16 Reasons Why: Forgery and the Household of the Prophet

By Rami Koujah This post is part of a series of posts on the latest publication in our Harvard Series in Islamic Law, Hossein Modarressi’s Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar … Continue reading 16 Reasons Why: Forgery and the Household of the Prophet

A Prayer-Based Civilizational Order: The Social Dimension of the Rules of Ritual Prayer

By Sohail Hanif Ritual prayer (ṣalāh) is a pillar of Islam. It functions as a pillar that upholds the daily routine and spiritual journey of a believer. However, the spiritual … Continue reading A Prayer-Based Civilizational Order: The Social Dimension of the Rules of Ritual Prayer

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS The new leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama's new chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf, expressed his willingness to fight extremism by focusing on traditional … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup

Islamic Law in the News Roundup

ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Muslim cryptocurrency enthusiasts in Indonesia have found a way around the recent fatwā issued by the nation's Ulama Council, ruling that cryptocurrency is forbidden under … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup

Weekend Scholarship Roundup

SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law: In "Wearing the Niqab: Muslim Women in the UK and the US" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021), Anna Piela (Northwestern University) argues that niqāb, the Islamic face … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup

COVID-19 and Islamic Law Roundup

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for religious affairs stated that a group of Malaysian imāms who are refusing to receive the coronavirus vaccine will undergo a counseling session that will … Continue reading COVID-19 and Islamic Law Roundup

Al-Qarāfī on the Importance of Legal Maxims and Distinctions in Jurisprudence

By Mariam Sheibani Source: Al-Qarāfī, Shihāb al-Dīn. Kitāb al-furūq aw Anwār al-burūq fī anwāʾ al-furūq. 3rd ed. Edited by Muḥammad Sarrāj and ʿAlī Jumuʿa. 2 vols. Cairo: Dār al-Salām, 2010. General … Continue reading Al-Qarāfī on the Importance of Legal Maxims and Distinctions in Jurisprudence

Al-Qarāfī’s collection of legal distinctions

By Mariam Sheibani Source: Al-Qarāfī, Shihāb al-Dīn. Kitāb al-furūq aw Anwār al-burūq fī anwāʿ al-furūq. 3rd ed. Edited by Muḥammad Sarrāj and ʿAlī Jumuʿa. 2 vols. Cairo: Dār al-Salām, 2010. … Continue reading Al-Qarāfī’s collection of legal distinctions

Authority and Khums in the Absence of the Imām: Reflections of Two Safavid-era Jurists

By Mohammad Sagha This post examines how two Ṣafavid-era jurists, Ḥussayn b. ʽAbd al-Ṣamad al-ʽĀmilī (d. 985/1577-8),[1] and Muḥammad Bāqir Majlisī (d. 1111/1698) conceptualized the authority to collect and spend … Continue reading Authority and Khums in the Absence of the Imām: Reflections of Two Safavid-era Jurists

Judicial Authority and Roots of Twelver Shīʽī Tax Theory

By Mohammad Sagha The main question this study addresses is: how can the delegation of authority within the Shīʽī* community after the Minor Occultation of the Twelfth Imām in 260/874 … Continue reading Judicial Authority and Roots of Twelver Shīʽī Tax Theory