ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the arbitration rules under Shari'a as the base for the current arbitration rules in Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim countries. It shows the difference between arbitration and litigation. The chapter compares the arbitration rules under the four schools of fiqh. The comparison will cover most of the important aspects of arbitration under Shari'a, from the arbitration agreement to the enforcement of the final arbitral award. The Maliki school refers to arbitration in a fairly specified manner, defining it as the process of choosing a person to settle a dispute between two or more parties. Under the Maliki school, a disputing party can be brought to arbitration by the other disputing party in the same dispute that he is party to. Arbitration regulations under the different schools of Islamic law, as are found in the classical treatises, are the basis of the current arbitration acts in many Muslim countries in general and in Saudi Arabia in particular.
