The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law

Covering more than three centuries of legal history, this study presents an important account of how Islam developed its own law from ancient Near Eastern legal cultures, Arabian customary law and Quranic reform. The book explores the interplay between law and politics, demonstrating how the jurists and ruling elite led a symbiotic existence that paradoxically allowed Islamic law to become uniquely independent of the "state."
The history of Islamic law from pre-Islamic times across three centuries.
Wael B. Hallaq is Professor of Islamic Law at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University. He is the author of Ibn Taymiyya: Against the Greek Logicians (1993), A History of Islamic Legal Theories (1997) and Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (2001).
"...succinct, up-to-date, and stimulating account of the early history of Islamic law..."
--Joseph E. Lowry, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, International of Middle East Studies

"The book is an essential contribution to the field. Highly recommended. Essential for collections on Islam and the history of law."
--Choice