Legal Codes Quotes
This is a very important point as most Muslims believe that the actual wording of the Sharia—Islamic Law—comes from the Prophet directly and are not the words of various legal scholars which is just what they are. Needless to say, there are many differences and even contradictions depending on time and the particular scholar. Islam however has no authority that religiously is higher than any other. In that respect, it is like Judaism. There is not a recognized religious hierarchy as there is in Christian churches.
“Familia” in Latin meant in this context, the community or the citizens as opposed to the officials, The Bishop determined the former was under attack by the officials who in the probating of wills and estates would take bribes or levy taxes under “laws” that they would make up on the spot bilking the rightful inheritors of the property and wealth of the deceased. The principle that laws and regulations must be written down in advance and not otherwise, is a fundamental part of Western law today, But as this quotation shows, it was not always such.
While other nations have occasionally adopted laws and legal approaches of other countries and sometimes after being conquered have had their legal code rewritten to be more like that of the conqueror, this may be the only example of a nation having a major legal reform driven by compatibility with the major powers of the day.
1st Baron Macaulay. An autocracy can produce an extensive coherent legal code much easier than a popular government because a few people can make all the decisions and need the final approval of one. The democracy has all the different forces and views of society to contend with and it takes much more to resolve and compromise a final code. The result however is not only fairer generally but is respected more by the people.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
