi, Maliki, Shafiʽi, Hanbali and Zahiri, developed Sunni methodologies for deriving Sharia rulings."
"Its rulings are concerned with ethical standards as much as with legal norms, assigning actions to one of five categories: mandatory, recommended, neutral, abhorred, and prohibited."
"Elaborated over the centuries by legal opinions (fatwas) issued by qualified jurists (muftis) and historically applied in Sharia courts by ruler-appointed judges."
"ʿIbādāt (rituals) and muʿāmalāt (social relations), which together comprise a wide range of topics."
"The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim fundamentalists and modernists."
"There are progressives who argue that Sharia is compatible with democracy, human rights, freedom of thought, women's rights, and banking."
"The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECtHR) ruled in several cases that Sharia is 'incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy.'"
"While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to Sharia, its rules are largely retained only in family law."
"Judicial procedures and legal education have likewise been brought in line with European practice."
"The Islamic revival of the late 20th century brought calls by Islamic movements for full implementation of Sharia, including hudud corporal punishments, such as stoning."
"Legal schools have emerged, reflecting the preferences of particular societies and governments, through their work on the theoretical (usul) and practical application (füru/fetva) of laws and regulations."
"Sharia has always been used alongside urf (customary law) from the beginning."
"While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to Sharia, its rules are largely retained only in family law."
"Its rulings are concerned with ethical standards as much as with legal norms, assigning actions to one of five categories: mandatory, recommended, neutral, abhorred, and prohibited."
"Sharia courts [were] historically applied by ruler-appointed judges."