Islamic Legal Methodology

Reviewed by: Abdelhamid Arbab, The Classical Institute, UK

Published by: Herndon/ Richmond: IIIT, 2023, 229pp. ISBN: 978-1642055672.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The book under review is less a new perspective on uṣūl al-fiqh than an impressive summary of paradigmatic Islamic legal thinkers’ methodological particularities, alongside a subtle endorsement of modern proposals to the adjustment of traditional Islamic legal methodologies. Accordingly, the work could have made an excellent textbook on the roughly chronological development of Islamic legal theory, through a study of its most prominent thinkers. However, despite, or perhaps because of, its breadth, the work misses some foundational details covered by its peers, limiting its depth and potential as a ground-breaking introduction. Nevertheless, its strong engagement with Shīʿī legal theorists and its occasional comparative approach add to the study’s novelty. The work’s accessibility and clear organizational structure make it particularly valuable for students new to the field, while its wide coverage of both classical and modern thinkers provides a useful reference for established scholars.

Chapter 1 covers the origins of Islamic legal theory, introducing al-Shāfiʿī’s (d. 204/820) foundational role in formalizing uṣūl al-fiqh. The authors provide a concise summary of his contributions, including a synopsis of al-Shāfiʿī’s methodology as portrayed in his Risālah. The organizational structure of this chapter is repeated throughout: a brief summary of the context of engagement for given thinkers followed by a summary of some of the key points displayed in one or more of their extant uṣūl works. The authors’ ability to truncate a wide variety of often dense uṣūl works should be commended.