This work describes the origins and sources of Islamic law, the development of Sunni law schools and Sunni legal theory, the development of Shii legal theory and the way Islamic law relates to the modern world.
Part 1 The origins of Islamic law: the alleged debt of Islamic to Roman law, S.V. Fitzgerald; Roman law and Muslim law, A. D'Emilia; foreign elements in ancient Islamic law, J. Schacht.
Part 2 The sources of Islamic law: generally - the sources and development of Islamic laws, S.M. Yusef; the formal sources of Islamic law, Y. Linant de Bellefons; the Quran - the collection of the Quran, J. Burto; Al Nasikh wa al-mansukh - abrogation and its application in Islam, K.I. Semaan; Sunna - the importance of tradition for the study of Islam, A.J. Wensinck; Ijma - the basis of authority of consensus in Sunnite Islam, G. Hourani; Qiyas - the principles of Qiyas in Islamic law - an historical perspective, A. Hassan; minor sources - legal logic an equity in Islamic law, J. Makdisi; Muslim custom and case law, N.J. Coulson; Ijtihad - was the gate of Itjihad closed?, W. Hallaq.
Part 3 The development of the Sunnit law schools and Sunni legal theory: Al-Shafii's role in the development of Islamic jurisprudence, A. Hassan; the development of legal thought in Hanfi texts, Y. Meron; Illa and Qiyas in early Islamic legal theory, N. Shehaby; the development of logical structure in Sunni legal theory, W. Hallaq; Abu Hanifa, champion of liberalism and tolerance in Islam, C. Adams; Al-Shafi - founder of a law school, E. Bishop; the Ibadhites, P. Smith; the state and the individual in Islamic law, N.J. Coulson.
Part 4 The development of Shii legal theory: Ali in Shiah tradition, W.A. Rice; the Shiah doctrine of the Imamate, D.M. Donaldson; the Ithna Ahari-Shii juristic theory of political and legal authority, J. Eliash; sidelights on early Imamate doctrine, W.M. Watt; accommodation and revolution in Imami Shii jurisprudence - Khumayni and the clasical tradition, N. Calder.
Part 5 Islamic law in the modern world: the relevance of Muhammadan law in the 20th century, A.A.A. Fyzee; law as a social force in Islamic culture and history, J.N.D. Anderson; modernization and changing perception of Islamic law, D. Bondermann; stability and change in Islamic law, H.J. Liebesay; modern trends in Islam; legal reform and modernization in the Middle East, J.N.D. Anderson; problems of modern Islamic legislation, J. Schact; codification in the Muslim world, J.N.D. Anderson; the reinterpretation of Islam, A.A.A. Fyzee; the contribution of modernist to the secularization of Islamic law, Aharon Layish.
