In this essay I propose a new methodology for the harmonization of Shari'ah, based mainly on my experience teaching and researching Islamic jurisprudence over the past two decades. This is a new area of research that requires further elaboration and development. Inasmuch as I seek to provide criteria and guidelines for further development, the proposed methodology, of necessity, is open to scrutiny and refinement. The essay is presented in two parts. In Part I, I examine the meaning of harmonization both as a concept and as a method that seeks to bring greater coordination and consonance between the Shari'ah and civil law. In Part II, I articulate a set of methodological guidelines to stimulate future contributions to the subject. The two sections are inter-related and both are concerned with articulating a methodology for the proposed area of research....Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

The article appears in Islamic Law and Society, Edited by David S. Powers (Cornell University) ISSN: 0928-9380 E-ISSN: 1568-5195

The chapter accentuates the necessary unity that must exist between the ruling and text of the shari'ah and the end-goal and purpose of those rules.  It also highlights the importance of ethics to the maqasid and how the basic notion of a valid purpose must espouse a moral message.  Other related themes that feature in this related chapter are the history and classification of maqasid and the manner in which they are ascertained and identified in the sources of shari'ah.  The chapter ends with a section on “reappraisal of the maqasid,” and adds a few works also on the importance of maqasid to gender and justice....Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

The chapter appears in Kari Vogt et al, eds, New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition, London: IB Tauris 2009, pp 23-47

This chapter begins with the definition of shari’ah and its distinction with fiqh which is basically a human understanding of shariÑah.  The chapter proceeds with an overview of the Qur’an and sunnah, and then independent reasoning (ijtihad) and how they are developed by the various schools of Islamic law (madhahib).

This is followed by an overview of the characteristics feature of shari’ah, and then a section each on the goals and purposes (maqasid) of shari’ah, and its adaptation and reform in the course of 20^th century.....Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

The chapter appearing in a five-volume work, Vincent G Cornell, ed. Voice of Islam - Volume one: Voices of Tradition, New York: Praeger,2007, pp 149-182.

The Shari'ah does not provide specific guidelines on AIDS , and some its rulings on death sickness (murad al-mawt) are too focused on inheritance matters to be of much help to our understanding of AIDS.  This essay provides an overview of Islam’s teachings on care and compassion for those afflicted with disease. We also look at some of the legal maxims that provide general guidelines on relevant issues.  The issue we face are, however, wide ranging and although Islamic law may provide some answers, public education and cultural attitudes are equally, if not more important, in our quest for relevant answers....Download the full article in pdf attachment (below)

The chapter appears  in Farid Esack and Sarah Chiddy, eds, Islam and AIDS: Between Scorn, Pity and Justice, Oxford: Oneworld publications, 2009, pp. 76-88