Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and this referencing is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its interpretations by Islamic scholars. Fiqh, practical application side of sharia in a sense, was elaborated over the centuries by legal opinions issued by qualified jurists and sharia has never been the sole valid legal system in Islam historically; it has always been used alongside customary law from the beginning, and applied in courts by ruler-appointed judges, integrated with various economic, criminal and administrative laws issued by Muslim rulers.
Imam Shafi'i tomb in Cairo
Grand Ayatollahs of Qom, Iran; Religious leaders who have the authority to interpret sharia sources in Shia Islam used assertive names and titles such as Ruhollah, Ayatollah, Hujjat al-Islam, which directly connect their identities to Allah or Islam, and gained tutelage over people and the administration whose decisions cannot be questioned anymore.
Juristic exchange between Abu Dawood and Ibn Hanbal. One of the oldest literary manuscripts of the Islamic world, dated October 879 AD.
Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand (est. 1422)
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others are nomistic or "legalistic" in nature. In particular, religions such as Judaism, Islam and the Baháʼí Faith teach the need for revealed positive law for both state and society, whereas other religions such as Christianity generally reject the idea that this is necessary or desirable and instead emphasise the eternal moral precepts of divine law over the civil, ceremonial or judicial aspects, which may have been annulled as in theologies of grace over law.
A manuscript of Ibn Hanbal's legal writings, produced October 879.
The Corpus Juris Canonici, the fundamental collection of Catholic canon law for over 750 years.