Islamic commercial and financial practice has not experienced the trial-and-error style of development that has characterised 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.

"The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective" provides the most detailed study to date on the subject of the dignity of man from the perspective of Islam. M H Kamali sets out the proclamations on human dignity found in the Qur'an and then discusses topics pertaining to or resulting from human dignity: the physical and spiritual nobility of man; God's love for humanity; the sanctity of life; and the necessity for freedom, equality and accountability. Finally, the author examines the measures that the "Shariah" has taken to protect human dignity and to promote it in social interaction. The discussion is here presented in the light of the debate on the universality of human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This book goes a long way towards exploring an alternative to Western concepts of human rights. "The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective" is part of a series of studies on fundamental rights and liberties in Islam and should be read with its companion volumes of "Freedom,"" Equality and Justice in Islam," and "Freedom of Expression in Islam,"

The Prophet Muhammad s treaties with the Christians of his time, which John Andrew Morrow has rediscovered in obscure collections and often newly translated, uniformly state that Muslims are not to attack peaceful Christian communities, but defend them until the End of the World. Authored by the Prophet himself, they represent a third foundational pillar for Islam outside of Qur an and hadith. The Covenants Initiative within the book represents a movement by Muslims, both prominent and unknown, in support of Christians under attack. These treaties desperately need to be better known among Christians, Muslims, and the general public.

For scholars, this book provides much difficult-to-obtain material: facsimiles of primary sources in Arabic and Persian; corrected versions in modern Arabic typescript; and alternate translations. They now have all they need to study the covenants in depth.

"This narrative has the power to unite Muslim and Christian communities. A work of scholarship, its release is timely, and its content critical in fostering mutual respect and religious freedom."--IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, Chairman, Cordoba Initiative

"In his indispensable contribution to the study of the Abrahamic faiths, John Andrew Morrow tells the story of how the Prophet Muhammad used his desert experiences of hospitality and protection to bring Muslims and Christians together."--JOSEPH HOBBS, University of Missouri

"These letters from the Prophet Muhammad to Christian communities can serve to inspire both Muslims and Christians about our ability to live together as God's people, as friends, as neighbors, and as custodians of the same small planet."--OMID SAFI, University of North Carolina

"With painstaking effort and much dedication invested in this groundbreaking work, Professor Morrow will surely manage to attract the attention of Islamic studies students and specialists."--AMAR SELLAM, Mohamed I University

"This book documents what is possibly the third foundational source of Islam: the Prophet's treaties and covenants among people of the Abrahamic faiths. Dr. Morrow brings forth exceptionally important findings that dictate peaceful coexistence among Jews, Christians, and Muslims."--BRIDGET BLOMFIELD, University of Nebraska

This book is about how Islamic finance is conducted in contemporary times. It is also about change and how change occurs in two areas. The first area is change in a body of law, both generally and specifically with respect to Islamic Shariah in the areas of commerce and finance. The second area is Islamic finance. Change in the Shariah and in Islamic finance are intimately and inextricably related: the Shariah defines and constrains change in Islamic finance. Legal change necessarily involves consideration of the interpretive modalities that are employed in effecting that legal change, and interpretive modalities in Islamic finance are also considered. The book is divided into four parts. Part I outlines the context and provides background for later discussions. Part II introduces the Shariah and its interpretation. Part III discusses a specific fatwa issued to Dow Jones in 1998 in respect of equity investing and equity indices (the Dow Jones Fatwa), its sequelae, and murabaha transactions. And Part IV addresses issues pertaining to and criticisms of Islamic finance. Part I describes the objectives and organization of the book, provides a short history of modern Islamic finance, and sets forth a categorized summary of the issues and criticisms raised by various critics. The discussion of Shariah matters in Part II begins with a summary of the nature of the Shariah (Islamic law) as applied in Islamic finance. This is followed by a detailed description of the Shariah scholars and Shariah boards that interpret and apply Islamic law in the field of Islamic finance. Topics considered include the qualifications of scholars, the nature and structure of Shariah boards and how they are comprised and operate, and the roles and functions of Shariah boards. The final chapter in this Part discusses the fatwa (legal opinion) that implements Islamic law in the transactional, operational entity and standard-setting context. Part III provides detailed discussions of the Dow Jones Fatwa, its equity investment tests, permissible and impermissible equity instruments, permissible and impermissible business activities, financial screens for impermissible interest income, and other important principles. In particular, the discussion focuses on the principles of "permissible variance" (or "permissible impurity") and "purification" that have been instrumental in the development and growth of Islamic finance. Succeeding chapters in this Part trace how the permissible variance principles have evolved and expanded in areas such as equity, private equity and real estate investing, and the financing of those activities, and in project and infrastructure finance. Six areas of evolution and expansion are considered. These include (1) modification of the initial tests, (2) new equity investing tests, (3) permissible and impermissible business activities in different areas of practice and the variations in impurity that are permitted in those areas, (4) the most commonly used structures in modern Islamic finance (the lease or ijara and the murabaha or cost-plus sale), and) (5) when and how purification (largely by donation to charity) are effected. The final group of chapters, in Part IV, discuss the various issues and criticisms in detail. Topics include (i) the amount of discretion afforded Shariah scholars, (ii) the intentions of different transactional parties in Islamic finance transactions, (iii) the degree of formalism in application of interpretive modalities, (iv) complexities and transaction costs (both absolutely and relative to corresponding conventional transactions), (v) social justice and policy issues, and (vi) the application of interpretative modalities and their relationship to different jurisprudential theories of legal change. The book includes an extensive bibliography and index. For further information, please see http: //www.islamicfinanceinpractice.com

