Readings in Islamic Law

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course explores theological, philosophical, and Sufi approaches to Islamic law in the premodern Islamic world, with a focus on the acts of worship ('ibādāt) such as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage (ḥajj). In addition to discussing secondary literature addressing themes of agency, reason and scripture, sources of law, the epistemic foundations of legal reasoning, and embodiment, we will study selected texts authored by key figures such as Ghazālī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Ibn 'Arabī, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Qāḍī Sa'īd Qummī [in translation]. All readings will be available in English.