This article analyzes the jurisprudence of six prominent third/ninth–century ḥadīth scholars by examining the chapters on divorce in their compilations. This comparative study shows that only six legal topics on divorce were common to the books of al-Dārimī, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Māja, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī. It also demonstrates that: 1) Some ḥadīth scholars regularly expressed their personal legal opinions; 2) ḥadīth scholars developed three distinct utility for certain fields of jurisprudence in the early ʿAbbasid period.

Mālik and Medina: Islamic Legal Reasoning in the Formative Period. By Umar F. Abd-Allah Wymann-Landgraf. Islamic History and Civilization, vol. 101. Leiden: Brill, 2013. Pp. xiv + 552. $277, €199.

The goal of this essay is to illustrate how Ebrahim Moosa's method of “contrapuntal reading” can be applied fruitfully to the Sunni hadith literature. My case study is the set of penalties (hudud) for illicit sex, which include flogging, stoning, and banishment. I propose a fresh reading of these sacred texts that brings to the fore the ethical dimension of Prophet Muhammad's conduct, especially his strong reluctance to apply these measures. I conclude by identifying four ethical problems that the stoning (...) penalty raises and suggest how the hadith literature can be read to argue against the validity of this specific punishment. (shrink)

The Transmission and Dynamics of the Textual Sources of Islam: Essays in Honour of Harald Motzki. Edited by Nicolet Boekhoffvan dEr Voort, Kees Versteegh, and Joas Wagemakers. Islamic History and Civilization, vol. 89. Leiden: Brill, 2011. Pp. xvi + 494. $221.