If the Qur´an is the first written formulation of Islam in general, Malik´s Mawatta´ is arguably the first written formulation of the ´Islam-in-practice´ that becomes Islamic Law. This book considers the methods used to derive the judgements of the law from the Qur´an, demonstrating in detail the various methods jsed, both linguistic and otherwise, in interpreting the legal verses. In many respects, this books is more about the history and development of Islamic law than is is about the science of Qur´anic interpretation. It questions hitherto accepted frameworks of both the classical Muslim view and the current revisionist western view on the development of Islamic law and is the first study in a European language to deal specifically with the early development of the Maliki school of jurisprudence