A welcome contributes to the small number of English language works on Islamic legal theory, and it is a work which all libraries that have an interest in Islamic Studies and cognate areas should acquire." Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1982 Dr.Masud has clearly put much thought and effort into the making of Islamic Legal Philosophy, and the result is a work of which serious students of both Islamic modernism and of the history and theory of Islamic law will have to take account. It is a work that must be taken into consideration in any future research into the question of maslaha, for on this point the author shows himself capable of keen observation and insights... Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1979 Throughout the centuries, there has been a basic question asked among Islamic jurists and Muslims: "Why did Allah issue the commandments that Allah did?" While some schools of thought, such as the Ash'ari philosophers, think that this is an invalid question altogether (for if Allah had reasons for doing what Allah does or did, then He would be caused or compelled by some outside power, a theological impossibility) other schools have thought have gone to the other extreme, such as the Mutazilites, some of who have suggested Allah had to do what is best for humanity. Muhammad Khalid Masud's detailed consideration of one philosopher, al-Shatibi, others a much more complex consideration of possible principles behind the injunctions of Islamic law, Shari'ah. Primarily, this book is a consideration of the concept of maslaha, or "the good," and the role it plays not only in the actual injunctions of Islamic law but also in reasoning about the law, making determinations in specific cases and what extent the concept of the good of humanity can provide insights into the law. Masud masterfully outlines the development of the concept of maslaha (his treatment of al-Razi being of particular importance) and sets the scene of al-Shatibi, during a time of great social change.

In this path breaking study, Jasser Auda presents a systems approach to the philosophy and juridical theory of Islamic law based on its purposes, intents, and higher objectives (maqasid). For Islamic rulings to fulfill their original purposes of justice, freedom, rights, common good, and tolerance in today's context, Auda presents maqasid as the heart and the very philosophy of Islamic law. He also introduces a novel method for analysis and critique, one that utilizes relevant features from systems theory, such as, wholeness, multidimensionality, openness, and especially, purposefulness of systems. This book will benefit all those interested in the relationship between Islam and a wide variety of subjects, such as philosophy of law, morality, human rights, interfaith commonality, civil society, integration, development, feminism, modernism, postmodernism, systems theory, and culture.

This anthology brings the key writings on translation in Arabic in the pre-modern era, extending from the earliest times (sixth century CE) until the end of World War I, to a global English-speaking audience. The texts are arranged chronologically and organized by two historical periods: the Classical Period, and the Nahda Period. Each text is preceded by an introduction about the selected text and author, placing the work in context, and discussing its significance. The texts are complemented with a theoretical commentary, discussing the significance for the contemporary period and modern theory. A general introduction covers the historical context, main trends, research interests, and main findings and conclusions. The two appendices provide statistical data of the corpus on which the anthology is based, more than 500 texts of varying lengths extending throughout the entire period of study. This collection contributes to the development of a more inclusive and global history of translation and interpreting. Translated, edited, and analyzed by leading scholars, this anthology is an invaluable resource for researchers, students, and translators interested in translation studies, Arab/Islamic history, and Arabic language and literature, as well as Islamic theology, linguistics, and the history of science. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Kitab Al I'tisam seems to have been written by Al Shatibi "May Allah (swt) have mercy on him" for his disciples and the scholars and students of knowledge, rather than for the laymen and commoners among the people. He underwent great difficulties to achieve this glorious task. The book is indeed a scientific encyclopedia, which includes a lot of benefits and unique issues, which make its holder and carrier dispense with anything else, in residence as well as on journey. He prefaced the book with a wonderful and concentrated introduction, in which he talked about the alienation of Islam, and the emergence and spread of the religious innovations, which motivated him to write his book, in the hope it would benefit the Muslims in the world and the hereafter. He divided the book into ten section, each including many chapters as required by content and in-depth explanation of the issues: 1. Definition and meaning of religious innovation 2. Condemnatino of religious innovation, and the evil consequences of its men; 3. Condemantion of religious innovations in general, and all changes made in the religion, in which he discussed the malicious allegations of the religious innovators and those of scholars who regard good or bad the religious innovations. 4. The appraoches of religious innovators in attestation; 5. The real and additional religious innovations, and the difference between them; 6. The rulings of the religious innovations, which are not of the same rank; 7. The innovation, whether it pertains to the acts of worship in particular, or includes also the normal habits; 8. The difference between the benefits which were not specifically addressed with Islamic text, and the appreciation; 9. The reason for which the sects of religious innovators broke away from the established community of the Muslims; 10. The straight path from which the religious innovators deviated

Current applications (or rather, misapplications) of Islamic law are reductionist rather than holistic, literal rather than moral, one-dimensional rather than multidimensional, binary rather than multi-valued, deconstructionist rather than reconstructionist, and causal rather than teleological. There is lack of consideration and functionality of the overall purposes and underlying principles of the Islamic law as a whole. Further, exaggerated claims of ‘rational certainty’ (or else, ‘irrationality’) and ‘consensus of the infallible’ (or else, ‘historicity of the scripts’) add to lack of spirituality, intolerance, violent ideologies, suppressed freedoms, and authoritarianism. Thus, a maqasidi approach takes juridical issues to a higher philosophical ground, and hence, overcomes (historical) differences over politics between Islamic schools of law, and encourages a much-needed culture of conciliation and peaceful coexistence. Moreover, the realization of purposes should be the core objective of all fundamental linguistic and rational methodologies of ijtihad, regardless of their various names and approaches. Thus, the validity of any ijtihad should be determined based on its level of achieving ‘purposefulness,’ or realizing maqasid al-shari’ah.