sharia

noun

sha·​ria shə-ˈrē-ə How to pronounce sharia (audio)
variants or less commonly shari'a or shariah or shari'ah
often capitalized
: Islamic law based on the Koran

Examples of sharia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The country also operates a sharia system, Islam’s legal system, in parallel with its secular legal system. Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022 Nigeria is a secular nation but some states in the mostly Muslim north observe Islamic sharia and have courts that punish those accused of deviating from its practices. Washington Post, 4 June 2022 Although those funds are not required to invest only in sharia-compliant assets, large portions of them are. Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2022 Women found guilty of violating the country’s sharia laws prohibiting homosexuality risk being flogged, too. Washington Post, 12 June 2019 Avoiding debt-heavy companies can make a sharia-compliant portfolio less risky, but that’s partly offset by ignoring many industries and concentrating assets in others, potentially resulting in under-diversification. Dallas News, 5 Apr. 2020 That would be Kholoud Al-Faqih, who is a judge in a Palestinian sharia or religious court in the West Bank. Kenneth Turan, latimes.com, 19 Apr. 2018 Despite Washington’s best efforts, Americans grasp the difference between (a) Islam as a personal religious affiliation and (b) sharia supremacism as an anti-Western political ideology. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 20 July 2019 The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile and established an Islamic State, based on sharia law. Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 30 June 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sharia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Arabic sharīʽa

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sharia was in 1855

Dictionary Entries Near sharia

Cite this Entry

“Sharia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharia. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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