What are the sources of religious authority in Islam?
There are two basic sources of authority in Islam. The first is the Speech of God embodied in the Qur’an. The second source of authority is the Sunnah, the words and deeds of Prophet Muhammad. Shi’ah Muslims have a third authority for religion beside the above two authorities recognized by all Muslims. The teachings and writings of a number of early charismatic leaders called Imams descended from the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali are an additional source for Shi’ahs, since they believe these descendants are infallible and consider their words and explanations nearly as authoritative as the Qur’an and Sunnah. Muslim scholars use these sources in order to understand the principles of Shari’ah (Islamic Law) contained in them, and to develop legal opinions on existent as well as novel situations. The authentic sources also serve as criteria for differentiating between religiously-based actions or opinions and those resulting from other factors, such as culture, social status or circumstance. Fo