Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

What is law, and what function does it have in our lives? Many people and many cultures answer those questions differently.' Ethics, among other things, are concerned with judging things to be good or bad, especially behavior.2 Islam and its teachings, particularly Islamic Law, as this article will attempt to describe, informs and encompasses all of the activities, mundane and spiritual of the devout Muslim, including how he or she views ethical responsibilities. The use of the term "law" as in "Islamic Law" does not necessarily imply national or state sanctioned, legislated statutes. A handful of countries rule themselves nearly completely by Islamic law, for example Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia? Some countries use Islamic law for certain matters-for example domestic relations-and not others, but in fact, many Muslim countries do not rule themselves by Islamic law, and some have difficulty in attempting to implement the islamization of the body of law.' However in cases where Western legal traditions are implemented, such as the Civil Law tradition in many Gulf Countries, often such laws are interpreted in harmony with Shari'ah,5 much like the original courts of equity in England were supposed to interpret issues in accordance with Christian principles. When considering the term "law" as a point of study, the average Westerner has an idea of what law means, but Islamic law has a more basic meaning.

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