Description
Book SynopsisWael Hallaq, a leading scholar and practitioner of Islamic law, guides students through the intricacies of the subject in this absorbing introduction. This book will be the first stop for those who wish to understand the fundamentals of Islamic law and its history.
Trade Review'This path-breaking new history of Islamic law will become a standard introduction to the subject. Professor Hallaq has provided a magnificent overview of the topic, drawing on his wide reading in primary sources and his many important publications on the history of Islamic law and Islamic legal thought.' Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Tradition and Continuity: 1. Who's who in the Shari'a; 2. The law: how is it found?; 3. The legal schools; 4. Jurists, legal education and politics; 5. Shari'a's society; 6. Pre-modern governance: the circle of justice; Part II. Modernity and Ruptures: 7. Colonizing the Muslim world and its Shari'a; 8. Modernizing the law in the age of nation states; 9. State, ulama and Islamists; 10. Shari'a then and now: concluding notes.
