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The Shari'ah is the Divine Law by virtue of whose acceptance a person becomes a Muslim. Only he who accepts the injunctions of the Shari'ah as binding upon him is a Muslim, although he may not be able to realize all of its teachings or follow all of its commands in life. The Shari'ah is the ideal pattern for the individual's life and the Law which binds the Muslim people into a single community. It is the embodiment of the Divine Will in terms of specific teachings whose acceptance and application guarantees man a harmonious life in this world and felicity in the hereafter.
   The word Shari'ah itself is derived etymologically from a root meaning road. It is the road which leads to God. It is of great symbolic significance that both the Divine Law and the Spiritual Way or Tariqah, which is the esoteric dimension of Islam, are based on the symbolism of the way or journey. All life is a sojourn, a journey through this transient world to the Divine Presence. The Shari'ah is the wider road which is meant for all men by virtue of which they are able to attain the total possibilities of the individual human state. The Tariqah is the narrower path for the few who have the capability and profound urge to attain sanctity here and now and seek a path whose end is the full realization of the reality of Universal Man transcending the individual domain.
   The Shar'iah is Divine Law, in the sense that it is the concrete embodiment of the Divine Will according to which man should live in both his private and social life. In every religion the Divine Will manifests itself in one way or another and the moral and spiritual injunctions of each religion are of Divine origin. But in Islam the embodiment of the Divine Will is not only a set of general teachings but of concrete ones. Not only is man told to be charitable, humble or just, but how also to be so in particular instances of life. The Shar'iah contains the injunctions of the Divine Will as applied to every situation in life. It is the Law according to which God wants a Muslim to live. It is therefore the guide of human action and encompasses every facet of human life. By living according to the Shari'ah, man places his whole existence in God’s "hand." The Shari'ah, by considering every aspect of human action, thus sanctifies the whole of life and gives a religious significance to what may appear as the most mundane of activities.