This book brings together the study of two great disciplines of the Islamic world: law and philosophy. In both sunni and shiite Islam, it became the norm for scholars to acquire a high level of expertise in the legal tradition. Thus some of the greatest names in the history of Aristotelianism were trained jurists, like Averroes, or commented on the status and nature of law, like al-Farabi. While such authors sought to put law in its place relative to the philosophical disciplines, others criticized philosophy from a legal viewpoint, like al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyya. But this collection of papers does not only explore the relative standing of law and philosophy. It also looks at how philosophers, theologians, and jurists answered philosophical questions that arise from jurisprudence itself. What is the logical structure of a well-formed legal argument? What standard of certainty needs to be attained in passing down judgments, and how is that standard reached? What are the sources of valid legal judgment and what makes these sources authoritative? May a believer be excused on grounds of ignorance? Together the contributions provide an unprecedented demonstration of the close connections between philosophy and law in Islamic society, while also highlighting the philosophical interest of texts normally studied only by legal historians.

The increasingly transnational nature of terrorist activities compels the international community to strengthen the legal framework in which counter-terrorism activities should occur at every level, including that of intergovernmental organizations. This unique, timely, and carefully researched monograph examines one such important yet generally under-researched and poorly understood intergovernmental organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ('OIC', formerly the Organization of the Islamic Conference). In particular, it analyses in depth its institutional counter-terrorism law-making practice, and the relationship between resultant OIC law and comparable UN norms in furtherance of UN Global Counter-Terrorism Stategy goals. Furthermore, it explores two common (mis)assumptions regarding the OIC, namely whether its internal institutional weaknesses mean that its law-making practice is inconsequential at the intergovernmental level; and whether its self-declared Islamic objectives and nature are irrelevant to its institutional practice or are instead reflected within OIC law. Where significant normative tensions are discerned between OIC law and UN law, the monograph explores not only whether these may be explicable, at least in part, by the OIC's Islamic nature, and objectives, but also whether their corresponding institutional legal orders are conflicting or cooperative in nature, and the resultant implications of these findings for international counter-terrorism law- and policy-making. This monograph is expected to appeal especially to national and intergovernmental counter-terrorism practitioners and policy-makers, as well as to scholars concerned with the interaction between international and Islamic law norms. From the Foreword by Professor Ben Saul, The University of Sydney Dr Samuels book must be commended as an original and insightful contribution to international legal scholarship on the OIC, Islamic law, international law, and counter-terrorism. It fills significant gaps in legal knowledge about the vast investment of international and regional effort that has gone into the global counter-terrorism enterprise over many decades, and which accelerated markedly after 9/11. The scope of the book is ambitious, its subject matter is complex, and its sources are many and diverse. Dr Samuel has deployed an appropriate theoretical and empirical methodology, harnessed an intricate knowledge of the field, and brought a balanced judgement to bear, to bring these issues to life.

Islamic commercial and financial practice has not experienced the trial-and-error style of development that has characterized the development of the common law in the English-speaking world. Many of the principles, rules and practices prevalent in the Islamic law of contract, commerce, finance and property remain the same as those outlined by the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, and expounded by scholars of jurisprudence as far back as the 13th century, despite the advancement in time and sophistication of commercial interaction. Hanaan Balala here demonstrates how, in order to bridge the gap between the principles outlined by the Quran and the Prophet in the 7th century and commercial practice in the 21st century, Islamic finance jurisdictions need to open themselves to learning from the experience (including the mistakes) of the English common law. "Islamic Finance and Law: Theory and Practice in a Globalized World" provides an analysis of the fundamental principles underlying the Islamic law of contract and commercial practice in comparison with their equivalents in common law in the English-speaking world. It seeks to draw parallels (and differences where appropriate) to facilitate the growth and development of Islamic commercial and financial law globally.

Dr. 'Abd al-Razz?q al-Sanh?r? (1895-1971) is one of the most prominent jurists to emerge to date in the Arab world. His alarm at the growing social gap in his country, Egypt, during the first half of the twentieth century, fueled his vision of establishing moral social order by means of a new civil code. Although Sanh?r?'s chosen tool was the legal text, this book argues that his vision was essentially a social one: to introduce the principles of compassion, solidarity and fairness, alongside progress and pragmatism, into polarized Egyptian society, whereby property laws acquired a social function, the laws of partnership were perceived as having an educational value, and contract law was activated as a balance favoring the weaker members of society. Accordingly, this book examines the drafting of the Egyptian Civil Code, exposing the hitherto unknown sociological strata of this act of legislation.

