Islamic classical jurisprudence was a discursive process which allowed for debate and dissension – it was not about stating the `law’ definitively. In this class, we will use examples from Hanafi and Maliki fiqh to show how debates around dietary laws, select laws of marriage and divorce, reveal a distinct literary process as well as an ethical framework. The challenge for the believer is how to extract principles for observance within the complexity of juristic debates which were never simply about what is permissible and what is prohibited.  

Bio:

Professor Mona Siddiqui is an internationally recognised academic and cultural commentator at the University of Edinburgh. She is Professor Islamic and Interreligious Studies.   Her research areas are primarily in the field of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and ethics and Christian-Muslim relations. She has published many books on topics related to her field of expertise. Amongst her most recent publications are, A Theology of Gratitude, CUP, 2022,  and Human Struggle: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, based on her 2016 Gifford lectures (CUP, 2021).She is currently working on her next monograph, Faith and Fidelity in Islamic Thought which will be published by Edinburgh University Press in 2025.