Islamic Law Research Guide
Globalex: Religious Legal Systems: A Brief Guide to Research and Its Role in Comparative Law
By Marylin Johnson Raisch
LLRX Finding the law: Islamic Law (Sharia)
By Andrew Grossman, Published on August 1, 2002
U Wash Gallagher Law Library: Islamic Law Resources at the Gallagher Law Library
University of Washington - Gallagher Law Library
CRS Report: Islam in Africa (2008)
Islam in Africa. By Hussein D. Hassan, Information Research Specialist
CRS Report: Islam in South and Southeast Asia (2005)
Diversity of practices of Islam in Asia. By Bruce Vaughn, Analyst in Southeast and South Asian Affairs.
CRS Report: Islam: A primer (2003)
The report includes short descriptions of the historical background, the tenets of Islam, jihad, the status of women in Islam, and other aspects of Islam.
CRS Report: Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns (2010)
Basic principles and history of Islamic finance. By Shayerah Ilias, Analyst in International Trade and Finance.
CRS Report: Sunnis and Shiites (2010)
This report includes a historical background of the Sunni-Shiite split and discusses the differences
in religious beliefs and practices between and within each Islamic sect as well as their similarities. By Christopher M. Blanchard, Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs.
Primary sources of all principles of Islamic laws:
- Quran
- The Qur'an / a new translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
- The Qurʼan : a user's guide : a guide to its key themes, history and interpretation / Farid Esack
Web-based
- The Sunnah (the normative traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers) and Hadith (the form of Traditions written down; an account of what the Prophet said or did, or of his tacit approval of something said or done in his presence )
Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an
Includes a chapter on Law of the Qur'an; bibliography at the end (Yale access only).
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International law
A pre-eminent and comprehensive work covering the central and essential topics in international law.*
For Islamic Law reference tools, see International law, Regional developments: Islam, by Mohammad Fadel.
Oxford Encyclopedia of legal history
Islamic Law: Revelations and Forms, Sources and methodologies, Genres of legal literature
African Journals Online
The world's largest and preeminent collection of peer-reviewed, African-published scholarly journals.
Bibliography of Asian Studies
Online version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS), referencing principally western-language articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971.
Columbia International Affairs Online
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs.
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP)
Index of foreign and international law review articles (if you don't find the journal via Yalelinks, do a Title search in Morris for the journal just to be sure) - Yale access only
JSTOR
Interdisciplinary, full-text, mostly US/UK; includes some F/I journals - subscription database with access to Yale community only
LegalTrac
LegalTrac provides indexing for more than 1,400 titles including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals and international legal journals. LegalTrac also contains law-related articles from over 1,000 additional business and general interest titles. Covers 1980-present
Proquest Dissertations and Theses Full Text
This database makes nearly every dissertation ever filed in the United States available in PDF format. Not all dissertations are available, however, as authors with dissertations under contract with a press are sometimes encouraged not to make their dissertations freely available. In these cases you can at least read an abstract. Note that you can search by school, department, and adviser.
Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS)
Index to economic, political, and social issues; 1600 periodicals and journals, books, directories, reports, government documents; Yale Links connects to some full-text - Yale access only
Religious and Theological Abstracts
Summaries of articles appearing in scholarly journals in the fields of Religion and Theology, including Christian, Jewish, and World religions. English language abstracts of articles in English,
Hebrew, Afrikaans, and major European languages.
Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Working papers and networking opportunities - subscription database with access available to Yale community only
Social Sciences Citation Index
Access to bibliographic information, author abstracts, and references from over 8,500 research journals - subscription database with access available to Yale community only
Arab Law Quarterly
Arab Law Quarterly covers both Shari´a and secular law. It includes articles on the laws and legal developments throughout the twenty countries of the Arab world, and also includes notes on recent legislation and case law, guidelines on future changes and reviews of the latest literature.
Arabica
Arabica is a multidisciplinary academic journal, studying the Arab world's classical and contemporary literatures, languages, history, thought and civilization.
Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law
The Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law is a US-based law journal dedicated to Middle Eastern, Islamic, and comparative law scholarship.
Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law
The Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL) is an open-access, peer-reviewed publication by the Center for Islamic and Middle Eastern Legal Studies (CIMELS) at the Faculty of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland, founded in summer 2012.
International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
The International Journal of Middle East Studies publishes on politics, society and culture in the Middle East from the seventh century to the present day. The journal also covers Spain, south-east Europe, and parts of Africa, South Asia, and the former Soviet Union for subjects of relevance to Middle Eastern civilization.
Islamic law and society
Islamic Law and Society publishes in the field of classical and modern Islamic law, in Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Journal of Islamic and Comparative Law
Centre of Islamic Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University
Journal of Islamic law and culture
The Journal of Islamic Law & Culture is publishes on the law, public policy, Islamic religion and culture in America's political and legal communities. DePaul University.
Journal of Islamic state practices in international law
JISPIL concentrates on on issues concerning and involving Islamic States from the perspective of International Law.
Journal of law and society
The Journal of Law and Society is a British periodical for socio-legal studies with an interdisciplinary approach. It addresses issues from a range of legal cultures and theoretical concerns of cross-cultural interest.
Journal of Near Eastern studies
The Journal of Near Eastern Studies publishes on the archaeology, art, history, languages, literatures, and religions of the Near East.
Palestine Yearbook of International Law
The Palestine Yearbook of International Law is a reference source of legal material relating to Palestinian issues, key legislation, court decisions and other relevant material translated from the original Arabic or Hebrew into English.
Studia islamica
Studia Islamica is one of the oldest academic journals published in the field of Islamic studies (since 1953). The journal focuses on the Islamic lands around the Mediterranean Sea and in south-west Asia, and publishes articles (in English and French) in the fields of history, religion, law, literature and language, for both the pre-modern and modern periods.
Studies in Islamic Law and Society
Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill, 1996-
Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern law
The Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law for is a source of information on the developments over a year in the region. The Yearbook covers Islamic and non-Islamic legal subjects, including the laws themselves, of some twenty Arab and other Islamic countries as well as international legal developments in the region.
Overviews and Introductory Works
- An introduction to the Hadith / J. Burton
- An introduction to Islamic law / Wael B. Hallaq.
- An introduction to Islamic law / Joseph Schacht.
- Qur'an and modern jurisprudence / Mustafa Kamal Sherwani.
- Shariʻah law : an introduction / Mohammad Hashim Kamali.
- Law reform in the Muslim world / Sir Norman Anderson
- Islam and public law: classical and contemporary studies / Chibli Mallat (ed)
- Outlines of Muhammadan Law / A. A. A. Fyzee ( New Dehli : OUP, 2008)
History and Interpretation
- Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law / K.Vikør
- Islamic law: from historical foundations to contemporary practice / Mawil Izzi Dien. (Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2004.
- The Islamic school of law : evolution, devolution, and progress / ed. Bearman et al.
- Islamic Law : Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies / PICKEN, G.N. (ed.) (London : Routledge, 2011)
- Islamic Legal Interpretation : Muftis and their Fatwas / M. K. Masud, B. Messick and D.S, Powers (eds.) ( Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1996)
- OTTO, J.M. (ed.), Sharia Incorporated : a Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present, (Leiden : Leiden University Press, 2010)
- A history of Islamic law / N.J. Coulson
- The Qurʼānic term kalāla : studies in Arabic language and poetry, ḥadīṯ, tafsīr, and fiqh : notes on the origins of Islamic law / Agostino Cilardo.
- Qur'an and modern jurisprudence / Mustafa Kamal Sherwani.
- Studies in Islamic legal theory / Bernard G. Weiss (ed.)
- Cambridge History of Islam
- The origins and evolution of Islamic law / Wael B. Hallaq
- Authority, continuity and change in Islamic law / Wael B. Hallaq
- A history of Islamic legal theories : an introduction to Sunnī uṣūl al-fiqh / Wael B. Hallaq
- The gate of ijtihād: a study in Islamic legal history / by Wael B. Hallaq
- The origins of Muhammadan jurisprudence / Joseph Schacht (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1950).
