Hisba and Muhtasib

This chapter examines the scholarship that has dealt with the concept of hisba and the related position of muhtasib. The discussion includes a substantial section on the historical development of the concept of hisba and the position of muhtasib and a shorter section on their contemporary uses and practices. The historical section includes attention to the definitions and origins of the terms and to the position of the muhtasib, including the official’s jurisdiction, sources of law, biographies, and practice in particular historical contexts. The contemporary section focuses on the countries that have received the most scholarly attention regarding the practice of hisba and muhtasib today, notably Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Imami Shi‘I Legal Theory

This article discusses the historical development of Imami usul al-fiqh and the major themes that make Shi‘i usul a distinctive system of jurisprudence within the broader history of usul al-fiqh. After reviewing the history of Shi‘i usul and its early emergence from the time of al-Shaykh al-Tusi (d.460/1067) to the present, the article considers the reaction to the dominance of the model of usul al-fiqh which was initiated by al-‘Allama al-Hilli and summarised by Hasan b. Zayn al-Din. In particular, it looks at Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi’s work called al-Fawa’id al-Madaniyya. It also examines the influence of Akhbarism on the development of Imami Shi’i legal theory and how its impetus has transformed into movements within Usulism. Finally, it explores the role played by Al-Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari as the founder of the contemporary school of Imami jurisprudence.

Islamic Law and Gender

This article examines the category of gender as it is employed in the study of Islamic law. It first considers how gender scholars turned to legal practice and challenged orientalist narratives using a social historical approach. It then analyses feminist critique of legal discourse, focusing on scholarship that addresses the development of pre-modern substantive law (fiqh) and legal theory, as well as the gendered construction of legal subjecthood. It also discusses three different modes of feminist engagements with Islamic law that developed from the 1990s onwards. The first approach develops a narrative about the patriarchal nature of Islamic law and the increasing decline of women’s rights throughout Islamic history. The second approach takes a constructive approach to Islamic law and the third approach interrogates the foundational assumptions and internal logic of substantive law.

Ijma‘

This article surveys the three approaches—source-critical, phenomenological, and hermeneutical-theological—that prevail in the historiography of consensus in early, classical, and modern Islamic legal thought. The source-critical approach dominates the historiography of the early period. Scholars using this approach question the narrative found in classical Islamic legal theory: that specific verses of the Qur’an or Hadith of Muhammad establish consensus as a source of law. They believe instead that consensus emerged gradually, in response to the social needs of the Muslim community. Scholars using the phenomenological approach seek to define the doctrine of consensus in classical Islamic legal theory whilst scholars using the hermeneutical-theological approach view consensus as a powerful argument in issues of Islamic thought today. These approaches are not mutually exclusive and scholars often combine them. The article ends with identification of the areas for growth in future studies of consensus.

Delivering Justice

This article examines the relationship between the ‘urfi (monarchical/sultanic) and the shari‘a courts in the administration of justice in Safavid Iran. In particular, it considers the notion that there was a split between a sacred and a secular basis for justice in Safavid Iran. To prove that this is not the case, the article looks at the roles of the Shah, the sadr, the qazis, the shaykh al-Islam, and the divan-begi in administering justice during the period. It shows that legal roles and processes in the Safavid justice system unfolded within a religious framework, reflecting the interface between ideal stipulations and practical ends, and between public shari‘a -derived law and private monarchical law. This provides evidence that shari‘a and ‘urfi courts were interdependent and provided overlays of jurisdiction in Safavid Iran.

Animals

This chapter examines the scholarship in the new and growing field of study of Islamic animal law. It starts by defining the field of animal law generally and then explaining what makes animal law scholarship Islamic. Turning to Islamic animal law, the chapter first explains the origins of the field and then discusses contemporary Islamic animal law scholarship, which dates to the early-twenty first century and has focused on questions of purity and the dog; causing animals harm; anthropocentricism; and slaughter and the designation of halal. The chapter concludes by identifying promising areas for future scholarship.

Islamic Legal Studies

This article examines the politics of knowledge production in the field of Islamic Studies, including Islamic Legal Studies, in the context of the Qur’an and Islamic law. It thinks broadly and freshly about Islamic Studies, categorizing it anew, by considering the study of the Qur’an as it relates to three forms of Islamic Studies: White Supremacist Islamic Studies (WhiSIS), Patriarchal Islamic Legal Studies (PILS), and Intersectional Islamic Studies (IIS). The article examines the fundamental assumptions of WhiSIS and PILS, uncovering their operational logics, before discussing the theoretical framework that underlies IIS’ approach to Islamic Studies. It analyzes the critiques that WhiSIS and PILS level against IIS, and the challenges that IIS poses for both WhiSIS and PILS. It concludes by considering the role of IIS in the future of Islamic Studies.

The Historiography of Islamic Law During the Mamluk Sultanate

This article examines the historiography of Islamic law during the reign of the Mamluks. It asks what is specifically “Mamluk” about Islamic law and legal scholarship during the Mamluk sultanate and whether it is fruitful to view legal scholarship and the application of law through the lens of this particular political dynasty. The article first considers the historiography of Mamluk legal institutions from the Mamluk executive to the judiciary and law enforcement before discussing Mamluk madrasas, or Islamic educational institutions. It also explores three larger intellectual trends that would shape the development of medieval Islamic law but which are not readily confined to the Mamluk period alone: the proliferation of commentary works, the institution of the ijaza (license; certification) and encyclopaedism in Mamluk literature. The article concludes by assessing the state of the field and raising some questions for future research.

Anglo-Muhammadan Law

This article examines the historical origins, sources, and subject-matter jurisdiction of Anglo–Muhammadan law, along with its influence on the trajectories of Islamic law. After providing a short history of Anglo–Muhammadan law, the article discusses its subject matter. In particular, it considers the contributions of Syed Ameer Ali, especially in the area of trust law, or awqaf. It proceeds by looking at various sources of Anglo–Muhammadan law, which include textbooks and English translations of primary texts, case law, and legislation and custom. To give a sense of how Anglo–Muhammadan law operated in case law, the 1922 case of Narantakh v. Parakkal is analyzed. The article concludes with an overview of changes in Anglo–Muhammadan law in the immediate period after independence and partition of India.

The Classical Period

This article examines whether the Qur’an served as a source for the early jurists during the classical period; whether Hadith reports contain authentic information regarding Muhammad’s sayings and actions (and if they do not, when and how they became attributed to him); whether and how the regional legal traditions were transformed into legal schools centered around particular individuals; and how the nature of legal reasoning changed within this period. The article first revisits the debates regarding the role of the Qur’an and Hadith, respectively, in the formulation of Islamic law. It then reviews scholarship on the phases of Islamic law’s development, beginning with the emergence of geographically defined legal traditions and culminating in the formation of the legal schools and their distinctive theoretical principles and substantive doctrines. It concludes by suggesting directions for future research.