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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Shari`a (Islamic Law)

Introduction, general overviews.

Qur'an as a Source of Law
Hadith/Sunna as a Source of Law
Ijmaʿ (Consensus) as a Source of Law
Qiyas (Analogy) as a Source of Law
Istihsan as a Method of Legal Reasoning
Maslaha as a Method of Legal Reasoning
Legal Maxims (Qawaʿid fiqhiyya)
Maqasid al-shariʿa
Authority, ʿulama, Ijtihad
History of Islamic Law
Public Law: The State, Constitutionalism, Warfare
Criminal Law
International
Saudi Arabia
English Translations of Usul Al-Fiqh
English Translations of Fiqh (Positive Law)

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Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

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Shari`a (Islamic Law) by Andrew March LAST REVIEWED: 28 June 2019 LAST MODIFIED: 14 December 2009 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0048

Islamic law refers to the idea of a divine law as imagined by God ( shariʿa ), to Islamic moral epistemology and jurisprudence ( usul al-fiqh ), to doctrines of positive law as formulated by the Islamic legal schools ( fiqh ), and in general to the applied legal order of Muslim polities when it makes some claim to religious legitimacy ( sulta , siyasa , qanun ). Interest in Islamic law, always steady, has grown significantly since the early 1990s. The study of Islamic law in the academy tends to center around the following themes and issues: classical legal theory ( usul al-fiqh ) as a branch of Islamic religious thought, classical positive law as a source for social history, Islamic law as codified state law in the late Ottoman Empire and post-colonial Muslim countries, and (more recently) Islamic law as Islamic ethics and its evolution in the contemporary world.

The following are some important general overviews of Islamic law as an ideal-theoretical endeavor and some problems of studying Islamic law in practice. The works of Goldziher 1981 and Schacht 1964 represent the first few generations of modern Western (“Orientalist”) scholarship on Islamic law and theology. Their contributions have been built on, and corrected for, by others such as Wael Hallaq.

Amanat, Abbas, and Frank Griffel, eds. Shariʿa: Islamic Law in the Contemporary Context . Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007.

Edited volume by a number of prominent scholars that includes essays examining a range of issues, from modern Muslim discourses on justice, natural law, and the common good, to democracy, the social contract, and “the authority of the preeminent jurist” (Khomeini's vilayet-e-faqih ).

Bearman, Peri, Wolfhart Heinrichs, and Bernard G. Weiss. The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shariʿa. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008.

Collection of essays in honor of Frank Vogel on a wide variety of topics broadly connected to the application of Islamic law.

Doi, ʿAbdur Rahman I. Shariʿah: the Islamic Law . Kuala Lumpur: A. S. Noordeen, 2002.

Thematic introduction to both jurisprudence and positive law.

Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. Shariʿah Law: An Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oneworld, 2008.

An introduction to a number of aspects of Islamic law, with a recognizable slant towards Kamali's modernist and reformist views. The chapters on legal maxims and the maqasid al-shariʿa are very helpful, although most readers will find the book less useful for the study of Islamic jurisprudence than his Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence .

Goldziher, Ignaz. Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981 [1910].

Goldziher's classic lectures on Islamic theology and law from 1910.

Schacht, Joseph. An Introduction to Islamic Law . Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1964.

This work represented the state of knowledge of Western scholarship on Islamic law, along with his Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence . It should now be read alongside more recent works, particularly those by Hallaq.

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Women’s Rights, Shari ‘ a Law, and the Secularization of Islam in Iran

Published: 12 June 2013
Volume 26 , pages 237–253, ( 2013 )

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Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi 1 , 2

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Rather than a simple imposition of the shari ‘ a law, the Islamization of postrevolutionary Iran transpired at the intersection of political necessities, social realities, religious considerations, and legislative initiatives. As much as the Islamization project transformed society, this social transformation also reconfigured the meaning of the shari ‘ a and expanded the boundaries of communities with interpretive authority over its legal injunctions. The Iranian postrevolutionary experience highlights the fallacies of bifurcated conceptions of religion and politics and more specifically that of church and state. Through the examination of two important legislations on abortion rights and women’s inheritance, I show the contingencies in which the shari ‘ a is understood and contested in public. The success or failure of the Islamic Republic depends not on the separation of church and state but on how pluralistic and open the communities that lay claim on religious interpretive authority will become.

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Women, Islam, and the Law: Womanism, Shari’a, and Human Rights in Africa

Muslim Women in Modern India: Public Debates from Identity to Religious Freedom to the Citizenship Amendment Act

Women, Islam, and the Law

For a detailed discussion on drafting the constitution, see Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi ( 2008 ).

Shari ‘ a or Islamic legal sanctions and moral/social codes has always been a contested source of Islamic law. There are five different major schools of thought in Islamic legal tradition, each with its own diverse interpretive schools. The codification of shari ‘ a into a legal system, and thus making it into a coherent set of juridical practices, was a nineteenth century modernizing attempt by Muslim scholars. For an introductory discussion, see M. H. Kamali ( 2008 ).

Although at the time this was the common view of the legal changes in Iran, there were also more nuanced analyses that looked at the law in practice. For example, see Patricia Higgins ( 1985 ).

The advocates of dynamic jurisprudence believed in the centrality of ijtihad or interpretive reasoning in legal matters. Traditionalists subscribed to a more literalist reading of the shari ‘ a . For a discussion of the two schools, see Ziba Mir-Hosseini ( 2002 and 2006 ).

Ayatollah Khomeini articulated the new regime’s position in 1979, a few months after the revolution. “Music is like a drug, whoever acquires the habit can no longer devote himself to important activities […] We must eliminate music because it means betraying our country and our youth. We must completely eliminate it” (cited in Youssefzadeh 2000 : 38).

For a theoretical critique of secularization theory, see Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi ( 2004 ).

Article 4 of the 1979 constitution delegates the authority to determine the compatibility of all civil and penal laws and regulations with the “Islamic criteria” to the 12-member panel of judges of the Guardian Council. According to Article 91, the Supreme Leader appoints six members of the Council and the other six are vetted and selected by the Parliament.

A cleric becomes a source of emulation when the community of religious scholars recognize his (there is an ongoing debate in the seminaries about whether women can also reach this position) interpretive authority in issuing opinions about legal matters and moral codes ( ijtihād ).

Among them were Baha’ al-Din Mahallati, Sadeq Ruhani, Ahmad Zanjani, Ali Tehrani, Mortaza Ha’eri Yazdi. See Arjomand 1989 : 155–7.

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Meibodi is cited in the same news report.

For an insightful analysis of the policy, see Homa Hoodfar ( 1996 ). Hoodfar shows how competing religious justification of birth control and family planning has allowed advocates of women’s rights to advance new women-centered interpretations of Islamic texts.

For a discussion on various religious interpretations of abortion in references to changing social conditions, see Daftar-e motāle ‘ āt va tahqiqāt-e zanān (The Office of Women’s Research and Study), “ Barresi-ye javāz va hormat-e seqt-s janin ” (“An analysis of the permission and prohibition of abortion”) in the journal Hurā ’, Fall 2007, no. 25, available online at http://www.womenrc.ir/index.php?sid=1&lang=fa&action=article&cat=45&id=300&artlang=fa . I need to emphasize that I do not intend to suggest that the entire theological and juridical debates over family planning and reproductive health issues among Shi‘i scholars are merely a matter of pragmatic expediency. These debates have centuries-old history and competing decrees have always been a part of Shi‘i juridical practice. What is distinct in this period is how these debates are articulated in public sphere and through mass media. For a short history, see Mehryar et al. 2007 .

Surat-e mashruh-e mozākerāt-e bāznegari-ye qānun-e asāsi-ye jomhuri-ye eslami-ye Iran ( The Complete Report of the Re-Appraisal of the Islamic Republic’s Constitution ), Vol. 1–2, Tehran: Center for the Islamic Revolution Documents, p. 837. Henceforth Bāznegari in the text.

http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/2922

“Principlism” or osul-gera ’ i first appeared in the Iranian political lexicon during the second-term presidency of Mohammad Khatami as an alternative to eslāh-talabi or reformism. Although principlists do not share a uniform political platform, they all believed that the reformist movement would lead the Republic towards secularism. One of the most common elements of their political philosophy is the comprehensiveness of the shari ‘ a . The responsibility of the Islamic state is to determine ways of implementing the mandates of Islam, rather than the reformist project of reinterpreting the shari ‘ a to correspond to the demands of contemporary society.

