Sources of Islamic Regulations and Laws

Hello,

I just though I would try to make a small effort to make clear the main sources of Islamic Regulations and Laws that are applied in the Islamic religion.

This is because plenty of people think it is all from one source which is the Holy book called Al-Quran.

This is wrong, because the holy book is very general and the details are left for the remaining sources.

For example, Al-Quran orders Muslims to pray, but does not state when, how, how many times, or what to do when praying. It does not even say how to call for prayers, nor where to gather...

The Main sources are (in order of importance and reference):

1- Al-Quran (the holy book of Muslims)
2- Sunnah (the practice, acts and quotes of the prophet that have been narrated through faithful & trustful means).
3- The acts of the prophet's colleagues and direct followers, if and when these acts do not interfere with the previous sources.
4- The unity of Islamic Scientists (called Ijma Al-Olama), when a matter or subject is new and cannot be solved through the use of the previous sources. Although unity can never be claimed as no one can tell if all scientists on earth agree on one matter, so the vast majority would be a more decent description.
5- Finally, there is "Ijtihad" (NOT Jihad), which means that an Islamic Scientist uses all the knowledge he/she possesses with all relating matters to the above sources to solve a problem or decide in an issue, that all the previous sources did not directly address or handle.

The 1st two sources are considered holy and cannot be changed or adapted to fit with any changes. This is because they are considered direct orders from God (this includes the prophets acts or sayings when addressing Islamic issues).

The others are means of adapting the 1st two sources to solve, handle and address new life matters and issues, and therefore may constitute a debate between Muslims in different parts of the world, because they are opinions and not direct orders from God.

I will leave things at this level for now, and will be willing to answer any questions that may arise regarding the subject, although when I cannot answer, I will state so...

Hope that gives a clearer idea about the subject...