Ali has written relating to the topic of marriage, womanhood, and their connection with, and development alongside, Islam.[4] She is sensitive to the way the Western World perceives women in Islam and says that in Islamic studies "Issues of gender are very much on everybody's minds."[5]
Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence was called a "challenging contribution" to Islamic history by Comparative Islamic Studies.[6][7] Ali talks about controversial topics such as marriage, divorce, sex, concubinage, same-sex intimacy, and much more.[7]
Ali has since published an anniversary addition of Sexual Ethics and Islam. This 2016 edition supplements the existing chapters with a Coda to further expand on topics previously addressed.[7]
Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam was called a "meticulous, pellucid, authoritative and very focused survey of early Islamic marriage law" by the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.[8] The Journal of Law & Religion calls Marriage and Slavery a "valuable contribution to the fields of legal, historical and gender studies."[9]The Lives of Muhammad was reviewed favorably by Publishers Weekly.[2]