Understanding Islamic law is crucial not only for Muslims, but for non-Muslims who work with Muslims in legal contexts as well as for anyone wanting to understand the role of Islam in the world today. For unlike western legal systems where religious and legal spheres are kept separate, Islamic law is all-encompassing, directing all human actions. Legal scholar Hisham Ramadan brings together articles to give an excellent overview of the formation of Islamic law and its role in contemporary Islamic and Non-Islamic states. Following an overview of Islamic Law, chapters cover Islamic criminal law, International Humanitarian Law, contract law, & family law. A concluding essay offers an explanation of the legal value of Islam and appendices include original Islamic legal documents from Muhammad's time until today.

Understanding Islamic law is crucial not only for Muslims, but for non-Muslims who work with Muslims in legal contexts as well as for anyone wanting to understand the role of Islam in the world today. For unlike western legal systems where religious and legal spheres are kept separate, Islamic law is all-encompassing, directing all human actions. Legal scholar Hisham Ramadan brings together articles to give an excellent overview of the formation of Islamic law and its role in contemporary Islamic and Non-Islamic states. Following an overview of Islamic Law, chapters cover Islamic criminal law, International Humanitarian Law, contract law, & family law. A concluding essay offers an explanation of the legal value of Islam and appendices include original Islamic legal documents from Muhammad's time until today.

Reconstructing Jury Instructions in Homicide Offenses offers critical analysis for jury instructions in the United States. Supported by court decisions, careful interpretation of the United States Constitution, and jurist's arguments, Hisham M. Ramadan thoroughly examines the mental elements in crime, the burden of proof in criminal trials, and the doctrine of reasonableness. In addition, the concepts of the knowledge element in the offense, the presumption of innocence and the reasonableness doctrine are re-examined as never before. Every issue discussed begins with a description of the historical and theoretical foundation of the concept and ends with a practical proposal for jury instruction reform. An in-depth analysis of fundamental legal issues, Reconstructing Jury Instructions translates highly theoretical work into a practical proposal for law reform.

This title examines the usefulness, challenges and limits of ijtihad for Muslims today. The resurgence of Islam, geopolitical crises involving Muslim nations, violence associated with Islam and the immigration of millions of Muslims to Western countries have generated a strong interest in understanding Islamic law. The challenges of these new realities have impressed upon Muslims the need to rethink classical jurisprudence and a powerful contemporary ijtihad - the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources. This book explores the limits and controversies of this development in the context of the diverse needs of Muslim cultures and communities living in Muslim and non-Muslim nations and continents including Europe and North America. This title explains diverse bodies of Islamic law including fiqh, qanun and siyar. It supplements Arabic terms from the Basic Code with English substitutes. It analyses the forces shaping contemporary ijtihadPresents a jurisprudential guide suitable for jurists, judges, national legislatures, and teachers and students and law and Islamic studies.