Shari'a

The law of Islam believed by Muslims to be based on divine revelation. It consists of the Koran (or Quran or Qur'an), with the Sunna, the Hadith, and the Sirah as written secondary sources. Other sources include the usual custom of the Muslim community, and the agreement of Muslim lawyers or the opinion of one pious Muslim lawyer. Under the Shari'a, qisās, or retribution, allows a family to exact equal punishment on an accused; diyat, or blood money, is payable to a dead person's family as compensation.

From the latter part of the 19th century, the role of the Shari'a courts in the majority of Muslim countries began to be taken over by secular courts, and the Shari'a to be largely restricted to family law. Modifications of Koranic maxims have resulted from the introduction of Western law; for example, compensation can now be claimed only after a conviction by a criminal court.

In the Shari'a courts, Muslim lawyers look for similar examples in the written sources to the situation being judged, and also refer to the Muslim law schools which vary in opinion in different parts of the world.