Book excerpt: Br> The Islamic Law of Personal Status by Nasir, Jamal J. Terms of use Updating his work to reflect recent changes in legal interpretation and judicial practice, Nasir (a member of the Jordanian and Nigerian bars and a former Jordanian Minister of Justice) describes contemporary practice in Islamic personal status laws in various Arabic countries. Primarily addressing legal practitioners, he first addresses the origins and development of Islamic jurisprudence and the different Islamic schools of law before turning to an explication of the various aspects of the personal status laws. Thirteen chapters, each addressing roots in Sharia before describing contemporary practice, examine the laws related to marriage, dowry, dissolution of marriage, the (the period of time a wife must remain unmarried after a dissolution of marriage), children's rights, maintenance of descendants and ascendants, guardianship, inheritance, wills, (a form of charity or endowment), and gifts. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Descriptive content provided by Syndetics"! a Bowker service.