Sharia'a Law: It is not only Lawyers who Need to Know About It

This chapter explains how an appreciation of Sharia'a law is essential to anyone seeking to grasp the principles within which Islamic banking has evolved. Every Muslim who is capable and qualified to give a sound opinion on matters of Sharia'a is entitled to interpret the law of Allah when such interpretation becomes necessary. In this sense Islam is a democracy. The Sharia'a is represented by the Council of Jurists (Ulema and Fuqaha) in whom the legislative function of deriving laws from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah is vested. New laws according to the needs of the time and circumstances are only made by these men learned in the guiding principles of Sharia'a law. The difference between other legal systems and the Sharia'a is that, under the Sharia'a, its fountainhead is the Qur'an and Sunnah. The jurist must resort to the Sunnah only when he fails to find any guidance in the Qur'an.