Contrary to common belief, Islam was not started from the time of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but was actually the religion of all the prophets from the time of Adam (peace be upon him) to the last prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him), including the followers of the prophets. Islam in its final form, however, was revealed by Allah to the prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. As such, some things in Islam as we know it today may be found in the practices of the people who followed the prophets before prophet Muhammad, and some things in Islam are new that make up the final form of Islam.
The rules, regulations, and guidelines that make up Islam are unique in the sense that they encapsulate not only the spiritual aspect of the individual's life (such as the details of belief in Allah and His prophets, worship, etc.), but also the other non-spiritual aspects of the individual's life as well (such as guidelines for bringing up the family, interacting with members of the opposite sex, engaging in trade and commerce, education, etc.). In other words, a follower of Islam will find that all aspects of his/her life will be affected by the rules, regulations and guidelines as ordained by the Creator of the Universe, Allah. These rules, regulations and guidelines have been prescribed by Allah as the ideal way for humans to live, as He created humans, and He knows what they need to do in order to live peacefully and harmoniously, not only amongst themselves, but also with the other creations of Allah, such as the animals, the earth, the sky, and the whole universe.
The rules, regulations and guidelines in a Muslim's life comes from three main sources, the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam), the Hadith (the recorded traditions of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)), the Qiyaas (establishing similarities between issues), and Ijma' (the consensus of the scholars of Islam). These are summarised below:
1. The Qur'an
The Qur'an is the first source of guidance. The Qur'an, as revealed to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is today still exactly the same Qur'an as was revealed to the prophet Muhammad over 1400 years ago. This is because Allah has promised that he would safeguard His final revelation to mankind until the day of judgement. As such, if one was to take two different copies of the Qur'an from two completely different places in the world, one would find not a single discrepancy between the two copies. In addition, Muslims from all backgrounds all over the world have memorised the Qur'an, and are able to correct each other's memorisation because they have memorised it from the same source. The Qur'an is memorised only in Arabic by all Muslims. The Qur'an is a living miracle given by Allah to the prophet Muhammad, and it stands as a witness for everyone who has read it.
The Qur'an contains stories of the previous prophets of Allah, and how they invited their respective nations to the truth. These stories are not for mere entertainment, but serve as a reminder to those that read the Qur'an of people who lived in the past, and what happened to those who accepted the truth, and those that rejected it. The Qur'an also contains the rules, regulations and guidelines set by Allah in regards to spirituality, trade, fasting, performing pilgrimage, and other items. It also contains admonitions to people who lived at the time of the prophet Muhammad, and in relation to things that happened in and around his time. Allah also describes Himself in the Qur'an in certain aspects, and Muslims are required to believe in Him according to these descriptions and the descriptions as reported by the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him).
2. The Hadith
The hadith are the rules, regulations, and guidelines as derived from the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as recorded by his companions. The hadith complement and serve as a secondary source of guidance after the Qur'an. Whilst the Qur'an lays down the general (and some specific) laws and regulations, the hadith serve as an indication as to how the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived his life according to the laws in the Qur'an, and therefore as an example to the rest of mankind as to how the laws in the Qur'an should be practically applied and practiced.
In addition to this, the hadith also describes the voluntary acts of worship performed by the prophet Muhammand. These voluntary acts are known as the sunnah, which are acts that are deemed to be highly recommended for every Muslim to practice, but at the same time is not obligatory. The sunnah can be found not only within acts of worship (such as certain actions during prayers), but also form a large part of other aspects of a Muslim's life. For example, all Muslims strive to sleep, eat, engage in trade, and so on according to the sunnah of the prophet Muhammad, i.e. according to the way that he did all these things. This is because Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad was a messenger from Allah to mankind not only for mankind's spiritual life, but all other aspects of life as well. In ensuring that the whole of a Muslim's life is according to the sunnah, s/he would find peace not only spiritually, but in all the other aspects of his/her physical, social and psychological life as well.
3. The Qiyaas (establishing similarities between issues)
The Qiyaas is used in cases where a ruling may need to be applied in a situation that did not exist at the time of the prophet Muhammad, and is not mentioned in the Qur'an. Examples of this include the use of certain kinds of technology, and certain kinds of food and drink that form the food of other cultures, etc. In such a case, the scholars of Islam use Qiyaas to determine whether a certain thing is allowable or not.
An example of this is the drinking of kava (a drink made from the root of the kava plant found in some Pacific Island countries). Taken in large amounts this drink causes intoxication, and can also be addictive. This drink was not known at the time of the prophet, so nothing can be found in the Qur'an and the hadith that mentions this drink. However, the Qur'an and the Hadith do mention alcohol and prohibit the drinking of alcohol. The Hadith also mentions the saying of the prophet, that anything that intoxicates, taken either in large or small amounts, is prohibited for Muslims. The scholars then state that by using analogy, that it is not permitted for Muslims to drink kava.
In a similar way, Qiyaas is used by the respected scholars of Islam in establishing the permissibility of things such as abortion, IVF, and other such issues.
4. The Ijma' (Consensus of Scholars)
In situations where nothing in the Qur'an or the Hadith resembles an issue that needs to be considered, scholars agree to it's permissibility or the non-permissibility by what is known as Ijma'. Ijma' means the consensus of a number of scholars in regards to a particular issue. The scholars deems a particular issue to be allowed or disallowed in taking into account a number of things, including considering the effect that the particular issue may have on individuals and society, by considering whether or not it follows in the spirit of the rest of the laws and regulations in Islam, and other such factors.
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