8vo. xiii, 584 pp., Hard Back Binding, index, Editions de Patrimoine Arabe et Islamique, Beirut, 1982.

Synopsis

The four sources of Islamic law, namely Qur’an, Hadith or Sunna (the traditions of the Prophet, the corpus of recorded sayings and behaviour of the Prophet), Ijma’ (consensus of scholars), and Qiyas (anology) are the basis of Al-Mawardi’s legal reasoning. The caliph, subject to and applying Islamic law, is the head and defender of the Umma (the community of believers). Its territory (dar al-islam, the house of Islam) has to expand into the dar al-harb (the house of war) by way of jihad (holy war). Those who refuse to become Muslims are to be conquered. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians may also accept the protected status of Dhimmi and pay special taxes. At the same time the caliph is head of the administration. Functional and territorial delegation is possible.
Up to the present many efforts have been made to adapt the theory of the caliphate to the modern conditions of society by using the same sources of Islamic law. The Peace Palace Library has a large collection on Islamic law, mostly secondary materials in western languages. A French translation, based on manuscript no. 1371 of the Library of Algiers, of one of Al-Mawardi’s major works was published in Algiers in 1915 and made him known in the West (Les statuts gouvernementaux ou Régles de droit public et administratif, translated by E. Fagnan). It is a great example of a classic Islamic legal text.