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 Edmund Hayes In my first essay, I raised the question: was there an early Imāmī Shīʿī legal system? In order to think about this question, it is convenient to … Continue reading The Practical Agency of the Shīʿī Imams
By Edmund Hayes In 260/874, upon the death of the Eleventh Imam of the Twelver Shīʿa, al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskari, a crisis hit the inner circle of the Imam’s family. The Imam’s … Continue reading The Rejection of Legal Pluralism and Its Consequences
By Edmund Hayes When we speak of Shīʿī law, we usually mean the legal edifice of Twelver Shīʿīsm, which developed in the centuries following the collapse of the historical imamate … Continue reading Was There an Early Imāmī Shīʿī Legal System?
Edmund Hayes is a University Lecturer in the History of Islam at Leiden University. His research focus is the social history of early Shīʿa Islam, especially in its Imāmī and … Continue reading Welcome to our June Guest Blogger: Edmund Hayes
Thank you, Bahman Khodadadi, for joining us as guest blog editor in May. In case you missed his essays, here they are: The Ascendancy of Fixed Islamic Corporal Punishments in … Continue reading Thank you, Bahman Khodadadi!
By Bahman Khodadadi As Muslim jurist Mohsen Kadivar observes, in traditional fiqh (Islamic law), certain punishments prescribed by sharīʿa can be carried out “by any adult Muslim (mukallaf) based on … Continue reading God’s Wish or Mortal Error? The Iranian State’s Blessing for Vigilantism
By Bahman Khodadadi As I noted in my previous essay, with the rise of Shīʿī theocracy in 1979, the newly established Islamic Republic of Iran embarked on a “sharīʿatization” project. … Continue reading Navigating Legal Impasses: Maṣlaḥa, State Decrees, and Shīʿī Jurisprudence in Post-Revolutionary Iran
By Bahman Khodadadi With the emergence of Shīʿī theocracy in 1979, the newly established state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, set in motion a “sharīʿatization” project. As part of this … Continue reading The Ascendancy of Fixed Islamic Corporal Punishments in Shīʿī Theocracy
Dr. Bahman Khodadadi is the PIL–LC Research Fellow at the Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School and the Library of Congress for the 2024–2025 academic year. Prior to … Continue reading Welcome to our May Guest Blogger: Bahman Khodadadi
Thank you, Muhammad al-Marakeby, for joining us as guest blog editor in December. In case you missed his essays, here they are: “Egypt is Empty of Rulers”: The Development of … Continue reading Thank you, Muhammad al-Marakeby!