Reported in the Parliament News Network at http://www.parlemannews.ir/?n=2668 . Accessed October 28, 2009. For his political philosophy, see Mesbah Yazdi 2004 .

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Ghamari-Tabrizi, B. Women’s Rights, Shari ‘ a Law, and the Secularization of Islam in Iran. Int J Polit Cult Soc 26 , 237–253 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-013-9143-x

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Princeton Legal Journal

The Gender Dichotomy: How Sharia Law in the Seventh Century Granted Women Legal Empowerment

by Noura Shoukfeh

1 Prin.L.J.F. 44

The world’s youngest major religion, Islam, was established in the seventh century when the Prophet Muhammad amassed a following dedicated to the revelations he recieved in the Qur’an. The growth of Islam in the decades after Muhammad’s death, combined with the widespread need to implement a coherent ethical account of Islamic actions resulted in the development of an legal system known as Sharia law.

The Sharia system is based on three central components: the Quran (the central sacred text of Islam ) , Sunnah (the Prophet’s actions and non-Quranic statements), and fiqh (logic). Islamic law and practice stood in contrast to many of the practices of the surrounding Arabian tribes, particularly with regard to the roles and rights of individuals based on their gender. Notions of gender equity in Islamic law have vastly differed between academics and across time periods, however, many traditional and modern Islamic scholars argue that the way in which Sharia law was used in court precipitated considerable strides in the advancement of women’s rights, levelling the legal playing field between the two genders in the seventh century. Rights regarding inheritance, marriage and divorce, and the social classification of women, are three of the most debated spheres of Islamic law, both within dialogues of contemporary and traditional jurisdiction in terms of exemplifying the progression of women’s rights.

Atlaq and Mahr

Under the Quran, both men and women can petition for atlaq (divorce), and women do not need a specific reason to file for divorce (such as adultery) — the marriage having broken down is itself a plausible cause for divorce according to fuqaha (Islamic judges). In the seventh century, this right was not experienced by women across the world; in fact, the enactment of divorce by a woman was perceived as an uncommon act, and in many regions disallowed in court. For context, in England, women gained the right to divorce only in the nineteenth century under the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857,– upon colonizing the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, the British discovered “ Muslim women had already had the right to divorce for a thousand years” .

Although physical or mental neglect or abuse was not a prerequisite for a divorce to pass through the courts, the ability to divorce was particularly beneficial for Muslim women as it allowed them to leave marriages in which they were being improperly treated. However, it is important to note the distinction between the cases for divorce by men and women — the husband could divorce without cause, but the wife had to have the base reason of “incompatibility” for the initiation of a divorce . This distinction between the preconditions for men and women points to a separation in rights between genders. Nevertheless, in comparing the rights of Muslim women to non-Muslim women in the context of the 600s, the right for Muslim women to instigate a divorce was a significantly more progressive right than those extended to their non-Muslim counterparts in other regions of the world.

Before the topic of divorce entered the conversation, however, there was an inchoate concept known as “mahr” which established a “ wife as a contracting party in her own right to her own marriage ”. There are different legal interpretations of what the mahr can be or is meant to be, but generally, it is recognized as a “ gift or contribution made by the husband-to-be to his wife-to-be, for her exclusive property, as a mark of respect for the bride, and as recognition of her independence ”. It is similar in concept to a dowry which is prevalent in some Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian cultures, except, here, the female is receiving the gift or the “mahr” instead of the male. The two are also distinct in the fact that the dowry is used by the husband to take care of his wife, while the mahr consists of property and assets solely under the wife’s discretion. This early concept not only allowed a woman to have negotiating power within her marriage, but also served as a way to financially protect her in the case of the dissolution of the marriage; rights many women across other parts of the world did not enjoy.

Inheritance

In the pre-Islamic era, inheritance in the central Arabian region occurred on the basis of the patriarchal “ principle of proximity ,” in which wealth and estates were passed along the male lineage of the family, starting with immediate members and moving distally across family relations. The practice of gender-based inheritance put women at an immediate economic and social disadvantage as they would not have personal means to support themselves, and were thereby forced to rely on brothers, fathers, husbands, and other male relatives to provide and care for them. The adoption of Islam in the legal systems of the Hejaz, Najd, and Eastern Arabian regions marked the beginning of a new system of inheritance in which women were entitled to a share of viz (inheritance). The transmission of property and assets is complex and highly situationally varied in Islam, but the main difference between pre-Islamic and Islamic law is that under the Islamic rubric, daughters were able to receive an inheritance if a parental figure passed away.

Now, some modernist non-Islamic scholars nevertheless perceive the Islamic law’s bearing on inheritance as limiting for women, given that daughters receive one-half of the share of inheritance that their brothers receive. This is justified in the Qur’an through an explanation of different expectations of men and women based on their gender . Critically, the son receives twice the amount of inheritance, as under Sharia law it is required that men utilize their received finances to take care of and financially support the women of the family, including but not limited to his sister. Women, comparatively, are not under any legal obligation to employ their monetary assets for the benefit of the family. Thus, a woman’s entitlement to viz created a structure where women do not have to rely on their male family members, and provided them with financial sustainability, a luxury that women in non-Islamic Arabian tribes did not get to experience.

Social Status

The social classification of people is the basis of individuals’ treatment and the premise for the privileges people have access to under their respective legal systems. The non-Muslim Bedouin tribes dominating the Arabian Peninsula in the sixth and seventh centuries had rigid hierarchical social structures in which males were perceived as superior to women. Women had severely restricted rights and “ were often considered property to be inherited or seized in a tribal conflict. ” The reduction of women to “property” eradicated the legal rights of women, as under the law, they were not seen as individuals with rights but rather property that could be obtained. Under Islamic law, however, spiritual equality is granted to both men and women uniformly and without restriction, and as a result, placed women in an advantageous social position relative to the jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic) period’s treatment of women. Islamic law does take into account the physical and psychological differences between men and women, but in terms of many social roles, women and men are on equal footing. In this context, men and women are viewed as equals by God, and the only way for persons to be seen as above one another is through their enactment of deen (good deeds). Under this legal categorization of women as individuals with human rights rather than possessions of men, women were enabled to work, encouraged to receive an education, were capable of proprietorship, among other capabilities in the seventh and eighth centuries. The delineation of the woman’s position and standing within the Quran thus granted them abilities to utilize which non-Islamic women could not engage in due to social stratification within their respective communities.

In the context of its time and even in modern perception, Islamic law granted women followers innumerable human rights recognized under the law and addressed many of the inequalities women had been facing as a result of living in a structurally patriarchal society in the seventh century. The division of viz created monetary security for women, while the setup of mahr protected a woman’s finances prior to the initiation of a marriage. The request for divorce being accessible to women resulted in safety nets for women and the establishment of relative gender equity under the law in terms of social status established the fundamental access women have to their guaranteed rights outlined in the Quran. Whether specific Islamic societies actually enforced the rights entitled to women in court is a question to be debated– and is an issue highly prevalent in many modern Muslim countries with governmental enactment of Sharia as the law of the land. Nonetheless, in theory, the structural dynamics of Islamic law and the rights provided by it allowed Muslim women to enjoy many privileges typically experienced by men in the seventh century and creates a system in which women are meant to function independently of men.

An introduction to sharia law and the death penalty

One of the main justifications for the continued use of the ‘ultimate punishment’ in many Muslim countries is that sharia law mandates it and/or makes it permissible. However, is the administration of capital punishment in these jurisdictions consistent with sharia law, either in the ‘crimes’ it is imposed for or in the way that it is applied in practice?

