The volume contains twenty contributions to the fields of Arabic Linguistics, Islamic Law, and Arabic and Islamic thought. These are edited and often revised and enlarged versions of papers which were originally presented at the 15th Congress of the Union Europeenne des Arabisants et Islamisants, held at the University of Utrecht in September 1990. They were selected for publication in this volume because of their originality and substance. The diversity and richness of this collection reflects the scope of research in the fields of Arabic and Islamic studies in Europe today.