Bernard G. Weiss (10 August 1933 – 8 February 2018) was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. He has an extensive publication record and is recognized as one of the foremost scholars in

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding ''ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Bati ...

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

Islamic political thought Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Quran, ''ḥadīth'' literature, and ''sunnah'' (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime), the history of Islam, and elements of ...

Arab history The recorded history of the Arabs begins in the mid-ninth century BC, which is the earliest known attestation of the Old Arabic language. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Babylonian Empire; they went from the Arabian P ...

and Muslim discussions of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and the

origin of language The origin of language (spoken and signed, as well as language-related technological systems such as writing), its relationship with human evolution, and its consequences have been subjects of study for centuries. Scholars wishing to study th ...

Life

Weiss received his PhD from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1966.

Bibliography

* ''Studies in Islamic Law and Society'' * ''Religion and Law: Biblical-judaic and Islamic Perspectives'' * ''Studies in Islamic Legal Theory'' * ''A Survey of Arab History'', 1988 * ''The Spirit of Islamic Law'', Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1998. * (ed. with

Peri Bearman Peri J. Bearman (born 1953) is an academic scholar of Islamic law. She was the Associate Director of the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard Law School. She is also currently the Editor-in-Chief and Islam section editor for the ''Journal of ...

and

Wolfhart Heinrichs Wolfhart P. Heinrichs (3 October 1941 – 23 January 2014) was a German-born scholar of Arabic. He was James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic at Harvard University, and a co-editor of the second edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. He taugh ...

) ''The Law Applied: Contextualizing the Islamic Shari`a'', London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2008. * ''The Search for God's Law: Islamic Jurisprudence in the Writings of Sayf al-Din al-Amidi'', 2010 * ''Language in Orthodox Muslim Thought: A Study of "Wad Al-lughah" and Its Development''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Bernard G. 1933 births 2018 deaths Linguists from the United States American scholars of Islam Princeton University alumni University of Utah faculty