The demand for a book like Understanding Islamic Law among law students and legal practitioners in America and throughout the English-speaking world is large and growing. Islamic Law is not merely a "hot topic." It is a growing trend that is an increasingly mainstream fixture in the legal landscape. There is nothing currently on the market for Law Schools, like Understanding Islamic Law, that is a comprehensive text, in English, by a non-Muslim law professor. The first 11 chapters of Understanding Islamic Law give the essential foundational materials for the study of Islamic Law. The remaining chapters cover several other pertinent fields: banking and finance, contracts, criminal law, family law, and property. Understanding Islamic Law also: • Includes Arabic terms, in English, with diacritical marks to assist in pronunciation; • Provides A Glossary of Arabic Terms; and • Incorporates recent developments such as the burkha ban in France. Understanding Islamic Law (Sharia) is a thorough and balanced text that can be used without supplementation in a one-semester Islamic Law course.