Compiled by a world-renowned Islamic scholar and spiritual guide, "Principles of Islamic Spirituality, Part 1: Sufism" is the first of a multi-volume treatise written for western readers. It presents a brief background of the Sufi hierarchy, their diverse communities achieved through religious tolerance and goodwill, their social responsibility, and treatment of the perennial conflict of good vs. evil. While this historic work draws upon authentic legal precedents and religious explanations from various Islamic schools of thought that form the majority Muslim view, it is presented for laypersons in easily understood terms and is highly recommended for anyone interested in mainstream Islam and its moderate views of today's world.

Compiled by a world-renowned Islamic scholar and spiritual guide, "Principles of Islamic Spirituality, Part 2: Contemporary Sufism & Traditional Islamic Healing" is the second of a multi-volume treatise written for western readers. It defines the current negatively impacted state of the human psyche, the causes of mental and spiritual illnesses and their treatment with traditional Islamic healing. While this historic work draws upon authentic legal precedents and religious explanations from various Islamic schools of thought that form the majority Muslim view, it is presented for laypersons in easily understood terms and is highly recommended for any study of mainstream Islam and its moderate views of today's world.

Dr. Jamal Nasir advised the King of Jordan through most of the last fifty years of the twentieth century and shares a personal insight on the way events unfolded in Jordan and Palestine. This heartwarming narrative follows Nasir from a young Palestinian refugee, through to a career at the bar in London, and on to being legal advisor to King Hussein, amongst others. Intimately acquainted with the workings of government in the region, Nasir here reveals previously unpublished accounts of key moments behind the scenes in modern Middle East history.

Al-Murshid al-Mu'een is a widely recognised primary text for learning Islam in North Africa. In it the author, Abd al-Wahid ibn 'Ashir, summarises in verse the three sciences of Islam, Iman and Ihsan: Maliki fiqh, Ash'ari 'aqida and Junaidi tasawwuf. This is its first complete translation into English. Dr. Asadullah Yate is also the translator of Shaykh Ahmad bin al-Bashir al-Qalawi ash-Shinqiti's (1216 AH/1802 CE- 1276 AH/1853 CE) Mufid al-'Ibad, a very full commentary on al-Murshid al-Mu'een, which is published by Diwan Press in English as "Islam in the School of Madina."

A translation of Abu Shuja' al-Asfahani's introduction to classical Islamic law, Matn al-Ghayat wa al-Taqrib. This enduring classic covers the full range of basic topics within the Shafi'i school of law. It includes the full Arabic text and notes to point out where later Shafi'i jurists have differed from the author, Imam al-Nawawi's preferences, and minor clarifications and explanations.

Researchers have shed light on the literary production of the Ismailis since the early 1930s. The cataloguing of these work has been carried out by Ivanow, Fyzee, Goriawala, Poonawala, Gacek, Cortese and de Bloise. Many works attributable to Ismaili scholars, however, are still unavailable either because they remain hidden in private collections or because they have not survived. Ismaili law, in particular, is still a largely unexplored field of study. Al-Qadi Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man is generally considered the founder and greatest exponent of Ismaili jurisprudence, Many of his works have been lost, and information on some others is scattered; yet other works remain in manuscript form, and only a few have been published. The present book is a critical edition and translation of al-Nu'man's Minhaj al-fara'id, based on its three known copies. It deals with the law of inheritance, one of the most complex in Islamic law. In comparing the Minhaj with two published works (the Da'a'im al-Islam and Kitab al-iqtisar) as well as a manuscript (Mukhtasar al-athar) of al-Nu'man, a significant doctrinal evolution clearly emerges, reflecting his early Maliki training and then his work under four Fatimid imams. Ismaili law is also compared with the doctrines of the Imami school as well as the legal system of the four Sunni schools. This book thus allows us to determine the time of the composition of the Minhaj al-fara id, the development and the originality of Ismaili jurisprudence, and its relation to other schools of law.

