In Arabic, Sharia literally means "the clear, well-trodden path to water". Sharia acts as a code for living that all Muslims should adhere to, including prayers, fasting and donations to the poor. It aims to help Muslims understand how they should lead every aspect of their lives according to God's wishes.
The five major goals of the Sharia are the protection of sound religious practice, life, sanity, the family, and personal and communal wealth. The acknowledgement of sound local customs throughout the world is one of the five basic maxims of the Sharia according to all Islamic schools of law.
For example, Sharia has been used to restrict women's freedom in countries such as Brunei and Saudi Arabia. However, scholar Mark Fathi Massoud points out that Sharia provided women with rights that were unheard of in the premodern world. Scholar Afsaruddin writes that Sharia requires a woman's consent before marriage.
Sharia isn't the same as Islamic law. Muslims believe sharia refers to the perfect, immutable values understood only by God, while Islamic laws are those based on interpretations of sharia. Interpreting sharia requires deep knowledge of the Quran and Sunna, fluency in Arabic, and expertise in legal theory.
Some Islamic jurists have ruled that this requires women to cover their hair and others their faces. But many Muslims around the world take it to mean simply that women should dress and behave modestly in public. Sharia establishes that a woman has the right to choose a husband.
This meat is called “halal.” Muslims are also prohibited from gambling, taking interest, fortune-telling, killing, lying, stealing, cheating, oppressing or abusing others, being greedy or stingy, engaging in sex outside of marriage, disrespecting parents, and mistreating relatives, orphans or neighbors.
Sharia practiced in most extreme form is notorious of its cruel punishments: chopping of limbs, beheading and stoning to death. These practices violate most international norms of human rights. The Sharia punishment for many crimes is beating.
Capital punishment in Islam was traditionally regulated by Sharia, the religious law in Islam that comes from the Hadith that lists the sayings and practices of Muhammad. Crimes according to the Sharia laws which could result in capital punishment include murder, rape, adultery, etc.