在伊斯蘭國家，受到伊斯蘭法規範的不只穆斯林，齊米亦包括在內。另外傳統上，伊斯蘭不承認「上帝的歸上帝，凱撒的歸凱撒」（即政教分離）的說法、並把放棄沙里亞視為一種叛教的行為。按沙里亞規定，不論多大多小，任何事物都不可置之於真主的法度（Ahkam）之外，均歸類為天命（wajib）、嘉行（mustahib）、許可（mubah）、可憎（makruh）、嚴禁（haram）五大項。

 伊斯蘭教法涵蓋人民日常生活的許多方面，包括政治、經濟、銀行金融業、商業法、合同法律、性別、婚姻，和社會問題，但大體分為兩大部分：

1. 伊巴達提。有關宗教功修的法律。
2. 麥阿麥拉提。有關人與人交往的法律。

 在真實情況中，大多數穆斯林政權都只會執行有利其政權統治的法律，對其政權不利（家族或獨裁的世襲統治）的敏感法律（對於當時政權不利的法律）則普遍不採用伊斯蘭法庭的司法管轄權只限於個人和家庭事務，如婚姻、繼承、離婚、叛教，改宗和監護權，及處罰違反宗教戒律的穆斯林，不過也有非穆斯林的家事案件被身為穆斯林的訴訟對方提交伊斯蘭法庭處理^]）；亦有一些地方規定伊斯蘭教法同樣適用於當地的非穆斯林；伊斯蘭教法的具體適用對象及涵蓋範圍視乎當地法律而定。

其中對已婚通姦、褻瀆伊斯蘭教、叛教及同性戀者施行死刑，對偷竊者斬手，對婚前性行為或飲酒、吸菸者鞭打，不承認多神教徒、異端信徒和無神論者的基本人權（特別是後兩者），以及對女性、穆斯林不同派系的歧視、對幼兒進行強迫入教等，更是與現代社會格格不入。^]穆斯林則認為這是西方國家「借題發揮，別有用心，並不是真正關心穆斯林世界」，「對法制背後收到的阻嚇作用，社會的穩定作用等視而不見」。雙方在法律和人權標準上的迥異，核心價值亦不同，導致時有衝突。

Sharia, Sharia law, or Islamic law (Arabic: شريعة‎‎ (IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa])) is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition.^[1] It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.^[2][3][4] The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists and reformists.^[]

Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources of sharia: the Quran, sunnah (authentic hadith), qiyas (analogical reasoning), and ijma (juridical consensus).^[] Different legal schools—of which the most prominent are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and Jafari—developed methodologies for deriving sharia rulings from scriptural sources using a process known as ijtihad. Traditional jurisprudence distinguishes two principal branches of law, ʿibādāt (rituals) and muʿāmalāt (social relations), which together comprise a wide range of topics Its rulings assign actions to one of five categories: mandatory, recommended, neutral, abhorred, and prohibited. Thus, some areas of sharia overlap with the Western notion of law while others correspond more broadly to living life in accordance with God’s will.^[