Naima Asif Barrister, Pump Court Chambers

Time to read

The practice of capital punishment in Muslim states

In 2012, Sudan sentenced Intisar Sharif Abdalla, a mother of three, to death by stoning , for allegedly having committed adultery. Abdalla did not have access to a lawyer, was forced to confess after having been beaten by her brother and was not provided with an interpreter during the proceedings, which were conducted in Arabic (not her native language). Perhaps most alarmingly, her co-accused was not charged, on the basis that he denied the allegation against him. Such a case is clearly in breach of international standards for imposition of the death penalty but, I would argue, it is also in breach of sharia law.

Sharia law provides a holistic set of rules governing all aspects of life. The principal sources of sharia law are the Quran and Sunnah (practices and traditions of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)). There are two secondary sources of sharia law known as Ijma’a (consensus of Muslim scholars) and Qiyas (reasoning by legal analogy).

It is notable that there is no homogenous application of sharia law and the way in which Muslim states deploy the use of the death penalty can vary quite significantly. Arguably, it is better described as manifestations of the will of Muslim states rooted in each country’s idiosyncratic policies and traditional beliefs.

There are 33 offences warranting the death penalty in Pakistan, including blasphemy, sabotage of the railway system and drug smuggling . In Saudi Arabia, crimes such as sorcery and witchcraft are punishable by death, and in Iran, there are 24 reported capital crimes , which include espionage, economic crimes (if they amount to ‘corruption on earth’) and publishing pornography.

The evidence suggests that the use of the death penalty disproportionately targets religious minorities in some Muslim countries and is often used as a tool to further political agendas. For example, in April 2019, 14 protesters from the Shi’a minority were executed in Saudi Arabia , after a grossly unfair trial, for their alleged participation in anti-government demonstrations between 2011 and 2012. In 2016, Iran executed 25 Sunni men convicted of “enmity against God”, and in 2017, Pakistan sentenced 3 Ahmadi men to death for blasphemy because they tore down anti-Ahmadi posters, which the prosecution argued had such religious significance that tearing them down was equal to insulting the Prophet (pbuh).

Death sentences are often imposed and implemented in flagrant violation of an individual’s right to a fair trial, which is antithetical to sharia law. In September 2020, Iran executed 27-year-old Navid Afkari , a professional wrestler. He was accused of murdering a security guard during anti-government protests in 2018. Amnesty International reported Afkari was:

“subjected to a shocking catalogue of human rights violations and crimes, including enforced disappearance; torture and other ill-treatment, leading to forced “confessions”; and a denial of access to a lawyer and other fair trial guarantees.”

Afkari maintained his innocence and pleaded to the judiciary to investigate his complaints of forced confession and torture. His pleas were ignored and his execution carried out in secret, without his lawyer and/or family being informed and without affording him his right to a fair trial and due process.

Compatibility with the principles of sharia law

Whilst the use of the death penalty is permitted under sharia law, its application is only allowed in limited circumstances, ensuring the highest requirements of due process and having regard to the ‘overriding objective’ of Islam: justice, mercy and repentance.

There are three categories of crimes in sharia law:

qesas crimes, which refers to the retaliatory principle of “an eye for an eye” and includes homicide and the infliction of physical injury;
hudud crimes, which are crimes against God, and are considered the most serious offences under sharia law, for which punishments are prescribed in the Quran. This includes banditry and adultery; and
ta’azir crimes, which represent lesser crimes and for which punishment is at the discretion of the arbiter.

Although the Quran makes provision for the use of the death penalty for murder, a qesas crime, it also provides for other, more favourable, recourses to justice , which include restitution and forgiveness:

And We ordained for them herein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution. But whoever gives [up his right as] charity, it is an expiation for him. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the wrongdoers. (Quran 5:45)

If you punish, then punish with an equivalent of that which you were harmed. But if you are patient - it is better for the patient. (Quran 16:126)

The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto [in degree]; but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from God; for [God] loves not those who do wrong. (Quran 42:40)

In the case of hudud crimes, the punishments prescribed are severe, however the evidentiary requirements are so stringent that they can be almost impossible to meet. For example, in the case of zina (adultery), the punishment prescribed in the Quran is flogging, though some countries (as detailed above) impose the death penalty by stoning. However, in order to implement a punishment for zina , four ‘righteous’ eyewitnesses must testify to witnessing the act of intercourse and their testimonies must be consistent. Circumstantial evidence is not admissible, and pregnancy does not prove adultery. Unless such an act takes place in public, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which such stringent evidentiary requirements could be met. Where there is a confession, there are also strict requirements which must be adhered to , including that the confession must be wilful, freely repeated four times (it is recommended that the judge ignores the first three confessions) and that it must be a detailed confession.

It is widely accepted that the objective underlying punishment for hudud crimes is one of deterrence. Repentance acts as a bar to punishment and there is consensus among scholars that in the case of doubt punishment should not be imposed. The Prophet (pbuh) said :

“Do your best to avoid mandatory punishments. If you can find a way out for the accused, let him go. It is better for the ruler to err in granting a pardon than to err in enforcing a punishment.”

Above all, the cardinal principle of sharia law is fairness and equal justice, as demonstrated by one of the many verses in the Quran :

O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be [a case against a] rich or poor [person]: for God must be given preference over them. Follow not the lusts [of your hearts], lest you swerve, and if you distort [justice] or decline to do justice, verily God is well acquainted with all that ye do. (Quran 4:135)

The emphasis in the Quran is on mercy and forgiveness. There should be exoneration in the event of doubt or in the case of a hudud crime, repentance. There is strong evidence that such punishments, including the death penalty, were prescribed to act as a deterrent and not to be so liberally applied in practice. Whether one agrees with whether the death penalty should ever be used or not, it is hard to see how its widespread application today could be considered compatible with sharia law.

Naima Asif is a barrister at Pump Court Chambers . She is on Twitter at @naima_asif .

Additional references

M Cherif Bassouini, ‘Death as a Penalty in the Sharia’ in Peter Hodgkinson and William Schabas (eds), Capital Punishment: Strategies for Abolition (CUP 2004) 169-85.

Robert Postawko, ‘Towards an Islamic Critique of Capital Punishment’ (2002) UCLA JINEL 1 269, 318.

A good deed for the last 10 nights: Raise a voice for truth.

Women in Islamic Law: Examining Five Prevalent Myths

Published: July 24, 2019 • Updated: January 28, 2023

Author s : Safiah Chowdhury , Dr. Tesneem Alkiek , and Dr. Nazir Khan

Women in Islamic Law: Examining Five Prevalent Myths

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Updated: February 11, 2021

For more on this topic, see Does Islam Oppress Women? 5 Myths Animation Series and Gender and Islam

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General principles concerning islamic law and women, myth 1: islam instructs men to beat their wives.

The wife of Al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah came to the Prophet ﷺ , and she complained to him saying, “O Messenger of God! Indeed, Al-Walīd has beaten me!” The Prophet replied, “Tell him: the Prophet has protected me.” She returned shortly thereafter and said, “He only hit me more!” The Prophet tore a piece from his garment (as a symbol of proof) and he said, “Say to him: Verily, the Messenger of God has given me protection.” It was not long before she returned and said, “He only hit me more!” The Prophet raised his hands and he said, “O God, you must deal with Al-Walīd for he has violated my command twice.” 31

It is lawful for the authorities, when they know that spouses will not be able to implement the legislated reprimands appropriately, or if they will not stop from overstepping their limits, then the authorities can stop them from implementing such reprimands and announce that anyone who hits his wife will be liable to punishment, in order to avert the escalation of harm between spouses, particularly in times of weak personal restraint. 46

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Myth 2: women cannot divorce, myth 3: a woman’s testimony is worth only half a man’s.

