Islamic Law

The Legal History of Islamic Law

Law and Dogma

Islamic law —Shari’a— evolved over time in response to the Muslim community’s need for a
legal system. The most important source of law was the traditions of the Prophet (sunna) as
revealed in reports (hadith) about his words or deeds. Specialists on Islamic law collected and edited tens of thousands of hadith, discarding those that seemed to be spurious and publishing the others. The ShariÂ’a, developed over a period of centuries, held that all Muslims are brothers and sisters and shared the same moral
values.

Women and Slaves

Muslim women were veiled and secluded as they had been previously in the Byzantine and
the Sasanid Empires. Women could be influential in the family, but only slave women could
have a public role or appear in public before men. Muslim women did have rights under Islamic law. These rights included the right to own property and to retain it in marriage, the right to divorce, to remarry, to testify in court, and to go on pilgrimage.

Stories about MuhammadÂ’s young wife AÂ’isha illustrate what Muslims feared most about women: sexual infidelity and meddling in politics. MuhammadÂ’s faithful first wife Khadija and his daughter Fatima are held up as models of female propriety.

Islam did not permit homosexuality, but notable Muslims including rulers and poets advocated the practice of male homosexuality.

Muslims were not permitted to enslave their fellow Muslims, Jews, Christians, or Zoroastrians except when taken as prisoners of war. Muslims could and did hold non-Muslim slaves, but the status of slave was not hereditary.

Overview of the Islamic Law in its historical context

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Sources and Methodology of the Islamic Law

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Genres of Legal Literature

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Legal and Ethical Qualifications

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Spheres of the Law in the Fiqh

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Transmission and Authenticity of the Reports from the Prophet

See the main entry of this legal history topic.

Islamic Law and its Political Geography

See the main entry of this legal history topic, including ist influence in Southeast Asia.

The Legal History of Islamic Law in the Balkan Peninsula

This section provides an overview of Islamic Law in the Balkan Peninsula.

Islamic Schools of Sacred Law

See the main entry of this legal history topic, which includes Shii Schools (the Imm School of Law, the Ismaili School of Law and the Zayd School of Law) and Sunni Schools:

• The anaf School of Law
• The anbal School of Law
• The Khriji School of Law
• The Mlik School of Law
• The Shfi School of Law
• The hir School of Law

Legal Materials

The Islamic Law section of Religious Legal Systems: A Brief Guide to Research and Its Role in Comparative Law by Marylin Johnson Raisch discusses the basic sources of Islamic law and links to online resources.

Links to other Islamic legal research guides were posted by David P. Dillard on a Temple university listserv.

The International Islamic University Malaysia posts a searchable Research Gatewaycontaining Islam-related documents and videos. See also their Digital Library andLibrary Catalog.

The Index Islamicus indexes articles on Islam and Islamic culture.

Legal Resources: Islamic Law Sites

Note: We linked the resources to archive.org in an effort to decrease the number of broken links cited.

• Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project Digitizes significant Islamic resources
• Al Haramain Foundation A private charitable and education organization with a good selection of links and articles
• Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law University of London site analyzing various systems of law at work in Middle Eastern and Islamic countries
• The Council on American-Islamic Relations Website carrying current event headlines
• Council on Islamic Education Islamic educational materials online
• The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University The Library Resources page contains a number of valuable links
• Harvard Law School’s Islamic Legal Studies Program Contains archived versions of the Program’s Newsletter
• The International Institute of Islamic Thought A cultural intellectual foundation
• Islamic Studies Website Website covering the areas of Islam, Arabic, and Religion intended to be of use for students and teachers at all levels. Collected by a professor at the University of Georgia, Department of Religion
• Islam City One of the most comprehensive Islam related sites
• Islamic Fiqh Academy Indian site with descriptions of various issues in Islamic jurisprudence
• Minaret of Freedom Institute Politico-economic implications of Islamic Law
• Muslim Public Affairs Counsel Political action website containing numerous links, reference materials, and news stories
• World Council of Muslim Women Foundation Site focusing on women’s rights, global peace and interfaith education from a worldwide perspective