- Studies in Islamic Legal Theory / B. G. Weiss (Leiden 2002)
Family law/Personal status Law
- Islamic law and marriage
- Islamic family law in a changing world : a global resource book
- Statutes of personal law in Islamic countries: history, texts and analysis / Tahir Mahmood.
- Islamic marriage and divorce laws of the Arab world. / Dawoud El Alami & Doreen Hinchcliffe,
- Muslim family law / David Pearl & Werner Menski
- The Islamic law of personal status / Jamal J.A. Nasir.
- Islamic Family Law / Mallat, S. and Connors, J. ( London: Graham and Trotman, 1990)
- Hand Book of Muslim Family Laws / Obaidul Huq Chowdhury (Dhaka: Al Afsar Press, 1997)
- Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation / Barbara Freyer Stowasser (Oxford, 1994).
- Qur'an and Woman / Amina Wadud (Oxford University Press, 1999)
- Studies in Qur'an and hadith: The Formation of the Law of Inheritance / D.S. Powers (Berkeley 1986)
Criminal law
- Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law : Theory and Practice from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century / R. Peters (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005)
- Islamic criminal law and procedure : an introduction / Matthew Lippman, Sean McConville, and Mordechai Yerushalmi (New York : Praeger Publishers, 1988)
- The Islamic criminal justice system / Ed. M. Cherif Bassiouni (New York : Oceana Publications, 1982)
- Islamic criminal law and procedure : an introduction / Matthew Lippman, Sean McConville, and Mordechai Yerushalmi (Praeger Publishers, 1988)
- Crime and punishment in Islamic law : theory and practice from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century / Rudolph Peters (Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005)
Islamic Banking and Finance
- Islamic finance and law : theory and practice in a globalized world / Maha-Hanaan Balala
- Commercial Law in the Gulf States / Noel J. Coulson (London: Graham and Trotman, 1984)
- Islamic Law and Finance : Religion, risk and return / Vogel, Frank E. and Samuel L Hayes, III (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1998)
- Islamic Finance in the Global Economy / Ibrahim Warde ( Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000)
- Islamic Banking and Interest / Abdullah Saeed (Leiden: E J Brill, 1996)
- The Theory of Contracts in Islamic Law / S. E. Rayner ( London: Graham and Trotman, 1991)
- Islamic Law and Finance / Chibli Mallat (ed.) ( London: Graham & Trotman. 1988)
Women’s Rights
- Encyclopedia of women and Islamic cultures
- Women under Islam : gender, justice and the politics of Islamic law / Christina Jones-Pauly, Abir Dajani Tuqan
- The Status of Women Under Islamic Law / Nasir, J. (London: Graham & Trotman, 1994)
- Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation / Barbara Freyer Stowasser (Oxford, 1994).
- Qur'an and Woman / Amina Wadud (Oxford University Press, 1999)
- Women and Gender in Islam / Leila Ahmed (Yale University Press, 1992)
- Islam and Feminism / Yamani, Mai (ed.) (Reading, Berkshire, U.K. : Ithaca Press, c1996)
Intersection with public International law
- Toward an Islamic Reformation / Abdullahi An' Naim (1990)
- War and Peace in the Law of Islam / Majid Khadduri (1955).
- Islam, international law, and the war against terrorism : essays dedicated to Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Ismail Petra ibni almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra, Sultan dan Yang Di-pertuan bagi Negeri Kelantan Darulnaim / Shad Saleem Faruqi ( Shah Alam : University Publication Centre, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 2006)
- Islamic law of nations: Shaybānī's Siyar. Translated with an introd., notes, and appendices by Majid Khadduri. Shaybānī, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan, ca. 750-804 or 5.
- The projected Arab Court of Justice : a study in regional jurisdiction with specific reference to the Muslim law of nations / Ezzeldin Foda (The Hague : M. Nijhoff, 1957)
A bibliography of Islamic law, 1980-1993 / by Laila Al-Zwaini and Rudolph Peters.
This bibliography includes some 1,600 Western-language publications which have appeared between 1980 and 1993. It contains a general and a regional section. With regard to the latter, the main focus is on the Middle East (including Afghanistan and North Africa), although publications in South and Southeast Asia have also been included.
