In this thought-provoking book, Mona Siddiqui reflects upon key themes in Islamic law and theology. These themes, which range through discussions about friendship, divorce, drunkenness, love, slavery and ritual slaughter, offer fascinating insights into Islamic ethics and the way in which arguments developed in medieval juristic discourse. Pre-modern religious works contained a richness of thought, hesitation and speculation on a wide range of topics, which were socially relevant but also presented intellectual challenges to the scholars for whom God's revelation could be understood in diverse ways. These subjects remain relevant today, for practising Muslims and scholars of Islamic law and religious studies. Mona Siddiqui is an astute and articulate interpreter who relays complex ideas about the Islamic tradition with great clarity. Her book charts her own journey through the classical texts and reflects upon how the principles expounded there have guided her own thinking, teaching and research.

Debunking conventional narratives of Afghanistan as a perennial war zone or marginal frontier, Faiz Ahmed presents a vibrant account of the first Muslim-majority country to gain independence from the British Empire, form a fully sovereign government, and promulgate an original constitution after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Far from a landlocked wilderness, turn-of-the-twentieth-century Afghanistan was a magnet for itinerant scholars and emissaries shuttling between Ottoman and British imperial domains. Tracing Afghans' longstanding but seldom examined scholastic ties to Istanbul, Damascus, and Baghdad, as well as greater Delhi and Lahore, Ahmed vividly describes how the Kabul court recruited jurists to craft a modern state within the interpretive traditions of Islamic law and ethics, or shari'a, and international legal norms. Beginning with the first Ottoman mission to Kabul in 1877, and culminating with parallel independence struggles in Afghanistan, India, and Turkey after World War I, this rich narrative explores encounters between diverse streams of Muslim thought and politics-from Young Turk lawyers to Pashtun clerics; Ottoman Arab officers to British Raj bureaucrats; and the last caliphs to a remarkable dynasty of Afghan kings and queens. By unearthing a lost history behind Afghanistan's independence and first constitution, Ahmed shows how debates today on Islam, governance, and the rule of law have deep roots in a beleaguered land. Based on research in six countries and as many languages, Afghanistan Rising rediscovers a time when Kabul stood proudly for anticolonial coalitions, self-determination, and contested visions of reform in the Global South and Islamicate world.

Indonesia has been home to some of the most vibrant and complex developments in modern Islamic thought anywhere in the world. Nevertheless little is known or understood about these developments outside South East Asia. By considering the work of the leading Indonesian thinkers of the twentieth century, Michael Feener, an intellectual authority in the area, offers a cogent critique of this diverse and extensive literature and sheds light on the contemporary debates and the dynamics of Islamic reform. The 2007 book highlights the openness to, and creative manipulation of, diverse strands of international thought that have come to define Islamic intellectualism in modern Indonesia. This is an accessible and interpretive overview of the religious and social thought of the world's largest Muslim majority nation. As such it will be read by scholars of Islamic law and society, South East Asian studies and comparative law and jurisprudence.

From its origins Islam has been an expansionist religion, understanding itself as a matter of faith to be in a permanent state of war with the non-Muslim world. After the initial consolidation of the Islamic caliphate, however, it soon became apparent that constant military hostilities could not be sustained and that other forms of relationship with non-Muslim nations would be necessary. To reconcile the imperatives of faith with the limits of military power, Islamic scholars developed elaborate legal doctrines. In the second century of the Muslim era (eighth century C.E.), hundreds of years before the codification of international law in Europe by Grotius and others, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, an eminent jurist of the Hanafite school in present-day Iraq, wrote the first major Islamic treatise on the law of nations, "Kitab al-Siyar al-Kabir." Translated with an extensive commentary by Majid Khadduri, Shaybani's Siyar describes in detail conditions for war (jihad) and for peace, principles for the conduct of military action and of diplomacy, and rules for the treatment of non-Muslims in Muslim lands. A foundational text of the leading school of law in Sunni Islam, it provides essential insights into relations between Islamic nations and the larger world from their earliest days up to the present.

