ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Muslim concept of Shariat in Indian legal theory as if forms the basis of Muslim personal law. Qanun-e-Shariat is a collection of rules and norms that have been codified following the intentions and consent of almighty Allah. Foqha is a group of people responsible to explain this divine law. Muslim reformers constructed a highly idealized picture of classical Islam and started marking the actual cultural practices as un-Islamic. And so evolved the Wakf al-ulaulad Act 1913 and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937. Post-independence, personal laws including Shariat, were recognized along with other customary laws, while at the same time, the supremacy of the Constitutional law was upheld. The Supreme Court’s decision of interpreting the Quran in 1985 led to a major controversy. The Muslim political elite suggested that while the state could interpret Shariat, such an endeavour must take cognizance of religious authority as the legitimate stakeholder.
