We’ve examined the Quran and the story of its origins, and the origin story of Islam itself through the experiences of Muhammad, but there is more to a Muslim life. While the Quran is Allah’s word and meant to be studied and meditated upon, Hadith is Muhammad’s word and governs the rest of a follower’s civil and personal duty. A part of the Hadith is what is commonly known as Sharia Law. Today we’ll begin to examine what this law is, as it is just as much a part of Islam as the Quran.

There are religious laws in Sharia which form the 5 Pillars of Islam, which we will address later. Also included are eight sections of civil law that address financial transactions, endowments, laws of inheritance, marriage/divorce/child custody, dietary concerns, warfare and peace, and judicial matters. Some of these laws are derived from the Quran itself and are agreed to by all factions of Islam, but among the other laws there is some disagreement.

Islamic culture is very family and community centered. From the time one is young it is normal to have daily prayers, family study time to learn the Quran and Hadith, not to mention Friday worship at the mosque and numerous celebrations, feasts and other events. While parents are responsible for their children, truly one finds that the community is involved in raising them. Children challenge each other’s knowledge of their scriptures and laws, and are honored if they can show they have advanced knowledge. By the time a child becomes a man or woman they are involved in and known by their community.

Among the laws that are not debated is capital punishment for leaving Islam for another religion or to become an atheist. This explains why there is such loyalty among the Muslim faithful, and why evangelizing this group is both difficult and dangerous. When you add the communal aspect of Islam into the equation it becomes clear that escaping from the community is extremely challenging, if not impossible.

For these reasons one must be careful, but persistent when evangelizing a Muslim. They have years of training in their faith and it may take years of friendship before any fruit is born. I mention “friendship” because this is truly the way to reach someone so entrenched in their faith. They are not interested in being a conversion target, truthfully no one is. To reach Muslim’s one must be willing to not simply share their faith and ask the other to accept it, in fact doing so would be insulting. Only by committing to love others as Jesus commanded will the gospel have any impact.

Loving others the way God loves them is priority one in all relationships, but especially so when that person doesn’t know Jesus. By showing God’s love, and the fruit born from a relationship with God, sharing Jesus becomes natural and warranted. Only then can the community they know and love be replaced with the family of God.

To gain a better understanding of the kind of love, friendship and devotion to God that can free someone from the bondage of Islam read Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi.

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