 Shariah
mainly is based on the versus of the Holy Quran and the teachings and practices
of the Prophet Mohammed (the Sunna). The consensus of opinions and
interpretations of religious scholars is considered a secondary source of Shariah.
In
the Area where the majority of the population is Muslim, there is a notable trend
for the applications of Shariah. While most of the laws are based on Shariah,
specific areas of laws are now increasing adopting important aspects of
Shariah which will be indicated below where Gulf Law
has advised and assisted clients. 1.
Islamic Banking Except
for Saudi Arabia, the banking laws and practices of countries of the Area are
generally based on western banking systems. A notable trend for the application
of banking based on Shariah (called Islamic Banking) started in the Area in recent
years. Islamic Banking could, in theory, be fairly straight forward. In accordance
with Shariah Muslims can trade and invest in anything that is accepted (called
halal) and not prohibited (haram). Prohibited matters broadly include things that
are illegal or immoral such as gambling, prostitution, pornography, alcohol, drugs
and similar other matters. The main difficulty arises in the classification of
interest charged on funds in Shariah. While some Islamic jurists and scholars
consider all types of interest as usury which is prohibited in Shariah, others
consider simple interest acceptable and only compounded interest to be prohibited.
Although the argument on interest continues, Islamic banking is expanding in the
Area where banks and investment funds based on Shariah banking are being established.
For
more information see Extracts from the book "UAE
Company Law" 2.
Inheritance Shariah
provides specific rules of inheritance that are applied to Muslims. Generally
these rules are based on the principle of providing specific allocation/shares
of the estate of the deceased to certain types of his relatives such spouse or
parents and the distribution of the remainder to other heirs such as offsprings,
brothers/sisters and uncles/aunts. Shariah rules of inheritance are applied
in the countries in the Area. They might also apply to the assets of a deceased
Moslem person in a western jurisdiction or a Moslem resident in such a country.
3.
Wills Wills
might form part of the probate of the estate of a deceased Moslem. Shariah inheritance
rules regulate wills by providing that a will can only be applied and valid to
a certain portion of the total estate and to specific persons. | 
