mesa-2022

David Vishanoff’s thorough and original unpacking of the Sunnī jurist al-Juwaynī’s (1028–1085) Kitāb al-Waraqāt fī uṣūl al-fiqh introduces English-speaking readers to the main concepts, terms, principles, and functions of the classical Islamic discipline of legal theory. This volume offers an ideal entry to the otherwise dense and complex mainstream Sunnī views that dominated Islamic legal thought in al-Juwaynī’s day—and that are still widely accepted today. A critical edition of al-Juwaynī’s Arabic text is also included.

"In this brilliant, innovative, and engaging book, Vishanoff guides readers through some of the most fundamental questions Muslims have debated, and struggled with, for centuries. Most Muslim scholars' books on these topics are dense and difficult. But here Vishanoff takes one such book—al-Juwaynī’s classic Waraqat—and explains, with lucidity and precision, its complex and obscure arguments. Through this book, readers will reach a better understanding of why such debates mattered to Muslims in the past, why they matter now, and how they affect the ways in which the Sharia—God’s law—might be understood in the future."
 —Robert Gleave, University of Exeter