You who believe, when you contract a debt for a stated term, put it down in writing...Call in two men as witnesses. If two men are not there, then call one man and two women out of those you approve as witnesses, so that if one of the two women should forget [or err] 79 the other can remind her. 80

There is no doubt that the reason for a plurality [of women in the Qur'anic verse] is [only] in recording testimony. However, when a woman is intelligent and remembers and is trustworthy in her religion, then the purpose [of testimony] is attained through her statement just as it is in her transmissions [in] religious [contexts]. 101

The results were clear-cut. Males were more accurate and less suggestible about the male-oriented items while females were more accurate and less suggestible about the female-oriented items. This finding provided clear support for the hypothesis that females and males tend to be accurate on different types of items, perhaps indicating their differential interest in particular items and corresponding differential amounts of attention paid to those items. 104

Myth 4: Inheritance laws favor men over women

In Muslim countries, laws governing inheritance are derived from verses in the Quran; men generally receive larger, sometimes double, the shares that women get. Distant male relatives can supersede wives, sisters and daughters, leaving women not just bereaved but also destitute. 120

The Moohummudan [sic] law of inheritance comprises, beyond question, the most refined and elaborate system of rules for the devolution of property that is known to the civilized world, and its beauty and symmetry are such that it is worthy to be studied, not only by lawyers with a view to its practical application, but for its own sake, and by those who have no other object in view than their intellectual culture and gratification. 121

Myth 5: Muslim men oppress women through polygamy

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers and articles are strictly those of the authors. Furthermore, Yaqeen does not endorse any of the personal views of the authors on any platform. Our team is diverse on all fronts, allowing for constant, enriching dialogue that helps us produce high-quality research.

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Feridon, Hassan. "The flexibility of Shariah (Islamic law) with reference to the Iranian experience." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.572844.

Ullah, Karim. "Adaptable service-system design : an analysis of Shariah finance in Pakistan." Thesis, Brunel University, 2014. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8281.

Fang, Shihao Eddy. "The diffusion of Shariah-based knowledge in global finance : a cognitive investigation among Western economic agents." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608053.

Zakariyah, Luqman. "Applications of legal maxims in Islamic criminal law with speciual reference to Shariah law in northern Nigeria (1999 - 2007)." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.504249.

Moosagie, Basheer Ahmed. "Shariah-compliant index derived from the FTSE100 vs. FTSE 100: 2003-2014 performance comparison." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96216.

Ghazali, Jaapar. "The concept and application of equity in Islamic law and in the Shariah courts in Malaysia." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.445601.

Thani, Ahmed Abdulla Farhan. "The projected Arab Court of Justice : a study to its draft statute and rules, with specific reference to the International Court of Justice and principles of Islamic Shariah." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1999. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1571/.

Khoshroo, Sajjad. "Islamic finance : the convergence of faith, capital, and power." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0ab321e8-0d54-40d6-a1ef-3a37a0a5ffe6.

Todorof, Maria Borisof. "Viability of Derivatives in Radical Islam. A Comparative Assessment of the Technical and Shariah-Compliant Characteristics of the Main Islamic Financial Instruments: Contracts & Defaults in the Prospect of Revivalism." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/668696.

Elbakry, Mohamed Mokbel Mahmud. "The legality of 'war' in Al-Shari'a Al-Islamiya (the Islamic Law) and contemporary international law." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1987. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/666/.

Elbakry, Mohamed Mokbel Mahmud. "The legality of "war" in Al-Shariʼa Al-Islamiya (the Islamic law) and contemporary international law compararative study /." Connect to e-thesis, 1987. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/666/.

Kirwin, Matthew Fitzrobert. "The socio-political effects of Nigerian Shari'a on Niger." Ohio : Ohio University, 2004. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1090266448.

Al-Shamrani, Ali Saeed. "Islamic financial contracting forms in Saudi Arabia : law and practice." Thesis, Brunel University, 2014. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/9145.

Abalkhil, Waleed Abdulaziz Abdullah. "Islamic finance in Saudi Arabia : developing the regulatory framework." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33596.

Alnaami, Khalid. "Criminal medical liability in Islamic law (Sharia) (with some applications in Saudi Arabia)." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683018.

Karim, Younis Mahmmod. "Good faith and negotiations in the CISG : a comparative study with Iraqi law, Islamic Sharia and English law." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2017. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.726803.

Abdel, Hadi Fouz. "Islamic Legislative Drafting Methodology for Women's Equality Rights in Palestine: Using Codification to Replace the Wife's Obedience Obligation by Full Equality in the Family Law." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/12748.

Khan, Omar Mahomed. "An investigation into the establishment of an Islamic banking enterprise in the Tshwane and surrounding areas / Omar Mahomed Khan." Thesis, North-West University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10167.

Ḥamawī, Usāmah Būṭī Muḥammad Saʻīd Ramaḍān. "Naẓarīyat al-istiḥsān risālah fī uṣūl al-fiqh uʻiddat li-nayl darajat al-Mājistīr min Kullīyat al-Sharīʻah bi-Jāmiʻat Dimashq /." Bayrūt ; Dimashq : Dār al-Khayr, 1992. http://books.google.com/books?id=WwTYAAAAMAAJ.

al-Rashidi, Madyous Fallah. "The practice of Iraq and Kuwait in treaty succession : a selective approach based on the Islamic legal theory." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/10536.

Hussin, Nasimah. "Discretionary punishment in Islamic law, with special reference to the sharīʻah courts of Malaysia." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21314.

Wan, Ahmad Wan Marhaini. "Zakat investment in Malaysia : a study of contemporary policy and practice in relation to Shari'a." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7550.

Ewing, Angela. "On Blasphemy: Immigrant Muslim Leaders in America." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6559.

Althabity, Mohammad M. "Enforceability of arbitral awards containing interest : a comparative study between Sharia law and positive laws." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/23090.

Randeree, Ghulaam Mustafa Goolam Mohiyoodeen. "Regulation 28 of Pension Fund Act conforming to Shari'ah requirements." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5676.

Al-Turki, Abdulrahman A. N. "Capital punishment for drug offences in Islam and its application in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.325609.

Alkhamees, Ahmad. "A critique of creative Shari‘ah compliance in the Islamic finance industry with reference to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2014. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/65045/.

Alsoufi, Rana Hajaj Ahmaid. "Strategies for the justifications of Ḥudūd Allah and their punishments in the Islamic tradition." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7989.

Welchman, Lynn. "Beyond the code Muslim family law and the shariʼa judiciary in the Palestinian West Bank /." The Hague ; London ; Boston : Kluwer Law International, 2000. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37739801w.

El, Sharif Bahgat Bahgat Khalil. "Law and practice of profit-sharing in Islamic banking with particular reference to mudarabah and murabahah." Thesis, University of Exeter, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.280677.

Nurasiah. "Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-Arabī and Sharīah." Thesis, McGill University, 1998. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21246.

Khashman, Zainab Nimer Rajab. "Law and the protection of women from violence in Jordan." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2018. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/78764/.

Mosmar, Mohammed Ghaith Ali. "Civil liability in the Jordanian Civil Code : a comparative study with the Shari'a." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.267513.

Tahir, Karwan. "Sharia eller västerländsk jämställdhet? : Kvinnor i egyptisk lagstiftning." Thesis, Örebro University, Department of Social and Political Sciences, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-959.

Sharia or western equality?

in Egyptian legislation

The Islamic law (Sharia) in most of the countries in Middle East and North Africa has been the basis for modern laws which regulate issues such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. These laws (personal status law or family law) have been debated frequently in the last decades.

There are those who consider personal status law (PSL) as unjust, male-biased and discriminating against women especially in the issue of divorce. On the other hand there are voices who call to go back to the Sharia, because muslims has to follow the islamic law and its values, they are universal as they claim. In this essay I try to enlighten these two points of view which can be found in the debate in Egypt. A country witch was first among the Arabic countries to adopt a modern jurisprudence.

Despite several reforms in personal status law (PSL) in the last 80 years women groups and international organisations consider that there are much more to be done.

This essay gives a historical background of Islamic jurisprudence, its development and islamic political ideas behind Sharia. It also describes PSL with divorce in focus.

Giunchi, Elisa. "The enforcement of the Zinā ordinance by the Federal Shariat Court in the period 1980-1990, and its impact on women." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.361696.

