How Much of Shariah Law Do You Have to Follow?

This is something I have been wondering for a long time. How much of Shariah Law are you required to follow? Or more so: In what way are you required to follow Shariah? I know a muslim should follow the Qur'an, follow the pillars, follow the prophet. But how much of our lives should be conducted by Shariah Law? This law was barely developed at the time of the prophet, he did not construct the Shariah Law we have today. So how do we know that this is what the prophet wanted the muslims to follow? Shariah Law is a combination of the Qur'an, Hadith, the Ulama, and fiqh (If you are Shia you would add the Imams to the list). Shariah is understood through the opinions of educated men on a variety of topics concerning the lives of muslims drawn from these sources. But how many of these "opinions", however extensively educated, are we to follow?

Now, I have to admit that the marjas have helped me to understand Shariah. But each one has their own opinion of what is and is not halal, haram, recommended, or not recommended. But they are helpful to look at for an answer. That is why you pick one, so you don't have five hundred opinions flying at you. Some have really great answers to questions and they really can show you that not all of Shariah Law is bad. Some of it is helpful and logical. Some of it is great and did amazing things for law in general around the world. Some of it changed the rights of women as well. But this doesn't mean that they have done away with rules that simply don't make a lot of sense. Or that seem to go against what the Qur'an and what the prophet taught. A lot of rules have multiple, and opposite, interpretations. I will give you a few examples.

A woman's hair must at least come to her shoulders. Anything shorter is haram. She must consult her husband if she even so much as wants to trim her hair. if he says no then she is not allowed to cut her hair. (You aren't suppose to have short hair because men have short hair and you will be imitating a man which is haram. But I'm pretty sure its my biology and not my hair that makes me female. Although I do think it is polite to ask your spouse what he/she thinks prior to making a big physical change. Not all marjas agree with this. Some think its fine providing it is not a man's haircut and its ok with your husband. Everyone says you are not allowed to shave off your hair....not sure why.)

Being stoned to death is considered the required punishment for adultery. (In the Qur'an it is lashing after excessive proof is given for the adultery. The lashing is also not suppose to kill the person. In some opinions, the punishment of stoning only applies to women).

One can eat food prepared by a Christian or a Jew providing the meat is halal or its vegetarian but cannot eat anything prepared by a someone who is not "of the book" (Hindu, Buddhist, etc.) That food is considered haram even if the meat is halal. (Some say it does not matter as long as the food is halal).

A muslim man may temporarily marry a Christian or a Jew but it is highly unrecommended that he permanently marry one. It is also highly unrecommended that a shia marry a sunni. (The Qur'an says a muslim man may permanently marry any person of the book, which of course would include other sects of Islam. There are a couple of marjas (such as Ayatollah Khomeni) who say marrying anyone other than a muslim is haram. Some say its not a problem at all providing the children are raised muslim. Above is Sistani's ruling).

Jews and Christians are commonly considered najis, although it is not improbable that they are Pak, but it is best to avoid them. -Sistani (The holy Qur'an says that Jews and Christians are part of the "People of the Book" and should be welcomed as part of the Ummah. Therefore, according to the Qur'an, there is no chance that they are najis. Sayyid Khameni and Fadlullah disagree with this statement and say they are Pak. This again belongs to Ayatollah Sistani. There are also views that Trinitarian Christians are not included in the "People of the Book" because they do not believe in "One God" even though they do)

This could go on forever so I will stop now. The opinions on music are ENDLESS. Same with women and their menstrual cycle. And food, clothes, movement, gatherings etc. I find this horribly stressful. I do not want to worry every five seconds wondering if what I am doing is haram. Its far too many rules for any one mortal person to handle. Plus, there are so many opinions. As you can see, the marjas can't even agree amongst each other.

So what do you all think? How much should Shariah Law govern the life of a muslim? Do we take it and follow without question or do we let it be a guide but ultimately make our own decisions?