By Rabiat Akande The tussle over diya (compensation for unlawful killing) was one over the locus of sovereignty in the colonial state. For colonial officials, the colonial state and, ultimately, … Continue reading Diya and the Legacy of Empire
By Rabiat Akande In 1958, as negotiations over Nigeria’s impending independence from the British Empire were underway, the colonial government invited the muftī of Sudan, Sheikh Mohammed Abul Gasim, to … Continue reading Siyāsa Authority in the Colonial State
SCHOLARSHIP ROUNDUP On Islamic Law In Muslim Prisoner Litigation: An Unsung American Tradition (University of California Press, 2023), SpearIt (University of Pittsburgh School of Law) explores how, "Islamic principles of … Continue reading Weekend Scholarship Roundup
By Rabiat Akande There has been an explosion of interest in interrogating the impact and legacies of European colonialism in recent decades. To an extent, this interest reflects a broader … Continue reading Colonialism and Islamic Law
By Elizabeth Lhost During my time as guest blogger this month, I’ve demonstrated how sources from the Indian princely states can help historians overcome the binaries, dichotomies, and oppositions that … Continue reading Conclusion: Why the princely states? Why now? What’s next?
By Elizabeth Lhost For my final essay this month, I’ve selected the Deccan Law Reports for analysis. Law reports are a familiar genre for many legal historians, and the Deccan … Continue reading Dekan Lā Ripōrṫ: Familiar genres, unfamiliar stories
By Elizabeth Lhost In March 1950, Muḥyī-ud-dīn Ṣāḥib sent a request to the dār al-iftāʾ (office for issuing fatwās, judicial opinions) of the Ṣadārat al-ʿĀliya (ecclesiastical department) of the princely … Continue reading Naql-i Rejisṫarḋ khaṭ: Letters, postcards, and telegrams as sources of law
By Elizabeth Lhost The first farmān (order) (pictured below) in a volume titled Farāmīn-i Niẓāmat-i dār al-qażāʿ-yi balada, min ibtidāʿ–yi sana-yi 1339 H li-ghāyata-yi sana-yi 1350 H, daftar-i Senṫral Rikārḋ, … Continue reading Farāmīn-i Niẓāmat: Looking at legal layers in a royal decree
By Elizabeth Lhost Like a good social scientist, I begin with a diagram. Mir Basit Ali Khan’s Urdu-language Tārīkh-i ʿAdālat-i Āṣafī (History of the Asafi Courts) (1937) opens with a … Continue reading Raftār-i Taraqqī-yi ʿAdālat: Rethinking “progress” in the history of Hyderabad’s Āṣafī Courts
By Elizabeth Lhost Sources matter, especially for the study of history. They determine the stories we tell, the perspectives we portray, the experiences we recover. Yet when it comes to … Continue reading Breaking out of “Anglo-Muslim” hybrids, or the case for studying the princely states
