Introduction to Islamic Law

The distortion and misconceptions that affected Western studies in their research on Sharia and Islamic jurisprudence represent a strong incentive to reconsider how Islamic law is addressed in our Arab research and studies. Reading the history of jurisprudence and jurists, and the councils of jurisprudence, as a reading that explores the latent factors, influences, and dimensions, is a matter dictated by the current Islamic intellectual state. The Arabic version of this study, issued by the Namaa Center, through which Professor Wael Hallaq seeks to present a systematic textbook for students and specialists in Islamic studies, answers a number of important questions; including: Was Sharia really harsh and unjust to the extent that the media now portrays? How was Sharia applied in society? And what were the conditions under which Sharia coexisted with the political structure? How did the modern state transform what remained of Sharia into an unjust system of rule? Hallaq traversed the chapters of the book exploring the ways jurists arrived at Islamic jurisprudence, and the means jurists used to innovate methods of Islamic education. Then Hallaq addressed the interaction between law and society, the role of judicial circles, and their relationship with political administration. The author also discussed the stages of the modern state's dismantling and its national systems of Sharia through what he called "Legislative Colonialism" of the modern state. Hallaq also pointed out the complex and intertwined relationship between the state, Islamists, and traditional religious institutions in several countries, a current and pressing topic in the context of the transformations experienced by the Middle East region.