Wael B. HallaqPaperback, 626 pages9780521678742 In recent years, Islamic law, or Shari'a, has been appropriated as a tool of modernity in the Muslim world and in the West and has become highly politicised in consequence. Wael Hallaq's magisterial overview of Shari'a sets the record straight by examining the doctrines and practices of Islamic law within the context of its history, and by showing how it functioned within pre-modern Islamic societies as a moral imperative. In so doing, Hallaq takes the reader on an epic journey tracing the history of Islamic law from its beginnings in seventh-century Arabia, through its development and transformation under the Ottomans, and across lands as diverse as India, Africa and South-East Asia, to the present. In a remarkably fluent narrative, the author unravels the complexities of his subject to reveal a love and deep knowledge of the law which will inform, engage and challenge the reader. ContentsPart I. The Pre-Modern Tradition1. The formative period2. Legal theory: epistemology, language, and legal reasoning3. Legal education and the politics of law4. Law and society5. The circle of justice and later dynastiesPart II. The Law: An Outline6. Legal pillars of religion7. Contracts and other obligations8. Family law and succession9. Property and ownership10. Offenses11. Jihad12. Courts of justice, suits and evidencePart III. The Sweep of Modernity13. The conceptual framework: an introduction14. The jural colonization of India and South-East Asia15. Hegemonic modernity: the Middle East and North Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth century16. Modernizing the law in the age of nation-states17. In search of a legal methodology18. Repercussions: concluding notes