Ten years after his untimely death, Norman Calder is still considered a luminary in the field of Islamic law. At the time he was one among a handful of scholars from the West who were beginning to engage with the subject. In the intervening years, much has changed, and Islamic law is now understood as fundamental to any engagement with the study of Islam, its history, and its society, and Dr. Calder s work is integral to that engagement. In this book, Colin Imber has put together and edited four essays by Norman Calder that have never been previously published. Typically incisive, they categorize and analyze the different genres of Islamic juristic literature that was produced between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, showing what function they served both in the preservation of Muslim legal and religious traditions and in the day-to-day lives of their communities. The essays also examine the status and role of the jurists themselves and are to be particularly welcomed for giving clear answers to the controversial questions of how far Islamic law and juristic thinking changed over the centuries, and how far it was able to adapt to new circumstances. In his introduction to the volume, Robert Gleave assesses the place and importance of Norman Calder s work in the field of Islamic legal studies. This is a groundbreaking book from one of the most important scholars of his generation."

Allan Christelow examines the Muslim courts of Algeria from 1854, when the French first intervened in Islamic legal matters, through the gradual subordination of the courts and judges that went on until World War I. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The study of Islamic law can be a forbidding prospect for those entering the field for the first time. Wael Hallaq, a leading scholar and practitioner of Islamic law, guides students through the intricacies of the subject in this absorbing introduction. The first half of the book is devoted to a discussion of Islamic law in its pre-modern natural habitat. The second part explains how the law was transformed and ultimately dismantled during the colonial period. In the final chapters, the author charts recent developments and the struggles of the Islamists to negotiate changes which have seen the law emerge as a primarily textual entity focused on fixed punishments and ritual requirements. The book, which includes a chronology, a glossary of key terms, and lists of further reading, will be the first stop for those who wish to understand the fundamentals of Islamic law, its practices and history.

In what ways has Islamic law discriminated against women and privileged men? What rights and power have been accorded to Muslim women, and how have they used the legal system to enhance their social and economic position? In an analysis of Islamic law through the prism of gender, Judith Tucker tackles these complex questions relating to the position of women in Islamic society, and to the ways in which the legal system impacted on the family, property rights, space and sexuality, from classical and medieval times to the present. Working with concepts drawn from feminist legal theory and by using particular cases to illustrate her arguments, the author systematically addresses questions of discrimination and expectation - what did men expect of their womenfolk - and of how the language of the law contributed to that discrimination, infecting the system and all those who participated in it.

In what ways has Islamic law discriminated against women and privileged men? What rights and power have been accorded to Muslim women, and how have they used the legal system to enhance their social and economic position? In an analysis of Islamic law through the prism of gender, Judith Tucker tackles these complex questions relating to the position of women in Islamic society, and to the ways in which the legal system impacted on the family, property rights, space and sexuality, from classical and medieval times to the present. Working with concepts drawn from feminist legal theory and by using particular cases to illustrate her arguments, the author systematically addresses questions of discrimination and expectation - what did men expect of their womenfolk - and of how the language of the law contributed to that discrimination, infecting the system and all those who participated in it.

This book provides an introduction to the laws of the Middle East, defining the contours of a field of study that deserves to be called 'Middle Eastern law'. It introduces Middle Eastern law as a reflection of legal styles, many of which are shared by Islamic law and the laws of Christian and Jewish Near Eastern communities. It offers a detailed survey of the foundations of Middle Eastern law, using court archives and an array of legal sources from the earliest records of Hammurabi to the massive compendia of law in the Islamic classical age through to the latest decisions of Middle Eastern high courts. It focuses on the way legislators and courts conceive of law and apply it in the Middle East. It builds on the author's extensive legal practice, with the aim of introducing the Middle Eastern law's main sources and concepts in a manner accessible to non-specialist legal scholars and practitioners alike. The book begins with an exploration of the depth and variety of Middle Eastern law, introducing the concepts of shari'a, fiqh, and qanun, (which all mean 'law'), and dwelling on Islamic law as the 'common law' of the Middle East. It provides a historical introduction to the contemporary Middle East, exploring political systems, constitutional law, judicial review, the laws of tort and obligations, commercial law (including Islamic banking, company law, capital markets, and commercial arbitration); and examines legislative reform in family law and the position of women in the legal system. The author considers the interaction between Islamic and Western laws and includes a bibliography designed for further research into the jurisdictions and themes explored throughout the book.

