Pre-modern Muslim jurists drew a clear distinction between the nurturing and upkeep of children, or 'custody', and caring for the child's education, discipline, and property, known as 'guardianship'. Here, Ahmed Fekry Ibrahim analyzes how these two concepts relate to the welfare of the child, and traces the development of an Islamic child welfare jurisprudence akin to the Euro-American concept of the best interests of the child, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Challenging Euro-American exceptionalism, he argues that child welfare played an essential role in agreements designed by early modern Egyptian judges and families, and that Egyptian child custody laws underwent radical transformations in the modern period. Focusing on a variety of themes, including matters of age and gender, the mother's marital status, and the custodian's lifestyle and religious affiliation, Ibrahim shows that there is an exaggerated gap between the modern concept of the best interests of the child and pre-modern Egyptian approaches to child welfare.

Dedication - Foreword - Preface- Abbreviations; Chapter 1: Concept of ownership Classification of ownership; The mode of acquiring ownership of property; The lawful ways of acquiring private ownership; Property and its classifications]; Chapter 2: Work The best and dignified work; The classification of work; The physical and manual work; The office work (salaried employment);The intellectual work; The qualities of a good worker; Rights and protection of worker; Unemployment]; Chapter 3: Sale Types of sale; Conditions of valid sale; Conduct of the parties in a sale transaction; The lawful and unlawful sale transactions]; Chapter 4: Gift Gift distinguished from other related concepts; Gift distinguished from sadaqah (alms, deed); Gift distinguished from ariya; Conditions for a valid gift; Structure of a gift; Donation subject-matter (Al-mawhub); Revocation of a gift]; Chapter 5: Testate succession Types of will; Void and voidable will; Object of making a will; Form of will; Revocation of a will; The lapse of a will]; Chapter 6: Intestate succession Definition; Pre-Islamic law relating to succession; Constituents of succession (Arkanul - Mirath); Grounds of inheritance; Liabilities of the deceased; Legal heirs; The fractions in succession]; Chapter 7: Legal impediments to acquisition of property; Introduction; Fraud (Gish/Ghabn); Hoarding (Ihtikar); Bribery (Rashwah); Death-sickness gift (Ahwal Mard-ul-Mawt); Theft (Sariqah); Impediments to inheritance (Mawani'al-Irth); Bibliography; Index Dr Yahaya Y. Bambale, former Head, Department of Islamic Law, and Assistant Dean for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, is a Reader. His currently on sabbatical leave at the IBB University, Lapai, Niger State of Nigeria where he is the Dean of Students. He is the author of Crimes and Punishment Under Islamic Law.

'What Happened?' addresses the thorny issue of truth in law, within the context of Muslim societies. The truth, in legal terms, is the version of 'what happened' which carries most authority. This original and thought-provoking book looks at how this narrative is constructed in Muslim societies, and which truths are privileged over others in constructing it. In marriage courts in Egypt for example the truth is deemed to be a version of events that is acceptable to both parties. Looking at a range of contrasting case studies, from Sharia courts to inquiries into police abuse, this book book explores how ordinary stories are transformed into authoritative truths. The case studies are situated in the framework of wider debates about truth, law and power in Middle Eastern societies.

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.

The medieval theory of the caliphate, epitomized by the Abbasids (750-1258), was the construct of jurists who conceived it as a contractual leadership of the Muslim community in succession to the Prophet Muhammed's political authority. In this book, Huseyin Yilmaz traces how a new conception of the caliphate emerged under the Ottomans, who redefined the caliph as at once a ruler, a spiritual guide, and a lawmaker corresponding to the prophet's three natures. Challenging conventional narratives that portray the Ottoman caliphate as a fading relic of medieval Islamic law, Yilmaz offers a novel interpretation of authority, sovereignty, and imperial ideology by examining how Ottoman political discourse led to the mystification of Muslim political ideals and redefined the caliphate. He illuminates how Ottoman Sufis reimagined the caliphate as a manifestation and extension of cosmic divine governance. The Ottoman Empire arose in Western Anatolia and the Balkans, where charismatic Sufi leaders were perceived to be God's deputies on earth. Yilmaz traces how Ottoman rulers, in alliance with an increasingly powerful Sufi establishment, continuously refashioned and legitimated their rule through mystical imageries of authority, and how the caliphate itself reemerged as a moral paradigm that shaped early modern Muslim empires. A masterful work of scholarship, Caliphate Redefined is the first comprehensive study of premodern Ottoman political thought to offer an extensive analysis of a wealth of previously unstudied texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish.

The contrast between religion and law has been continuous throughout Muslim history. Islamic law has always existed in a tension between these two forces: God, who gave the law, and the state--the sultan--representing society and implementing the law. This tension and dynamic have created a very particular history for the law--in how it was formulated and by whom, in its theoretical basis and its actual rules, and in how it was practiced in historical reality from the time of its formation until today. That is the main theme of this book.
Knut S. Vikor introduces the development and practice of Islamic law to a wide readership: students, lawyers, and the growing number of those interested in Islamic civilization. He summarizes the main concepts of Islamic jurisprudence; discusses debates concerning the historicity of Islamic sources of dogma and the dating of early Islamic law; describes the classic practice of the law, in the formulation and elaboration of legal rules and practice in the courts; and sets out various substantive legal rules, on such vital matters as the family and economic activity.

