Shariah

The Islamic Shari'ah is not merely a collection of do's and don'ts, nor just a code of criminal laws prescribing punishments for certain crimes. Though it does contain both, its sweep is much broader and deeper, encompassing the totality of person's life. Shari'ah literally means a 'clear, trodden path to a source of water'. Since water is the source of life, it means a clear path to life. In religious terms, it is the path to the eternal life. It is the path that a person, in Islam, must walk as he toils and strives to reach his Creator. It is the yearning deep within to seek the Lord and the Master that the Shari'ah translates into steps, concrete and specific, on the pathways of life. The Shari'ah is the fulfillment of the total man- inner and outer, individual and corporate-as he seeks to live by the will of his one and only God. (Shariah - The Way to God By Khurram Murad)