Islamic Philosophy and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Muslim Philosophy and Law - Essay ExampleThe result was a split between the Sunnis, who want elections, and the Shi-ites, who sought a heritage accession.Now, the rift has meant further difference between the two groups of Islam who keep claimed their respective leadership as political figures (in the case of the Sunnis) and prophets with divine insight (in the case of the Shi-ites). As such, followers of both sects have a different kind of respect for their leader and for the modern translations of ancient Muslim texts. Muslim truth is very specific, with rules governing everything from punishments for stealing or adultery to the proper methods for burying the dead or how to tolerate business.Sunni law is based on four different schools Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali, with specific reference to both the Quran and the Sunnah as perfected doctrine. While Sunni laws are quite similar to Shi-ite laws in that they subscribe to both major(ip) texts, the major differences in law are in terms of modern society. As Shi-ites put faith in their divine leaders (Imams) to show them towards the path of religious enlightenment through Islamic law, the majority of Sunnis kinda believe that with democratic elections their people might be able to use religious doctrine to the opera hat of their abilities in politics. Both sides are adamant in their interpretations of Islamic belief and law, and as such are often at violent odds with one another. Sunnis reason that it is through the already perfected Islamic texts that Muslims will find enlightenment, while Shi-ites conversely believe that the descendents of Muhammad are able to bring deeper insights to the previous texts and offering a better way of life for the future. Because of these differences, inheritance laws and punishment laws differ between the two Islamic sects and no permanent common ground has been cultivated as yet. Not unlike the rift between Catholics and the Orthodox Church, Sunni and Shi-ite Musl ims have both grown past their original religious teachings to such an extent that the two can never come back together in terms of governance this proves to be a continuously difficult challenge in the Middle East. Islamic philosophy has been influenced a great turn to by the Persian (or in modern terms Iranian) theologian Al-Ghazali, who lived from 1058 to 1111. Al-Ghazali believed that every event and interaction was occasionalistic, or the will of god as opposed to a simple physical reality. He wrote a oblige called The Incoherence of the Philosophers in the 11th century that would change the face of Islamic theology greatly for long time to come the book moved the Islamic school of thought from its focus on Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato towards a more rigorously religious point of view. Where Islamic scholars of past centuries had celebrated the teachings of Greeks like Plato and Socrates, Al-Ghazali denounced the men as non-believers and encouraged his fellow Muslim s to embrace their religion instead of thinking outside of it. He made resolve his belief that supporters of Greek philosophy were being disloyal to Islam, and literally hundreds of Muslims gathered to hear these theories where he lectured at the Al-Nizamiyya