Used widely by Shi'ite seminaries, and valued by Sunni scholars for its intellectual rigor, Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr's Lessons is a key study of Islamic jurisprudence. It covers topics from the general characterization of jurisprudence to such specialized issues as the assessment of the verbal divine-law argument, study of procedural principles, and reflections on the resolution of conflicting arguments. The new translation by Roy Mottahedeh from the original Arabic employs a carefully designed and appropriate English terminology, and features a significant amount of supporting material including a glossary of legal and theological concepts , and a full index of Arabic terms.

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.

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.

In January 2003, RAND called together a group of renowned experts with knowledge in the fields of Islamic law, constitution writing, and democracy, and with specific country and regional expertise. Keeping in mind the realities of Afghanistan's current situation and drawing from the experiences of other countries, the group identified practical ideas, particularly about the treatment of Islam in the constitution, for those involved in the drafting of Afghanistan's new constitution.

This work was written 1989 and published for the first time in 2002. The author's intention is to inform even-handedly, national and international debates about the misunderstandings surrounding the Sharia and common legal systems in Nigeria. Balewa broadly discusses Western and Islamic philosophical backgrounds of law, relationships between law, politics and religion in society, and concepts of secularism and secularity. He traces the history and schools of Sharia law, and the sources of common law in Nigeria, and its comparative religious and colonial foundations. He further appraises two views of the controversy: namely, whether Sharia law, as a fully-fledged legal system, should be reflected in the Nigerian constitution - or not, given its contentious religious content; and he states the case against Sharia. His conclusion is that in view of the status quo, and the multi-ethnic, mulit-religious nature of Nigerian society, there is a need for understanding of the truths of both systems; and to find appropriate means of ensuring their equality and peaceful co-existence.

In "The Islamic Conception of Justice," Majid Khadduri, one of the world's preeminent authorities on Islamic justice and jurisprudence, presents his extensive study and reflection on Islamic political, legal, ethical, and social philosophy. This book is both a magisterial historical synthesis and an illumination of the beliefs and practices of modern Islam. Throughout, Khadduri discusses not only the meaning of justice in general but also how justice has undergone significant changes in the modern age. The final chapter deals with the impact of Western notions of justice, with especial emphasis on the recurrence of fundamentalist movements such as the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Pakistan, and other Islamic lands.

An exploration of family law as it pertains to women with regard to marriage, divorce and inheritance in the Middle East. This second edition is revised to expand and update coverage of family law reforms that have taken place throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. It focuses on the historical and legal context for reform, and the methodology and extent of contemporary legal trends, particularly in Egypt and Pakistan.

Are the WTO Agreements and dispute settlement procedures consistent with Islamic (Shari'a) law principles and norms of justice? How can a foreign investor in a Muslim country comply with the financial tenets of Shari'a? Will Arab and Islamic countries continue to lag behind much of the world in e-commerce, or can e-commerce be integrated with traditional business methods as an engine of economic growth? Experts from the Middle East, Europe and North America examine these and other issues from their unique perspectives in this fourth volume in The Permanent Court of Arbitration/Peace Palace Papers series, which reproduces the work of the Fourth International Law Seminar held at the Peace Palace on October 12, 2001. The seminar, organized jointly by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Arab Union of International Arbitration, focused on strengthening relations with Arab and Islamic countries in three specific areas: electronic commerce, the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanisms and foreign investment. In the papers presented here, the authors point out that not only is free and liberal trade deeply rooted in the culture of Islam, but that Shari'a urges the accommodation of all kinds of knowledge including the technological environment necessary for e-commerce. They point the way to full participation by Arab and lslamic countries in the word economic community. This volume also features a French language summary of the papers.

Drawing on both religious and secular sources, this challenging book argues that divinely ordained law is frequently misinterpreted by Muslim authorities at the expense of certain groups, including women. Khaled Abou El Fadl cites a series of injustices in Islamic society and ultimately proposes a return to the original ethics at the heart of the Muslim legal system.

This book is a study of the historical record of Muslim women's property rights and equity. Based on Islamic court documents of fifteenth-century Granada--documents that show a high degree of women's involvement--the book examines women's legal entitlements to acquire property as well as the social and economic significance of these rights to Granada's female population and, by extension, to women in other Islamic societies.

The microhistory of women's property rights is placed in a comparative historical, social, and economic context and is examined using a theoretical framework that suggests how this book's conclusions might coexist with the Islamic feminist discourse on the law as a patriarchal system, serving to highlight both the uniqueness and the limitations of the Islamic case. The specifics presented in the case studies reveal the broader structures, constructs, rules, conditions, factors, and paradigms that shaped women's property rights under Islamic law. They show that women's property rights were more than just part of a legal system; they were the product of a legal philosophy and a pervasive paradigm that made property ownership a normal construct of the Muslim woman's legal persona and a norm of her existence.

In recent years the subject of freedom of expression has become a topic of heated debate. "Freedom of Expression in Islam" offers the first and only detailed presentation in English of freedom of expression from both the legal and moral perspectives of Islam. This work is a pioneering attempt in examining both the evidence on freedom of expression in the sources of the "Shari'ah" and the limitations, whether moral, legal or theological, that Islam imposes on the valid exercise of this freedom. "Freedom of Expression in Islam "is informative not only on the subject of the possibilities of freedom of expression within Islam, but also on the cultural tradition of Islam and its guidelines on social behaviour. "Freedom of Expression in Islam" is part of a series dedicated to the fundamental rights and liberties in Islam and should be read in conjunction with "The Dignity of Man: An Islamic Perspective" and "Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam."

Whilst other works exist which examine the Islamic law of personal status, this is the first to set out in a single volume the laws relating to marriage and divorce in the Arab states, both codified and uncodified, in a manner which will enable the reader to look up the provisions of the law in specific areas and, where required, to compare the positions of the laws of different countries.