Overview

The Sudanese Mahdi headed a millenarian, revivalist, reformist movement in Islam, strongly inspired by Salafi and Sufi ideas, in late 19th century in an attempt to restore the Caliphate of the Prophet and Righteous Caliphs in Medina. As the Successor of the Prophet , the Mahdi was conceived of as the political head of the Islamic state and its supreme religious authority. On the basis of his legal opinions, decisions, proclamations and traditions attributed to him, an attempt is made to reconstruct his legal methodology consisting of the Qur'an, sunna, and inspiration (ilham) derived from the Prophet and God, its origins, and its impact on Islamic legal doctrine, and to assess his legislation as an instrument to promote his political, social and moralistic agenda.

Full Product Details

Author:   Aharon Layish
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   19
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.694kg
ISBN:  

9789004311381

ISBN 10:   9004311386
Pages:   348
Publication Date:   08 September 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Mahdi's Documents as a Source of Legal History CHAPTER ONE: THE MAHDIST STATE 1. Political Establishments 2. The Judiciary and Ifta' 3. The 'Ulama' 4. The Sufi Background CHAPTER TWO: THE MAHDI'S LEGAL METHODOLOGY 1. Abolition of the Schools of Law 2. The Qur'an and the Sunna 3. Inspiration (ilham) Derived from the Prophet and from God 4. Auxiliary Sources of Law: Public Interest (maslaha), Necessity (darura) 5. The Mahdi's Version of Ijtihad 6. The Impact of Sufism on the Mahdi's Legal Methodology CHAPTER THREE: THE MAHDI'S LEGISLATION Introduction PART ONE: SLAVES 1. The Slave as Property and Person 2. Umm al-Walad Lost the Child by Her Master but Both She and the Children She Gave Birth to Fathered by Slaves Are Deemed Free in Her Master's Lifetime 3. A Female Slave, the Husband's Absence, Dissolution and Chastity 4. A Slave's Acknowledgment of Theft Is Admissible and Punishable 5. The Mahdi Buys Concubines and Obtains His Free Wives' Consent PART TWO: PROPERTY 6. Validation of the Ottoman Land Category of Miri 7. The Mahdi Proclaims a Period of Prescription of Seven Years 8. Obtaining Ownership through an Uninterrupted Period of Prescription PART THREE: OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS 9. Prohibition of Lease for Rent and Agrarian Reform 10. Tenancy Is Permissible if Proprietor Incapable of Cultivating Land 11. Pledge Is Not Permissible as a Device for Circumventing Prohibition of Interest, but the Pledgee/Creditor May Deduct Expenses from the Profits 12. Right of Preemption Reserved Only to the Partner, Not the Neighbor PART FOUR: FAMILY a. Marriage 13. Marrying a Woman Promised to Another, Even after Consummation, Entails Dissolution and Discretionary Punishment 14. Prohibition for Marriage on Grounds of Fosterage Applies to All the Issue of Consanguine Brothers by Virtue of the Literal Meaning of a Hadith 15. Marrying a Woman against Her Will or a Woman Who Does Not Share Spiritual Communion Is neither Permissible nor Advisable 16. The Mahdi as the Supreme Qadi Delegates to a Woman the Power to Marry off Her Daughter 17. The Mahdi Prescribes Maximal Rates for Sadaq; Deviation therefrom Entails Expropriation and Penal Sanctions 18. Marriage with a Fifth Wife, Though Irregular, Remains Intact; Instead, One of the Lawful Wives Is to be Divorced 19. The Mahdi Offers Four Wives to the Great Grandson of Shaykh Ahmad al- Tayyib al-Bashir 20. The Mahdi Marries a Fifth Wife with the Prophet's Permission 21. Equality among Free Wives 22. The Mahdi's Co-wives Opt for an Ascetic Life and the Hereafter as a Precondition for Marriage 23. Joining the Mahdiyya while Leaving Husband behind Is Not Deemed Disobedience 24. Coercive Measures to Enforce Obedience 25. Disobedient Wife Compelled to Renounce Rights in Divorce 26. A Woman's Marriage to Another Man before Establishing Her Divorce from Her Former Husband Entails Separation and Restoration to Her First Husband b. Divorce 27. Khul' and Financial Liability Prior to the Mahdiyya 28. Wife's Right to Nuptial Gift Is Not Affected by Khul' Agreement in the Event of the Wife's Emigration to Mahdist Territory while Leaving her Husband behind 29. Compulsory Khul' of a Disobedient Wife Though the Husband Is Advised to Renounce His Financial Rights 30. Enforced Khul' Following Marriage against a Woman's Consent 