Rumee Ahmed | The University of British Columbia (original) (raw)
Books by Rumee Ahmed
Sharia Compliant: A User's Guide to Hacking Islamic Law (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 2018
Narratives of Islamic Legal Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2012
Papers by Rumee Ahmed
The Routledge Companion to the Qur'an, 2022
in M. James and R. Rashkover (eds), Signs of Salvation (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books), 2021
in B. Goold and L. Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights, 2nd. edition (London: Hart Publishing), 2019
in Anver Emon and Rumee Ahmed (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2019
A historiography describing the relationship between Islamic law and theology in academic writing.
in Idris Nassery, Rumee Ahmed, and Muna Tatari (eds.), The Objectives of Islamic Law: The Promises and the Challenges of the Maqasid al-Shariah, 2018
Examines the political realities behind the maqasid theory of Islamic legal reform.
in Abbas Poya (ed.) Sharia and Justice: An Ethical, Legal, Political, and Cross-Cultural Approach, 2018
The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, 2016
Islamic and Jewish Legal Reasoning: Encountering Our Legal Other, 2016
Journal of Religious Ethics
Medieval Muslim scholars were challenged with squaring their conceptions of prophetic infallibili... more Medieval Muslim scholars were challenged with squaring their conceptions of prophetic infallibility with reports that Muhammad disobeyed revelatory commands from God. The manner in which they rehabilitated the prophetic image in these cases had corresponding repercussions in the fields of jurisprudence, theology, and legal theory. The present article uses the case of Q. 8:67 to demonstrate the intertwined nature of the Islamic sciences and the stakes involved when delimiting the prophetic ability to err and/or disobey God.
Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2009
The identification of the verse 4:75 of the Qur'an as an appeal for universal social justice is i... more The identification of the verse 4:75 of the Qur'an as an appeal for universal social justice is intriguing in its possibilities. The verse reads, "And what is wrong with you that you do not fight for the cause of Allah and the wretched men, women, and children whose cry is: 'Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from you one who will protect; and raise for us from you one who will help!'". A surface, or, plain-sense reading of this verse appears to exhort believers to fight in the way of God in order to emancipate the weak and oppressed. Historically, this mode of reading has been rhetorically useful for political groups as a clear justification for diverse social agendas. A close reading reveals that the verse lends itself to multiple interpretations. I will discuss two historical interpretations of this verse in detail and will refer to them, for the purpose of this discussion, through the terms "universalist" and "particularist". These are not meant to be reified categories, but helpful heuristic devices that describe different methods of reading. Based on the mode of reading that one chooses, the text takes on a discrete meaning for the reader that does not exhaust the possibilities of meaning, but provides a rubric for understanding and acting upon the text. Although I argue that a reading that transcends "universalist" and "particularist" labels is required, it is instructive to understand the two methods of reading and their approaches to the text.
Journal of Religious Ethics, 2011
Medieval Muslim scholars unequivocally prohibited the torture of prisoners of war out of a concer... more Medieval Muslim scholars unequivocally prohibited the torture of prisoners of war out of a concern for maintaining theoretical constructs about the boundaries of the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Muslim scholars worried that the torturing prisoners of war would compromise values and ideals predicated on such constructs, and that the demands of citizenship trumped any benefit to the Muslim community that might accrue from torture.
Journal of Anglican Studies, 2013
The process of scriptural reasoning promises to facilitate dialogue and understanding across reli... more The process of scriptural reasoning promises to facilitate dialogue and understanding across religious divides. In this paper, the author reflects on the experience of scriptural reasoning with Anglicans and Muslims; describing the phenomenon of 'fellowship, not consensus' with reference to key points of doctrinal difference between the two religious traditions.
in T.K. Woodruff, L. Zoloth, L. Campo-Engelstein, and S. Rodriguez (eds.), Oncofertility: Reflections from the Humanities and the Social Sciences, 2010
Sharia Compliant: A User's Guide to Hacking Islamic Law (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 2018
Narratives of Islamic Legal Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2012
The Routledge Companion to the Qur'an, 2022
in M. James and R. Rashkover (eds), Signs of Salvation (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books), 2021
in B. Goold and L. Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights, 2nd. edition (London: Hart Publishing), 2019
in Anver Emon and Rumee Ahmed (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2019
A historiography describing the relationship between Islamic law and theology in academic writing.
in Idris Nassery, Rumee Ahmed, and Muna Tatari (eds.), The Objectives of Islamic Law: The Promises and the Challenges of the Maqasid al-Shariah, 2018
Examines the political realities behind the maqasid theory of Islamic legal reform.
in Abbas Poya (ed.) Sharia and Justice: An Ethical, Legal, Political, and Cross-Cultural Approach, 2018
The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, 2016
Islamic and Jewish Legal Reasoning: Encountering Our Legal Other, 2016
Journal of Religious Ethics
Medieval Muslim scholars were challenged with squaring their conceptions of prophetic infallibili... more Medieval Muslim scholars were challenged with squaring their conceptions of prophetic infallibility with reports that Muhammad disobeyed revelatory commands from God. The manner in which they rehabilitated the prophetic image in these cases had corresponding repercussions in the fields of jurisprudence, theology, and legal theory. The present article uses the case of Q. 8:67 to demonstrate the intertwined nature of the Islamic sciences and the stakes involved when delimiting the prophetic ability to err and/or disobey God.
Journal of Scriptural Reasoning, 2009
The identification of the verse 4:75 of the Qur'an as an appeal for universal social justice is i... more The identification of the verse 4:75 of the Qur'an as an appeal for universal social justice is intriguing in its possibilities. The verse reads, "And what is wrong with you that you do not fight for the cause of Allah and the wretched men, women, and children whose cry is: 'Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from you one who will protect; and raise for us from you one who will help!'". A surface, or, plain-sense reading of this verse appears to exhort believers to fight in the way of God in order to emancipate the weak and oppressed. Historically, this mode of reading has been rhetorically useful for political groups as a clear justification for diverse social agendas. A close reading reveals that the verse lends itself to multiple interpretations. I will discuss two historical interpretations of this verse in detail and will refer to them, for the purpose of this discussion, through the terms "universalist" and "particularist". These are not meant to be reified categories, but helpful heuristic devices that describe different methods of reading. Based on the mode of reading that one chooses, the text takes on a discrete meaning for the reader that does not exhaust the possibilities of meaning, but provides a rubric for understanding and acting upon the text. Although I argue that a reading that transcends "universalist" and "particularist" labels is required, it is instructive to understand the two methods of reading and their approaches to the text.
Journal of Religious Ethics, 2011
Medieval Muslim scholars unequivocally prohibited the torture of prisoners of war out of a concer... more Medieval Muslim scholars unequivocally prohibited the torture of prisoners of war out of a concern for maintaining theoretical constructs about the boundaries of the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Muslim scholars worried that the torturing prisoners of war would compromise values and ideals predicated on such constructs, and that the demands of citizenship trumped any benefit to the Muslim community that might accrue from torture.
Journal of Anglican Studies, 2013
The process of scriptural reasoning promises to facilitate dialogue and understanding across reli... more The process of scriptural reasoning promises to facilitate dialogue and understanding across religious divides. In this paper, the author reflects on the experience of scriptural reasoning with Anglicans and Muslims; describing the phenomenon of 'fellowship, not consensus' with reference to key points of doctrinal difference between the two religious traditions.
in T.K. Woodruff, L. Zoloth, L. Campo-Engelstein, and S. Rodriguez (eds.), Oncofertility: Reflections from the Humanities and the Social Sciences, 2010