Shari'ah Law: An Introduction

If you're looking for a primer on Islamic law suitable for absolute beginners with no prior exposure to the subject, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. Although this book bills itself as "An Introduction" to Shari'ah law, it actually presupposes that the reader already has a pretty solid background in the basics of Islamic religion, culture, and history, and in at least the fundamentals of what Shari'ah is and how Shari'ah-based legal systems work. It doesn't spend much time at all on the basics of, for example, how cases are adjudicated in Shari'ah courts, how lawyers and judges do their jobs in Shari'ah-based legal systems, or how Shari'ah law differs from English common law or European civil law. Instead, it launches right into a discussion of rather esoteric issues of interpretation within Shari'ah law. It's really more of an intermediate-level text on Islamic law than a true introduction to the subject. If, like most non-Muslims in the West, you know next-to-nothing about law in the Muslim world, then you probably won't get very much out of this book, since you aren't really its intended audience. This is not a book aimed at Western students of comparative law, much less at laypeople in the West who are merely curious about how Islamic legal systems work; rather, it was written for elites within the Muslim world who actually live under Shari'ah-based legal systems, and need to have a better understanding of the underlying principles of Shari'ah so they can make better-informed decisions about the important political, social, economic, and religious issues facing their countries today. And, while this book does contain valuable information about the historical development of Islamic law, about the different schools of interpretation within the Shari'ah tradition, and about the general principles of interpretation used in Shari'ah law, it devotes much of its time and attention to making recommendations for how Shari'ah can be reformed and modernized to meet the challenges of the 21st century -- including reforms designed to improve the rights of women, to promote democracy, and to discourage extremism within the Muslim world. So, in many ways, this book is more of a treatise than a textbook, and concerns itself more with political advocacy than with basic legal education. If you have already studied the fundamentals of Islamic law and want to deepen your understanding of the subject, you should definitely read this book; but if you are a novice in the subject who just wants to learn the basics of Shari'ah in order to satisfy your curiosity about how law works in the Muslim world, this really isn't the book for you.

Kamali's "Shari'ah Law: An Introduction" is a great basic overview of Shari'ah Law, and it puts Shari'ah in its proper context. It can get a bit complicated sometimes because of the numerous Arabic terms, but overall is great. The main reason for my five star rating, besides my interest in the subject and the great information found in Kamali's book, is that too often Shari'ah Law is viewed through a Western lens. Kamali does not do this. While he does occasionally provide context for Western readers, he shows how Shari'ah Law developed in Islam, and what the Law is derived from. I've used this book in for several papers, as well as when lecturing to students, and each time I pick it up it seems I've learned something new (even though I've read it a few times now). Overall, I highly suggest Kamali's book.

I will begin reading now that I have finished two other "urgent to read" books. This one appears to be the definitive volume on the matter, and I'm glad to have it in hard-copy in my collection.

Excellent book! Well-written and readable. Not too basic and not too dry. This book covers every major pertinent topic, from development of the four madhahab to modern issues, such as democracy, gender issues, suicide bombing, moderation and balance, and recent developments and reforms in Islamic law.Highly recommended.

Good review of Shari'ah law

SHARI AH PROVES IT'S OK FOR MUZZIES TO LIE FOR THE CRAP HEAD ALA

A very good introduction, also for non-muslims.Helps understand the basics to be able to go further for those who want to, or just to satisfy one's curiosity on the subject.

The book is excellent, however, I order many other books after ordering this book, and the later books coming from a futher distance, and they actually arrived before my Shar'ia Law book.

Interesting and useful book and well-written.However, somewhat biased in the way it selects it evidence.Shariah law does not in practice operate quite as indicated

too hard to understand

my husband found it interrsting

The book itself is excellent and is worth every penny. However I had a bad experience with the seller (Source Books Pvt Ltd.) as the book i received had a damaged cover - it was unethical of the seller to sell a supposedly new book which looked used and worn.

Misleading book by a person who thinks all Islamic scholars till 14 th hijri have misunderstood Shariah and he alone has understood. Looks like he has written this for western non muslims