sahil bhai,
Please enlighten me of the benefits of sharia.
Hi, I will try to explain Shariah to you with the best of my abilities, there might be a difference of opinion on this topic but it is always healthy to have a different opinion.
The word Shariah means "path" or "path to the water" or "path to the watering hole".
First of all shariah law is is an evolving institution in itself. It is not constant and it evolves as the time evolves. The divine message which is Quranic revelations remain constant but the procedural matters remain with the administration of the country to decide. For a country to have shariah law the land has to be a theocratic state which means that every law has to be made under the light of Quran and no law can contradict Quran.
Shariah law was founded by Malik ibn Anas and Ibn Al Shaf'i. This law did not exist during Prophet Muhammad's time neither was it present under any of the first four Caliphs of Islam that are Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Ali (these were the closest associates of Prophet Muhammad). But the important point to note is that Islamic Law prevailed under Prophet Muhammad and all the four Caliphs time. Later on shariah law was founded as i mentioned above through a comprehensive study of Quran (Divine revelation of Allah), Hadith (sayings of prophet Muhammad), and the Sunnah (actions of prophet Muhammad). Therefore the principle standing of shariah is divine and cannot be challenged because it means that every law will be created on the basis of Quran and Sunnah, but the law itself can is debatable and can be different in other Islamic States according to the interpretation. For example, in Islam a murder has a Captial punishment hence this law will be the same in all the Islamic states but there can be different procedures to execute the law, for instance Islamic country X might cut off the head while Islamic country Y can hang the person.
Basically shariah law in itself has the techniques of reasoning with analogy in order to develop new laws from existing laws through Ijma (consensus), and Qiyas (analogical deduction), both of these are accepted under shariah law. Another school of thought which is the Shi'ite school of thought also incules Ijtihad (asserting oneself) into the techniques, although there is difference of opinion between the Sunni and the Shi'ite schools of thought but both schools of thought agree on the shariah law.
There are five main schools of shariah law:
Hanbali: This is the most conservative school of shariah. This is used in Saudi Arabia and some states in Northern Nigeria.
Hanifi: This is the most liberal school of shariah, and is relatively open to modern ideas.
Maliki: This is based on the practices of the people of Medina during the time of Prophet Muhammad.
Shafi'i: This is a conservative school that emphasizes on the opinions of the companions of Prophet Muhammad.
Ja'fari: This is a school of thought that stems from Shi'ite and is a part of the shariah law schools.
All five schools of thoughts are accepted by each other and by shariah law. What applies within one school of shariah law does not necessarily applies in other schools. Anyone following any of these five schools of thought is not on a wrong path and is considered correct.
Now any law is acceptable in an Islamic state if it is made after being analysed, interpreted, judged, and made after going through at least anyone of the five schools of thought, but keeping in mind that the divine message cannot be challenged and remains constant. Hence we come to a conclusion that any law is legal under Islamic provisions if it passes through the steps mentioned above.
This was an extremely brief background on Shariah Law. I hope you are enlightened by this.