Al, Kiyumi Fawzi Mubarak. "Unfair dismissal study in Omani labour law with emphasis on the relevance of Shari’a." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/293775.

O'Sullivan, Declan Patrick. "Punishing apostasy : the case of Islam and Shari'a law re-considered." Thesis, Durham University, 2003. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1730/.

Abdullah, Thaidi Hussein 'Azeemi. "How can Maqāṣid al-sharīʻah contribute to the development of Islamic microfinance? : a study of the theory and its application in practice by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2018. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=237103.

Alkharashi, Suliman Abdullah. "Human rights in the stage of criminal investigation : a comparison between law and practice in Saudi Arabia and England and Wales." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/56824/.

Dabal, Ibrahim M. "The role of Islamic shari'a in drug abuse prevention and its impact on the citizens of the U.A.E." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.682996.

Ceres, Moegammad Soliegh. "Family Planning and Progeny as a means of enacting the Maqāsid al- Sharī’ah: A Critical analysis of the positions of Gamal Eldin Attia, Abul Faḍl Moḥsin Ebrāḥīm and ‘Abdel Raḥīm Omrān." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7874.

Weiffen, Brigitte. "Heiliges Recht in moderner Welt : die Scharia zwischen Stabilität und Wandel." Universität Potsdam, 2005. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/texte_eingeschraenkt_welttrends/2010/4806/.

Cusairi, Rafidah Binti Mohamad. "The application of Islamic Shari'ah to the Muslim minority living in the UK : a comparative study on family mediation between English law and faith-based med-arb at Shari'ah councils." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.636816.

Neumeister, Christian C. "The Emiratization of Shari'a: Islam, Modernization and the Legal System of the United Arab Emirates." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1142.

Beloushi, Hasan J. E. H. M. "The theory of maqāṣid al-sharīʿa in Shīʿī jurisprudence : Muḥammad Taqī al-Mudarrisī as a model." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/18525.

Mezhi, Mejbel Mezhi Bathal Alrashedi Ali. "In the context of both International Law and the application of Islamic Sharia Law, how effective have Kuwait and the Kuwaiti legal system been in addressing, preventing and combating human trafficking?" Thesis, University of Kent, 2017. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/62860/.

Bano, Samia. "Complexity, difference and 'Muslim Personal law' : rethinking the relationship between Shariah Councils and South Asian Muslim women in Britain." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2004. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1205/.

Ebrāhim, Badrudīn Sheikh Rashīd. "The form of Muslim government and its source of authority in contemporary Islamic thought : a comparative study of the views of Ayatollah Ruḥollah Khomeini and Sayyid Quţb." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5049.

Šichová, Petra. "Pojetí lidských práv v islámu a jeho odraz v mezinárodních vztazích." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2008. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-10988.

Johnsson, Jenny, and Mirjam Nilsson. "Vägen till vattenstället : Tre svenska imamers syn på sharia." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för lärarutbildning (LUT), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-4108.

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The Colonial reign of Bangladesh was influenced by Mughal and British Colonists,had a profound effect on the history, culture and socio political dynamics of the reign.In the middle of 18th Century British took their dominance in India which lasted for over two centuries until the Partition of India in 1947. Bangladesh saw economic and social transformations at this time, including the construction of a new legal system, modernised education, and improved infrastructure. The British, however, also contributed to divisiveness by enacting laws that widened religious and racial gaps between Muslims and Hindus. The Bengal split in 1905 fueled the expansion of the Indian independence movement, and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 made it clear how crucial it was to address socio economic shifts and problems experienced by women in the area.The legacy of feminism in the area was influenced by the colonial ethos of reform and resistance. Due to complaints over the underdeveloped status of women in the Indian subcontinent, the British government underwent extensive reforms. However, the fight for the emancipation of women took place in the midst of nationalist conflicts that aimed to modernise society, demand political independence, and affirm national identity.

Jasmin Lorch

From 1858 to 1947, the Muslim-majority region of East Bengal, which would later become Bangladesh, formed part of colonial British India. To strengthen their control over the local population, the British colonizers relied on the zamindars, feudal landlords belonging to the Hindu faith. In 1947, East Bengal became part of Pakistan, following the two-nation theory that the Hindu and the Muslim populations of British India should live in separate states. The Pakistani government passed land reform laws that effectively abolished the zamindar system, thereby eliminating an important section of the local colonial elite (Chowdury 2010).

Iffat Tasnim Pinky

From the beginning of the creation of Pakistan there had been controversies of language. In 1947, that controversy took a permanent place. In 1948, Dhirendranath Dattas' demand of using Bangla language beside English and Urdu was rejected. On 19th March, Muhammad Ali Jinnah proposed to write Bangla with Arabic alphabets and that made people of West Bengal angry. The movements in those times were the first movement against the Pakistani rulers. At that time people realized the importance of their own development by focusing on their mother tongue. In 1952s' Language Movement people erupted in protests. For violating section 144 on 21 February people were shot by police. Barkat, Jabber, Rafiq, Salam, Shafiur were killed. Those massacres made a big reaction in the minds of Bengalis. This movement made the people of the country aware of their rights, unity and freedom. They realized that they need to develop politics, economy, education, culture with their own identity as Bengali. This unity of identity later played a role in the establishment of the state of Bangladesh.

Willem van Schendel, A History of Bangladesh (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed., 2020)

Willem van Schendel

Publisher's abstract: Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel’s state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike. Table of Contents List of Plates List of Maps and Figures Acknowledgements Timeline Preface to second edition Introduction Part I. The Long View 1. A land of water and silt 2. Jungle, fields, cities and states 3. A region of multiple frontiers 4. The delta as a crossroads Part II. Colonial Encounters 5. From the Mughal empire to the British empire 6. British legacies 7. A closing agrarian frontier 8. Colonial conflicts 9. Towards Partition 10. Partition 11. Population exchange Part III. Becoming East Pakistan 12. The Pakistan experiment 13. Pakistan falls apart 14. East Pakistani livelihoods 15. The roots of aid dependence 16. A new elite and cultural renewal Part IV. War and the Birth of Bangladesh 17. Armed conflict 18. A state is born 19. Imagining a new nation Part V. Independent Bangladesh 20. Shaping a political system 21. The triumph of identity politics 22. Transnational linkages 23. Boom or bust? 24. Gender movements 25. A national culture? Conclusions Bangladesh district maps Key political figures since 1947 Glossary of Bengali terms Notes Bibliography Index Links: https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/history/south-asian-history/history-bangladesh-2nd-edition?format=PB https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/south-asian-history/history-bangladesh-2nd-edition?format=PB https://books.google.se/books?id=Io7mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR4&dq=bangladesh+history+2020&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf4pi6v8LqAhWy5KYKHaftB80Q6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Mohammad Rafi

Hanif Islam

Contemporary South Asia

kaniz marzia

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The Divorce Issue in Sharia Law

Sharia law initially provided gender inequality. However, within the world’s attitude and call for equality, there are still countries (for instance, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Mauritania) that live according to this law, entirely following all its ideas, including the divorce issue. Thus, it is advisable to examine the divorce perception provided by Sharia law in order to determine the level of the women’s rights in the countries which live in accordance with this law and those ones in which the transformation of the Islamic law under the influence of the foreign law occurred.

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The Muslim law (Sharia) is the civilizational phenomenon. It combines two types of elements: religious (irrational) and secular (rational) ones (Mohammad, 2014). It is the legal system which has eventually acquired the global significance and has taken its shape within the framework of the Arab Caliphate. The process of its development was closely linked to the evolution of the Arab statehood. The sources of Sharia were extremely diverse. The most significant among them were the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the “sacred tradition”), which included the stories (hadith) about the actions and sayings of Muhammad outlined by his associates (Mohammad, 2014).

The Muslim law originally came from the fact that the human activity was ultimately determined by the divine revelation. However, it did not exclude the person’s possibility to choose and find the proper orientation of his or her actions. Thus, Sharia observed the failure of the proper behavior not only as a legal violation, but also as a religious sin entailing the highest retribution.

