Sharia law

Sharia is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Qur'an; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of Allah by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, and social issues. Some Islamic scholars accept Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established before the 19th century, while other scholars view Sharia as a changing body, and include Islamic legal theory from the contemporary period.^{[Citation Needed]}

There is not a strictly codified uniform set of laws pertaining to Sharia. It is more like a system of devising laws, based on the Qur'an, Hadith and centuries of debate, interpretation and precedent.

Before the 19th century, legal theory was considered the domain of the traditional legal schools of thought. Most Sunni Muslims follow Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafii, while most Shia Muslims follow Jaafari (Hallaq 1997, Brown 1996, Aslan 2006).

Laws and practices under Sharia:

Marriage laws

• The Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator can only marry a Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress or a chaste woman from the people of the book.
• The Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress can only marry a Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator.
• The Muslim fornicator can only marry a Muslim fornicatress.
• The Muslim fornicatress can only marry a Muslim fornicator.
• Men can marry up to four wives, but only if they are treated equally. Those who do not consider themselves capable of maintaining just behavior between wives, should refrain from this practice.
• The woman cannot marry without the consent of her guardian. If she marries, her husband becomes her new guardian.
• The guardian may choose a suitable partner for a virgin girl, but the girl is free to contest and has the right to say 'no'.
• The guardian cannot marry the divorced woman or the widow if she didn't ask to be married.
• The number of husbands is limited to one.
• "Do not marry unless you give your wife something that is her right." It is obligatory for a man to give bride wealth (gifts) to the woman he marries.[5]

Divorce laws

• A woman who wishes to be divorced usually needs the consent of her husband. However, most schools allow her to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent if she can show the judge that her husband is mistreating her, failing to support her financially, or is impotent. If the husband consents she does not have to pay back the dower.^{[Citation Needed]}
• Men have the right of unilateral divorce. A divorce is effective when the man tells his wife that he is divorcing her. At this point the husband must pay the wife the "delayed" component of the dower.
• A divorced woman of reproductive age must wait three months before marrying again to ensure that she is not pregnant. Her ex-husband should support her financially during this period.^{[Citation Needed]}
• Under certain circumstances (abuse, for instance), the wife may ask a judge to separate the couple.
• If a man divorces his wife three times, he can no longer marry her again unless she marries another man and then
• These are guidelines; Islamic law on divorce is different depending on the school of thought.

The penalty for theft

• In accordance with the Qur'an and several hadith, theft is punished by imprisonment or amputation of hands or feet, depending on the number of times it was committed and depending on the item of theft.

The penalty for adultery

• In accordance with hadith, stoning to death is the penalty for married men and women who commit adultery. For unmarried men and women, the punishment prescribed in the Qur'an and hadith is 100 lashes.