knowledge of islamic law

1. Hadith, Transmission
and
The Idiom of Islamic Law

2. The Great Question of
Islamic Law…
How do we live as Muslims?

3. What is “Islamic
Law”/Shariah?
• Crime: theft, murder, slander…
• Transactions: buying, selling, interest…
• Family Law: marriage, divorce, inheritance
• Warfare: treaties, civilians…
• Ritual: how should I pray, do pilgrimage?
• Pleasing God: what acts please or don’t
please God?
• Boundaries of Community: what makes you
Muslim or not?

4. Aims of the Shariah
The 5 rights that the Shariah seeks to protect:
1) Life
2) Property
3) Honor
4) Reason
5) Religion

5. Judging Actions
2. Required (wajib): ex. five daily prayers
1. Recommended (mandub): ex.extra
charity
0. Permitted (mubah): ex. wearing a blue
dress instead of a green one
1. Disliked (makruh): not returning the
greeting of another Muslim
2. Prohibited (haram): drinking alcohol,
fornication

6. Types of Punishment
• Most issues of Islamic law would never be
in court! They are personal and optional.
The rulings exist to provide Muslims with
answers to any question.
• Hadd Punishments: corporal and
capital punishments for murder,
fornication, drunkeness, slander, and
theft. To be avoided!
• Ta’zeer Punishments: non-severe
corporal punishments (below 10 lashes),
fines etc. Subject to discretion.

7. Sources of Authority
• God, His Prophet and the Authority that
Muhammad bequeathed (depends on how you
believe it should be inherited)… imams or
ijma’(consensus)
Tools for Manipulating and Applying
Authority
• Analogy: includes a fortiori, reductio ad
absurdam reasoning
• Considering best interests; aims of the Shariah

8. How do we apply Quran and Sunna? The
First two Centuries
Quran
Sunna
Interpretation
Principles
applied in
reasoning
Texts to be
followed
literally
‘Partisans of
Reason’
•Quran
•Reliable hadith
•Rulings of
Companions
•Best judgment
Partisans of
Hadith:
•Quran
•Reliable Hadith
•Ruling of
Companions
•Weak hadith
•analogy
Companions

9. Al-Shaf’i’s Compromise
Sources of the Law:
1. Quran
2. Hadith: sunna as texts to be applied
literally
3. Ijma’: consensus
4. Analogy: applying Quran and hadith to
similar situations
 Rulings based on these can become
consensus (ijma’)  100% compelling

10. Sunni Schools of Law
Hanafi: based on Abu Hanifa (d. 767) and his
followers in Kufa, the official school of the
Ottoman Empire, widespread in India
Maliki: based on the teachings of Malik b. Anas
(d. 796) in Medina, the school of North African
and Andalusia
Shafi’i: based on the teachings of al-Shafi’i (d.
820), found in Egypt, Southeast Asia, Yemen
Hanbali: based on the teachings of Ibn Hanbal (d.
855), found in great numbers only in Arabia (and
Syria)

11. Diversity & Disagreement
• Law is probabilistic (zanni) due to…
– 1. Questions about the reliability of sources
– 2. Tremendous potential for interpretive
difference
  “I believe I am right, with the possibility
that I am wrong; I believe that my opponent is
wrong with the possibility that they are right.”
• There always more than one answer!
(bother between the madhhabs and within
one madhhab)

12. Case Study: The Hand of a Thief
• Quranic Verse: ‘The thief, male or female,
cut off their hand in retribution for what
they have done, an exemplary punishment
from God, for God is mighty and wise’
(Quran 5:38).
• Hadith: ‘Do not cut off the hand of the
thief for less than ¼ dinar’ ≈ $25
• Companion Ruling: Umar suspended the
punishment during famine (aims of the
Shariah)

13. Case Study: The Hand of a Thief two
• Madhhab Difference: Hanafis say no
amputation for the theft of any food or
substance that was licit to begin with, such
as animals or vegetables
• Mitigation: some argue that punishment
for theft cannot be established without two
confessions; it’s reported that Umar and
Abu Darda’ would encourage the accused
to deny the charge, then handle the
problem privately.

14. Applying Islamic Law – Law
and the State
• Muslim rulers (caliphs or sultans/amirs) do
not determine Shariah (but they could enact
secular laws = qanun, and they provide law
enforcement)
• Shariah was determined by the ulama
– Faqih (a jurist): develops law and legal theory
(sometimes in an ivory tower)
– Mufti: a jurisconsult, asked about rulings by
people or courts
– Qadi (judge): works for the state applying a
school of law, rulings enforced by the police

15. Hadith: How do we know
what’s true vs. forged?
1. Demand an isnad :
2. Who is in the isnad ?
3. Is there corroboration?
Prophet: Be
nice to your
mother
Us
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
Hadith Canon: 6
collections of relied-upon
hadiths, the most famous
are…
Sahih al-Bukhari (d. 870)
Sahih Muslim (d. 875)

16. Does this Method Work?
• Where does the burden of proof lie?
• Muslim hadith critics had different priorities
than we do: they cared about law and
doctrine, not exegesis and history.
• Maybe the Prophet really… prophesized?