Sharia permits divorces but in any case does not approve them. According to the Ja’fari jurisprudence, seven types of women defects and deficiencies (both physical and mental) can be the reason for termination of the marriage contract. They include madness, blindness, leprosy, impotence, weakness, combination of anal or urinary channels with menstrual one, or women genitals which make sexual intercourse be impossible (Mohammad, 2014). The woman also has a right to raise the issue of divorce if she finds out after the wedding that her husband is crazy, suffering of the male impotence, castrated, or has a disease which hinders normal sexual life.

The husband or the wife who became aware of these defects or vices can break the marriage without issuing the talaq divorce (Mohammad, 2014). Considering the ethical and psychological factors, Sharia requires to keep the reasons of the divorce without divulging in any case. If the wife demands a divorce because of her husband’s impotence, he is obliged to pay a half of the mahr – the premarital gift. If he did not have any sexual intercourse with her (or even was not left alone with her for a time sufficient for the sexual intercourse), in a divorce the wife gets nothing. Contrarily, the divorced gets all the mahr if her husband had intercourse with her (or stayed alone with her for a time sufficient for the sexual intercourse).

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Precepts of Sharia Law Concerning the Termination of the Marriage

Any researcher studying the perceptions of Sharia about the family and the marital relations can conclude that a remarkable ease and absence of any formalities are distinctive for the divorce under the Muslim law, in contrast to many other religious and secular laws of the world (Mohammad, 2014). The amazing thing is that Islam, so jealously fighting against celibacy and monasticism, creates extremely light conditions for the dissolution of the marriage. And the paradox is that despite such easy legal mechanism of divorcement, the Muslims divorce quite rarely. There are quite strict Islamic moral principles which regulate this issue. Sharia condemns divorce and leaving the family or children without substantial reason (Mohammad, 2014). The man who has frequent marriages and divorces loses the prestige and respect in the Muslim society.

In the case of divorce, a man is more free in his actions than a woman, although formally has the similar right (Mohammad, 2014). The only conditions which Sharia puts before a man who wishes to divorce is his being in the sound mind and not forced by anyone in this desire. In addition, during the divorce, the woman should be free from menstruation and the husband must not have intercourse with her. The husband can give a divorce to his wife in her menstruation period under the following conditions: if he did not have with her any sexual intercourse or he knows that she is pregnant; or in the situation when the husband is in the other place and does not know whether she is free from the menses. If the husband had close relationship with his wife after the cessation of her menstrual period, he is obliged to wait for the second period of menstruation to divorce with her (Mohammad, 2014).

The dissolution of the marriage is carried out, like the marriage contract, by reading the formula in Arabic. While the bride reads the formula of the marriage contract first, her husband should pronounce the divorce formula first. The Muslim divorce formula sounds in Arabic as “My wife Fatima is free” (Mohammad, 2014). The husband’s lawyer can also arrange the marriage termination. According to Sharia, the wife cannot refuse her husband’s desire to obtain the divorce, thus she can only accept it. As a rule, she has a right to protest only if the reason for the divorce is a charge in betrayal (Mohammad, 2014). In this case, the husband has to provide the testimony of the witnesses who are able to confirm the guilt of his wife. If the husband is not able to prove the guilt of his wife, he will be punished for the slandering of the Muslim woman.

A woman who got a divorce, as well as and a widow, cannot immediately get married, and the time when she can not get married is called iddah (Mohammad, 2014). The Ja’fari law establishes the following rules: the right to marry immediately after the marriage termination is given to a woman who is less than 9 or more than 50 years old, as the Muslims believe that the women of this age cannot have children. Thus, they do not have to wait for the expiration of the post-divorce term. Iddah lasts for three menstrual cycles or up to 4 months and 10 days. The woman getting a divorce who had no close relationships with her husband has a right not to wait for the period of iddah and can marry right after her divorce with the first husband. One of the goals of the iddah is to find out whether a woman is pregnant, becoming a widow, or getting the divorce. Another goal is to facilitate the family restoration in the case of reckless divorce (Mohammad, 2014). One can consider the accouchement to be the end of the iddah period. For example, if the husband gave his wife the divorce, and she gave birth to a child in one hour, she would be free from the iddah right after the birth.

Shariah comprehensively regulates all aspects of Muslim life. Its rules regulate even such purely personal issue as the behavior of the woman who has lost her husband (Mohammad, 2014). According to Sharia, non-pregnant woman whose husband has died is obliged to comply the mourning period for 4 months and 10 days, and only then she can marry again. If she was pregnant after her husband’s death, the mourning period continues until the accouchement. During the period of mourning, the widow is forbidden to wear bright dresses, color her eyebrows, beautify herself and decorate the apartment. Even the slightest mistake in violating the rules during the compliance of the mourning for her husband is unacceptable. So, if a woman married after the mourning period, and suddenly people find out that her first husband died later than expected, she had to get a divorce from her second husband and wait for the expiration of the full mourning period.

Shariah practices two basic types of divorce: a complete divorce (talaq bain) and a divorce with the possibility of returning to the previous family relations (talaq raji) (Mohammad, 2014). After talaq bain divorce, the husband can regain his wife only after the following steps. First, the former wife should complete the period of iddah. Then, she has to enter the full-fledged marriage with another man and divorce with him. And after the expiry of the iddah, she is able to marry her first husband again. Thus, bain talaq divorce is definitive. The Ja’fari jurisprudence specifies the following variants of talaq bain. First, the definitive receives the wife if she has not reached the age of nine or her age is over than 50 years. The second case of the talaq bain occurs if the husband has not had close relationship with the woman after signing the marriage contract. The divorce automatically becomes ultimate if it is the third talaq (Mohammad, 2014).

Thus, the Muslim woman of the age of 50, after getting a divorce, loses the right to return to her husband, and the husband cannot return her by signing the new marriage contract. The woman who for some reason did not have the intimate relationships with her husband, after getting divorce, loses the right to return to her husband as well. The easiest at the first glace but the most severe according to the consequences is so-called triple talaq. At the moment when the husband angrily repeats three times: “you are not my wife,” the spouses, according to some Muslim researchers’ beliefs, immediately become forbidden for each other. If the wife desires to restore the previous family, she has to marry someone else, divorce with him, and only after that she is able to return to her former husband. However, even in this case, Islam does not accept the fictitious marriage. As a rule, the husband finds himself the false husband for his wife. Therefore, in their sermons, the Muslim preachers often warn men and women not to treat giddily to the word “talaq”.

Raji is literally not the final divorce. The term “raji” means “returning” (Mohammad, 2014). Thus, the husband giving his wife a divorce can repent and desire to return her back. The husband in this case does not lose the right to reconcile with his wife and return to his family. As a rule, after the talaq raji iddah, the wife does not leave her husband’s house. Sharia encourages the husband during his return to the wife not to admit publicly about his mistake but only to make it clear to his wife with the hints that he returns to her. That is the reason of the Shariah requirement not to deport the wife out of her previous husband’s house right after the divorce (Mohammad, 2014). If the husband decides to return to his wife after the first or second divorce raji, then there is no need in any witnesses.

Hulu is the type of the divorce in which the wife must financially compensate the marriage compensation to her husband, rewarding him for giving her the freedom (Mohammad, 2014). The wife offers her husband her mahr or some other property as a gift for the right to get a divorce with him. However, neither wife nor husband deepens into the reasons which forced the woman to make this step. If the husband agrees to the compromise divorce, Sharia considers it legitimate.

The divorce through the renunciation (mubarat) is quite similar to the hulu divorce, but there are differences between them (Mohammad, 2014). In both cases, the divorced husband receives from his wife some material compensation for the consent to terminate the marriage. In the case of the hulu divorce, the initiative of breaking the marriage belongs to the wife and the husband does not agree without the receiving of the financial compensation from her, whereas the wife offers the reward by herself. In the case of the mubarat, both spouses agree to terminate the marriage; however, the husband first sets out the terms and conditions and demands the material compensation. The mubarat divorce describes the man as a dishonest, unscrupulous, and begging his wife’s dowry one. In the case of mubarat, the husband has no right to demand the compensation, which exceeds the value of the woman’s mahr (Mohammad, 2014). Contrariwise, in the case of hulu, Sharia allows this excess because the wife asks for the divorce and determines the amount of remuneration by herself. Both hulu and mubarat are formalized in a similar way, which requires indicating divorce type along with amount and type of the compensation.

