Changes

Sharia is an Arabic word, literally meaning “the right path”. It commonly refers to the traditional Islamic law, derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran<ref>That is - the central religious text of Islam which is believed to be a revelation from God by Muslims</ref> and the Hadith<ref>Hadith represents a collection of reports claiming to quote what the very prophet Muhammad said on any matter verbatim</ref>. Islamic law or the Sharia is therefore the expression of Allah’s own command for Muslim society. In practical application it does constitute a system of duties that are compulsory and in a way even irrevocably set upon each and every Muslim strictly backed by the very virtue of his religious belief. The law itself constitutes a divinely ordained path of conduct that guides Muslims towards a practical expression of their religious conviction in the world as a whole as well as - towards the goal of divine favour of the world set to come. Muslims believe that Allah (God) revealed his true will to Muhammad, who then passed on Allah's commands to humans in the Quran. In its essence the Sharia comes from the Quran, the sacred book of Islam, which Muslims consider the actual word of God.

Islamic law represents one of the world's great legal systems. Like Judaic law, which influenced western legal systems, Islamic law originated as an important part of the religion. And since the Sharia originated together with Allah, it is considered to be sacred itself. Between the seventh century marking Muhammad death and the tenth century, many Islamic legal scholars attempted to interpret the Sharia in order to adapt it to the expanding Muslim Empire. In the modern era, the influences of the Western colonialism and their law systems development even generated efforts to codify Sharia. Thus, under the vast western influences, the need for a more comprehensive reform in the Islamic law became clear. The traditional Sharia law now needs to be adapted in order to meet the changing circumstances in the modern Muslim society. However, there is a specific reason behind this change and it should be sought in two principal respects in which the Sharia differs from Western law systems.<ref>Historical development of “Sharīʿah law”, Nature and significance of Islamic law - http://www.britannica.com/topic/Shariah</ref>