108 • 8 ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONTHE RULES AND LAWS OF ISLAMIslam begins with a profession of faith but is manifested and elaborated by
what Muslims do and what they condemn. Ever mindful of the impending
Judgment Day, Muslims wish to know and obey the rules of behavior that
will please God and maintain a harmonious society. These rules have been
carefully compiled and organized into a law code called the Shari'a (an
Arabic word meaning "way"). It is somewhat like the Talmud in Orthodox
Judaism; nothing comparable exists in Christianity. The Shari'a tries to
describe all possible human acts, classifying them as obligatory, recom¬
mended, neutral, objectionable, or forbidden by God, the supreme legisla¬
tor. In addition to some commercial and criminal law, the Shari'a includes
rules about marriage, divorce, child rearing, other interpersonal relation¬
ships, property, food, clothing, hygiene, and the manifold aspects of wor¬
ship. At least up to the Mongol era, there was nothing a Muslim might
experience or observe on which the Shari'a was silent.
DEVELOPMENT OF JURISPRUDENCEThe first Muslims based their ideas of right and wrong on the norms of
the society they knew, that of western Arabia. Caravan traders had worked
out elaborate rules about commercial transactions and property rights,
but criminal law still held to the principles of retribution based on the
tribal virtues (muruwwa). Muhammad's mission broadened and strength¬
ened the realm of rights and responsibilities. The Quran spelled out many
points. Muhammad's precepts and practices (what later Muslims would
call his sunna) set some of the laws for the nascent umma. After the
Prophet died, his successors tried to pattern their lives on what he had said
or done and on what he had told them to do or not to do. Muhammad's
companions, especially the first four caliphs, became role models for the
Muslims who came later; indeed, their practices were the sunna for suc¬
ceeding caliphs and governors. Gradually, Arabia's traditional norms took
on a Muslim pattern, as the companions inculcated the values of the
Quran and the sunna in their children and instructed the new converts to
Islam. Even after the men and women who had known Muhammad died
out, the dos and don'ts of Islam were passed down by word of mouth for
another century.
Because of the Arab conquests, the early Muslims picked up many con¬
cepts and institutions from Roman and Persian law. Quran reciters and