Introducing undergraduate students to Islamic law, this accessible textbook does not presume legal or technical knowledge. Drawing on a comparative approach, it encourages students to think through the issues of the application of Islamic law where Muslims live as a majority and where they live as a minority, including the USA, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan. The book surveys the historical development as well as the contemporary contexts of Islamic law. In distilling the history of Islamic law for non-specialists, the author covers important topics such as the development and transformation of Islamic institutions before and after colonialism. Coverage of Islamic law across contemporary contexts draws on real case material, and allows for discussion of Islam as a legal and a moral code that is activated both inside and outside the court. Readers will learn about rituals, dietary restrictions, family, contracts and property, lawful and unlawful gain, criminal law and punishments, and what makes a government legitimate in the eyes of Muslim individuals and authorities.

The importance of the rule of law is universally recognised and of fundamental value for most societies. Establishing and promoting the rule of law in the Muslim world, particularly in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, has become a pressing but complicated issue. These states have Muslim majority populations, and the religion of Islam has an important role in the traditional structures of their societies. While the Muslim world is taking gradual steps towards the establishment of rule of law systems, most Muslim majority countries may not yet have effective legal systems with independent judiciaries, which would allow the state and institutions to be controlled by an effective rule of law system. One important aspect of the rule of law is freedom of expression. Given the sensitivity of Muslim societies in relation to their sacred beliefs, freedom of expression, as an international human rights issue, has raised some controversial cases. This book, drawing on both International and Islamic Law, explores the rule of law, and freedom of expression and its practical application in the Muslim world.

In Visions of Shari'a Bhojani, De Rooij and Bohlander present the first broad examination of ways in which legal theory (usul al-fiqh) within Twelver Shi'i thought continues to be a forum for vibrant debates regarding the assumptions, epistemology and hermeneutics of Shari'a in contemporary Shi'i thought. Bringing together authoritative voices and emerging scholars, from both 'traditional' seminaries and 'Western' academies, the distinct critical insider and emic accounts provided develop a novel avenue in Islamic legal studies. Contextualised through reference to the history of Shi'i legal theory as well as contemporary juristic practice and socio-political considerations, the volume demonstrates how one of the most intellectually vibrant and developed discourses of Islamic thought continues to be a key forum for exploring visions of Shari'a.

This survey of Islamic law combines Western and Islamic views and describes the relationship between the original theories of Islamic law and the views of contemporary Islamic writers. Covering the key topics in the area, including the history, sources and formation of Islamic law, the legal mechanisms, and the contemporary context, it is strong in its coverage of the modern perspective, which distinguishes this book from other texts in the field. The aim is to provide the student with a basic understanding of Islamic law and access to the complexity of the Islamic legal system. The language used is non-technical and understanding is aided with a supplementary detailed glossary and analytical indices.

In Beyond Schools: Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Wazir's (d. 840/1436) Epistemology of Ambiguity, Damaris Wilmers provides the first extensive analysis of Ibn al-Wazir's thought and its role in the "Sunnisation of the Zaydiyya", emphasizing its significance for conflicts between schools of thought and law beyond the Yemeni context. Contrasting Ibn al-Wazir's works with those of his Zaydi contemporary Ahmad b. Yahya b. al-Murtada, Damaris Wilmers offers a study of a number of heretofore unedited texts from 9th/15th century Yemen when Zaydi identity was challenged by an increasing theological and legal diversity. She shows how Ibn al-Wazir, who has been classed with different schools, actually de-emphasized school affiliation and developed an integrative approach based on a unique theory of knowledge.

Ahmad Alkhamees defines Creative Shari'ah compliance as compliance with the letter but not the objectives of Shari'ah. In recent years, Islamic finance industry practises have come under scrutiny, with strong critiques levelled against many institutions that claim to provide Shari'ah-compliant products and services, which in fact undermine the spirit and the objectives of Shari'ah. This book significantly contributes to the sphere of Islamic finance in three main ways. First, it critically appraises justifications of creative Shari'ah compliance practises. Second, it examines how Shari'ah supervisory board (SSB) governance practises, and the inconsistent fatwas issued by SSBs, contribute to the issue of creative Shari'ah compliance. Most importantly, it suggests regulatory mechanisms which regulators can employ in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and in secular countries such as the United Kingdom to deal with the issue of creative Shari'ah compliance.

