Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence Paperback – September 1, 2005

Dr. Hashim Kamali's book is a marvelous adaptation of Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) in English. I have read through this book extensively, benefited from it greatly, and enjoyed the high literacy quality of this work. He does indeed make use of Arabic words and expressions frequently and that is absolutely needed; all of the reputed work on Islamic Fiqh is in Arabic and he does a painstakingly excellent job of transmitting the soul of the original texts (mainly in Arabic) into English. People complaining about the excessive use of Arabic words in this book perhaps needs to read through the Preface where he provides a great exposition of the need to use the traditional Arabic terms and makes it clear that due to the meticulous nature of the subject, it is important to retain the most important terms and expressions in Arabic upon which the Principles of Fiqh is erected. I give this book very high marks since it has almost no competitors (in English language) in this discipline. Caution should be also exercised since it is not a "casual reading" book; you'll need to pay attention and take good notes. Each page can easily take 3-4 minutes to read. I also wish that Kamali had given more examples in several sections. A great addition to the book will be some sort of Questions or Exercises at the culmination of each chapter. The footnotes and references are well organized and thoroughly researched. You would almost need to read this book more than once to retain the contents due to its complex and deep nature of dicussion. Lastly, this book cannot be simply read and understood by an individual alone unless he/she has the required credentials (e.g. have a good grasp of various Islamic disciplines); for the most part, it is best to study this as part of the course with a qualified teacher so that the book's text can be explained when there's is confusion or lack of clarity. I give the highest rating to this book.

This 390 pages book is a dense compendium (or treatise) of Islamic law for students and scholars. It is not for beginners and it is a tough reading. Since this textbook is for student of Islamic law written by an Islamic lawyer, this book assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of both Qur'an and Shariah. The author is professor of law at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, founded in the 80s to be a center of excellence in several fields and sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Conference and other governments. The main language at the University is English and this text is mainly catered for those students. In the preface, the author says he had initiated the book while he was teaching Islamic Law to postgraduate students at McGill University in Montreal. However, it does not offer international comparisons with other Western legal systems. The book devotes a lot of space to the rules of interpretations of the law within a historical context. So you get Islamic law and history to explain its developments within the several traditions in the Islamic world. It is divided in 19 chapters that span from the Source of the law (Quar'an and Sunnah); Rules of interpretations; Abrogation; Analogical deduction; Revealed laws preceding the Shariah; Equity in Islamic law; Public interest; Custom; Conflict of evidences etc. The author shows a scholarly detachment from the subject and therefore don't expect moral judgments of value on a specific norm, whether it is right or wrong, but only a legal analysis. It is a worthy reading for those who have an interest, other than in Islamic law, in Political Science, International relations and Islamic civilization.

Pros: One of the best books on Islamic jurisprudence available in English. Appropriate for university-level study. Cons: Inclusion of fiqh beyond the four main Sunni madhahib could be confusing for the beginner. It's a dense book with a good deal of specialized terminology, so the reader would benefit from the instruction of a qualified teacher.

The author of this book is simply a genius, who has allot of knowledge on Islamic Jurisprudence. He is very clear, and it is easy to understand if you have some basic knowledge of Islamic law. Most likely the best book I have ever read on this subject.

Good read

This is the seminal English-language textbook on Islamic law. It is a remarkable achievement to put so much technical information in one book that is relatively accessible for others.

Excellent background. If you want to understand how things are truly defined, read this book. it gives clear examples and is excelelnt.

Shines a harsh spotlight on the horrific truths of Islam and the actual beliefs of the average follower of the religion of "peace".