TY - JOUR
T1 - The Caliphs, the 'Ulamā, and the Law
T2 - Defining the Role and Function of the Caliph in the Early 'Abbāsid Period
AU - Zaman, Muhammad Qasim
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 1997 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - The early 'Abbasid period is usually thought of as a time when a definitive and enduring separation between religion and politics took place. On this view, expressed most notably by Lapidus and Crone and Hinds, the failure of the Mihna instituted by the caliph al-Ma'mūn, a major showdown with prominent 'ulama', is taken as the critical moment which marked the end of any involvement of the caliphs in matters of law. Arguing against any such separation between the religious or legal and the political realms, this essay analyses various indications in juristic and historical sources from the early 'Abbasid period to show that the caliph continued to be recognized as a participant in the function of commenting on or resolving obscure matters of a legal import. There is, moreover, considerable evidence to show caliphal participation in religious life in general, before as well as after the Mihna, and no evidence to indicate a separation between religion and politics.
AB - The early 'Abbasid period is usually thought of as a time when a definitive and enduring separation between religion and politics took place. On this view, expressed most notably by Lapidus and Crone and Hinds, the failure of the Mihna instituted by the caliph al-Ma'mūn, a major showdown with prominent 'ulama', is taken as the critical moment which marked the end of any involvement of the caliphs in matters of law. Arguing against any such separation between the religious or legal and the political realms, this essay analyses various indications in juristic and historical sources from the early 'Abbasid period to show that the caliph continued to be recognized as a participant in the function of commenting on or resolving obscure matters of a legal import. There is, moreover, considerable evidence to show caliphal participation in religious life in general, before as well as after the Mihna, and no evidence to indicate a separation between religion and politics.
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U2 - 10.1163/1568519972599860
DO - 10.1163/1568519972599860
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84893591421
SN - 0928-9380
VL - 4
SP - 1
EP - 36
JO - Islamic Law and Society
JF - Islamic Law and Society
IS - 1
ER -