Books by Dr. Abou El Fadl

Dr. Abou El Fadl is the author of over a dozen landmark books on Islam and Islamic law. Reading a few of Dr. Abou El Fadl's books is more than enough to gain a rich education on the beauty, sophistication and complexity of Islam and Islamic law. Here is our suggested roadmap to Dr. Abou El Fadl's texts:

1. The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books -- A highly unusual and beautiful work that captures the complex challenges confronting Muslim Americans in modern society. Each chapter is a self-contained exploration and can be read in any order. Based on actual cases, this book shows the reader a side of Islam rarely explored--how a shaykh, who believes that seeking beauty is the means to seeking the divine, teaches Muslims to live Islam through the search for beauty. Read to get a sense of the forgotten beauty of the Islamic tradition.

2. The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists The first book that defines and delineates the difference between "moderate" and "puritan" Muslims on key points of faith and practice. Part I discusses the history and rise of puritanism in Islam. Part II compares and contrasts moderate vs. puritan positions on key areas of belief and practice.

3. Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age-- perhaps the most important book for understanding the current predicament of modern Muslims and Islam today. Starts with a primer on the difference between Shari'ah and Islamic law and then broadly approaches the current state of affairs in three parts: 1) symptoms of the problems confronting Muslims, 2) a detailed analysis of what really went wrong; and 3) solutions for reclaiming the beauty of Islam and Shariah in the modern age. As part intellectual autobiography, part analysis, and part commentary and advice to future generations, this book provides a full education and elaboration on where to go from here if Muslims are to live up to the Divine expectations of the faith. The one book that can provide the full picture of today's challenges and potential solutions.

4. And God Knows the Soldiers: A concise yet powerful and accessible work on Sharia in action--what Sharia is and is not. An expanded and revised version of the original work, The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses. Using the case study of a professional basketball's player refusal to stand for the American national anthem as being against Islam and the ensuing controversy that erupted, this book examines the contemporary treatment and mistreatment of the application of Shariah. This is essential reading for anyone interested in how Islamic law works, and how things are not as black or white as they may seem.

5. "The Place of Tolerance in Islam" and "Islam and the Challenge of Democracy": Excellent primers on the issues and discourses surrounding Islam and tolerance and democracy.

6. Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women: An amazing book to learn more about the technicalities of the law and Dr. Abou El Fadl's approach and methodology to Islamic jurisprudence.

7. Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Jurisprudence: Written for an academic audience, this landmark work delves deep into the Islamic jurisprudence around rebellion, violence and terrorism in Islamic history.