An Islamic Legal Philosophy

Ibn ?Abd al-Salam and the Ethical Turn in Islamic Law
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-009-58846-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 315 Seiten, Gewicht: 500 g

Reihe: Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization

While many studies of Islamic law have centred on the development of legal theory and substantive law, especially in their formative period of development, Mariam Sheibani instead argues that the rich legal history of the postformative period and the Islamic legal philosophy that developed in it have been comparatively neglected. This innovative study traces the ethical turn in medieval Islamic legal philosophy through the pioneering work of the prominent jurist and legal philosopher Ibn 'Abd al-Salam (d. 660/1262). Sheibani demonstrates how Ibn 'Abd al-Salam advanced a comprehensive analysis of the law's purposive and coherent rationality, articulated in a distinctive genre, with direct bearing on legal doctrine and social praxis. Ibn 'Abd al-Salam expanded on previous theological and legal reasoning, furthering two ideas developed by Khurasani Shafi'is: maslaha (human benefit) and qawa'id (legal maxims). He also sought to embody and deploy its teachings for socioreligious reform in Ayyubid Damascus and Cairo, breaking with the dominant formalism of legal practice. The new forms of legal reasoning and writing that Ibn 'Abd al-Salam developed would influence subsequent jurists from diverse legal schools and across regional traditions until the present day.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sheibani, Mariam

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; 1. The revival of Shafi'ism and intellectual life in Damascus; 2. Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's scholarly formation and the politics of patronage in ayyubid Damascus; 3. Maslaha in Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's legal philosophy; 4. Legal maxims in Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's legal philosophy; 5. The application of Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's legal philosophy in Damascus and Egypt; 6. The reception of Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's legal philosophy; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Sheibani, Mariam
Mariam Sheibani is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Thought at Brandeis University, where her research focuses on Islamic intellectual, religious, and social history. Her work has been published in Islamic Law and Society, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, and Religions.