This 390 pages book is a dense compendium (or treatise) of Islamic law for students and scholars. It is not for beginners and it is a tough reading. Since this textbook is for student of Islamic law written by an Islamic lawyer, this book assumes that the reader has a basic knowledge of both Qur'an and Shariah. The author is professor of law at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, founded in the 80s to be a center of excellence in several fields and sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Conference and other governments. The main language at the University is English and this text is mainly catered for those students. In the preface, the author says he had initiated the book while he was teaching Islamic Law to postgraduate students at McGill University in Montreal. However, it does not offer international comparisons with other Western legal systems. The book devotes a lot of space to the rules of interpretations of the law within a historical context. So you get Islamic law and history to explain its developments within the several traditions in the Islamic world. It is divided in 19 chapters that span from the Source of the law (Quar'an and Sunnah); Rules of interpretations; Abrogation; Analogical deduction; Revealed laws preceding the Shariah; Equity in Islamic law; Public interest; Custom; Conflict of evidences etc. The author shows a scholarly detachment from the subject and therefore don't expect moral judgments of value on a specific norm, whether it is right or wrong, but only a legal analysis. It is a worthy reading for those who have an interest, other than in Islamic law, in Political Science, International relations and Islamic civilization.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Islamic Law, either Muslim or not. To my knowledge, it is the best book available of its kind in the english language. In these days of many extremes, it is essential to erase our ignorance with knowledge.