- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Amana Publications (1 Aug 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1590080106
- ISBN-13: 978-1590080108
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15 x 1.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,512,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The book, based on references from the Qur an and hadith, explains the theory and interpretation of Islamic law. Combining ethics, epistemology and moral philosophy, it sets a tempo for a healthy dialogue between tradition and modernity
About the Author
MICHAEL MUMISA, a native of South Africa, is well-steeped in the subject matter of his book. After completing a four year Diploma in Arabic Literature from Iqra College at Waterfalls, Harare, Zimbabwe, he went to receive his 'Alimiyyah graduate degree from the Darul Ulum- Newcastle (South Africa) after six years of intensive training in the traditional Islamic sciences and classical Arabic literature. He holds postgraduate Honors degree summa cum laude from the Rands Afrikaans University and a Masters degree in Critical and Literary Theory from University of South Africa. He has taught in the Department of Science Languages, Rands Afrikaans University and was research fellow at the Islamic Research Center in Pretoria. Currently, he is pursuing postgraduate studies at the university of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great contribution to Islamic law, 28 Aug 2002
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation (Paperback)
The book makes a contribution to the study of legal theory, which is an amalgam of ethics, epistemology and moral philosophy and constitutes the underlying philosophy of law and ethics. There are few books in English that covers this field and therefore this book fills a major gap. The two books that come to mind that are closest to this proposed one are: Bernard Weiss, The Spirit of Law (University of Georgia Press, 1999) and Wael Hallaq, A History of Legal Theories (Cambridge University Press, 1997). Mr Mumisa however attempts to produce a somewhat different, and I daresay ambitious text. He wishes to engage the debate from the point of view of traditionalists and hopes to advocate an intellectual framework that would make possible the dialogue between tradition and modernity. In this way he hopes to draw practitioners of law into fray and provide them with interpretative options.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Principles of Jurisprudence and Social Change, 13 Jan 2003
By H. W. Shadid - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation (Paperback)
Usul al-fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) is a methodological subject dealing with the interpretation of Islamic sources of law (masadir al-shari'ah). This book provides a very useful introduction to this very exciting branch of knowledge. The author has followed the classical and traditional arrangements of usul al-fiqh texts and at the same time raising contemporary questions in each chapter. As a result of this arrangement, the author appear to be shifting from one different topic to another. In order to be loyal to the classical method of chapterising Islamic legal texts, he appear to be treating each chapter as different essays. However, a closer reading of the book will establish the connection and coherence between the different sections. This unique attempt will only be appreciated with one who has had the opportunity to read both classical Arabic legal texts and works by contemporary and modern theorists. Under the sources of Islamic law, the author has discussed the traditional as well as modern approaches to the interpretation of the primary sources of law. Chapter four deals with what the author calls "subsidiary sources of law" or "juristic devices". In this chapter the author demonstrates how law can be re-interpreted to accommodate social change. His discussion on how social change and public interest can override the canonical texts of law will be seen as controversial by traditionalists although he goes on to cite classicists who followed this line of thinking. His strong critique of mysticism and taqlid (imitation), will also make him a target of the Sufi sympathisers and the followers of the schools of laws (madhhabs). This is a very interesting and insightful book that asks new questions without always providing the answers.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tradition meets Postmodernism, 25 Aug 2003
By Edward. S. Harland - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Islamic Law: Theory and Interpretation (Paperback)
The influence of the French Philosopher Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics of suspicion is clearly evident is Mumisa's "Islamic Law: Theory & Interpretation". Right from the first page of the book he starts by explaining the different contemporary philosophical school that have impacted on the understanding and interpretation on texts in the 20th century such as existentialism, American pragmatism, postmodernism and others. As a result of globalisation and other 20th century intellectual and philosophical developments, he argues that "...we need to agree on how we are to interpret them (texts) since each and everyone of us understands the text according to his or her "a priori" position defined by political, theological, social and economical factors." [p.22] He explains how any legal thinking is a "local discourse" [p.163] and a fixed narrative. According to him, there is a socio-phenomenal dimension present in the interpretation and understanding of any legal system just as there is the influence exerted by legal theory on social process. Moreover, there are also the conditioning imposed by the dynamics of society on the interpretation and understanding of law. A re-interpretation of law must predominantly be concerned with ways to re-construct the legal system independent from the classical and traditional socio-cultural influences. It is clear after reading the book that there is an influence of continental philosophy, particularly the works of Foucault, Ricoeur, and even Derrida [see p.36] on Mumisa. However, his use of Freudian psychoanalytical theory to advance an argument on "partenalism" in politics may be found to be controversial by some. Although I found the book and the author's ideas to be interesting, it seems to me that this is an introduction to ideas that the author needs to develop further in his future writings. There are very important questions that are left unanswered and it is not clearly if the author is doing so deliberately to create debate on the issues or to force us to buy his next book! I still recommend this book for anyone interested in philosophy of law and hermeneutics.
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