This article focuses on adjudication of Muslim family law in countries that range from the Middle East and North Africa to South-East Asia. It begins by shortly summarizing the development of shari‘a in pre-modern times, up until the 19th century. We discuss the basic features of marriage among classical jurists and argue that the close connection known today between the family and Islamic law can be traced to the emergence of modern nation states and centralizing state structures. We then provide a description of important personal status reforms during the 20th and 21st centuries and consider the growing body of scholarship that engages with adjudication of Muslim family law in action and in context. Finally, we consider the contribution that the articles contained in the special double issue make to the field of research, including the questions of gender and judicial authority, religion-based judicial activism, and the courts’ involvement in larger socio-political processes.

本文重点介绍从中东和北非到东南亚的国家/地区对穆斯林家庭法的裁决。首先简要概述了直到19世纪之前现代伊斯兰教法的发展。我们讨论了古典法学家之间婚姻的基本特征，并指出，当今家庭法与伊斯兰法律之间的紧密联系可以追溯到现代民族国家的出现和中央集权的国家结构。然后，我们对20世纪和21世纪重要的个人身份改革进行了描述，并考虑了越来越多的学者在行动中和具体情况下参与对穆斯林家庭法的裁定。最后，我们考虑特刊中包含的文章对研究领域的贡献，