ABSTRACT
Sunnī Islam (as compared to the Shī aʿ, to be dealt with in Chapter 8) is defi ned not by theological allegiance but by practice grounded in theological perspectives. Following one of the four schools of law authenticated by the agreement of the community as being true implementation of the sunna or practice of Muh. ammad makes one a member of Sunnī Islam. It is the individual believer’s perspective on the law which becomes the central element of self-defi nition as a Muslim and which has thus evolved as the controlling element of the community’s identifi cation as a whole. Law in this sense, however, is a far broader concept than that generally perceived in the English word. Included in it are not only the details of conduct in the narrow legal sense, but also minute matters of behavior, what might even be termed “manners,” as well as issues related to worship and ritual. Furthermore, the entire body of law is traditionally viewed as the “revealed will of God,” subject neither to history nor to change.
