Intent in Islamic Law

This book explores the nature and role of intent in pre-modern Islamic legal rule books, including ritual, commercial, family, and penal law. It argues that Muslim jurists treat intent as a definitive element of many actions regulated by the Shari’a, and they employ a variety of means and terms to assess and categorize subjective states.Through detailed analyses of medieval Islamic texts, aided by Western philosophical examinations of intent, the author presents technically detailed yet lucid arguments about Islamic religious ritual and spirituality, the ethics of business transactions, the role of the inner self in crime and punishment, and Muslim understandings of agency and language. This is the first extensive exploration of the crucial legal issue of intent in all major areas of Islamic substantive law.

...this is a magnificent contribution to the study of Islamic law, recommended to anyone who wishes to understand some of the central concepts defining the field. W. Hallaq in International Journal of Middle East Studies 2007, no. 2 […] Paul Powers’ “Intent in Islamic Law- Motive and Meaning in Medieval Sunni Fiqh” is a highly important treatise not only for the student and the researcher of Islamic Law but also for anyone interested in the development of Islamic thought. Sotirios S. Livas, Journal of Oriental and African Studies, 2010-2.

Paul R. Powers, Ph.D. (2001) in History of Religions, University of Chicago, is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. This is his first book.