This course presents an in-depth study of the Islamic family law in contemporary contexts. In Islamic family law general principles of Shari’a govern such matters as marriage, divorce, maintenance, paternity and custody of children and the module contains study of major issues of family law in Islam. Moreover it will cover the extent to which Shari’a law in this respect is applied in Muslim communities everywhere.

Syllabus

• The law of marriage and its different types of marriage, also covering respective duties, condition of marriage and defects, terms of marriage, duration of marriage and dowry (mehr/mahr)
• The law of divorce and its different forms of divorce, also covering the disbanding of the contract, death of a partner and the waiting period,
• Guardianship, (walāyah),
• The Custody of children (kefālah)
• Maintenance (nafaqah),
• Polygamy, (taa’dod al azwaj)
• Marriage related Inheritance laws, (werāthah)
• bequest (waşiyyah)
• Family planning
• Islam and gender, and the rights of the women
• With the aim of providing an overview of the topics as well as focusing on specific issues, each session above will address the relevant Islamic legal framework and particular contemporary issues of special importance but will only touch on comparative aspect leaving the bulk of this work to the module of Comparative Law and legal systems.

Learning, Teaching, and Assessment Strategy

All learning materials are developed according to the SCATE format. Students are advised to study units available online followed by timetabled activities which are of crucial importance and require a serious attention. Students need to consult suggested reading materials which are not necessarily available online. At the same time, students are expected to contribute to Discussion Group as an integral part of their study. They would receive feedback regarding their activities and contribution by the module tutor. Extra reading and activities are provided for students who are interested to have a deeper and broader understanding of the issues of concern.

Formative Assessment
Formative assessment for this module will consist of written feedback from the lecturer, questioning and discussion through the online forums. One draft of the students’ final essay (coursework) may be handed in to the lecturer at the 12th learning week for formative assessment, in which the lecturer will give the student feedback on how to improve their research and quality of writing.

Summative Assessment
Students are required to submit 3 out of 5 Review Questions (RQ) and 3 out of 5 Activities (Act) as the weekly assignments for each module during the semester. All of these assignments as well as students’ final essays at the end of the semester will be commented and marked by tutors. Students can see those comments and marks in their drop box which are available in their D2L accounts. Finally, students are required to submit an Individual coursework -final essay (4000 words) on a relevant topic approved in advance by the module tutor.

Assessment Weighting
Activities: 30%
Review Questions & Discussion Group: 10%
Final Essay (Coursework): 60%
Students should get at least a pass mark for all three above components.

Core readings:

1. Ahmed, L (1992). Women and Gender in Islam – Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. London: Yale University Press
2. Al-Hashim, M. A (1998) The Ideal Muslimah. The true Islamic personality of the Muslim woman as defined in the Qur’an and Sunnah India: International Islamic Publicity House.
3. An-Na’im, A. (2002) Islamic Family Law in a changing world. US: Zed BooksLtd.
4. Arshad. R. (2010) Islamic Family Law, Sweet & Maxwell
5. Bakhtiar, L. (1996) The Encyclopaedia of Islamic Law. US: ABC International Group.
6. Bewley, A (1999) Islam: The Empowering of Women. London: Ta-Ha Publishers
7. Coulson, N. J. (1964) A History of Islamic Law. UK: Edinburgh University Press.
8. Doi, A.R. (1979) Non-Muslims Under Shari’ah: the Islamic Law. Brentwood: International Graphics.
9. Ezzati, A. (1976) An Introduction to Shi’a Islamic Law and Jurisprudence. Lahore: Ashraf Press.
10. Herbert, J. L. (1975) The Law of the Near & Middle East: Readings, Cases & Materials. US: Albany.
11. Hodkinson, K. (1984) Muslim Family Law: A Source Book. UK: Routledge.
12. Jawad, A. (1998) The rights of women in Islam: an authentic approach. UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
13. Milani, S.F, (2011) Thirty Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. UK: Islam in English Press
14. Mottahari, M (1977) Women and her rights. Qum: Islamic Seminary Publications.
15. Mughniyyah, M. (1995) The Five Schools of Islamic Law. Qum: Ansariyan Publications.
16. Sait, S. & Lim, H (2006) Land, Law and Islam: Property and Human rights in the Muslim World. UK: Zed Books.
17. Voorhoeve, M. (2012) Family Law in Islam: Divorce, Marriage and Women in the Muslim World, London I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd.