Which Family of Law is Not Secular? 

Which family of law is secular? The answer depends on your point of view. Secular law is not necessarily the same as common law, or even in any way related. It includes the natural law of historical nature and Islamic law. Both have some commonalities, while others differ significantly. Read on to discover the differences between these families. You may be surprised at what you learn! We hope you enjoy reading! If you have any questions or comments about this article, don’t hesitate to contact us!

(Looking for a Divorce Lawyers in Missoula? Contact us today!)

Common law 

Although common law in most parts of the world is considered to be secular, there are also instances where the law is not. For example, some countries have dual legal systems where a religious court is used to decide family matters while a secular court is used to deal with public and commercial law. These dual legal systems were in place in England until the 1850s and are present in countries such as Israel, Pakistan, and India. The proportion of human activity relating to the laws of the various countries is what determines which system is used in which country. 

There are two types of common law: civil and common. Earlier, common law was written legislation and evolved into a system of rules based on precedent, or past decisions. This type of law is not found in a particular code but is rather found in case law and past decisions. Because it is flexible, it allows judges to introduce new legal doctrines and change the old ones, as they see fit. It also allows for the creation of new, unwritten, secular legal doctrines. 

Historical natural law 

Natural law has two definitions: divine natural law, a system of principles revealed by a supreme being, and historical natural laws, a set of rules derived from the human intellect, physical, biological, and moral laws. Historical natural law developed over time, through the slow accretion of custom, tradition, and experience. This is a more modern approach to natural law, but one that is still deeply rooted in tradition and history. 

The best Natural Law theory holds that all moral laws are found in the Bible and the Natural, or historical, law. Penology of the state, however, must be based on a law, which deals with ethics and morals and cannot be outside of these realms. The best natural law theory also holds that the laws of the state should be consistent with the principles of Scripture. Therefore, a state’s laws are not secular but derived from it. 

Islamic law 

One of the reasons why Islamic law is non-secular is that rules governing its interpretation are not fixed and immutable. The Islamic law of Shari’a is not a secular form of law and as such cannot be applied uniformly. There are several schools of thought on Islamic law. The main schools are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Ismaili. Sufi schools include Ahmadi and Abu Hanifa. 

The Qur’an is the central source of Islamic law and is based on strict observance of its teachings. Other sources of Islamic law, the Hadith and the Sunna provide complementary guidance on the interpretation of Islamic law. These sources, which are related to the Qur’an, are regarded as valid only if they do not contradict the Qur’an or contradict it. A student at Djenne school in Saudi Arabia recites a passage from the Qur’an from memory.