In Sharia, divorce rules are developed up to the smallest details. Thus, it provides an opportunity of the madman’s wife to receive a divorce from her husband’s father or paternal grandfather (Mohammad, 2014). If a man caused a divorce of some woman with her husband through a deception and then married her, the divorce is considered legitimate according to the viewpoint of the legal norms of Sharia, but it is a grave sin according to the ethical standards of Islam.

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Sharia law operates in accordance with the statements of the ancients: “What can be justified from a legal point of view, cannot always be justified from the point of view of the moral standards and ethics” (Mohammad, 2014). And since one cannot fix all immoral acts in the legislation, Sharia, in many cases, just finishes with the curse of the violators of the moral principles. Hence, in the above case, it sends a curse on the seducer and the woman consent to the sin. If an extraneous couple mistakenly had an intimate relationship considering each other as the husband and the wife, the woman should not approach her husband until the end of the iddah period to avoid the problems concerned with the possible pregnancy due to that erroneous meeting (Mohammad, 2014). The other case elaborated by Sharia is when a woman, having lost her husband, desires to get married to another man. In this case, she still cannot solve the problem by herself and should seek some advice from a spiritual person.

The Divorce Rules in Mauritania

Sharia law became the basis of the legislation in Mauritania since the early 80s (GID-DB, 2008). Its rules currently regulate almost all aspects of the family, social and personal life of the citizens in this country. The foremost feature of the divorce in Mauritania is the fact that its initiative practically always comes from the husband. According to the Qur’an, a divorce is considered to be a unilateral action which mainly comes from and is excited by the man’s will. In addition, the man can use unlimited rights for the termination of the marriage (GID-DB, 2008). For instance, he can give the divorce to his wives at his own discretion, without announcing the reasons, and at any time.

The property issues in the case of divorce are usually solved on the basis of Sharia law in Mauritania (GID-DB, 2008). After the termination of the marriage, the Muslim divorced woman cannot claim any part of the joint property, except her personal belongings and the gifts of her husband. If one is talking about the marriage with a foreign woman, the Moorish court will not recognize such marriage and will consider it as a form of the consensual residence (or the partnership). In this case, the court recognizes the rights of the women on the jointly acquired property (GID-DB, 2008). However, in this case, the Moorish court will examine the application of the cohabitation termination, which is not similar to the divorce proceedings and is considered as the civilian property claim. If the woman proves that she has had her personal incomes which she has given to her cohabitant, or that the couple has acquired any property using her funds, in principle, the court can decide to allocate her a certain part of that property or some compensation, but it occurs extremely rarely.

In Mauritania, the consequences of a divorce are unusually heavy in both moral and organizational plans for Muslim women. According to Sharia law, she has to leave her children in the family of her former husband (GID-DB, 2008). In addition, there are some difficulties which arise when she tries to create a new family, especially if the woman is a foreigner. The divorce in the Muslim society is a colossal moral humiliation for any woman (GID-DB, 2008). Till nowadays, for the Mauritanian, a divorced woman is an immoral and unworthy person. Once a man divorces his wife, even without declaring the reasons, the fact of the divorce is enough to convict the women according to the viewpoint of the Mauritanian public morality.

The Divorce Law in Morocco

Although Morocco lives in accordance with Sharia law, French law provides a significant impact on the resolution of the divorce issue in this country as well. Thus, in 2004, by the initiative of the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, a sensational reform in the field of the family relations was carried and the new Family Code (Moudawana) was approved (Hanafi, 2013). Due to the amendments, the women got more rights, in particular, the right to initiate the divorce, to marry without the consent of the family head or the male caregiver, not to give the consent for the polygamous marriage, and so on. According to the Family Code of Morocco, both spouses can dissolve the marriage. Earlier this right belonged exclusively to the men. If a woman appealed to the court concerning this issue, she had to provide the evidences of the indecent treatment. Although previously the divorce procedure could last for ten months up to fifteen years, nowadays the court is obliged to satisfy the claim for the divorce within six months (Hanafi, 2013).

Now there are two foremost types of the divorce proceedings in Morocco: the divorce under the judicial control and the divorce according to the court decision (Hanafi, 2013). The divorce under the judicial control proceeds in the following way. The statement about the desire to dissolve the marriage, regardless the underlying causes, may be submitted by any of the spouses or jointly with the mutual agreement without any dispute. If the divorce was initiated by the husband and the attempt of the reconciliation did not give any positive result, the court would determine the amount which the husband would be obliged to pay to his wife in thirty days (Hanafi, 2013). If he does not pay the given sum, it will be considered by the court as the refusal to implement the divorce.

If the wife initiates the divorce (such possibility should have been discussed before the marriage and registered in the marriage contract), the permission to open the process is provided without the consideration of its motives. The court accepts for the consideration the act of divorce compiled by the Adul (the religious judge) (Hanafi, 2013). It includes the women’s rights (allowances, accommodation costs, the right for the child support, and so on) and the further destiny of the children.

One of the types of divorce under the judicial control is the one with the compensation of one spouse to another (Hanafi, 2013). However, if the woman after the divorce pays her husband the sum from the funds intended for the maintenance of the children, he will become the official debtor of his ex-wife and will have to return her the money. The amount of the compensation determined by the court depends on the financial situation of the wife. In addition, if the woman managed to prove that she had been forced to terminate the marriage, she would have a right to claim the refund of the compensation amount (Hanafi, 2013).

Further, the divorce is carried out on the basis of mandated court decision (Hanafi, 2013). The main reasons for the divorce process can be the following. The first reasons for the marriage termination in this case can be the disharmony in the family or the failure of the complying any marital duties by the husband, including the absence of the maintaining the wife’s normal safe and financial conditions. The court also considers the issue of the gender-based violence in the family and may approve the divorce in the case of physical or moral humiliation provided by the husband (Hanafi, 2013). The court will issue the divorce decision in the case of a long-term (over one year) absence of the husband or his imprisonment for a term which exceeds three years. The poor health state of one spouse or his/her incurable disease or illness which threatens the health of the other spouse or a child can be the reason of the court divorce decision as well (Hanafi, 2013).

The Divorce Issue in Tunisia

The tangible imprint of the traditional Islamic concepts and Qur’anic postulates wear those areas of law which govern the marriage and the family relations in Tunisia. However, the problem of the legal status of women and the legislative consolidation of their equality with men (as well as a women’s issue as a whole), in contrast to the other Arab countries in North Africa got there the pretty significant development. Adopted in 1956, the Code of the personal status (Mashhour, 2005) fixed, among other things, the basic principles of the emancipation of the Tunisian women at the state level. The personal integrity and human dignity for the women proclaimed by the Code were supported by the number of measures, including the abolition of the polygamy (disagreeing with this requirement was punishable by the law), establishment of the legitimized divorce given by the husband to his wife, and the official granting the right to divorce for both spouses. The Code of the personal status gave the mother the right of guardianship of the minor child after his father’s death, and so on (Mashhour, 2005). The activity of the existing law is not static and is constantly supplemented with the amendments made in the legislation of the country. Despite the fact that the new law provided formally the equal rights of the wife with her husband (the old version determined the duty of the wife obey her husband in almost everything), in the cases of the law conflicts or the court proceedings Sharia law still plays a significant role (Mashhour, 2005).