Can Islamic finance save the global system? Islamic Finance and the New Financial System describes how the adoption of Islamic finance principles in future regulatory decisions could help prevent future shocks in the global financial system. Using illustrations and examples to highlight key points in recent history, this book discusses the causes of financial crises, why they are becoming more frequent and increasingly severe, and how the new financial system will incorporate elements of Islamic finance whether deliberately or not. With an introspective look at the system and an examination of the misconceptions and deficiencies in theory vs. practice, readers will learn why Islamic finance has not been as influential as it should be on the larger global system. Solutions to these crises are thoroughly detailed, and the author puts forth a compelling argument about what can be expected in the future. Despite international intervention and global policy changes, the financial system remains in a fragile state. There is an argument to be made about integrating Islamic finance into the new system to facilitate stronger resilience, and this book explains the nuts and bolts of the idea while providing the reader with a general understanding of Islamic finance. * Understand the key principles of Islamic finance * Examine the history of the current financial system * Discover how Islamic finance can help build a new debt-free economy * Learn how Islamic finance theory doesn't always dictate practice Although Islamic finance is a growing market, it is still a foreign concept to many. Those within the Islamic finance circles wonder why the system has yet to gain broader appeal despite its ability to create a strong and well-balanced economy. Islamic Finance and the New Financial System provides clever analysis and historical background to put the issues into perspective.

It is the first study which comprehensively, systematically and critically examines the role and usefulness of the concept of Maqasid al-Shari'a (higher Objectives of Islamic Law) in contemporary Muslim reformist thought in relation to number of specific issues pertaining to Islamic legal philosophy, law, ethics and the socio-political sphere.

Justice is considered the basic norm of human coexistence. Every legal order refers to the concept of justice, and Muslims also regard their religious norms (the Sharia) as offering just solutions to legal questions. But is the assumption that the Sharia is just merely an acceptance of a status quo correct? And is justice the necessary aim of the Sharia? In this volume, renowned scholars discuss these questions from different perspectives. In principle, the first normative source of Islam, the Qur'an, orders justice and fair conduct (Rohe). At the same time, an analysis of the concept of justice in the classical age of Islam (Ahmed and Poya) also shows that there existed ambivalent understandings of this concept. The relationship of the idea of justice in Islam to political questions (Ende), to war (Poya), and to modern reform (Mir-Hosseini) again confirms the importance of the concept for a critical reflection on traditional assumptions and existing circumstances. The discussion on the hijab in Western countries (Ladwig) shows paradigmatically how justice can regulate the relationship between the secular state and the Sharia. The essays in this volume endeavor to show that debates about justice, in Islam as well, express an underlying tension between the perception of an order as just on the one hand, and the feeling of injustice under the same order on the other. This discussion validates the idea that justice should be understood as a concept subject to a perpetual reexamination according to changing times and circumstances.

This book explores the relationship between custom and Islamic law and seeks to uncover the role of custom in the construction of legal rulings. On a deeper level, however, it deals with the perennial problem of change and continuity in the Islamic legal tradition (or any tradition for that matter). It is argued that custom ("urf" and "adah") was one of the important tools that the jurists used to accommodate change and to adjust the rulings of shariah to the ever changing conditions in particular social and historical contexts. The book presents a diachronic study of the development of the concept of custom (and the different terms that have been associated with it) in the Islamic legal tradition.

Substantially about the relation between the concept of constitutionalism and Islamic Law in general and how such relation is specifically reflected in the Shi'ite jurisprudence, this volumeexplores the juristic origins of constitutionalism, especially in the context of 1905 Constitutional Revolution in Iran. Boozari has introduced the most important fatwas issued by the religious leaders in support of constitutionalism during the 1905 revolution, unfolded their underpinning theories, and analyzed the juristic technicalities of the terms.

Today there are more Muslims living in diaspora than at any time in history. This situation was not envisioned by Islamic law, which makes no provision for permanent as opposed to transient diasporic communities. Western Muslims are therefore faced with the necessity of developing an Islamic law for Muslim communities living in non-Muslim societies. In this book, Kathleen Moore explores the development of new forms of Islamic law and legal reasoning in the US and Great Britain, as well the Muslims encountering Anglo-American common law and its unfamiliar commitments to pluralism and participation, and to gender, family, and identity. The underlying context is the aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7, the two attacks that arguably recast the way the West views Muslims and Islam. Islamic jurisprudence, Moore notes, contains a number of references to various 'abodes' and a number of interpretations of how Muslims should conduct themselves within those worlds. These include the dar al harb (house of war), dar al kufr (house of unbelievers), and dar al salam (house of peace). How Islamic law interprets these determines the debates that take shape in and around Islamic legality in these spaces. Moore's analysis emphasizes the multiplicities of law, the tensions between secularism and religiosity. She is the first to offer a close examination of the emergence of a contingent legal consciousness shaped by the exceptional circumstances of being Muslim in the U.S and Britain in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century

With the contemporary discussions of political Islam, how do minority Muslim communities approach the traditional concept that Islam is both "religion and politics"? How do Muslim minorities address the issues of Islamic social organization when they are either a minority or living within a pluralistic state? Do Muslims who are integrated within a pluralistic state approach the traditional aspects of Islamic social-political organization in a manner different than those Muslims whomake up a majority? This study examines the Islamic categories of Christians under Islamic law and compares them with the status of Christians within Lebanon. David Grafton reviews the opinions of four Lebanese Muslim scholars (two Sunni and two Shi'a) regarding Christian political rights during the Lebanese Civil War. In such a diverse and complicated social context as Lebanon, who do these scholars respond to the position of the Christian community which claims political supremacy by maintaining its hold on the presidency? The debate on political Islam has, to this point, neglected to look seriously at Muslim communities in pluralistic contexts, and how such contexts affect their opinions of traditional social-political organization. This text attempts steps to reverse this trend.

