Introduction

The Sacred Law of Islam, commonly known by its Arabic name as the Sharia, is a complex and intertwined admixture of principles of law, justice, and morality. The Qur'an is the most important source of the Sharia Law for the text is believed to represent the verbatim word of God gradually revealed to the Prophet Muhammad within a period of twenty-three years. The Tradition (the Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad constitutes the second most important source of the Sharia (and therefore of classical theory of Islamic jurisprudence). The communal and/or juristic consensus on jurisprudential matters constitutes the third source in the construction of Sharia Law. The question of the Sharia Law's stance on the social and legal status of women has emerged in social, political, and academic circles of most modern Islamic societies. It has been observed time and again that the Islamic Revolution in Iran has focused on the role of religion as an important instrument of social change.