The Quran is the bedrock of Islamic jurisprudence. The term Quran literally means reading or recitation, being the verbal noun of the root word qaraa (to read). A believer finds in Quran the words of the creator, Allah which was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed in Arabic and transmitted by continuous testimony. It is the first source of Shariah. In a way, it is also the only source. All other sources are explanatory to the Quran. The following words of a well-known scholar Mohammed Abd Allah Darz of Al-Azhar University, aptly summarizes the status of the Quran as a source of law, 'The Quran, the word of Allah, is perfection itself - it is unchallengeably true, infallibly just'. The authenticity of the Quran is proved by universally accepted testimony. It has y. It has been retained both in memory and in written record throughout the generations.

While noting the overriding importance of the Quran as a source of law, you may also find it interesting that not more than approximately eighty verses deal with legal topics in the sense of the term. Still it is an entire moral code and the construction of every legal principle has necessarily to be related to this moral base.

Many of the Quranic revelations are very short. The principle contained in a single sentence is often the foundation on which a whole structure of constitutional law might be built. Here are some Quranic verses on matters relating to financial law.

Let there be among you traffic and trade by mutual goodwill (4:29)

Allah has made trade lawful.(2:275)

O Muslims, Do not devour riba, doubling and redoubling it and fear (the punishment) of Allah that you may be successful. (3:130)

Those who live on riba will not rise (at Resurrection) but like a man possessed of the devil and demented. This is because they say that trading is like riba. But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden riba. Those who after receo after receiving the Direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge). But those who revert to it again are the residents of Hell where they will abide for ever". (2:275)

Allah will deprive riba of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity: and Allah does not love the ungrateful and unjust. (2:276)

O believers, fear Allah and forgo the interest that is owing, if you really believe. (2:278)

If you do not, beware of war on the part of Allah and His Apostle. But if you repent, you shall keep your principal. Oppress none and no one will oppress you. (2:279)

What you provide with the with the prospect of an increase through the property of (other) people, will have no increase with Allah; yet what you give in alms and charity, seeking the countenance of Allah, (will increase): it is these who will get a recompense multiplied. (30:39).

O ye who believe! intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones, and (divination by arrows, are an abomination, - of Satan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. (3:90)

Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain? (3:91)

They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: `In them is great sin and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.' They ask thee how much they are to spend; say: `what is beyond your needs'. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His signs: in that ye may consider. (4:219)

Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight (17: 34)

Let those (disposing of an estate) have the same ear in their minds as they would have for their own if they had left a helpless family behind (4: 9)

Those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, eat up a fire into their own bodies: they will soon be enduring a blazing fire (5: 10)

Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due (4: 58)

(But the treaties are) not dissolved with those pagans with whom ye have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided anyone against you. So fulfill your e So fulfill your engagements with them to the end of their term: for Allah loveth the righteous (4: 4)

Though seemingly simple each of these verses has been the subject of a vast corpus of juridical interpretation.

It is important for the uninitiated, attempting to understand the place of the Quran as a source of law, to remember that its constant interweaving of spiritual teachings with practical legislation is due to the Quran being a guidance not only the spiritual good of the hereafter but also towards the good life - spiritual, physical and social - attainable in this world. Continuing this theme of unity, one must note also that the various injunctions and exhortations contained in the Quran are not be read as individual provisions but as parts of one integral wne integral whole. This has led to the expressive statement of Mohammed Abduh (1849-1905), one of the most outstanding of modern Islamic thinkers, that the Quran is 'its own best commentary'.

A ruling of the Quran may be conveyed in a text which is either unequivocal and clear or in a language that is open to different interpretations. A definitive text (qati) is one which is clear and specific; it has only one meaning and admits of no other interpretations. The rulings of the Quran on the essentials of faith, such as, prayer, fasting, the specified shares in inheritance, the prescribed penalties and punishments are all definitive. They are not open to varying interpretations. A verse of the Quran may also be open to interpretation (zanni). The best interpretation is that which can be obtained from the QuraQuran itself, that is, by looking at the Quran as an integral whole and finding the necessary elaboration elsewhere in a similar or even a different context. The Sunnah is another source which supplements the Quran and interprets its rulings. When the necessary interpretation can be found in an authentic hadith, both together carry a binding force. Next in this order comes the Companions who are particularly well-qualified to interpret the Quran in light of their close familiarity with its text, the surrounding circumstances, and the teachings of the Prophet.

The Shariah as formulated through various juridical schools contains commands and prohibitions in five broad categories:

1. Obligatory acts, such as, the duty to perform ritual prayer, paying ayer, paying of zakat

2. Recommended acts, which are not considered obligatory, such as, acts of charity, kindness, prayer

3. Permitted actions, regarding which law adopts a neutral stance

4. Acts that are discouraged and regarded as reprehensible, but not strictly forbidden

5. Acts that are categorically forbidden, such as, murder, adultery, blasphemy, theft, intoxication

Whether a particular injunction in the Quran amounts to a binding command or to a mere recommendation or even permissibility cannot always be determined from the wined from the words and sentences of its text. Broadly speaking, a command is either obligatory (wajib) or recommendable (mandub):

1. When Allah commands a conduct, or

2. When Allah recommends a certain conduct, or

3. When Allah refers to the positive quality of a conduct, or

4. When the Quran says that Allah loves a particular conduct, or

5. When Allah identifies something as a cause of bounty or reward.

All such expressions are indicative of the legality of the act or conduct in question which partakes in h partakes in the obligatory and recommendable. If the language of the text is inclined on the side of obligation such as when there is a definite demand or clear emphasis on doing something, the conduct in question is obligatory (wajib). Otherwise, it is recommendable (mandub). It is left to the scholar (mujtahid) to interpret the language, appreciate the precise meaning in the light of the general objectives and principles of Shariah, and determine whether the conduct is obligatory or recommendable.

A conduct or act is permissible (mubah):

1. When Allah explicitly declares it as permissible, or

2. When Allah grants a permission in respect of doing something, or

3. When it is said that there is "no blame" or "no sin" accrued from doing something, or

4. When Allah denies the prohibition of something, or

5. When the believers are reminded of the bounty of Allah in respect of things that are created for their benefits.

All such expressions are indicative of permissibility and option in respect of the conduct in question.

An act or conduct is either forbidden (haraam) or reprehensible (makruh):

1. Whenever Allah demands avoidance of a certain conduct, or