A man and a woman get married and consummate the union. After the wedding night, the man claims that his bride was already deflowered and sends her back to her family. He proceeds to kidnap his wife's sister, who is already married, and asks to annul his marriage. His wife maintains that she was a virgin. Is her testimony accepted in court? Rather surprisingly, the court believes the woman, stating that virginity can be lost by jumping, age, or menstruation. The husband must pay the dowry and cannot annul the marriage. Furthermore, he must return his wife's sister to her husband's home and will be imprisoned until he does so. Through fatwas, or legal opinions, like that of Khayr al-Din al-Ramli, the seventeenth-century jurist quoted above, In the House of the Law examines how law shaped gender roles in Palestine and Syria during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Challenging prevailing views on Islam and gender as well as contemporary Islamist interpretations of the tradition, Judith Tucker shows that Islamic law was more fluid and flexible than has generally been thought. Using primary materials previously unmined by scholars, Tucker explores the ways in which Islamic legal thinkers and the court system understood the message of Islam for women and gender relations. Tucker's conclusions will surprise many. She finds that by using the rich textual heritage of the law, jurists considered cases within the larger frame of the community, drawing on different legal elements depending on the situation, and resulting in opinions that often championed women's rights and mitigated gender distinctions.

This slim volume presents a practical introduction to the essential beliefs, practices, and moral rectifications mentioned in the Sacred Law. The primary text is Ahmed ibn Zayn al-Habashi's Al-Risalah al-Jami ah which has been a popular introductory text during the last four centuries. The text is read by students in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and, recently, North America and Europe. This edition includes the Arabic text, its translation, and notes drawn from the translator's other works. Readers of this text will learn the essential creed, acts of worship, and moral behavior that are considered personal obligations for all Muslims. They will also learn why these particular things are important. The notes are designed to equip students for personal practice and to prepare them for more advanced studies.

In this series, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has presented the fundamental teachings of Islam in a simple way.