<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Most valuable resource
Review: Even if you have several books of Islamic law, this book is extremely valuable for two main reasons. First, it outlines the positions of the major schools and the sources and reasoning they use to arrive at those positions. Second, and more importantly, Ibn Rushd (Averroes to most of his European admirers) explains the divergence of views among the schools on the basis of the different methodologies they employ on a particular issue; or the different weight they might give to two apparently conflicting verses or hadith; or their different judgements about abrogation or the relative authority of Qur'an and Sunnah. Because of this, both Muslims and students of Islam are able to grasp how Muslim law is not simply reducible to a code but remains an ongoing conversation (even an argument) about how God wants us to act. The translation is excellent and the production of the book is of very good quality. The work is available in two volumes or one. One volume is obviously cheaper, but I would recommend the two-volume version because of the size.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Resource
Review: For admirers of the juristic tradition in Islam, and for academics interested in the classic ruling of the schools of law in Islamic tradition, I can think of no book greater than this. You must get both volumes. They are so concrete and cohesive that I found myself reading the whole two volumes (it took a long time). It was written by the revered jurist Ibn Rushd, as a manual for starting jurists in their field. It was written to combat the stagnation of extravagant taqlid, or the blind adherence to legal positions. This work is filled with the various positions from the various madhhabs regarding everything from the prayer to the laws of Jihad. Though one must keep in mind that Muslims today are not bound by these medieval rulings, it is imperative that Muslims investigate the development of the discourse which led to those rulings in order to understand not only the ethics of the process, but also and more importantly, to operate from within the legal tradition itself. I would also like to extend my gratitude to those insightful gentlemen who made this work available in the English language, for people who get stuck on Arabic (like me).
Rating:
Summary: A Great Reference
Review: This work is helpful in understanding the diverse spectrum of legal opinion in the Sunni tradition. Ibn Rushd cites the most interesting differences between the scholars. One can spend hours just reviewing the minute of difference between the schools of the various issues he addresses.
<< 1 >>
| 
