Table of Contents

Foreword Preface Message from His Eminence the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University PART 1: THE ORIGINS OF ISLAMIC LAW The Shari'a Arabia Before and After Islam The Prophet Muhammad The Qur'an Submission to God The Territorial Expansion of Islamic Law PART 2: THE ARABIC RESURGENCE OF LEARNING The Explosion of Knowledge Arabic Libraries The Synthesis of Knowledge The Entry of Arabic Knowledge into the West The Religious Stimulus to Learning The Place of Jurisprudence in the Realm of Knowledge PART 3: THE SOURCES OF ISLAMIC LAW The Primary Sources (a) The Qur'an (b) The Sunna The Dependent Sources (a) Ijma (Consensus) (b) Qiyas (Reasoning by analogy) PART 4: THE SCHOOLS OF LAW Sunnis and Shi'ites The Sunni Schools (a) The Hanafi School (b) The Malikite School (c) The Shafi'ite School (d) The Hanbalite School The Institutions of Learning The Role of the Jurist The Legal Profession PART 5: SOME BASIC ISLAMIC LEGAL IDEAS The Notion of Sharing The Notion of Caring The Notion of Trusteeship of Property The Notion of Brotherhood ad Solidarity The Notion of Universalism The Notion of Fair Industrial Relations The Notion of Human Dignity The Dignity of Labour The Notion of the Ideal Law The Notion of Fair Contract The Notion of Commercial Integrity The Notion of Freedom from Usury The Notion of the Rights of Women The Notion of Privacy The Notion of Abuse of Rights The Condemnation of Anti-Social Conduct The Notion of Charitable Trust The Notion of Juristic Personality The Notion of Individual Freedom The Notion of Equality Before the Law The Notion of Legal Representation The Presumption of Innocence The Notion of Non-retroactivity The Notion of the Supremacy of the Law The Notion of Judicial Independence The Notion of Limited Sovereignity The Notion of Bidding unto God: Am I my Brother's Keeper? The Notion of Tolerance The Notion of Democratic Participation PART 6: ISLAMIC INFLUENCES ON EUROPEAN LEGAL PHILOSOPHY AND LAW Revealed Law and Human Reason The Doctrine of Double Truth The Kindling of the Scientific Spirit The Islamic Encyclopaedists The Reaction of Orthodoxy Islamic Aristotelianism Averroism and Thomistic Philosophy The Influence of Islamic Concepts on European Philosophers of Liberty The Influence of Islamic Law on Modern International Law The Influence of Islamic Law on Modern Commercial Law The Birth of Sociological Thought PART 7: ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS Individual Dignity Justice in Rulership The Theocentric Approach The Islamic Theory of the State The Lack of Formalism Alternative Routes to Human Rights Doctrine The Universal Islamic Declaraion of Human Rights The Conduct of State Business Some Islamic Contributions to Contemporary Human Rights PART 8: ISLAMIC INTERNATIONAL LAW Past and Current Misconceptions The Nature of Islamic International Law The Oneness of Mankind uner Islamic Law The Content of Islamic International Law (a) The Law of War (b) The Law of Peace Private International Law Islamic Law and Internationalism: The Notion of Jihad The Impact of Islamic International Law on Western International Law (a) Some General Observations (b) The Possible Impact upon Grotius Islam and the Contemporary World Order PART 9: THE VALUE OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE TO THE NON-ISLAMIC WORLD Knowledge of the History of Ideas Comparative Law Practical Diplomacy The Growing Influence of the Islamic World Preventing the Breakdown of a Global Concept of Human Rights Generating Mutual Appreciation and Understanding Potential Contributions to Human Rights Appendix A: Documents The Bedrock of Islam: The Qur'an The Farewell Sermon of the Prophet Mohammed at Arafat The Hadiths of Traditions Directions of a Caliph to a Judge Appendix B: Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights Appendix C: Protection of Human Rights in the Islamic Criminal Justice Sysytem Appendix D: Key Words in Islamic Law Bibliography and References Index

About the Author

C. G. WEERAMANTRY is Professor of Law at Monash University in Australia and was formerly a Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He teaches international law and human rights and has written several works on those subjects and on comparative law.