Islamic Law, Reform & Philosophy

Oliver Leaman looks at philosophical problems related to basing law on religion.

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Islam has a long and intricate legal history, and this has led to important arguments in the Islamic world about what law rests upon and how far it may be changed. Sunni Islam is divided up into four major legal schools, and there are a variety also in the Shi'i tradition. There are often different approaches to ritual and punishment, and in particular, in how to judge cases. Some schools accept analogy and precedent, others do not, or at least are cautious on straying from the letter of the law. After all, in the Islamic world, the source of law is ultimately the word of God as recorded in the Qur'an, and also in the traditional sayings of the Prophet and his companions called the Hadith. Yet however distinguished these sources may be, they are not unambiguous. The scripture itself may be interpreted in a number of different ways, and the (many volumes of) sayings of the Prophet and his companions are subject to debate as to their authenticity as well as their scope and interpretation. The origins of these texts are quite distant in time from us now, and so their relevance to modern times is also debatable.

The question of law reform is a question for all legal traditions, of course. Generally laws change as times change; but there is a particular issue for religious law, in that, when God establishes the rules, they're not supposed to be only a temporary guide to how to live. Rather, God is our creator and so knows what is in our interests, and when he establishes rules of conduct they represent the rules for all time and every place. And since they come from God they're therefore perfect rules, and so it seems difficult to change them if they look inconvenient or out of place in modern times. Some philosophers of law in the Islamic world argue then that