Page 212 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

islamic law 1031

A Selection from Islamic Jurisprudence

In Islamic Jurisprudence Abu ‘Abd Allah ash-Shafi‘i and pork; and He has made clear to them how to per-
(767–820 CE) explores the sources of Islamic law.The form the duty of [the major] ablution as well as other
extract below describes the concept of al-Bayan. matters stated precisely in the text [of the Qur’an].

12.Shafi’I said: Al-Bayan is a collective term for a vari- A second category consists of [those duties] the obli-
ety of meanings which have common roots but differ- gation of which He established in His Book, but the
ing ramifications.The least [common denominator] of modes of which He made clear by the tongue of His
these linked but diverging meanings is that they are Prophet. The number of prayers [each day] and the
[all] a perspicuous declaration for those to whom they [amount of] zakat and their time [of fulfillment] are
are addressed, and in whose tongue the Qur’an was cases in point; but there are other [similar] duties
revealed; they are of almost equal value for these per- which He has revealed in His Book.
sons, although some declarations were made emphat-
A third category consists of that which the Apostle of
ically clearer than others, though they differed [in clar-
God established by example or exhortation, but in
ity] to persons ignorant of the Arab tongue.
regard to which there is no precisely defined rule
13. Shafi’I said: The sum-total of what God has from God [in the Qur’an]. For God has laid down in
declared to His creatures in His Book, by which He His Book the obligation of obedience to His Apostle
invited them to worship Him in accordance with His and recourse to his decision. So he who accepts it by
prior decision, includes various categories. the obligation imposed by God.

One of these is what He has declared to His crea- A fourth category consists of what God commanded
tures by texts [in the Qur’an], such as the aggregate His creatures to seek through ijtihad (personal rea-
of duties owing to Him: That they shall perform the soning) and by it put their obedience to the test
prayer, pay the zakat (alms tax), perform the pilgrim- exactly as He tried their obedience by other duties
age, and observe the fast. And that He has forbidden which He had ordered them [to fulfil], for the Blessed
disgraceful acts—both visible and hidden—and in and Most High said:
the textual [prohibition of] adultery, [the drinking of] Source: Khudduri, M. (Trans.) (1961). Islamic jurisprudence (p. 67). Baltimore: Johns
wine, eating [the flesh of] dead things and of blood Hopkins Press.

analogous to that caused by narcotics. If the former is ina a school formed around Malik ibn Anas (c. 715–795
prohibited, then the latter is also. CE), who produced the first Muslim legal compendium,
in which he discussed various legal issues by citing the
The Major Schools of Law relevant verses from the Quran and hadiths from the
That Muslims came to see these four sources as the only Sunna, and then interpreted them in light of consensus
legitimate ones is largely due to the work and influence of of opinion of jurists in Medina. Another important
the great jurist,Abu ‘Abd Allah ash-Shafi‘i (767–820 CE). school was formed around the scholar Abu Hanifah
Prior to him, Muslim rulers had laws in their empires; (699–767 CE) in Al-Kufa. The cosmopolitan nature of
however, these laws could vary enormously from region the city and its distance from the Mecca and Medina
to region. Arab tribal law, Quranic prescriptions, and resulted in many different interpretations of the law. For
local Byzantine or Sassanian law were used as needed.A example, in the case of a wrongful death in Medina, the
rapidly expanding empire and administration forced guilty person’s whole tribe was responsible for his
them to be expedient. In the cities of the empire various actions and had to pay compensation to the family of the
law schools were forming. Each of them used slightly dif- dead man. In Medina,Arab tribal ways were still the cus-
ferent methods and so produced different laws. In Med- tom. In Al-Kufa, the Arab tribal system was weakening