This guide is intended for students and researchers studying Islamic law at the University of Oxford, although students and researchers from any field may find it useful.
Use this guide to find out about sources and commentary for Islamic law, including ebooks, ejournals, and databases.
The LawBod's collection of printed material for this religious legal system has shelf marks starting Islamic. There is no further subject classification within this section: the books are arranged according to first author/editor's surname.
The majority of the works on Islamic legal tradition held in the Law Bod are in Western European languages. The current collection with the shelfmark Islamic is on Level 3.
Though based on one divine source, the spread of the religion across different countries has led to jurisdictional differences of interpretation and application SOLO searches may point you to works in the Law Bod with shelfmarks beginning with name of a jurisdiction. Please ask a member of staff for direction
The Library may have holdings for jurisdictions whose legal systems have been influenced (to a greater or lesser degree) by Islamic tradition. Any such works will be shelved under the jurisdiction's name. Works which compare or consider 2 or more countries within the Islamic tradition or compare them with the laws from other traditions will be shelved in the section with shelfmarks starting General.
Below are two examples of introductory overviews which may be useful starting points:
Shariah : what everyone needs to know by 
Introduction to Islamic law (Hallaq) by 
Maqasid Al-Sharia and Contemporary Reformist Muslim Thought by 
Choosing Sharia? : multiculturalism, Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia councils by Pay attention to the results in SOLO - you may well find that there are useful titles in other Bodleian Reading Rooms or other Oxford research libraries!
