Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law

Written by a number of Islamic religious authorities and Muslim scholars, this work presents the views and teachings of mainstream Sunni and Shi’i Islam on the subject of jihad. It authoritatively presents jihad as it is understood by the majority of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today, and supports this understanding with extensive detail and scholarship. No word in English evokes more fear and misunderstanding than “jihad.” To date the books that have appeared on the subject in English by Western scholars have been either openly partisan and polemical or subtly traumatized by so many acts and images of terrorism in the name of jihad and by the historical memory of nearly 1,400 years of confrontation between Islam and Christianity. Though jihad is the central concern of War and Peace in Islam: The Uses and Abuses of Jihad, the range of the essays is not confined exclusively to the study of jihad. The work is divided into three parts: War and Its Practice, Peace and Its Practice, and Beyond Peace: The Practice of Forbearance, Mercy, Compassion and Love. The book aims to reveal the real meaning of jihad and to rectify many of the misunderstandings that surround both it and Islam’s relation with the “Other.”

Reviews:

“A dynamic myth-busting clarification of the real position of mainstream orthodox Islam on the whole question of violence and jihad.” —T. J. Winter, University of Cambridge

“This is the best book on the subject in English. It will be of inestimable value.” —Shaykh Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia

The concepts of citizenship and the accountability of government have never been discussed as separate topics in Islamic Jurisprudence. In Citizenship and Accountability of Government: An Islamic Perspective, Prof. M.H. Kamali brings together these two subjects, traces their origins in the Qur’an, theSunnah of the Prophet and the practice of the first four caliphs; follows their integration under different branches and discussions of the rights and obligations of Muslims in Islamic law; and finally, advances possible applications for each subject to modern Muslim states and to the position of Muslims living in non-Muslim countries.

Citizenship and Accountability of Government: An Islamic Perspective includes discussions of: the definitions of citizenship; the rights of citizens; the duties of citizens; citizenship laws; the concepts of dar al-Islam (abode of Islam); dar al-harb (abode of war) and the dar al-‘ahd (abode of treaty); the ummah and the nation-state; government as a trust; the selection of officials; the relationship between authority and citizens; corruption and the misuse of public funds; despotism and dynastic misrule; the right of complaint; the limits of obedience; impeachment of officials and heads of state; the foundation of institutions of accountability.

In addition to the topics of citizenship and accountability of government, this volume contains a discussion of freedom of movement in Islam which is the last of the fundamental rights in Prof. M.H. Kamali’s series on fundamental rights and liberties in Islam. Freedom of movement is included in this volume as it was never discussed as a separate topic in Islamic jurisprudence and therefore has certain similarities with the two other subjects of this volume.

In our busy lives, Friday comes around once a week. It often comes and goes without our being really aware of it. For many Muslim men, it may be punctuated by the congregational prayer that they make special efforts to attend. For many Muslim women, it may go by just like any other day. This ought not to be the case. In this unique book, Dr. Gowher Yusuf gives us reason to stop and think about how special Friday (al-Jumu‘ah) really is, and what we should be doing to achieve the many bounteous blessings it holds for those who observe it. Drawing constantly from the Qur`an and the Sunnah and the great works of the scholars of Islam, Dr. Gowher Yusuf explores this topic in depth and presents it to the reader in simple language for them to understand and ponder over. This book travels through the various issues pertaining to the Friday prayer and its Khutbah, or sermon. These issues are explained within the Islamic framework, thus abolishing any myths and misunderstandings and clarifying the topic for the reader. Dr. Yusuf writes: The day of the week known as al-Jumu‘ah, or simply Jumu‘ah, is Friday, and it is special. Compared to the other days of the week, Friday has been accorded the largest amount of merit, so much so that the father of all humankind, Prophet Âdam (peace be upon him), was created on this day and a particular prayer was ordered for this day. It was from the guidance given to Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to magnify this day, honour it, and designate it for acts of worship. …On a Friday, we all will be gathered and will stand congregated in front of Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection, also called the Day of Accountability or the Day of Judgement.

Organizations must have rules of order to facilitate their debate and to fill in the procedures not detailed by their constitutional documents. While most American organizations are content to operate by Robert’s Rules of Order, Muslim organizations have often wrestled with questions over whether the rules of order systemized by a Western military figure are in accord with the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

This book tackles the matter directly and takes into account the Qur’an, the sunnah, Islamic manners and the history of Islamic consultation and leadership to provide a simple, practical guide to organizational procedure that can be incorporated into the governance of Muslim organizations. The book includes advice on writing bylaws and on complying with the best practices of the U.S. Dept. of Justice in a way that is Islamically authentic, transparent, and accountable. It provides a basic starting point for any Muslim organization while allowing for flexibility so that organizations may make any variations they require within their own bylaws and constitution, so that it can accommodate differing schools of thought on Islamic law. In its discursive approach it is an essential primer for understanding the value of rules of order and the Islamic context for their application. The Islamic Rules of Order has been adopted as the rules of order of the Association of Muslims Social Scientists.

Worship in Islam is in-depth study of the nature and significance of Islamic spirituality by Abul A‘la Mawdudi (1903–79), one of the leading Muslim intellectuals of the twentieth century, with special reference to the concepts of God’s Oneness (tawhid), the finality of Prophethood (risalah) and the Islamic system of worship (‘ibadah) with a focus upon prayer (salah) and fasting (sawm) and their role in the development of the Islamic personality and Islam’s social order. The distinguishing feature of Mawdudi’s approach is his elaboration of the social dimension of worship, which extends the traditional approach found in Islamic jurisprudence, with its focus upon ritual and self-purification, to consider worship’s transformative role in social life. Presenting a holistic view of the Islamic system, Mawdudi highlights Islam’s social, economic and political dimensions, which he argues has the capacity to resolve emergent issues and problems that humankind faces.

This historic text should be of wider interest to both students and specialists in contemporary Islamic thought, and includes an introduction by Professor Anis Ahmad.

Edited and translated into accessible English by Ahmad Imam Shafaq Hashemi, this book is an authoritative compilation by a leading Islamic twentieth-century revivalist on the central matter of worship’s role in Islam.