SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Islamic substantive law, otherwise called branches of the law (furū‘ al-fiqh), covers the textual provisions and jurisprudential rulings relating to specific transactions under Islamic law. It is to Islamic substantive law that the rules of Islamic legal theory are applied. The relationship between Islamic legal theory and Islamic substantive law is metaphorically described by Islamic jurists as a process of ‘cultivation’ (istithmār), whereby the qualified jurist (mujtahid), as the ‘cultivator’, uses relevant rules of legal theory to harvest the substantive law on specific issues in form of ‘fruits’ (thamarāt) from the sources. The articles in this volume engage critically with selected substantive issues in Islamic law, including family law; law of inheritance; law of financial transactions; criminal law; judicial procedure; and international law (al-siyar). These areas of substantive law have been selected due to their contemporary relevance and application in different parts of the Muslim world today. The volume features an introductory overview of the subject as well as a comprehensive bibliography to aid further research. Contents: Introduction; Part I Islamic Family Law: Marriage in Islamic law: the modernist viewpoints, M. Khadduri; Invalid and void marriages in Hanafi law, J.N.D. Anderson; Equality (kafa’ah) in the Muslim law of marriage, F. Ziadeh; Mahr: legal obligation or rightful demand, M. Siddiqui; Marriage guardianship and minor’s marriage in Islamic law, L. Carroll; Polygamy in traditional and contemporary Islamic law, D. Hinchcliffe; Women and divorce: the position of the Shari’ah, A.M. Kola; A critical appraisal of ‘triple divorce’ in Islamic law, N. Ahmad; Tafwid al-talaq: transferring the right to divorce to the wife, F. Khan; A husband’s authority: emerging formulations in Muslim family law, L. Welchman. Part II Islamic Law of Succession: the role of pre-Islamic customs in the Islamic law of succession, M. Rahman; Islamic inheritance system: a socio-historical approach, D.S. Powers; The Qur’anic law of inheritance, R. Kimber; Representational succession in contemporary Islamic law, N.J. Couklson. Part III Islamic Law of Financial Transactions: Negotiating contracts in Islamic and Middle Eastern law, M. Zahraa; Contracts in Islamic law: the principles of commutative justice and liberality, H. Hassan; The concept of musharakah and its application as an Islamic method of financing, M.T. Usmani; Islamic laws on riba (interest) and their economic implications, M. Siddieq Noorzoy; The Islamic law of real security, N.H.D. Foster. Part V Islamic Criminal Law: Islamic criminal law and procedure: religious fundamentalism v. modern law, M. Lippman; The concept of had in Islamic law, F. Rahman; Effective legal representation in ‘Shari’ah’ courts as a means of addressing human rights concerns in the Islamic criminal justice system in Muslim states, M.A. Baderin. Part V Islamic Judicial Procedure: Muslim procedure and evidence, Anderson; Evidence from memory to archive, B. Messick; Debates on women’s status as judges and witnesses in post-formative Islamic law, K. Bauer; On judicial review in Islamic law, Powers; The structure and procedure of the Shari’ah courts: historical dynamics and some contemporary practices, S.S.S. Haneef. Part VI Islamic International Law (Siyar): The siyar - an Islamic law of nations?, A. Bousenita; Protection of diplomats under Islamic law, M.C. Bassiouni; Suicide attacks and Islamic law, M. Munir; Name index.