Bringing together essays on topics related to Islamic law, this book is composed of articles by prominent legal scholars and historians of Islam. They exemplify a critical development in the field of Islamic Studies: the proliferation of methodological approaches that employ a broad variety of sources to analyze social and political developments.

"An inspiring, innovative, and bold collection of first-rate studies on a wide array of topics in Islamic intellectual history, from Qur'an and Law, to tradition and history, to philosophy and ethics, and from medieval source analyses to contemporary reflections on Islam and human rights. This is an earnest work worthy of being a salute to Hossein Modarressi and his significant contributions to Islamic studies." - Wadad Kadi, The Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Studies, the University of Chicago

"This volume represents an outstanding collection of closely argued and superbly documented papers on law, theology, and philosophy in medieval Islamic society. Rather than rehashing thrice-familiar debates, the authors focus on new or little-noticed problems. In so doing, they open up fresh perspectives on the complex intellectual world fashioned by Shi'ite, Sunni, Christian, and Jewish scholars. Altogether, a fitting tribute to the career of Prof. Modarressi." - R. Stephen Humphreys, Research Professor in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Straddling generations of some of the most accomplished scholars, and venturing into some of the most interesting crooks and crannies of scholarship, this work is a fine and valuable contribution to Islamic Studies, certain to contribute handsomely to the field." - Sherman Jackson, King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture and Professor of Religionand American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California

"A dazzling display of scholarship. This diverse and engaging set of studies will benefit anyone interested in the history of Islamic thought." - Marion Katz, associate professor, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University

"A wonderful array of essays from an impressive list of contributors, including several promising young scholars as well as many well-established authorities, Law and Tradition in Classical Islamic Thought bears testimony to Professor Modarressi's dedicated teaching and collegiate generosity over many years and in different academic institutions. The very range of the topics, from source studies to legal and historical traditions, is a tribute to a scholar with a formidable understanding of history in its widest sense." - Mohsen Ashtiany, Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University

Autorentext
Michael Cook is Class of 1943 University Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.

Najam Haider is an assistant professor in the Department of Religion at Barnard College/Columbia University.

Intisar Rabb is an associate professor at New York University in the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and at the NYU School of Law.

Asma Sayeed is an assistant professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA.

Inhalt
Introduction PART I: SOURCE STUDIES 1. The Ab? Bas?r Tradition: Qur??nic Verses on the Merits of the Sh??a; E.Kohlberg 2. Criteria for Emending the Text of the Qur'an; B.Sadeki 3. Mu??wiya in the Hij?z : The Study of a Tradition; N.Haider PART II: SHI'I TRADITION 4. The Kit?b al-was.iyya of ??s? b. al-Mustaf?d:The History of a Text; H. Ansari 5. Women in Im?m? Biographical Collections; A. Sayeed 6. Why Incline to the Left in Prayer? Sectarianism, Dialectic, and Archaeology in Im?m? Sh??ism; M. Cook PART III: ISLAMIC LEGAL TRADITIONS 7. Dissent and Uncertainty in the Process of Legal Norm Construction in Muslim Sunn? Law; B. Johansen 8. Islamic Legal Minimalism: Legal Maxims and Lawmaking When Jurists Disappear; I.A. Rabb 9. Cultivating Human Rights: Islamic Law and the Humanist Imperative; K.A.El Fadl PART IV: PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS 10. Yah. y? b. ?Ad?'s Discussion of the Prolegomena to the Study of a Philosophical Text; R. Wisnovsky 11. Two Commentaries on Najm al-D?n al-K?tib?'s al-Shamsiyya, Copied in the Hand of David b. Joshua Maimonides (fl. ca. 13351410 CE ); S. Schmidtke 12. Logic in the Khayr?b?d? School of India: A Preliminary Exploration; A. Ahmed PART V: HISTORICAL TRADITIONS 13. The Eastern Travels of Solomon: Reimagining Persepolis and the Iranian Past; R. Mottahedeh 14. Al-Hasan b. M?s? al-Nawbakht? on the Views of Astronomers and Astrologers; W. Madelung 15. Conversion and Law: A Muslim-Christian Comparison; R. Bulliet PART VI: THE SCHOLARLY OUTPUT OF PROFESSOR HOSSEIN MODARRESSI Bibliography of Works by Professor Hossein Modarressi; I.A.Rabb and H. Ansari A Bibliographical Note on the Persian Works; H. Kamaly Contributors Index