This collection tackles the four madhhabs of Islam in a thought-provoking way. Together, the four contributions show that recovery of transmitted practice backed by scholarship is a dynamic and liberating way that can lead to a new flowering of the deen in every age.

This "fatwa," religious edict, is issued by two renowned Islamic scholars and is founded on traditional Islamic texts which clearly state domestic violence is forbidden. It presents shining social examples set forth by the revered prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and examines crucial Arabic terminology relative to domestic violence that has been broadly misinterpreted. This booklet is an authentic refutation of domestic abuse perpetrated by Muslims and is a resource for social scientists, religious scholars, policymakers, lawmakers, law enforcement, educators, and advocates for victims of domestic violence.

Islamic codes on polity cover all its aspects, including governance, diplomacy and policy-making etc. This book will be highly useful for scholars, researchers, students and all those who are interested to know about Islam. In the long run it will help its readers to see Islam in a new light with well referenced reliable information.

Have you ever wondered: What do the eminent scholars of Isl m have to say about the commemoration of the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid), may blessings and peace be upon him? Is the modern controversy regarding this subject really authentic? The Elite Stand in Honour of the Chosen One by Im m Ahmad Rid Kh n is a treatise that emphatically answers these questions by elaborating on the favourable dispensation accorded to this practice by over a thousand years of Isl mic scholarship. The celebrated author provides detailed evidence on the permissibility and benefit of Mawlid and standing in honour of the Prophet (Qiy m) from authentic books of Isl mic jurisprudence (Fiqh). Multiple legal edicts (Fat w ) of mainstream im ms and scholars are also used in support of this stance. In recent times, some have censured these meritorious acts simply because the Companions and their Successors (Tabi' n) never celebrated the Prophet's birthday, may blessings and peace be upon him. In a masterful demonstration of scholarship, the author refutes this position of the critics using their own evidence and logic.

Debates over family law are a sensitive subject in the Muslim world, revealing something of the struggle between forces of traditionalism and modernism. The highly disparate tendencies within Islamic "fundamentalism" share a desire to re-institute Shar'ia law, regarded as the last bastion of the Islamic ideal of social relations. This book probes the theory and practice of Islamic family law in the contemporary Muslim world, focusing on the dynamics of marriage and the consequences of its breakdown, and the ways in which litigants manipulate the law to resolve marital and child custody disputes.

Jihad is a term that has become universally known today. What is meant by this word, which invokes frightening images of men in masks, wearing suicide vests, brandishing automatic weapons in one hand while holding the Holy Quran in the other. Is Jihad an ongoing war directed at converting non-Muslims to Islam at the edge of the sword? Or is it an ideological movement to establish an Islamic empire stretching from the Far East to the Far West? From what we see in the nightly news, it appears humanity is headed for the sort of clash of civilizations that Samuel Huntington feared. In reality, this is no clash between Islam and the West, or between Islam and Christianity. Were it the case, Muslims would be attacking the Christian communities in their own nations. While isolated conflicts along these lines occur, they have never been the prime focus of the Jihadist movement. What we are witnessing instead is a clash between people with power and those without. It is a conflict rooted in the history of colonialism and perceptions of present-day imperialism. It is a conflict in which religion is simply a means to an end. We must recognize this if we are to understand the true nature of the so-called "Jihad" the militant Islamists invoke and its increasingly global character. In this book we would like to shed light on the meaning of Jihad in the traditional understanding of Islam. The concept of "holy war" does not occur in the term Jihad. Rather the meaning of combative Jihad expressed in Qur'an or hadith is simply war. That said, we will show in this presentation, that Jihad in the classical sense does not simply mean war. In fact Jihad is a comprehensive term which traditionally has been defined as composed of fourteen different aspects, only one of which involves warfare. We will also show that the best thing Muslim moderates could do today to counter the Jihadist global strategy would be a "Jihad" of charity and good works designed for the rich Muslim nations to raise the standard of living of the poor ones.