These studies by Wael Hallaq represent an important contribution to our understanding of the neglected field of medieval Islamic law and legal thought. Spanning the period from the 8th to the 16th centuries, they draw upon a wide range of original sources to offer both fresh interpretations of those sources and a careful evaluation of contemporary scholarship. The first articles expound the interrelated issues of legal reasoning, legal logic and the epistemology of the law. There follows a set of primarily historical studies, which question a series of widely held assumptions, while the last items explore issues of legal theory and methodology. One particular topic concerns the role of Shafi'i as the ’master architect’ of Islamic legal theory, and Professor Hallaq would finally argue that this image is in fact false and a creation of later centuries.

This volume addresses the structural interrelations of Islamic theoretical and practical legal reasoning, based on an analysis of six works of Islamic jurisprudence by authors who lived in Uzbekistan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Algeria between 970 and 1600 CE.

This book explores the relationship between custom and Islamic law and seeks to uncover the role of custom in the construction of legal rulings. On a deeper level, however, it deals with the perennial problem of change and continuity in the Islamic legal tradition (or any tradition for that matter).

Lawyers, according to Edmund Burke, are bad historians. He was referring to an unwillingness, rather than an inaptitude, on the part of early nineteenth-century English lawyers to concern themselves with the past: for contemporary jurisprudence was a pure and isolated science wherein law appeared as a body of rules, based upon objective criteria, whose nature and very existence were independent of considerations of time and place. Despite the influence of the historical school of Western jurisprudence, Burke's observation is generally valid for Middle East studies. Muslim jurisprudence in its traditional form provides an extreme example of a legal science divorced from historical considerations. Law, in classical Islamic theory, is the revealed will of God, a divinely ordained system preceding, and not preceded by, the Muslim state controlling, but not controlled by, Muslim society. There can thus be no relativistic notion of the law itself evolving as an historical phenomenon closely tied with the progress of society. The increasing number of nations that are largely Muslim or have a Muslim head of state, emphasizes the growing political importance of the Islamic world, and, as a result, the desirability of extending and expanding the understanding and appreciation of their culture and belief systems. Since history counts for much among Muslims and what happened in 632 or 656 is still a live issue, a journalistic familiarity with present conditions is not enough; there must also be some awareness of how the past has molded the present. This book is designed to give the reader a clear picture. But where there are gaps, obscurities, and differences of opinion, these are also indicated.

“The world today has become one large village. Muslims and non-Muslims live side by side and have to learn about one another, share commonalities and respect differences. At this time more than one and a half billion Muslims live in this village. Some of them are pious Muslims, trying to live in accordance with Islamic rules, whereas others do not while believing that these rules come from God (the Qur’an), from interpretations of His Messenger (the Sunnah) or the consensus of Muslim jurists (ijmâ‘), and are at least rules derived via analogy (qiyâs) from the main sources of Islam. Most Muslims think along these lines and agree with the above. The reader should remember that Muslim individuals should live according to Islamic rules in private, but no individual is responsible for implementing Islamic law. In any event, the need to learn the facts about Islamic law is necessary for Muslims as well as for non-Muslims if they live in the same society with Muslims, at least in the sense of general information. In any event, the need to learn the facts about Islamic law is necessary for Muslims as well as for non-Muslims if they live in the same society with Muslims, at least in the sense of general information. We should keep in mind here that only sovereign Muslim states/governments have the legal authority to implement Islamic law. An individual Muslim has no legal authority or power to implement Islamic law. The law of Islam certainly does not say that every Muslim is obliged to implement Islamic law. It matters not how efficient and popular that individual may be as a brave warrior or a meticulous planner of unlawful and immoral schemes of hatred, terror and destruction. Only people who are properly qualified and trained, and hold a license from Muslim governmental authorities, have the authority to issue fatwâs. Not every Muslim individual qualifies as a Muftî (a jurist-consult or scholar of law who has been given a license to issue fatwâs.). For this reason Bediuzzaman says: “And we know that the fundamental aims of the Qur’an and its essential elements are fourfold: divine unity (al-tawhîd), prophethood (al-nubuwwah), the resurrection of the dead (al-hashr), and justice (al-ʿadalah). Al-Adâlah means law. He adds in another treatise: “Let our ulul-amr (satesmen and political authorities) think over implementing these rules”. This book is divided into eight chapters. Chapter I.Because of the many misunderstandings that arise, some terms related to Islamic Law, such as Sharî‛ah, fiqh, qânûn, ‘urf, Islamic Law, and Muhammadan Law are explained. Chapter II.Here, in this chapter dedicated to references on Islamic Law, the real added value of this book is found. Chapter III. This chapter looks at four periods of Islamic Law: the period of the Prophet Muhammad, the period of the Companions, the period of the Tabi‘în, and an introduction to the period of Mujtahidîn. Chapter IV. We will provide detailed information here on the different law schools and theological divisions. Chapter V. This chapter will be devoted to a period of Islamic law that has been neglected in both old and new books and articles, i.e. the period of Islamic Law after the Turks converted to Islam (960-1926). Chapter VI. This chapter will focus also on three main subjects: Anglo-Muhammadan law (Indo-Muslim law), Syariah or Islamic Law in Southeast Asia, and Islamic Law in contemporary Muslim states like Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Indonesia and Jordan. Chapter VII. We will explain the system and methodology of Islamic Law in this chapter. Chapter VIII. We will give some brief information here on the implementation of Islamic Law, its future; some encyclopedical works on Islamic law, and new institutions of Islamic fiqh.”

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.

This volume explores the recent decision by Egypt to constitutionalize sharīʿa and analyzes the Egyptian judiciary’s attempts to argue that sharī‘a is consistent with human rights. It will interest anyone studying Islamic law, constitutional thought in the Middle East, or Islam and human rights.