By Junaid Quadri* In 663/1265, Sultan al-Ẓāhir Baybars appointed a chief judge from each of the four Sunnī madhhabs. For scholars of Islamic law, this decision has served as a signal moment in the story told about the normative pluralism found within Sunnī Islam. I say that this was a signal moment, but it was … Continue reading Intellectual and Practical Caution as Grounds for Legal Pluralism
ISLAMIC LAW IN THE NEWS Abel Awad, an American lawyer and Islamic law expert, stated that the viability-based reasoning behind the famous U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, recognizing a woman's right to an abortion, imposed one religious view of viability on the American society while marginalizing other religions' view on viability, including that … Continue reading Islamic Law in the News Roundup
By Christian Mauder This is part four in a series of four posts on legal culture at the late Mamlūk court. The governing elite of what is known as the Mamlūk Sultanate is often depicted as decidedly uninterested in notions of Islamic political thought and good governance. Robert Irwin sums up this traditional view of … Continue reading A Sultan Becomes Caliph: Legal Knowledge and Late Mamlūk Political Thought
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Professor Anas Sarmini entitled “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Ikhtilāf al-Fuqahāʾ as a Genre" delivered on September 29, 2021 at 12 noon (EST), 6 pm (Münster) 7 pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. Professor Sarmini offered September’s installation of the Islamic Legal Genres Workshop. … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Ikhtilāf al-Fuqahāʾ as a Genre” by Professor Anas Sarmini
By Christian Mauder This is part three in a series of four posts on legal culture at the late Mamlūk court. As the rulers of a vast realm in which Islam was the dominant religion, many members of the military elite of the Mamlūk Sultanate (1250–1517) seem to have considered knowledge about Islamic legal norms … Continue reading Enjoying the Law: Legal Riddling at the Mamlūk Court
By Christian Mauder This is part two in a series of four posts on legal culture at the late Mamlūk court. As former slave soldiers (mamlūks) of non-Muslim origin, many members of the military elite of the Mamlūk Sultanate did not acquire a natural familiarity with Islamic legal norms in their childhood and youth. Many … Continue reading Studying Islamic Law in the Mamlūk Barracks
By Christian Mauder This is part one in a series of four posts on legal culture at the late Mamlūk court. Many students of Islamic history are fascinated by the unusual polity that ruled Egypt, Syria, and neighboring regions from about 1250 to 1517 CE. This political entity was dominated by a small elite group … Continue reading Legal Diversity at the Late Mamlūk Court
By Mehdi Berriah This is part one in a series of four posts on the financing of jihād during the Mamlūk period. While the spirit and laws of jihād have often attracted the attention of researchers, this is not the case for its economic aspect, which remains poorly known. It must be kept in mind … Continue reading The Issue of Financing Jihād in Islamic Law: Three Case Studies from the Mamlūk Period
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Prof. Murteza Bedir entitled “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Uṣūl al-Fiqh as a Genre” delivered on January 27, 2021 at 12 noon (EST), 6 pm (Münster) 7 pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. Professor Murteza Bedir inaugurated the monthly lectures on Islamic legal genres … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Form, Function, and Historical Development of Uṣūl al-Fiqh as a Genre” by Prof. Murteza Bedir
By Omar Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar This is a summary of the lecture by Prof. Christian Mueller entitled “Sijills and Transformations of Qāḍī Documents in Islamic Law” delivered at 12 noon (EST), 6 pm (Münster) 7 pm (Istanbul) via Zoom. Professor Müller offered this month what he himself termed as a reflection on Ottoman sijills “from the … Continue reading Monthly Lectures on Islamic Legal Genres: “Sijills and Transformations of Qāḍī Documents in Islamic Law” by Prof. Christian Mueller
