The Islamic Marriage Contract: Case Studies in Islamic Family Law »

Asifa Quraishi is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin.

Frank E. Vogel is The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Adjunct Professor of Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School.

It is often said that marriage in Islamic law is a civil contract, not a sacrament. If this is so, this means that the marriage contract is largely governed by the same rules as other contracts, such as sale or hire. But at the same time marriage is a profound concern of the Islamic scriptures of Qur’an and Sunna, and thus at the very core of the law and morality of Islam and of the individual, familial, and social life of Muslims. This volume collects papers from many disciplines examining the Muslim marriage contract. Articles cover doctrines as to marriage contracts (e.g., may a wife stipulate monogamy?); historical instances (e.g., legal advice from thirteenth-century Spain); comparisons with Jewish and canon law; contemporary legal and social practice; and projects of activists for women worldwide.

Demonstrating a new and powerful focus for comparative and historical inquiries into Islamic law and social practices, this book marks a fresh point of departure for the study of Muslim women.

Author Biographies Introduction Part One: The Legal Doctrine of Marriage Contracts in Comparative Perspective
1. Kecia Ali, Marriage in Classical Islamic Jurisprudence: A Survey of Doctrines
2. Charles Donahue, Jr., The Western Canon Law of Marriage: A Doctrinal Introduction
3. Suzanne Last Stone, Jewish Marriage and Divorce Law Part Two: The Marriage Contract in Muslim History
4. Amira El-Azhary Sonbol, A History of Marriage Contracts in Egypt
5. Judith E. Tucker, Questions of Consent: Contracting a Marriage in Ottoman Syria and Palestine
6. Amalia Zomeno, The Islamic Marriage Contract in al-Andalus (10-16th Centuries)
7. Brinkley Messick, Interpreting Tears: A Marriage Case from Imamic Yemen Part Three: Modern Practice and Reform
8. Nik Noriani Nik Badli Shah, Legislative Provisions and Judicial Mechanisms for the Enforcement and Termination of the Islamic Marriage Contract in Malaysia
9. Lisa Wynn, Marriage Contracts and Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia: Mahr, Shurut, and Knowledge Distribution
10. Ziba Mir-Hosseini, A Women's Right to Terminate the Marriage Contract: The Case of Iran
11. Mona Zulficat, The Islamic Marriage Contract in Egypt
12. Zainah Anwar, Advocacy for Reform in Islamic Family Law: The Experience of Sisters in Islam
13. Ali S. Asani, Improving the Status of Women Through Reforms in Marriage Contract Law: The Experience of the Nizari Ismaili Community Part Four: The Muslim Marriage Contract in Western Secular Legal Systems
14. Christina Jones-Pauly, Marriage Contracts of Muslims in the Diaspora: Problems in the Recognition of Mahr Contracts in German Law
15. Richard Freeland and Martin Lau, The Shari'a and English Law: Identity and Justice for British Muslims Bibliography Index