Library of Congress: Islamic Law: A bibliography of Recent Works Published in English
This bibliography covers English-language books and articles within books that discuss Islamic law. The listing is divided into three sections: works on Islamic law in general, works on the history of Islamic law, and works devoted to a specific area of law.
UKCLE Islamic Law Bibliography
A useful bibliography comprising treatises, journal articles and book chapters on a range of Islamic Law issues. Current to 2011.
Women In Islamic Societies: A Selected Review Of Social Scientific Literature
A review of the literature prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.
Encyclopaedia Islamica
Encyclopaedia Islamica Online is based on the abridged and edited translation of the Persian Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Buzurg-i Islāmī, one of the most comprehensive sources on Islam and the Muslim world. A unique feature of the encyclopaedia Islamica Online lies in the attention given to Shiʿi Islam and its rich and diverse heritage. In addition to providing entries on important themes, subjects and personages in Islam generally, Encyclopaedia Islamica Online offers the Western reader an opportunity to appreciate the various dimensions of Shiʿi Islam, the Persian contribution to Islamic civilization, and the spiritual dimensions of the Islamic tradition.
Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics
The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online comprehensively covers all aspects of Arabic languages and linguistics. It is interdisciplinary in scope and represents different schools and approaches in order to be as objective and versatile as possible. The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online is cross-searchable and cross-referenced, and is equipped with a browsable index. All relevant fields in Arabic linguistics, both general and language specific are covered and the Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online includes topics from interdisciplinary fields, such as anthropology, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and computer science
Encyclopedia of Islam
The Encyclopaedia of Islam First Edition Online (EI1) was originally published in print between 1913 and 1936. The demand for an encyclopaedic work on Islam was created by the increasing (colonial) interest in Muslims and Islamic cultures during the nineteenth century. The scope of the Encyclopedia of Islam First Edition Online is philology, history, theology and law until early 20th century. Such famous scholars as Houtsma, Wensinck, Gibb, Snouck Hurgronje, and Lévi-Provençal were involved in this scholarly endeavor. The second and third editions set out the present state of our knowledge of the Islamic World.
Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World
The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online (EJIW) is the first cohesive and discreet reference work which covers the Jews of Muslim lands particularly in the late medieval, early modern and modern periods. The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World Online is updated with newly commissioned articles, illustrations, multimedia, and primary source material.
Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
The Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures Online is an interdisciplinary, trans-historical, and global project embracing women and Islamic cultures in every region where there have been significant Muslim populations. It aims to cover every topic for which there is significant research, examining these regions from the period just before the rise of Islam to the present. The Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures Online crosses history, geographic borders and disciplines to create a groundbreaking reference work reflecting the very latest research on gender studies and the Islamic world
AALS Workshop on Islamic Law (2004): Workshop Materials
Materials from a Workshop on Islamic Law in 2004 include short succinct topical outlines, glossaries of Islamic legal terms and select bibliographies.
IlissAfrica (Internet Library of Sub-Saharan Africa)
A gateway to resources
relating to sub-Saharan Africa region.
Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance
The Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance (IIBI) provides independent education, training and research institute serving the Islamic financial services industry.
Islamic Family Law, Emory University School of Law, Law and Religion Program
Emory's Guide
MENALIB: Middle East Virtual Library
The Middle East Virtual Library (MENALIB) is an information portal for Middle East, North African, and Islamic Studies. It provides access to electronic full text materials or electronic bibliographical records of printed materials and manuscripts.
UGA Islamic Studies Resources
University of Georgia's Guide
University of London Centre of Islamic Middle Eastern Law, School of Oriental and African Studies
Open-source access to full-text chapters on a variety of subjects (Feminism
and Islam, Islamic Law and Finance, Islamic Family Law, Commercial Law in
the Middle East, Islam and Public Law, Water in the Middle East, Islam and
Public Law, Water in the Middle East, The Yearbook of Islamic and Middle
Eastern Law, The Arab-Israeli Accords: Legal Perspectives)
