Islamic Law and Civil Code is an extraordinary book by a remarkable man. It is a welcome event for those studying or working in fields requiring an understanding of Islamic and Middle Eastern law relating to landed property. For those doing business in current-day Egypt, Arab societies, and Muslim countries, and for scholars working on social, economic, and cultural issues rooted in the Islamic sphere, this work is indispensable. Richard A. Debs combines the theoretical with the evolving, practical aspects of a field of law that has been too little studied for its impact on the Egyptian economy and society. He has produced a book of inestimable and lasting value. -- Vartan Gregorian, president, Carnegie Corporation of New York This is more than simply a historical exposition of the law of property in Egypt, a great achievement in itself: it is also a remarkably clear and jargon-free analytical exposition of how Islamic law and civil law have operated together in the Egyptian context and by extension in much of the Muslim world. It is a rare work on Islamic law by a trained lawyer, even rarer in being easily accessible to the non-specialist. The book deserves to be consulted by readers across a broad spectrum, from legal experts to scholars of classical Islam and the modern Middle East. -- Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, Columbia University Richard A. Debs has produced a thoughtful and well-researched history of Egyptian property law. I recommend the book to serious historians and all those interested in understanding the role that Islamic religious principles have played in the evolution of the legal treatment of property in Egypt. -- Samuel Hayes, Harvard Business School

Richard A. Debs analyzes the classical Islamic law of property based on the Shari'ah, traces its historic development in Egypt, and describes its integration as a source of law within the modern format of a civil code. He focuses specifically on Egypt, a country in the Islamic world that drew upon its society's own vigorous legal system as it formed its modern laws. He also touches on issues that are common to all such societies that have adopted, either by choice or by necessity, Western legal systems. Egypt's unique synthesis of Western and traditional elements is the outcome of an effort to respond to national goals and requirements. Its traditional law, the Shari'ah, is the fundamental law of all Islamic societies, and Debs's analysis of Egypt's experience demonstrates how Islamic jurisprudence can be sophisticated, coherent, rational, and effective, developed over centuries to serve the needs of societies that flourished under the rule of law.