There is a long and rich history of opinion centred on female prayer leadership in Islam that has occupied the minds of theologians and jurists alike. It includes outright prohibition, dislike, permissibility under certain conditions and, although rarely, unrestricted sanction, or even endorsement. This book discusses debates drawn from scholars of the formative period of Islam who engaged with the issue of female prayer leadership. Simonetta Calderini critically analyses their arguments, puts them into their historical context, and, for the first time, tracks down how they have informed current views on female imama (prayer leadership). In presenting the variety of opinions discussed in the past by Sunni and Shi'i scholars, and some of the Sufis among them, the book uncovers how they are, at present, being used selectively, depending on modern agendas and biases. It also reviews the roles and types of authority of current women imams in diverse contexts spanning from Asia, Africa and Europe to America. The research offers readers the opportunity to gain nuanced answers to the question of female imama today that may lead to informed discussions and to change, if not necessarily in practices then at the very least in attitudes. This ground-breaking book interrogates the cases of women who are reported to have led prayer in the past. It then analyses the voices of current women imams, many of whom engage with those women of the past to validate their own roles in the present and so pave the way for the future.

The meanings and contexts of Shari'a are the subject of both curiosity and misunderstanding by non-Muslims. Shari'a is sometimes crudely characterized by outsiders as a punitive legal system operating broadly outside, and separate from, national laws and customs. This groundbreaking book shows that Shari'a and its 'fiqh' (laws set forward by various Islamic legal schools) comprise a far more nuanced matrix of interpretations than is often assumed to be the case. Far from being monolithic or impervious to change from without, Muslim legal tradition has - since its beginnings in the early Islamic period - placed an emphasis on equity and non-adversarial conflict-resolution. Mohamed Keshavjee examines both Sunni and Shi'a applications of Islamic law, demonstrating how political, cultural and other factors have influenced the practice of fiqh and Shari'a in the West. Exploring in particular the modern development of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the author shows that this process can revitalize some of the essential principles that underlie Muslim teachings and jurisprudence, delivering not only formal remedies but also perceived justice, even to non-Muslims.

Muslim Personal Law in South Africa: Evolution and Future Status, the first South African book on the topic of Muslim personal law, introduces readers to the debate on the awarding of unique rights to specific communities. The recognition of Muslim personal law or Muslim family law has provoked debate within and beyond the Muslim community and has attracted the attention of religious scholars, academics and lawyers. The contributors to this volume touch on constitutional issues, concerns with the application of Muslim personal law by our courts, and the conflict between supporters and opponents of the draft Bill on Muslim Marriages. The non-recognition of Muslim marriages has compelled Muslim women who have suffered the dire consequences of divorce, maintenance and custody to approach the courts for relief. If Muslim personal law were to be recognised by the state, to what extent would it protect the rights of women? Will recent judgments establish precedents that might prove to be at odds with the draft Bill? This book provides fascinating insight into the evolution and prospects of Muslim personal law in South Africa.

Emphasising an empirical research to contemporary legal pluralist settings in Muslim contexts, the present collected volume contributes to a deepened understanding of legal pluralist issues and realities through comparative examination. This approach reveals some common features, such as the relevance of Islamic law in power struggles and in the construction of (state or national) identities, strategies of coping with coexisting sets of legal norms by the respective agents, or public debates about the risks induced by the recognition of religious institutions in migrant societies. At the same time, the studies contained in this volume reveal that legal pluralist settings often reflect very specific historical and social constellations, which demands caution towards any generalisation.

Drawing on legal and hadith texts from the formative and classical periods of Islamic legal history, this book offers an overview of the development of the questions prominent jurists asked and answered about women's issues. All assumed a woman would marry and thus the book concentrates on women's family life. The introduction establishes the historical framework within which the jurists worked. A chapter on Qur'an verses devoted to women's lives is followed by chapters on marriage and divorce which compare the views of jurists during the formative period. The fourth chapter describes the evolution from the formative to the classical periods. The fifth uses material from both periods to describe the array of legal opinion about other aspects of women's lives in and outside their homes. Throughout, jurists' opinions are juxtaposed with relevant quotations from contemporaneous hadith collections.