Overview
The Canonization of Islamic Law tells the story of the birth of classical Islamic law in the eighth and ninth centuries CE. It shows how an oral normative tradition embedded in communal practice was transformed into a systematic legal science defined by hermeneutic analysis of a clearly demarcated scriptural canon. This transformation was inaugurated by the innovative legal theory of Muhammad b. Idrīs al-Shāfi'ī (d. 820 CE), and it took place against the background of a crisis of identity and religious authority in ninth-century Egypt. By tracing the formulation, reception, interpretation and spread of al-Shāfi'ī's ideas, the author demonstrates how the canonization of scripture that lay at the heart of al-Shāfi'ī's theory formed the basis for the emergence of legal hermeneutics, the formation of the Sunni schools of law, and the creation of a shared methodological basis in Muslim thought.
Full Product Details
Author: Ahmed El Shamsy (University of Chicago)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 22.70cm
Weight: 0.400kg
ISBN: 9781107546073
ISBN 10: 1107546079
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 30 July 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
'It is very well-written, draws on an impressive array of Arabic texts, and is the best available guide to al-Shafiʿi's legal-theoretical writings, in large part because it engages the arguments expressed in both the Risāla and the Umm. In short, it is essential reading for all students and scholars of Islamic law.' Scott. C. Lucas, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 'Ahmed El Shamsy has given us a ground-breaking picture of the third/ninth-century development of Shāfiʿī legal scholarship.' David R. Vishanoff, Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations
'It is very well-written, draws on an impressive array of Arabic texts, and is the best available guide to al-Shafi'i's legal-theoretical writings, in large part because it engages the arguments expressed in both the Risala and the Umm. In short, it is essential reading for all students and scholars of Islamic law.' Scott. C. Lucas, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 'Ahmed El Shamsy has given us a ground-breaking picture of the third/ninth-century development of Shafi'i legal scholarship.' David R. Vishanoff, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
'It is very well-written, draws on an impressive array of Arabic texts, and is the best available guide to al-Shafi'i's legal-theoretical writings, in large part because it engages the arguments expressed in both the Risala and the Umm. In short, it is essential reading for all students and scholars of Islamic law.' Scott. C. Lucas, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Author Information
Ahmed El Shamsy is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Thought in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.
