Law, Society and Culture in the Maghrib, 1300–1500

A 2002 analysis of Islamic law as it was imposed on the people of the medieval Maghrib.

David S. Powers (Author)

9780521120593, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 October 2009

280 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.42 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Powers' volume is one of the first in the field for an Anglophone readership, and it is wholly appropriate that it features in the distinguished series 'Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization'.' Journal of Legal History

Focusing on the Maghrib in the period between 1300 and 1500, in this 2002 book David Powers analyses the application of Islamic law through the role of the mufti. To unravel the sophistication of the law, he considers six cases which took place in the Marinid period on subjects as diverse as paternity, fornication, water rights, family endowments, the slander of the Prophet and disinheritance. The source for these disputes are fatwas issued by the muftis, which the author uses to situate each case in its historical context and to interpret the principles of Islamic law. In so doing he demonstrates that, contrary to popular stereotypes, muftis were in fact dedicated to reasoned argument, and sensitive to the manner in which law, society and culture interacted. The book represents a groundbreaking approach to a complex field. It will be read by students of Islamic law and those interested in traditional Muslim societies.

Introduction
1. Kadijustiz or Qadi-justice? A paternity dispute from fourteenth-century Morocco
2. From Almohadism to Malikism: the case of al-Haskuri, the Mocking Jurist, c. 712–16/1312–16
3. A riparian dispute in the Middle Atlas mountains, c. 683–824/1285–1421
4. Conflicting conceptions of property in Fez, 741–826/1340–1423
5. Preserving the Prophet's honor: Sharifism, Sufism and Malikism in Tlemcen, 843/1439
6. On modes of judicial reasoning: two fatwas on Tawlij, c. 880/1475
Conclusion: the Mufti.

Subject Areas: Laws of Specific jurisdictions [LN], Islamic law [LAFS], Sociology: customs & traditions [JHBT], Sociology: family & relationships [JHBK], Islamic studies [JFSR2], Rural communities [JFSF], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], African history [HBJH], Asian history [HBJF]