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" Islamic law and legal system studies of Saudi Arabia "
F. E. Vogel
M. Mahdi
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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1113474
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| Doc. No
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TLpq304073069
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| Main Entry
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F. E. Vogel
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M. Mahdi
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| Title & Author
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Islamic law and legal system studies of Saudi Arabia\ F. E. VogelM. Mahdi
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| College
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Harvard University
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| Date
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1993
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| student score
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1993
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Page No
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813
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| Abstract
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This thesis examines the legal system of Saudi Arabia not only for its own sake but also as a case-study for advancing our understanding of past and present Islamic legal systems. Indeed, the overriding objective of the research is to gain a more fundamental understanding of Islamic law and legal systems in comparison with secular Western counterparts. Saudi Arabia, never colonized, is an apt subject. It, almost alone among Muslim countries, has a constitutional and legal system resting on traditional Islamic legal principles. The Qur'an and Sunna are the declared constitution; the Islamic fiqh is the common law; no comprehensive "man-made" codes exist; religious-legal scholars ('usdulam\bar{a}usd') are among the most powerful legislators and legal officials. After a methodological Introduction, Chapter One introduces basic conceptions of Islamic law, while developing a framework of comparison used throughout the book. Chapter Two begins the examination of the Saudi legal system by considering the processes of usdift\bar a'usd (authoritative legal opinion) and usdqad\bar a'usd (adjudication) in both theory and practice. Close attention is given the questions of freedom of ijtihad (i.e., freedom to elaborate Islamic law), the scope of appeals, and the conduct of trials. Chapter Three moves from the plane of the qadi and the court to that of the ruler and the state. It begins with a survey of Islamic legal and constitutional history, raising hypotheses suggested by the thesis's emerging comparative framework. It then takes up two case-studies. The first is a series of recent developments in Saudi criminal law toward harsher penalties for certain crimes, involving a changed interpretation of the d hadd, or Qur'anic, crime of d hiraba and a shift of jurisdiction from the King to the courts. The second is the vigorous, long-standing controversy whether Saudi Arabia should codify its laws (taqnin). The second case-study serves as a summary and conclusion, since it brings together and applies the findings of earlier Chapters.
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Law
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Middle Eastern history
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Philosophy, religion and theology
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Religion
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Social sciences
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