Islamic Legal Theory Volume I

Islamic legal theory (usÅ«l al-fiqh) is literally regarded as ’the roots of the law’ whilst Islamic jurists consider it to be the basis of Islamic jurisprudence and thus an essential aspect of Islamic law. This volume addresses the sources, methods and principles of Islamic law leading to an appreciation of the skills of independent juristic and legal reasoning necessary for deriving specific rulings from the established sources of the law. The articles engage critically with relevant traditional views to enable a diagnostic understanding of the different issues, covering both SunnÄ« and ShÄ«’Ä« perspectives on some of the issues for comparison. The volume features an introductory overview of the subject as well as a comprehensive bibliography to aid further research. Islamic legal theory is a complex subject which challenges the ingenuity of any expert and therefore special care has been taken to select articles for their clarity as well as their quality, variety and critique to ensure an in-depth, engaging and easy understanding of what is normally a highly theoretical subject.

Contents: Introduction; Further reading. Part I Nature of Islamic Law: Islamic law: an overview of its origin and elements, Irshad Abdal-Haqq; Islamic law as Islamic ethics, A. Kevin Reinhart; Understanding Islamic law in theory and practice, Mashood A. Baderin. Part II Sources of Islamic Law: Groundwork of the moral law: a new look at the Qur’Ä n and the genesis of SharÄ«Ê»a, Wael B. Hallaq; Law in the Qur’Ä n - a draft code, Tahir Mahmood; Some reflections on the contextualist approach to ethico-legal texts of the Qur’an, Abdullah Saeed; A revaluation of Islamic traditions, Joseph Schacht; On the origins of ShÄ«Ê»i ḤadÄ«th, Ron P. Buckley; The role of culture in the creation of Islamic law, John Hursh. Part III Methods of Islamic Law: Al-ShÄ fiʻī’s role in the development of Islamic jurisprudence, Ahmad Hasan; The concept of IjmÄ Ê» in Islamic law: a comparative study, Rahimin Affandi Abd Rahim; Non-analogical arguments in Sunni juridical qiyÄ s’, Wael B. Hallaq; ’Illa and qiyÄ s in early Islamic legal theory, Nabil Shehaby. Part IV Principles of Islamic Law: The maslaha (public interest) and ’illa (cause) in Islamic law, Majid Khadduri; Maá¹£laḥa in contemporary Islamic legal theory, Felicitas Opwis; Legal logic and equity in Islamic law, John Makdisi; MaqÄ á¹£id al-SharÄ«Ê»ah: the objectives of Islamic law, Mohammad Hashim Kamali; Cut and paste in legal rules: designing Islamic norms with talfÄ«q’, Birgit Krawietz; Muslim custom and case-law, Noel James Coulson; QawaÊ»id al-Fiqh: the legal maxims of Islamic law, Mohammad Hashim Kamali. Part V Legal Reasoning (IjtihÄ d): Interpretation in Islamic law: the theory of ijtihÄ d, Bernard Weiss; The closing of the door of ijtihÄ d and the application of the law, Frank E. Vogel; A critical analysis of the role of ijtihÄ d in legal reforms in the Muslim world, Rachel Anne Codd; IjtihÄ d in contemporary ShiÊ»ism: transition from individual-oriented to society-oriented, Hamid Mavani. Name index.

Mashood A. Baderin is Professor of Law at the School of Law, SOAS, University of London, UK.