This third edition of the best-selling title Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence has been completely revised and substantially enlarged. In this work, Prof Kamali offers us the first detailed presentation available in English of the theory of Muslim law (usul al-fiqh). Often regarded as the most sophisticated of the traditional Islamic disciplines, Islamic Jurisprudence is concerned with the way in which the rituals and laws of religion are derived from the Qur'an and the Sunnah—the precedent of the Prophet. Written as a university textbook, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence is distinguished by its clarity and readability; it is an essential reference work not only for students of Islamic law, but also for anyone with an interest in Muslim society or in issues of comparative Jurisprudence.

Islamic jurisprudence or usul al-fiqh provides the foundation for any meaningful study of Islamic law. The present book has been in the field for more than a decade and has received a positive response from many quarters. It is used as a textbook in a number of university courses. Over the years, however, students have shown an eagerness to know more. They have raised many questions whose answers the book did not provide. A catalogue of the questions asked, and those not asked, gave rise to the need to revise the book. The present, third, edition of the book has, therefore, been revised and three chapters at the end have been completely rewritten.

Islamic jurisprudence is a much misunderstood system. The misunderstanding is due to lack of information and to centuries of prejudice. This book seeks to present information, not at present available in a single work, on the pioneering efforts of Islamic jurists to develop a comprehensive body of human rights, principles and practice, as well as a corpus of international law principles. The attempt to develop such international law principles long anticipated any similar work in other legal or cultural systems. Human rights doctrine based upon the Qu'ran and the Sunna of the Prophet was expressed in terms which will strike the reader as surprisingly modern. In international law, Islamic treatises anticipated the work of Grotius by eight centuries. It is hoped that this systematic exposition, not attempted before in such detail, will help considerably in reducing misunderstanding and the resulting tensions, as well as being of considerable value to the Islamic world. The work will be of interest not only to lawyers, but also to philosophers, historians, sociologists, political scientists and students of international affairs.

This is an apt publication for modern times, in which 'Sharia' has become a byword for an unacceptable social system, and is vilified as such; when crime is rife in communities governed by Sharia; and when in the non-Islamic West, the Islamic social and criminal justice systems are subject to intense public scrutiny and criticism, but remain little understood. The author presents a clear and factual account of the Islamic criminal justice system, expounding what he considers to be the real issues of Sharia, often ignored or misrepresented by both Islamic and Western scholars, and explaining its wider Islamic context and ethics, its Arabic roots, classical heritage and terminology, and its relevance to contemporary Muslim societies. Contents: concept of crime; features of Islamic criminal liability; defences to Islamic criminal liability; 'Hudud' crimes; 'Zina' - adultery or fornication; 'Qadhf' - slander or false accusation; 'Hadd' offence of 'al-sariqa' - theft; 'Hadd' offence of 'shurbul khamr' - wine drinking; 'Hiraba' - brigandage or highway armed robbery; 'Riddah' - apostasy; 'Baghye' - rebellion or treason; 'Qisas - retaliation; 'Ta'azir' punishment.

This is a classic manual of fiqh rulings based on Shafi"i School of jurisprudence and includes original Arabic texts and translations from classic works of prominent Muslim scholars such as al Ghazali, al Nawawi, al Qurtubi, al Dhahabi and others. It is an indispensable reference for every Muslim or student of Islam who needs to research on Islamic rulings on daily Muslim life.

"Islamic Law and International Law is a comprehensive examination of differences and similarities between the Islamic legal tradition and international law, especially in the context of dispute settlement. Sharia embraces a unique logic and culture of justice--based on nonconfrontational dispute resolution--as taught by the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. This book explains how the creeds of Islamic dispute resolution shape the Islamic milieu's views of international law. Is the Islamic legal tradition ab initio incompatible with international law, and how do states of the Islamic milieu view international courts, mediation, and arbitration? Islamic law constitutes an important part of the domestic legal system in many states of the Islamic milieu--Islamic law states--displacing secular law in state governance and affecting these states' contemporary international dealings. The book analyzes constitutional and subconstitutional laws in Islamic law states. The answer to the "Islamic law-international law nexus puzzle" lies in the diversity of how secular laws and religious laws fuse in domestic legal systems across the Islamic milieu. These states are not Islamic to the same degree or in the same way. Thus, different international conflict management methods appeal to different states, depending on each one's domestic legal system. The main claim of the book is that in many instances the Islamic legal tradition points in one direction while Western-based, secularized international law points in another direction. This conflict is partially softened by the reality that the Islamic legal tradition itself has elements fundamentally compatible with modern international law. Islamic legal tradition, international law, sharia settlement, peaceful dispute resolution"--