Sharīʿah is an Arabic term used to designate Islamic law. It originally referred to a path trodden by camels to a water source, and the commonly used Arabic phrase al-sharīʿah al-islāmīyah may be translated as "the Islamic way." In the case of Islamic law, the way is one that leads the righteous believer to Paradise in the afterlife. The sharīʿah is not deemed a religious law by virtue of the subject matters it covers, for these range far beyond the sphere of religious concerns strictly speaking and extend to the mundane affairs of everyday life. Rather, its religious character is due to the Muslim belief that it derives from divinely inspired sources and represents God's plan for the proper ordering of all human activities. Although Muslims agree that they are bound by the...