The Legal History of Banking and Finance in Islamic Law

This section provides an overview of Banking and Finance in Islamic Law

The Legal History of Donation in Islamic Law

This section provides an overview of Donation in Islamic Law

The Legal History of Islamic Law

This section provides an overview of Islamic Law

The Legal History of Islamic Law and Its Political Geography

This section provides an overview of Islamic Law and Its Political Geography

The Legal History of Political Dimension (Siy_sa Shar_iyya) of Islamic Law

This section provides an overview of Political Dimension (Siy_sa Shar_iyya) of Islamic Law

Islamic Law

Contents of Islamic Law

Contents of this subject matter include:

• Introduction, Perceptions of foreign legal systems, Orientalism & reverse Orientalism
• Understanding Islam – basic teachings, history & culture
• Islamic jurisprudence
• Islamic laws of war & peace, jihad in theory and practice; laws relating to treatment of minorities in the Islamic state
• Gender issues in Islamic law
• Laws relating to marriage & family life
• Divorce, child custody & guardianship
• Care of the elderly, inheritance and waqf
• Islamic commercial law
• Islamic banking law
• Criminal law; Islamic courts in practice
• Evidence in Islamic law
• Muslim minorities in Western countries

Literature Review on Islamic Law

In the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, [1] Niaz A. Shah offers the following summary about the topic of Islamic Law: Islamic legal system is one of the major legal systems in the world. It is a time-tested system based on over centuries of evolution. But it does not mean that it is a perfect system. Like any other legal system, it has weaknesses, strengths, and contentious or difficult areas with plenty of room for further development.

Resources

See Also

• Legal System
• Country
• Jurisdiction
• Immigration
• Consulate

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Islamic Law in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (2015, Routledge, Oxford, United Kingdom)

See Also

Further Reading

• Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance (2018, Springer International Publishing, Germany)

Resources

See Also

• Islamic Schools
• School of Islamic Law
• Historical Laws
• Body in Islamic Law
• Imami School
• Hindu Law
• Maliki School
• Shafi_i School
• Hanbali School
• Hanafi School
• Zahiri School
• History of Law
• Legal Biography
• Legal Traditions
• Historical Laws

Further Reading

• Islamic Law in the Balkan Peninsula in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Islamic Law in the Balkan Peninsula in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly
• Banking and Finance in Islamic Law in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Banking and Finance in Islamic Law in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• Donation in Islamic Law in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Donation in Islamic Law in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• Islamic Law in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Islamic Law in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• Islamic Law and Its Political Geography in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Islamic Law and Its Political Geography in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• Political Dimension (Siy_sa Shar_iyya) of Islamic Law in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Political Dimension (Siy_sa Shar_iyya) of Islamic Law in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter

See Also

• Middle East
• Islamic Schools
• School of Islamic Law
• Body in Islamic Law
• Imami School
• Judiciary
• Hanbali School
• Khariji School
• Maliki School
• Shafi_i School
• Zahiri School
• Hanafi School
• Zaydi School

Hierarchical Display of Islamic law

Law > Sources and branches of the law > Legal science > Internal law of religions
Social Questions > Culture and religion > Religion > Islam
Finance > Financing and investment > Financing > Islamic finance
Politics > Political framework > State > Non-secular State > Islamic State

Islamic law

Concept of Islamic law

See the dictionary definition of Islamic law.

Characteristics of Islamic law

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Resources

Translation of Islamic law

• Spanish: Derecho musulmán
• French: Droit musulman
• German: Muslimisches Recht
• Italian: Diritto musulmano
• Portuguese: Direito muçulmano
• Polish: Prawo muzułmańskie

Thesaurus of Islamic law

Law > Sources and branches of the law > Legal science > Internal law of religions > Islamic law
Social Questions > Culture and religion > Religion > Islam > Islamic law
Finance > Financing and investment > Financing > Islamic finance > Islamic law
Politics > Political framework > State > Non-secular State > Islamic State > Islamic law

See also

• Islam
• Islamic State

• Moslem law
• Muslim law
• Sharia