Khaled Abou El Fadl's book represents the first systematic examination of the idea and treatment of political resistance and rebellion in Islamic law. Pre-modern jurists produced an extensive and sophisticated discourse on the legality of rebellion and the treatment due to rebels under Islamic law. The book examines the emergence and development of these discourses from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, and considers juristic responses to the various terror-inducing strategies employed by rebels--including assassination, stealth attacks and rape. The study demonstrates how Muslim jurists went about restructuring several competing doctrinal sources in order to construct a highly technical discourse on rebellion. Indeed many of these rulings may have a profound influence on contempoary practices. This is an important and challenging book which sheds light on the complexities of Islamic law, and pre-modern attitudes to dissidence and rebellion.

A case study in the textual architecture of the venerable legal and ethical tradition at the center of the Islamic experience, Shari'a Scripts is a work of historical anthropology focused on Yemen in the early twentieth century. While colonial regimes, late Ottoman reformers, and early nationalists wrought decisive changes to the legal status of the shari'a, significantly narrowing its sphere of relevance, the Zaydi school of jurisprudence, rooted in highland Yemen for a millennium, still held sway. Brinkley Messick uses the richly varied writings of the Yemeni past to offer a uniquely comprehensive view of the shari'a as a localized and lived phenomenon. Shari'a Scripts reads a wide spectrum of sources in search of a new historical-anthropological perspective on Islamic textual relations. Messick analyzes the shari'a as a local system of texts, distinguishing between theoretical or doctrinal juridical texts (or the "library") and those produced by the shari'a courts and notarial writers (termed the "archive"). Attending to textual form, he closely examines representative books of madrasa instruction; formal opinion-giving by muftis and imams; the structure of court judgments; and the drafting of contracts. Messick's intensive readings of texts are supplemented by retrospective ethnography and oral history based on extensive field research. Shari'a Scripts also ventures a major methodological contribution by confronting anthropology's longstanding reliance upon the observational and the colloquial, seeking to develop tools for the anthropologist as reader.

This book examines the cultural origins of Islamic law. Some authorities stress the importance of the contribution of Roman law; others that of Arabian law. Most are agreed that Jewish law contributed, but not explained further. Dr Crone tests the Roman hypothesis with reference to one institution, the patronate, which does indeed appear to owe something to Roman law. He concludes that Roman law contributed only in so far as it was part and parcel of the rather different legal practice of the Near Eastern provinces, and that provincial law would repay further consideration by legal historians.

Khaled Abou El Fadl's book represents the first systematic examination of the idea and treatment of political resistance and rebellion in Islamic law. Pre-modern jurists produced an extensive and sophisticated discourse on the legality of rebellion and the treatment due to rebels under Islamic law. The book examines the emergence and development of these discourses from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, and considers juristic responses to the various terror-inducing strategies employed by rebels--including assassination, stealth attacks and rape. The study demonstrates how Muslim jurists went about restructuring several competing doctrinal sources in order to construct a highly technical discourse on rebellion. Indeed many of these rulings may have a profound influence on contempoary practices. This is an important and challenging book which sheds light on the complexities of Islamic law, and pre-modern attitudes to dissidence and rebellion.

In this path-breaking new book, the author shows how authority guaranteed both continuity and change in Islamic law. Hallaq demonstrates that it was the construction of the absolutist authority of the school founder, an image which he suggests was actually developed later in history, that maintained the foundations of school methodology and hermeneutics. The defense of that methodology gave rise to an infinite variety of individual legal opinions, ultimately accomodating changes in the law. Thus the author concludes that the mechanisms of change were embedded in the very structure of Islamic law, despite its essentially conservative nature.

Lex Petrolea and International Investment Law: Law and Practice in the Persian Gulf offers readers a detailed analysis of jurisprudence on the settlement of upstream petroleum disputes between host states in the Persian Gulf and foreign investors. Dr Nima Mersadi Tabari considers the historical, political, and socio-economic roots of the existing frameworks and levels of protection offered to foreign investors. With particular focus on petroleum-related disputes, he initially delivers a comprehensive survey of the jurisprudence of international investment law and investment treaty arbitration. Following on from this, in three dedicated chapters, the author provides in-depth analysis of the legal regimes governing the matter in the major producers of the region: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. A key resource for all professionals working on legal issues arising from foreign direct investments in natural resources, this book draws a detailed picture of the legal regime governing the upstream sector in the most important geographical region for the international oil and gas sector.

