The study of Islamic law can be a forbidding prospect for those entering the field for the first time Wael Hallaq a leading scholar & practitioner of Islamic law guides students through the intricacies of the subject in this absorbing introduction The first half of the book is devoted to a discussion of Islamic law in its pre-modern natural habitat The second part explains how the law was transformed & ultimately dismantled during the colonial period In the final chapters the author charts recent developments & the struggles of the Islamists to negotiate changes which have seen the law emerge as a primarily textual entity focused on fixed punishments & ritual requirements The book which
Includes:: a chronology a glossary of key terms & lists of further reading will be the first stop for those who wish to understand the fundamentals of Islamic law its practices & history