ABSTRACT
As in Judaism, in Islam law constitutes part and parcel of religion. Or, put differently, religion sanctions and sanctifies law. Its annunciation in the scripture is seen by the faithful as an expression of divine will. As such, it is absolutely obligatory for all faithful. If observed properly, law will lead them to salvation and eternal bliss. If disobeyed, law will condemn them to eternal damnation and misery. The law of God was revealed to his faithful human servants as an all-encompassing way of life. It comprises legal, moral, ethical, and ritual norms to be observed by those who are anxious to secure God’s pleasure. All we have just said represents an idealized vision of divine law that was current in premodern Jewish and Muslim societies. In medieval Christian Europe, the situation was different due to the simultaneous functioning of both a reformed secular legal code of Roman inspiration and the canon law of the Christian Church.
