Book Reviews 115 

Book Review 

Sharia: Its Substance and Significance 

By Muhammad Abdur-Rahim Dalvi. 1994, 280 pp. 

This book is a good analysis of the Shafi'i school of Islamic law, 
and the author is to be commended for his successful presentation of its 
salient features to the English-reading public. He has divided his book 
into an introduction to the school, the law of marriage and divorce, the 
law of property and related matters, the law of evidence and procedur­
al matters, and the law of crimes and criminal procedure. In addition to 
these major topics, Dalvi deals with various lesser known features, such 
as: 





Book Reviews 117 

pate into the law-framing and execution of legal process by making offer of 
evidence as a responsibility of the community" (p. 259). 

The title of the book is probably too broad. It deals specifically with 
the Shlifi'i school, and hence an appropriate title would be more expres­
sive and accurate. As seen from the contents, the book deals with the sub­
stance and significance of the Shafi'i worldview. Readers should not 
view it as an attempt to undermine other schools of law or as an attempt 
to reject the other views of Islamic jurispurdence. In fact, it is a scholar­
ly analysis of present-day society, its dilemmas and its problems, for 
which the author suggests certain reasonable remedies from the Shafi'i 
worldview. 

The author's work is a product of his painstaking effort. He has done 
the job very well and has highlighted the contributions of Imam Shafi'i, 
which have remained concealed in the dormitories of a few academics or 
with "scholars" who kept it to themselves, for all those who had no access 
to primary materials or who are new to the study and research in the field 
of Islamic law and others. He has opened up another path for scholars to 
produce similar research in many related and relevant fields that as yet 
remain untouched and unexplored by the present generation. 

For one interested in the Shafi'i approach to philosophical issues or 
religious and theological matters, this book is not very useful, for Dalvi 
has limited it to social interaction ( duties and responsibilities betwf:en peo­
ple) and does not discuss matters relating to interaction with Goel (duties 
and responsibilities to God). While Imam Shafi'i dealt with such concerns, 
one has to search elsewhere for this information. This book, however, 
deserves a place in all Islamic and law libraries (it provides a frame of ref­
erence in comparative and international law) and is a must for students and 
scholars in the fields of law, sociology, and allied areas. 

Mohamed Taher 
American Studies Research Centre 

Hyderabad, India