Wael B. Hallaq is already established as one of the most eminent scholars in the field of Islamic law. In his latest book, he traces the history of Islamic legal theory from its beginnings until the modern period. The book is the first of its kind in organization, approach to the subject, and critical apparatus, and as such will be an essential tool for the understanding of Islamic legal theory in particular and Islamic law in general. Its accessibility of language and style guarantees it a readership among students and scholars, as well as anyone interested in Islam and its evolution.

Modern Muslim intellectuals have been trying to reestablish a foundation for the revival of Islamic law. In this fascinating study, Daniel Brown assesses the implications of new approaches to the law on contemporary Islamic revivalist movements, and explores the impact of modernity on attitudes toward religious authority generally. This book will make a major contribution to the understanding of contemporary Islam, and will be of interest to scholars of the Middle East and South Asia, and to those teaching Islamic law.

'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Amr al-Awza'i (c.707-774) was Umayyad Syria's most influential jurist, part of a generation of scholars who began establishing the first formal structures for the preservation and dissemination of religious knowledge. Following the Abbasid revolution, they provided a point of stability in otherwise unstable times. Despite his close ties to the old regime, al-Awza'i continued to participate in legal and theological matters in the Abbasid era. Although his immediate impact would prove short-lived, his influence on aspects of Islamic law, particularly the laws of war, endures to this day.

Wael B. Hallaq has already established himself as one of the most eminent scholars in the field of Islamic law. In this book, first published in 1997, the author traces the history of Islamic legal theory from its early beginnings until the modern period. Initially, he focuses on the early formation of this theory, analysing its central themes and examining the developments which gave rise to a variety of doctrines. He concludes with a discussion of modern thinking about the theoretical foundations and methodology of Islamic law. In organisation, approach to the subject and critical apparatus, the book will be an essential tool for the understanding of Islamic legal theory in particular and Islamic law in general. This, in combination with an accessibility of language and style, will guarantee a readership among students and scholars and anyone interested in Islam and its evolution.

In this book, Omar Farahat presents a new way of understanding the work of classical Islamic theologians and legal theorists who maintained that divine revelation is necessary for the knowledge of the norms and values of human actions. Through a reconstruction of classical Ash'ari-Mu'tazili debates on the nature and implications of divine speech, Farahat argues that the Ash'ari attachment to revelation was not a purely traditionalist position. Rather, it was a rational philosophical commitment emerging from debates in epistemology and theology. He further argues that the particularity of this model makes its distinctive features helpful for contemporary scholars who defend a form of divine command theory. Farahat's volume thus constitutes a new reading of the issue of reason and revelation in Islam and breaks new ground in Islamic theology, law and ethics.

This work, a partial history of Iranian laws between 1906 and 2020, demonstrates that the main obstacle to improving the legal status of non-Muslims in Muslim contexts is the fiqhi opinions, which are mistakenly regarded as an integral part of the Islamic faith. It aims to clarify why and how Islamic Shiite rulings about non-Muslims shifted to the Iranian laws and how it is possible to improve the legal status of the Iranian non-Muslims under the Islamic government.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com Sharia family law processes have attracted increasing debate and controversy in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in recent years. While the reasons for opposition to sharia processes are complex, they often feature the concern that sharia processes disadvantage Muslim women. However, to date there has been inadequate attention to the experiences of participants in sharia processes. This book studies women's experiences with these processes in Australia, with attention to the question of how religious communities and liberal legal systems can best respond to the needs of Muslim women who use these processes. In doing so, the book offers unique evidence to inform future policy developments in Australia that will also have implications for other liberal jurisdictions. In this way, the book makes a significant contribution to the international discussion and response to sharia processes.

Islamic legal theory (usA"l al-fiqh) is literally regarded as 'the roots of the law' whilst Islamic jurists consider it to be the basis of Islamic jurisprudence and thus an essential aspect of Islamic law. This volume addresses the sources, methods and principles of Islamic law leading to an appreciation of the skills of independent juristic and legal reasoning necessary for deriving specific rulings from the established sources of the law. The articles engage critically with relevant traditional views to enable a diagnostic understanding of the different issues, covering both SunnAE" and ShAE"'AE" perspectives on some of the issues for comparison. The volume features an introductory overview of the subject as well as a comprehensive bibliography to aid further research. Islamic legal theory is a complex subject which challenges the ingenuity of any expert and therefore special care has been taken to select articles for their clarity as well as their quality, variety and critique to ensure an in-depth, engaging and easy understanding of what is normally a highly theoretical subject.