Islamic jurisprudence: revealed law (sharī‘a), and derived or substantive law (fiqh)

The basic characteristic of the Islamic legal system is its dual bases in scriptural revelation, and in the evolving needs and problems of the geophysical and social environments. God, the law-giver, made moral exhortations, delineated permanent values by which to distinguish good from evil and right from wrong; and gave a few concise legal ordinances in the Quran. The Quran, and the ‘legal, binding Sunnah’ or Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad together provide the subject matter for Islamic revealed law, sharī‘a.