Special topics in Near Eastern Studies. Topics vary and are announced at the beginning of each semester.

This course explores the development of Islamic legal theories, in conjunction with specific aspects of Islamic law, from its origins (ca. 650 CE) through the classical period (ca. 1200 CE). We will focus on the different methodologies of Sunni schools of law, how they were critiqued and negotiated within a social setting, and how they were formalized in the ninth century. In the second half of the course and with the broader status quaestionis in place, we will focus on specific and specialized issues in the advanced legal theory works (uṣūl al-fiqh), including the philosophy of language, consensus, the role of the qualified jurist, Prophetic Sayings, the Qurʾān, analogical argumentation, presumption of continuity, juristic preference, and so on. Throughout the course, we will supplement readings in secondary literature with close readings in the original Arabic. Especially in the second half of the course, we will focus on close readings of the seventeenth century and highly technical legal theory text, Musallam al-thubūt. By the end of the course, students will have a solid grasp of the emergence and development of Islamic legal theories, of major debates in the field, and the ability to handle advanced and specialized texts in the discipline of uṣūl al-fiqh. The course is for graduate students, but advanced undergraduates with proper training in Arabic are especially welcome. The course will also be modulated to allow those with less advanced in Arabic to be able to participate.

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