| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 111.5

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 111.5 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Middle East and Northern Africa

Wael B. Hallaq. The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law. (Themes in Islamic Law I.) New York: Cambridge University Press. 2005. Pp. ix, 234. Cloth $70.00, paper $24.99.
Wael B. Hallaq's most recent analysis of Islamic legal history is not meant to be a detailed scholarly analysis of source texts or a rigorous and critical debate on the scholarship. It is, instead, the first installment in a new Cambridge University Press series (edited by Hallaq) meant to provide readers with overviews of Islamic legal history. Hallaq begins his examination by arguing that Arabia, and especially the "cosmopolitan" trading center of Mecca, the city in which Muhammad was born around 570 c.e. and began to preach in the early seventh century, enjoyed an abundance of cultural, religious, political, and legal influences from all corners of the world. During the early development of Islamic law, first under the guidance of Muhammad and then by his political and religious descendants, Muslims drew on these multiple influences, combined them with indigenous ideas and norms indicated in the Qur'an, and developed an original and dynamic approach to legal thinking.	1
The next stage of legal development began with the rise of "proto-qadis" (judges) who, though appointed by political authorities, quickly achieved a measure of independence from the "state." These proto-qadis, according to Hallaq, began as arbitrators, administrators, even storytellers, but they quickly began to create specific legal administrative structures. As time progressed, judges developed into a fully independent cultural and religious institution that, while dependent on political authorities for financial support, stood outside political control.	. . .

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