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The science of source methodology in Islamic Jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) has been defined as the aggregate, considered per se, of legal proofs and evidence that, when studied properly, will lead either to a certain knowledge of a Sharicah1 ruling or to at least a reasonable assumption concerning the same; the manner by which such proofs are adduced, and the status of the adducer

Shaikh Muhammad al-Tahir Ibn Ashur is the most renowned Zaytuna Imam and one of the great Islamic scholars of the 20th century. The publication of this translation of Shaikh Ibn Ashur

This is the first work in the English language to deal specifically with the subjects of equity and fairness in Islamic law. Prof M H Kamali takes these concepts back to their origin in the Qur’an, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and the era of the Companions of the Prophet in the first two centuries of Islam. This is followed by discussions of equity as a basis for the formulation of Islamic law and a comparison between it and other concepts essential for law making such as general consensus, analogical reasoning and considerations of public interest.

Apostacy remains one of the most controversial issues to have afflicted the Muslim world down the centuries. It is also the source of much damaging media coverage today as Islamic jurisprudence stands accused of a flagrant disregard for human rights and freedom of expression. It is vital therefore, that in the interests of compassion and justice, as well as freedom of belief, this subject is clearly addressed once and for all.

Islamic Jurisprudence

Explains what Shariah means to Muslims, its objectives and relevance to building a just society.

With the end of the early Islamic period, Muslim scholars came to sense that a rift had begun to emerge between the teachings and principles of Islam and Muslims daily reality and practices. The most important means by which scholars sought to restore the intimate contact between Muslims and the Quran was to study the objectives of Islam, the causes behind Islamic legal rulings and the intentions and goals underlying the Shariah, or Islamic law. They made it clear that every legal ruling in Islam was a function which it performs, an aim which it realizes, a cause , to be explicit or implicit, and an intention which it seeks to fulfill, and to all of this in order to realize benefit to human beings or to ward off harm or corruption. They showed how these intentions, and higher objectives might at times be contained explicitly in the texts of the Quran and the sunnah, while at other times, scholars might bring them to the light by means of independent reasoning based on their understanding of the Quran and the sunnah within a framework of time and space.

Using the two tools of maqasid and maslahah, and through the examination of the dialectical link between fiqh and reality, the author shows their indispensability as important methodological tools for the study of the social sciences and, indeed, of social phenomena.