Mustafa Zarka, one of the most prolific scholars of the last century, was a rarity amongst intellectuals. Not only had he mastered the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, reached the level of tackling higher legal debate outside of his specific school, but had also studied western law to the extent that he could see the need for synergy between the two, instead of viewing them as absolute opposites.
I thought I would put together a list of his works for future reference, and perhaps find others interested in his writtings that may put me on to some that I’ve missed in this list.
1- al-Madkhal al-Fiqhi al-‘Aam (المدخل الفقهي العام): A General Introduction to Islamic Law; an introductory work written focusing on more general precepts and theories in Islamic law, written with a style that can be easily understood by both students of fiqh and students of law.
2- Nazariyyat al-Iltizaam al-‘Aamah (نظرية الالتزام العامة): The General Theory of Obligation; a seminal work on how Islamic law handles rights and obligations.
3- ‘Aqd al-Bai’ (عقد البيع): The Sales Contract; this book was to be the first in a re-assessment of Fiqh works, progressing from the General to the specific. I was told the Shaikh passed away shortly after this work and thus the series was never finished.
4- Al-Fatawa (الفتاوى): A collection of his various fatawa. It is important to note that this does not contain the countless fatawa that the Shaykh gave as a founding member of AlRajhi Bank’s Shariah Board.
5- Al-Fi’l al-Daar wa ‘l-Daman fihi (الفعل الضار والضمان فيه): A study of Torts and compensation; this work was based on Jordanian law, prefixed with relevant material from Islamic law, the law on which it was based was then amended. This was one of a series of books for creating a civil law based on Islamic texts to be used in the United Arab Republic.
6- ‘Aqd al-Istisnaa’ (عقد الاستصناع): Procurement contracts. I have yet to see this book in print, even though a friend says he has a copy.
7- Al-Istihsan wa al-Masalih al-Mursala fi al-shari`a al-islamiyya wa usul fiqhiha
(الاستحسان والمصالح المرسلة في الشرعية الإسلامية وأصول فقهها): A book dealing with public welfare and legislative license in Islamic law.
If anyone else knows of others not listed, please mention them in the comments.
