Shari'ah law : an introduction

Providing a comprehensive and accessible examination of Shari’ah Law, this well considered introduction examines the sources, characteristic features, and schools of thought of a system often stereotyped for its severity in the West. In a progressive and graduated fashion, Mohammad Hashim Kamali discusses topics ranging from juristic disagreement to independent reasoning. Also broaching more advanced topics such as the principle of legality and the role and place of Shari’ah-oriented policy, Kamali controversially questions whether Islam is as much of a law-based religion as it has often been made out to be. Complete with a bibliography and glossary, and both a general index and an index of Arabic quotations, this wide-ranging exploration will prove an indispensable resource for Islamic students and scholars, and an informative guide to a complex topic for the general reader

Medicinal Plants in East and Central Africa: Challenges and Constraints

In East and Central Africa, medicnal and aromatic plants play an important role in the health of millions of people. Demand for medicinal plants is increasing as the population grows. Over-use of the medicinal and aromatic plants cause further economic, social and ecological deterioration. The traditional knowledge, uses and economic contribution of medicinal and aromatic plants to the rural economy in the region were studied. The direct and indirect effects of the human activities on this region are discussed. This paper also discusses challenges and constraints in relation to conservation. Strategies for enhancing the development of a medicnal and aromatic plants industry are suggestive

Matrimonial Problems of Islamic Law in Contemporary Afghanistan.

This paper concentrates on problems of excessive expenditures in marriage ceremonies, child marriage, polygamy and divorce. To date, these areas are governed by the traditional Hanafi law which, on the whole, has remained in its medieval form in Afghanistan. The existent statutory legislation which has been added to the Hanafi Law, has introduced no substantial change to the Hanafi traditional doctrines. Modern reforms of the Shari'a as introduced in the Middle East have challenged the validity of the traditional interpretations of the Shari'a principles. The traditional laws of child marriage, polygamy and divorce have been subject to radical change in recent times. Afghanistan also underwent a brief experience of similar reforms under the Nizamnama legislation of the 1920's. These were, however, short-lived, and a rebellion by the traditionalists in 1929 led to a reversal of these reforms. The Nizamnamas constitute the first modernist reforms and are therefore a good starting point in the study of matrimonial problems. The existent evidence in many Muslim countries including Afghanistan points to the continuation of a modernized Shari'a in the area of family law. Modernization of the Shari'a necessitates a process whereby proposals for its reform must seek juristic justifications from within the Shari' a. Needless to say that law reform especially in the area of family law must reflect the social needs. An inquiry into the juristic and social bases of the matrimonial problems is therefore the main concern of this paper. The fact that child marriage, polygamy and divorce are easily attainable without involving legal deterrents to guard against their abuse, constitutes a major problem in these areas. This paper underlines these problems and aims at providing solutions in terms of future reforms. Experience has proved that as a result of the intransigence of the traditionalist religious attitudes, and of the prevalence of patriarchal tribal practices, statutory legislation on matrimonial problems often failed to take effect in practical terms. It is therefore important to be pragmatic in one's approach to finding solutions to these problems

Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants used in North Kordofan (Western Sudan)

Urban and rural people of North Kordofan (Western Sudan) inherited a rich traditional medicinal knowledge. The preservation and documentation of this knowledge is a matter of prime importance. This will not only provide recognition of this knowledge but will also help in conservation of such gradually vanishing endangered semi/arid plant species. The present paper provide ethnopharmacological information of 48 taxa distributed into 26 families. For each plant species listed, the botanical name, family, vernacular name, part used, uses/ailments treated, preparations/administrations, use (%) and locality are given. Among the major findings: Acacia nilotica ssp. nilotica as hypertensive; Balanites aegyptiaca for diabetes; Ceiba pentandra for relieve toothache; Geigeria alata for diabetes, cough, intestinal complaints and as antispasmodic; Guiera senegalensis for jaundice; Hibiscus sabdariffa in cases of hematuria and Justacia flava smeared on gingiva in cases of teeth pain

İçtihad ve Fetva

Makalede ictihadın tanımı, fetvanın temel fonksiyonları ve modern uygulamaları ile ilgili bazı düzenlemeler dile getirilmektedir. Ayrıca, ictihad metodolojisi ve bu amaçla önde gelen İslam hukuku ekolleri tarafından öne sürülen çeşitli formüller gözden geçirilmektedir. İctihad ile fetva arasındaki temel fark ve ictihad kelimesinin etimolojik tahlili ile terim anlamı, ictihadın tarihsel gelişimi ve kurumsal hale dönüşmesi anlatılmaktadır. Yine ictihad kapısının açık olup olması, müctehidin vasıfları hakkında alimlerin görüşlerine yer verilmiştir. İctihadın devletin yasama organı için başvurulabilecek bir metot olduğundan bahsedilmektedir. İctihadın geçerli olması için sadece şeriat alimlerinin değil, aynı zamanda farklı disiplinlerdeki uzmanların katkılarıyla oluşan kolektif ictihadı önermektedir. İctihadın metodolojisi ve ictihadda başvurulan kıyas, istislah, istihsan, mesalih-i mürsele, seddu zerai gibi delillerin önemi izah edilmeye çalışılmaktadır. İctihadın tarihi gelişimi içerisinde zayıflama evresinden söz edilmektedir. Yazar, Müslüman topraklarındaki sömürge hakimiyetinin Müslümanların imajını düşürdüğünü, taklit ve muhafazakar düşünceyi teşvik ettiğini, modern hukuki düzenlemelerin fakihlere çok az bir rol bıraktığını dolayısıyla ictihadın bir başka olumsuzluk yaşadığını açıklamaya çalışmaktadır. Son kısımda güncel meselelerle ilgili ictihad örnekleri ile modern dönemdeki fetva örneklerine yer verilmektedir

Issues in the Legal Theory of USUL and Prospects for Reform.

