Islam today is a major religion, with over 600 million followers, declared and founded by its prophet Muhammad. It is not just a religion, but an entire lifestyle, which takes all aspects into account. Sharia literally translates to “the path to the waterhole,” which means Muslims must follow this path to appease Allah and have a virtuous life. It is not prominent in all Islamic countries, but in others it dominates and governs government and society, from daily routines to weighing in on personal status laws and criminal law. The female population receives the harshest conditions of Sharia, compared to men who use it for empowerment. Some elements of Sharia are similar to common practices of other popular religions such as Christianity or Judaism, in terms of austerity, although other methods employed by fundamentalist Muslims have cultivated outsider bad judgment and apprehension about the religion . The history of Sharia can be traced back to 570 AD, in Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad. Muhammad is the prophet of Islam, who unified Arabia into a single religious state, claiming to spread the revelations and word of God. The word of God was later created in the Quran, the holiest book of Islam; Muhammad's sayings were incorporated into the Hiddath, and his way of life and daily practices were incorporated into the Sunnah, both Islamic holy scriptures. These sacred books were created after the death of Muhammad, when the tribes of Arabia began to unite under one religion, and that was the beginning of Islam and the birth of Sharia. Sharia is taken from the Quran, Sunnah and Hadith, which are all religious texts. Religious law is present throughout a Muslim's day, from sun up to sun down. Only…half of the paper…there is usually no halal section, yet every grocery store has a kosher section for Jews. According to statistics, there are approximately 5.5 million Jews and more than 8 million Muslims in the United States. About 16% of Jews comply with Kosher education, while approximately 75% of Muslims comply with Halal education. Producers do not get the possible profit they could get from these Muslim families, and Muslims have to go to great lengths to purchase halal products. The most overbearing laws for the lives of Muslims are the Personal Status Law and the Criminal Laws. Personal status law covers marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance. Muslims are permitted to marry at the age of fifteen, assuming the girl has reached puberty. If the girl is younger, but has reached puberty, she can marry, upon request, the wali, (the governor of an Arab providence.)