Islamic Jurisprudence In The Classical Era

This page intentionally left blank Islamic Jurisprudence in the Classical Era Ten years after his untimely death, Norman Calder is still considered a luminary in the field of Islamic law. At the time he was one among a handful of scholars from the West who were beginning to engage with the subject. In the intervening years, much has changed, and Islamic law is now understood as fundamental to any engagement with the study of Islam, its history, and its society, and Dr€Calder’s work is integral to that engagement. In this book, Colin Imber has put together and edited four essays by Norman Calder that have never been published. Typically incisive, they categorise and analyse the different genres of Islamic juristic literature that were produced between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, showing what function they served both in preserving Muslim legal and religious traditions and in the day-to-day life of their communities. The essays also examine the status and role of the jurists themselves, and are particularly welcome for giving clear answers to the controversial questions of to what extent Islamic law and juristic thinking changed over the centuries, and was able to adapt to new circumstances. In his introduction to the volume, Robert Gleave assesses the place and importance of Norman Calder’s work in the field of Islamic legal studies. This is a ground-breaking book from one of the most important scholars of his generation. Norman Calder, who died in 1998, was Senior Lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Manchester. His publications include Studies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence (1993) and Interpretation and Jurisprudence in Medieval Islam (J. Mojaddedi and A. Rippin, eds.) (2006). Colin Imber was formerly Reader in Turkish at the University of Manchester. Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He works mainly in the area of Islamic legal theory. His books include Inevitable Doubt:€Two Theories of Shīʿī Jurisprudence (2000) and Scripturalist Islam:€ The History and Doctrines of the Akhbārī Shīʿī School (2007). He is Â�currently working on an examination of interpretation and linguistic meaning in Islamic jurisprudence. Islamic Jurisprudence in the Classical Era Norman Calder Edited by Colin Imber Introduction and Afterword by Robert Gleave University of Exeter CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521110808 © Cambridge University Press 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2010 ISBN-13 978-0-511-67778-6 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-11080-8 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents Editor’s Preface 1 2 3 page vii Introduction (Robert Gleave) The Ḥanafī Law on Fornication Nawawī and the Typologies of Fiqh Writing Scholars, Muftis, Judges and Secular Power:€The Need for Distinctions The Social Function of Fatwas 116 167 Afterword:€Scholarly Priorities and Islamic Studies:€The Reviews of Norman Calder (Robert Gleave) Principal Sources Used Index