This book examines various conceptions of hayâ, or feelings of shame, modesty and honor in Islam, and the practices associated with this concept in both Muslim majority and minority contexts. With a particular emphasis on definitions, continuities, changes, and transformations, this book discusses the historical role and function of hayâ’ in Islamic theology and law, as well as contemporary Muslims’ engagements with the concept. It argues that hayâ’ or modesty is the result of social constructions in which ideas, objects and practices interact in different social and cultural contexts. This book approaches conceptions of hayâ as constructed and re-produced, through long processes in which the naming, the idea, and the meanings of hayâ are continuously reconfigured and adjusted across different regions. The volume demonstrates that the concept of hayâ has undergone profound transformations temporally and spatially. By doing so, it contributes to our understanding of the human and social mechanisms by which we conceive and see the phenomenon that is hayâ.

Islamic Divorce in the 21st Century shows the wide range of Muslim experiences in marital disputes and in seeking Islamic divorces. For Muslims, having the ability to divorce in accordance with Islamic law is of paramount importance. However, Muslim experiences of divorce practice differ tremendously. The chapters in this volume discuss Islamic divorce from West Africa to Southeast Asia, and each story explores aspects of the everyday realities of disputing and divorcing Muslim couples face in the twenty-first century. The book’s cross-cultural and comparative look at Islamic divorce indicates that Muslim divorces are impacted by global religious discourses on Islamic authority, authenticity, and gender; by global patterns of and approaches to secularity; and by global economic inequalities and attendant patterns of urbanization and migration. Studying divorce as a mode of Islamic law in practice shows us that the Islamic legal tradition is flexible, malleable, and context-dependent.