It is widely accepted within the circle of Islamic jurisprudence that usul al-fiqh has become a theoretical discipline studied as part of the legal heritage rather than a tool to regulate and encourage ijtihad, and usul al-fiqh is not without weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses of usul al-fiqh are not new and had existed for almost as long as usul al-fiqh itself. Even Imam al-Shafi's (d.204H) distinctive contribution to articulate the legal theory of the usl was not devoid of weaknesses. Subsequent developments in the burdened the simplicity of the original approaches to qiyas, ijma' and ijtihad. Another weakness of the legal theory was in its literalist orientations at the expense of goals and purposes of Shari'a (maqasid al-Shari'a). The problem was that the maqasid did not receive much attention for centuries until al-Shatibi (d.790H) wrote his Muwafaqat and opened a new chapter in the methodology of Islamic legal thought. It is the maqasid al-Shari'a that can now utilised to inject flexibility and dynasim into an otherwise ossified methodology. One hardly needs to emphasize that Islam is a Shari'a centered religion and rigidity in the legal theory will have similar consequences for the future of Isla

Antibacterial Activity of Francoeuria crispa, Pulicaria undulata, Ziziphus spina-christi and Cucurbita pepo Against Seven Standard Pathogenic Bacteria

The antibacterial potentials of the medicinal plants Francoeuria crispa (Forssk.) Cass., Pulicaria undulata (L.) Kostel, Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. and Cucurbita pepo L. Ethanol, petroleum ether, ethyl Acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts, at a concentration of 100 mg/ml, were evaluated against selected bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Bacillus subtilis (NCTC 8236), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 6380), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Salmonella para typhi B (0650) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 1312) using the Agar Diffusion Technique in vitro. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values were also determined for the most active plant extracts. Of all extracts the ethanolic extract of Pulicaria undulata was the most active, whereas, the aqueous extract of Ziziphus spina – christi stem bark was the most active of all aqueous extracts tested. The ethyl acetate extract of F. crispa showed activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Most susceptible Gram-negative bacteria were E. coli and P. vulgaris and least susceptible was S. para typhi B. In Gram –positive bacteria, most and least susceptible were S. aureus and B. subtilis respectively. The lowest MIC values were \u3c3.125 and 6.25 μg/ml for the crude extracts of ethyl acetate of Pulicaria undulata and crude methanolic extract of Ziziphus spinachristi, respectively. These results provide promising baseline information for the potential use of these crude extracts in the treatment of bacterial infections

Mangrove restoration without planting

Mangrove forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. Mangrove planting is the most common method of restoring these forests. However, this approach is not often successful, especially when the reasons for mangrove degradation were not removed prior to planting new seedlings or propagules. A successful mangrove restoration project may not necessarily include a planting phase. When the stressors are removed and suitable environmental conditions such as correct hydrology and calm area, particularly on exposed coasts, are provided, natural regeneration processes could recover mangroves from degradation. This paper describes an approach to mangrove restoration applied to an exposed shoreline on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In this method a detached breakwater was erected seaward at the shoreline to shelter the restoration area from wave action, prevent the ongoing erosion and promote sediment deposition raising the elevation of the substrate to the target elevation. Survival of Avicennia marina seedlings transplanted in the sheltered area was significantly affected by sediment burial (P< 0.05). However, about eight months after construction of the breakwater, the sedimentation rate decreased and the substrate became stable. Subsequently, natural recruits appeared on the site. We postulate that waterborne seeds or propagules were available from adjacent stands in the study area but wave exposure reduced the possibility of natural recruitment. Thus the breakwater presence provided favourable conditions which could attract mangrove recruits, facilitating reestablishment and natural recovery of the mangrove ecosystem without planting

Phytochemical Analysis of the Essential Oil from Aerial parts of Pulicaria undulata (L.) Kostel from Sudan

The yield of steam distillation of aerial parts of Pulicaria undulata essential oil (2.5%); and its chemical constituents were determined. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometery (GC/MS) technique was used for the analysis of the oil. Several oil components were identified based upon comparison of their mass spectral data with those of reference compounds published in literature or stored in a computer library. The oil was characterized by the high content of the oxygenated monoterpenes which constituted 68.28 % in which (+)-carvotanacetone (55.87 %) was the major constituent. Pulicaria undulata oil was characterized by the presence of many components which could have numerous applications in food, pharmaceutical and perfume industries