Considering the new laws and amendments designed to secure the legal status of the women in the system of marriage and the family relations, one should note that despite the efforts of the Government, their implementation is accompanied by the considerable difficulties. In general, a practical solution of these issues, although it has a plurality of the specific features and nuances, still largely depends on the position occupied by the husband or the relatives of the husband’s line (Mashhour, 2005). The divorce case between the couple of Abdelwahid and Hedia, concerned by the Tunisian Court of Cassation, is a great example of this statement (Voorhoeve, 2009). Thus, being a married couple since 1984 and having three children, they lived in the small provincial city until 2001, when the husband became ill and family had to move to Tunis, the capital of the country, to ensure his proper treatment. Three years after, the husband decided to come back home, and after getting the wife’s disagreement, he filed the petition for the divorce, having the goal to reason his wife. After prolonged proceedings in the courts, starting with the local one and ending with the highest Tunisian court, despite the significant arguments given by the wife, which included higher educational level for the children in the capital and the need of the proper treatment for one child who got the father’s disease, the Court of Cassation ruled in 2007 to satisfy the demands of the husband.

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Conclusions

Sharia law is still disseminated and has a significant influence in the Muslim countries. It is the legal system consisting of religious (irrational) and secular (rational) elements and based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah, which included the stories (hadith) about the actions and sayings of Muhammad outlined by his associates. In Sharia law, there are the regulations concerning the divorce, which, according to these rules, is allowed but not encouraged. There are some preconditions related to health state of both spouses which can be the undisputed causes of the divorce: blindness, impotence, madness, and so on.

In contrast to the other world religious and secular laws, a remarkable ease and absence of any formalities are distinctive for the divorce under the Muslim law. Thus, to terminate the marriage, the man needs only to pronounce the divorce formula. Surprisingly, in order not to maintain desirable image, Muslims divorce quite rarely, even though the legal mechanism of divorcement is not that complicated.

Sharia practices two basic types of the divorce: a complete divorce (talaq bain) and a divorce with the possibility of returning to the previous family relations (talaq raji). In the case of talaq raji, the husband does not lose the right to reconcile with his wife and return to his family. After talaq bain divorce, the husband can regain his wife only after her being married and divorced with the other man. Even once pronouncing the divorce formula, the husband executes the final termination of the marriage if he had no close relationships with the woman after signing the marriage contract or the woman’s age is less than 9 or more that 50. As a rule, after the divorce the iddah period starts, during which the woman has to live in the husband’s house. One of the goals of the iddah is to find out whether a woman is pregnant, becoming a widow or getting the divorce. Another goal is facilitating the family restoration in the case of the reckless divorce. According to Sharia, only a man can pronounce the divorce formula. Thus, to deliver her will about the termination of the marriage, a woman has to ask the cleric to pronounce her claim or to beg her husband, offering him the compensation. Thus, it is the injustice towards women in Sharia law. Besides, it allows the cases when the husband demands the compensation from his former wife despite mutual agreement concerning the divorce. Another injustice towards women is the following. After the termination of the marriage, the Muslim divorced woman cannot claim any part of the joint property, except her personal belongings and the gifts of her husband (which can easily be picked away if the husband demands the compensation). According to Sharia law, the woman has no right to challenge her husband’s desire to terminate the marriage.

There are some countries, for instance, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Mauritania, which still live in accordance to Sharia law. There one can observe the lack of the gender equality in the divorce issues. On the contrary, the governments of the other Muslim countries, such as Morocco and Tunisia, provided the reforms in the family and marriage regulations. Due to the amendments, the women there got more rights, in particular, the right to initiate the divorce, to marry without the consent of the family head or the male caregiver, not to give the consent for the polygamous marriage, and so on. The women in those countries can proclaim their will to terminate the marriage by themselves. However, despite the fact that the new laws provide formally the equal rights of the wife with her husband, in the cases of the law conflicts or the court proceedings Sharia law still plays a significant role.

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https://www.barrons.com/news/taliban-supreme-leader-urges-afghans-to-respect-sharia-law-in-eid-message-c8077051

FROM AFP NEWS

Taliban Supreme Leader Urges Afghans To Respect Sharia Law In Eid Message

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Afghanistan's supreme leader on Saturday urged Afghans to respect sharia law and called for good relations with the international community, in a rare message marking the end of Ramadan.

In a written message ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival that falls next week, supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said: "Injustice and being opposed to Sharia leads to insecurity."

Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have enforced rules based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Women have borne the brunt of restrictions the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid" that have pushed them from public life.

The Taliban government has not been officially recognised by any state and Hibatullah's message did not touch on key diplomatic sticking points, such as allowing girls and women to return to secondary schools and universities.

Hibatullah, who lives in southern Kandahar province -- the Taliban's spiritual heartland -- and is rarely seen in public, reiterated that the Taliban authorities "seek diplomatic and economic relations with all nations".

"In the realm of international relations among all countries, we aim to pursue a balanced and economically focused policy in the light of the holy religion of Islam."

The Eid message came after a recording attributed to Hibatullah that circulated in January was shared widely again in recent weeks.

In that audio clip, he vowed to implement punishments used under the Taliban's previous rule from 1996 to 2001, such as public stoning of women for adultery, sparking condemnation from rights groups and the United Nations.

In a recent interview with Afghanistan's Tolo News, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said stoning was part of sharia law and that it would be used again "if the conditions for it arise".

Taliban authorities have not officially commented on the audio clip.

During the Taliban's first rule, public executions were common, with only a handful carried out since their return to power.

Corporal punishment -- mainly flogging -- has been common, however, and employed for crimes including theft, adultery and alcohol consumption.

On Wednesday, five men and a woman were publicly flogged over charges of "adultery and sodomy" in eastern Logar province, the supreme court said in a statement.

Afghanistan's supreme leader on Saturday urged Afghans to respect sharia law and called for good relations with the international community, in a rare message marking the end of Ramadan.

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Taliban supreme leader urges Afghans to respect sharia law

___________________

KABUL - Afghanistan's supreme leader on Saturday urged Afghans to respect Sharia law and called for good relations with the international community, in a rare message marking the end of Ramadan.

Terrifying state of Britain: Almost THIRD of country's Muslims want Sharia Law implemented by 2044

WATCH: GB News reporter Charlie Peters reports on a Palestine protest

By George Bunn

Published: 08/04/2024

Updated: 08/04/2024

New polling has revealed 15 per cent of 1,000 British Muslims view Hamas as 'very positive'

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A new poll has found that almost a third of British Muslims think it would be "desirable" to implement Sharia Law within the next two decades.

The survey, carried out by polling firm JL Partners, also found that 15 per cent of 1,000 British Muslims have a "very positive" view of Hamas, with 14 per cent saying they had a "quite positive" view of Hamas.

The findings from the Henry Jackson Society, a national security think tank, also found that almost 40 per cent of university-educated Muslims between the ages 18-24 believed Hamas had not committed atrocities on October 7.

It was also found in that the poll that 13 per cent of Muslims asked had a "very negative" view of Hamas, with 11 per cent having a "quite negative" view of the group.

Protests have been held in London

When asked about how desirable it was for homosexuality to be outlawed, 17 per cent said it was "very desirable" and 10 per cent said it was "somewhat desirable". Meanwhile, 18 per cent said it was "very undesirable" and 10 per cent said it was "somewhat undesirable."

Founder of interfaith groups Tell Mama, Faith Matters and Muslims Against Anti-Semitism told MailOnline: "Hamas is an Islamist extremist and terrorist group and has been terrorising Gazans, Israelis and liberals within society for decades.

"The sense that Hamas did not conduct massacres and rapes in Israel is atrocious because it shows a closed-off mentality to anything emanating from Israel.'

"The findings confirm that a lot of work needs to be done to inform, challenge, and address old anti-Semitic tropes that are still circulating among some of my co-religionists."

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Meanwhile, around 41 per cent of British Muslims said Jews have too much power in the media and 39 per cent when it came to Britain's financial system.

It also found that almost half (46 per cent) of British Muslims say Jews have too much power over UK government policy, compared to 16 per cent of the general public.

A Government spokesperson said: "We have recently set out a series of measures which will promote social cohesion and counter religious hatred.

"Our plan will tackle division in our communities and ensure that we are protecting our democratic freedoms across the country."

Gaza's health ministry reported at least 33,207 Palestinians have been killed and 75,933 others wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since October 7.

It comes six months after the massacre which saw 1,200 civilians killed and a further 235 taken hostage from southern Israel.