Includes bibliographical references (p. 563-597) and index.

The formative period -- Legal theory : epistemology, language and legal reasoning -- Legal education and the politics of law -- Law and society -- The circle of justice and later dynasties -- The legal pillars of religion -- Contracts and othe obligations -- Family law and succession -- Property and ownership -- Offenses -- Jihād -- Courts of justice, suits and evidence -- The conceptual framework : an introduction -- The jural colonization of India and South-East-Asia -- Hegemonic modernity : the Middle East and North Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries -- Modernizing the law in the age of nation-states -- In search of a legal methodology -- Repercussions: concluding notes.