Moral Registers in Islamic Law, Adab, and Ethics

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By Matthew L. Keegan Islamic law is one among several Islamic discourses and normative discourses that intermingled with Islamic epistemes and ecumenes in the pre-modern world. In Marion Holmes Katz's recent monograph, readers encounter a sophisticated reading of the intersecting and divergent approaches of law, asceticism, and Islamic philosophical ethics. As she demonstrates in one … Continue reading Moral Registers in Islamic Law, Adab, and Ethics

Fatwās on Cryptocurrency: Egypt’s Dār al-Iftāʾ

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By Raha Rafii Grand Muftī Shawky Ibrahim Allam of Egypt’s Dār al-Iftāʾ issued a fatwā in December 2017[1] stating that any and all uses of cryptocurrency was ḥarām, or forbidden—including purchasing, selling, and leasing. The al-Azhar-affiliated Dār al-Iftāʾ was established in 1895 with the Grand Muftī as its head; throughout its history it served a … Continue reading Fatwās on Cryptocurrency: Egypt’s Dār al-Iftāʾ

A Sultan Becomes Caliph: Legal Knowledge and Late Mamlūk Political Thought

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By Christian Mauder This is part four in a series of four posts on legal culture at the late Mamlūk court. The governing elite of what is known as the Mamlūk Sultanate is often depicted as decidedly uninterested in notions of Islamic political thought and good governance. Robert Irwin sums up this traditional view of … Continue reading A Sultan Becomes Caliph: Legal Knowledge and Late Mamlūk Political Thought

The Issue of Financing Jihād in Islamic Law: Three Case Studies from the Mamlūk Period

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By Mehdi Berriah This is part one in a series of four posts on the financing of jihād during the Mamlūk period. While the spirit and laws of jihād have often attracted the attention of researchers, this is not the case for its economic aspect, which remains poorly known. It must be kept in mind … Continue reading The Issue of Financing Jihād in Islamic Law: Three Case Studies from the Mamlūk Period

The Neglected History of Furūʿ and the Premodern/Modern Binary

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By Marion Katz (New York University) This essay is part of the Islamic Law Blog’s Roundtable on Islamic Legal History & Historiography, edited by Intisar Rabb (Editor-in-Chief) and Mariam Sheibani (Lead Blog Editor), and introduced with a list of further readings in the short post by Intisar Rabb: “Methods and Meaning in Islamic Law: Introduction." … Continue reading The Neglected History of Furūʿ and the Premodern/Modern Binary

Does ISIS Really Follow the Salafī Version of Islamic Law and Theology?

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Guest contributor Jacob Olidort critically examines ISIS's claim of adherence to the doctrine of Salafism, a popular orientation among conservative Muslim clerics who attempt to model their actions on a certain vision of law and theology in the early Muslim community. Himself a scholar of modern Salafī thought, Olidort concludes that ISIS's claims are at … Continue reading Does ISIS Really Follow the Salafī Version of Islamic Law and Theology?