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Sharia, the religious law, is gathered from four sources

Koran - a collection of "sermons" given by Mohammed and traditionally held to be written down from memory by his followers after his death
sunna - "custom" is the way Mohammed behaved which is to serve as a guide for his followers; the source for the sunna is the hadith (anecdotes about Mohammed's life as written by his "companions")
qiyas - "analogy"
ijma - "consensus"

There are vastly different interpretations of what Sharia is. Unlike the Jewish law it's not specific and clear. Some parts (some of the most brutal and barbaric) are, but certainly not all. Over the centuries various Islamic scholars have interpreted it differently.

Because Islam sees Mohammed as the ideal man, his actions are to be emulated. Mohammed was a violent, abusive man who didn't deal with it very well when he didn't get what he wanted. Reframing his actions can only go so far.

There have been recent developments that questions the authenticity of Mohammed's work.

Interesting reading: The 'Birmingham Koran' fragment that could shake Islam after carbon-dating suggests it is OLDER than the Prophet Muhammad

It would really suck to have parts of something Muhammad was divinely inspired to create show up at a time which preceded him! Especially for his followers, who slaughtered some say 290 million people out of respect of.

"Fragments of the world's oldest Koran, found in Birmingham last month, may predate the Prophet Muhammad and could even rewrite the early history of Islam, according to scholars.

The pages, thought to be between 1,448 and 1,371 years old, were discovered bound within the pages of another Koran from the late seventh century at the library of the University of Birmingham.

Written in ink in an early form of Arabic script on parchment made from animal skin, the pages contain parts of the Suras, or chapters, 18 to 20, which may have been written by someone who actually knew the Prophet Muhammad - founder of the Islamic faith."