Focusing on the significance of Madinan Islam, this book delves into the teachings of Malik ibn Anas and his legal school. It features an annotated translation of Al-Ra'i's work, Intisar al-faqir al-salik li-tarjih madhhab al-Imam al-kabir Malik, authored by a fifteenth-century Andalusian scholar based in Cairo. The text explores the historical context and legal frameworks that shaped Islamic jurisprudence, highlighting the enduring influence of Malik's interpretations.
Focusing on the interpretation of legal verses in the Qur'an, this book explores the diverse methods employed to derive legal judgments. It delves into both linguistic techniques and other interpretative approaches, providing a comprehensive analysis of how these methods shape understanding of Islamic law.
This book considers the transmission of the Sunna through the lens of the great Madinan legal scholar, Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH/795 CE), in his renowned book al-Muwatta', or 'The well-trodden path'. It considers not only the legal judgements preserved in this book, but also the key scholars involved in the transmission of these judgements, namely, Malik's teachers and students. These different transmissions provide very strong evidence for the reliability of Malik's transmission of the Sunna. Overriding these textual considerations is the concept of 'amal, or the Practice of the People of Medina. This is accepted as a prime source by Malik and those following him, but is effectively rejected by the other schools, who prefer hadith (textual reports) as an indication of Sunna. Given the contested nature of 'amal in both ancient and modern times, and the general unawareness of it in contemporary Islamic studies, this source receives extended treatment here. This allows for a deeper understanding of the nature of Islamic law and its development, and, by extension, of Islam itself.