Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam

by Mohammad Hashim Kamali

In Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam , M H Kamali presents the reader with an analysis of the three concepts of freedom, equality and justice from an Islamic point of view and their manifestations in the religious, social, legal and political fields. The author discusses the evidence to be found for these concepts in the Qur'an and Sunna, and reviews the interpretations of the earlier schools of law. The work also looks at more recent contributions by Muslim jurists who have advanced fresh interpretations of freedom, equality and justice in the light of the changing realities of contemporary Muslim societies. Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam is part of a series dedicated to the fundamental rights and liberties in Islam and should be read in conjunction with The Dignity of An Islamic Perspective and Freedom of Expression in Islam .

Genres: Islam, Religion

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Mohammad Hashim Kamali, B. A., Law & Political Science, Kabul University, 1965

LLM., Comparative Law, University of London, 1972, Ph.D., University of London. 1976

Current Position: Founding Chairman & Cheif Excecutive Officer, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia.

Date and Place of Birth: 7 February 1944, Lalpur, Nangarhar, Afghanistan.

Nationality: Afghan and Canadian, Permanent Resident of Malaysia as of 3 April 2003

Marital Status: Married - have two children born in 1976 and 1979 respectively

Reviews

[Mohamad Baihaqi Mohamad Basri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book represents a comprehensive study on three main topics; Freedom, Equality and Justice from shariah point of view. In the first part, he discussed the different facets of freedom or 'hurriyah' in Islam, the doctrine of ibahah and the principle of original non-liability. On the second part (equality), the discussion took around the status of women, egalitarian regime of family law, the status of non-muslim (which I found out to be interesting [dhimmi]) and the modern opinions regarding equality (which he mentioned in details about the concept, taking the evidences from the period of Right-guided Caliphs, Umayyah and Abbasiyah). For the last part (justice), he elaborated the justice as the main objective of shariah and how modern ijtihad should take its liberty from predetermined opinions of the past scholars so that the practical part could be exercised freely as to achieve the main objective.

[Amira · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opener for a person who is not from legal background and with very basic islamic knowledge. The book discusses the concept of 1) freedom, 2) equality and 3) justice from Islamic point of view that is through the interpretations by various scholars and examples from the Prophet's time to modern era (most interesting) in each of the three topics.

Very relevant topic to read amidst all these discussions on hudud in Malaysia.