Syariah

Definition of SYARIAH
Syariah is an Arabic word meaning “path” or “way.” Today the term is used most commonly to mean “Islamic law,” the detailed system of religious law developed by Muslim scholars in the first three centuries of Islam and still in force among fundamentalists today. To Arabic-speaking people, syariah (shariah, shari'a, sharīʿah; Arabic: شريعة‎ šarīʿah, IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa], "legislation"), also known as Qānūn-e Islāmī (قانون اسلامی), means the moral code and religious law of a prophetic religion. In English usage, the term "syariah" has been largely identified with Islam.

Syariah tries to describe in detail all possible human acts, dividing them into permitted (halal) and prohibited (haram). It subdivides them into various degrees of good or evil such as obligatory, recommended, neutral, objectionable or forbidden. This vast compendium of rules regulates all matters of devotional life, worship, ritual purity, marriage and inheritance, criminal offenses, commerce and personal conduct. It also regulates the governing of the Islamic state and its relations to non-Muslims within the state as well as to enemies outside the state. Syariah influences the behavior and worldview of most Muslims, even in secular states where it forms no part of the law of the land.

Islam teaches that Syariah, as God’s revealed law, perfect and eternal, is binding on individuals, society and state in all its details. By logical extension, any criticism of Syariah is heresy. Muslims who deny the validity of Syariah in any way are labeled as non-Muslims (infidels) or apostates (those who convert to another religion) by traditionalists and Islamists. As such, they face the threat of being prosecuted for apostasy, a crime that carries the death penalty in Syariah.

Definition of Islamic Law
The law according to the Muslim faith and as interpreted from the Koran; also known as Sharia law. Sometimes referred to as Muslim law or even Muhammadan law. Some Islamic law jurists make a distinction between sharia law and “fiqh” and conclude that Islamic law includes, inter alia, sharia law first, given its divine origin; and fiqh second, as a body of law which interprets sharia.

Schacht writes:
"The sacred law of Islam is an all-embracing body of religious duties, the totality of Allah's commands that regulate the life of every Muslim in all its aspects."
Islamic law is probably best known for deterrent punishment which is the basis of the Islamic criminal system, and the discrimination against women.
Another important feature of Muslim law is the fact that there is no clear separation of church and state. Under Islamic law, the religion of Islam and the government are one. Islamic law is controlled, ruled and regulated by the Islamic religion; a theocracy. Islamic law purports to regulate all public and private behavior including personal hygiene, diet, sexual conduct, and child rearing.

Islamic law now prevails in countries all over the Middle East and elsewhere covering 20 per cent of the world's population. Despite its relative inflexibility, in some ways, Islamic law is superior to other systems of law, such as the preference given to arbitration in civil disputes.

Shaik Abdul Latif & Ors. V. Shaik Elias Bux [1915] 1 FMSLR 204, 214.
Issue
Whether the adopted son have the qualification to bequeath in excess of one-third of the dead estate ?
Whether the will of the adopted son being bequeathed in excess of one-third of the decedent estate is valid according to the law ?
Whether the will of a Mohamedan domiciled in the Federated Malay States is governed by the Mohamedan Law ?