Everything from reviews of recent publications and cases to reflections on the book-writing and tenure process for scholars in Islamic law. Junior and senior scholars known in the field of Islamic legal studies are invited to become guest editors of the blog for one-month terms. The posts do not undergo editorial review, and offer room for these scholars to content and context on Islamic law, and more.
By Ilyass Amharar Framing the Question This third essay in our series on the early encounters between Mālikism and Ashʿarism focuses on perhaps the most contested figure in the debate … Continue reading Ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawānī, Ashʿarism, and the Politics of a Phrase: A Case Study in Historiographical Anachronism
By Ilyass Amharar Why This Essay Belongs on the Islamic Law Blog My first essay established that the encounter between Mālikism and Ashʿarism cannot be relegated to a late, politically … Continue reading Kairouan, Baghdad, Fez: The Early Networks of Mālikī Ashʿarism in the Maghrib
By Ilyass Amharar Why This Question Matters for Islamic Legal History? Readers of a blog devoted to Islamic law might reasonably wonder why a post about kalām (speculative theology) belongs … Continue reading Early Contacts Between Mālikism and Ashʿarism: Rethinking a Narrative of Separation
lyass Amharar is a Faculty Member in Arabic Language and Islamic Thought at the University of al-Qarawiyyin's Muhammad VI Institute of Quranic Studies, Rabat. He holds a Habilitation to Supervise … Continue reading Welcome to our August Guest Blogger: Ilyass Amharar
Many thanks to Janina Safran for joining us as guest blog editor in July. In case you missed her essays, here they are: How did jurists interpret and practice law … Continue reading Thank you, Janina Safran!
By Janina Safran In this essay, I illustrate the methods of juridical thinking and argumentation at the highest level among Mālikīs in al-Andalus in the early sixth/twelfth century. One aim … Continue reading Revisiting al-ʿUtbī’s Mustakhraja: Ibn Rushd al-Jadd’s al-Bayān wa’l-taḥsīl
By Janina Safran In the previous essays, I described the emergence of Mālikī “mother texts” in the middle of the third/ninth century. These were compilations of authoritative statements attributed to … Continue reading Ibn Sahl’s Eleventh-Century Commentary on Tenth-Century Legal Opinions and Judgments
By Janina Safran Proto-Mālikīs in al-Andalus in the third/ninth century memorized, copied, transmitted, and studied opinions attributed to Mālik (d. 179/795) and his students (masāʾil, sg. masʾala). Proto-Mālikīs considered these … Continue reading Tenth-Century Approaches to Andalusī-Mālikī Legal Opinions (Masāʾil)
By Janina Safran The question arose in a recent round table discussion and is challenging to answer for three central reasons.[1] First are the usual problems of little textual evidence: … Continue reading How did jurists interpret and practice law in al-Andalus in the Umayyad period?
Janina Safran is Associate Professor of History at The Pennsylvania State University. Her field is Islamic history (c. 600–1250), and her particular area of research is al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia) and … Continue reading Welcome to our July Guest Blogger: Janina Safran
