Tun Salleh Abbas, the Lord President ( as he then was) noted , in the case of Che Omar Che Soh v. Public Prosecutor [1988] 2 MJL 55 "... That although Islam is a complete way of life covering all fields of human activities , this was not the meaning intended in the Constitution.... " With reference to the above observation and relevant authorities , discuss to what extent Islamic law is applicable as a source of law in our legal system.

Answer:

Islamic law is certifiably not a general set of laws, yet a legal tradition, much like the common or civil law tradition. A legal tradition is a set of related convictions, perspectives, and practices with respect to the fundamental parts of an overall set of laws, including the scope and purposes of the law, the manner law is made or found, the identity and capacity of lawful actors, and the way wherein law is found out, actualized, created and adjusted. 

Islam has its very own, common, criminal, commercial, evidentiary, constitutional, and global law. Here, Islamic law and customary law were the law of the land well before English law got prominent, as under the current legal framework. As per the Federal Constitution, Islamic law is an issue falling inside the State List, implying that the State Legislatures are enabled to institute the law.

Exemptions for this are the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, wherein Islamic law is instituted by the Parliament. Our nation keeps up two parallel justice systems: the Syariah Court System in every one of the thirteen states, and the Civil Court System for the entire Federation. Each state has its own Syariah court framework, which manages matters identifying with Islamic law in which all gatherings are Muslim. 

All matters pertaining to Islamic law and Muslims shall only be heard in the Syariah court; all other cases are heard in the civil courts. The Constitution has empowered State Legislatures to promulgate Islamic law and personal and family law for all persons professing the religion of Islam (except in regard to matters included in the Federal List) such as succession, betrothal, marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, guardianship, trusts, Islamic religious revenue and mosques.

Civil and Criminal law are within the Federal Government's jurisdiction, except on criminal offences which effect Muslims as listed in the State List. The rules of Syariah are set by various sultans, who serve as Head of the Islamic religion in their respective states. Because Islamic law is administered by the respective states, there is a lack of uniformity in the administration of Islamic law.  

All issues relating to Islamic law and Muslims will just be heard in the Syariah court; all different cases are heard in the civil courts. The Constitution has enabled State Legislatures to promulgate Islamic law and individual and family law for all people professing the religion of Islam (except in regard to matters included in the Federal List such as succession, betrothal, marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, guardianship, trusts,

Islamic religious revenue and mosques). Civil and Criminal law are inside the Federal Government's jurisdiction, except on criminal offenses which impact Muslims as recorded in the State List. The rules of Syariah are set by different Sultans, who serve as Head of the Islamic religion in their particular states. Since Islamic law is administered by the respective states, there is an absence of consistency in the administration of Islamic law among states.

reference:

• http://124.82.154.121/ILIM/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=66
• http://www.esyariah.gov.my/
• http://www.esyariah.gov.my/portal/page?_pageid=186,92401&_dad=portal2&_schema=PORTAL2