31. Khul' Does Not Count in the Quota for Intermediate Marriage 32. Tatliq of a Woman Married against Her Will 33. Dissolution on Grounds of Non-Provision of Maintenance by an Absent Husband 34. Tatliq of the Wife of an Absent Husband 35. Tatliq on Grounds of Non-Provision of Maintenance 36. Rescission of Marriage on Grounds of Prejudice 37. Rescission of Marriage on Grounds of Difference of Religion 38. Termination of Marriage on Grounds of Difference of Religion and Rehabilitation by a New Marriage Contract 39. Duration of Waiting Period following Delay of Menstruation 40. A Separated Wife Who Has Not Completed One Menstrual Period May be Restored to Her Husband without Concluding New Marriage Contract 41. Should an Emigrant Wife Observe the Waiting Period of a Free or a Slave Woman? 42. The Mahdi Reinstates His Triply Divorced Wife with No Intermediate Marriage, with the Prophet's Permission 43. Reinstating a Triply Divorced Wife with No Intermediate Marriage Entails Hadd Punishment 44. An Oath of Haram or Oath of Continence without Explicitly Mentioning Repudiation Is Null and Void 45. An Oath of Haram Is Not Binding unless God's Name Is Mentioned 46. Breaking an Oath of Divorce Entails Expiation c. Custody 47. The Right to Custody, the Welfare of the Parents and the Best Interest of the Child PART FIVE: INHERITANCE AND WILLS 48. The Mahdi Offers the Widow of a Martyr the Entire Estate as Charity in a Gesture of Generosity 49. A Widow's Waiting-Period Maintenance Is Taken Out of the Estate before Its Division 50. Bequests in Favor of Legal Heirs PART SIX: HOMICIDE AND BODILY HARM 51. Intentional Homicide in Turco-Egyptian Territories Entails Compulsory Retribution with No Option of Forgiveness 52. No Punishment for Killing Committed on Turkish Territory if Repentance is Accepted by the State 53. Compensation for Bodily Injuries, Regardless of Their Nature, on the Basis of Slaves' Price Where Equivalence in Injury Is Impossible 54. Warriors Causing Bloodshed to Muslim Civil Population Are Liable to Private Retaliation and State Sanctions PART SEVEN: HADD OFFENSES a. Theft and Highway Robbery 55. Literal Interpretation and Application of Q. 5:38 56. A Witness to Theft Failing to Report the Crime is Liable to Amputation 57. Personal Liability for the Theft: No Collective Amputation of Hands 58. Stealing from Booty Is Tantamount to Disbelief and Apostasy 59. Theft from Booty Entails Excommunication and Capital Punishment 60. The Mahdi Forgives a Highway Robber Who Repents and Acknowledges Crime after being Captured b. Unlawful Sexual Intercourse and False Accusation Thereof 61. Stoning for Muhsan, Lashes for Bikr and Discretionary Punishment for Entering into Privacy with a Stranger 62. Marrying Another Man during Waiting Period from Divorcing Husband Entails Lapidation 63. Hundred Lashes on Women Exposing Themselves to Men 64. A Woman Exposing Her Face or Speaking Aloud Is Liable to 27 Lashes 65. Kidnapping a Free Married Woman and Marrying Her Entails Imprisonment and Lashes 66. Sodomy Entails Decapitation by Sword 67. A Husband Sentenced Successively to Hadd Punishment for Qadhf and to Compulsory Retribution for Killing His Wife's Alleged Harasser c. Wine Drinking 68. Consumption of Wine and Use of Tobacco Entails Hadd and Statutory Punishments d. Apostasy and Repentance 69. Apostasy in Fundamental Principles: Denial of the Mahdi's Mahdiship 70. Apostasy in Deeds: Withdrawal from Islam and Shari'a 71. Apostasy in Omission: Failure to Immigrate to Mahdist Territory 72. Punishments on Apostasy and Repentance PART EIGHT: INTERNATIONAL LAW a. Fay' 73. Expansive Definition of Fay': Property Surrendered by Infidels by Agreement to be Distributed according to Q. 59:7 b. Booty 74. Property and Persons Acquired as Booty 75. Men, Women and Children as Booty 76. Division of Booty to Recipients 77. Compulsory Allocation of Booty to the Mahdi's Kin and Companions c. Jihad, Aman and Conversion to Islam 78. Women Participating Physically in Jihad Fighting 79. The Mahdi Urges General Gordon Either to Accept Aman or Embrace Islam 80. The Mahdi Invites the Governor of Egypt to Submit to Islam 81. A Dhimmi Staying behind in Turco-Egyptian Territory Given the Choice either to Convert to Islam or Be Proclaimed Harbi 82. Redemption of Infidel Captives Converted to the Mahdiyya on Presumption of Good Faith PART NINE: ALMS TAX 83. The Alms Tax as a Ritual and a State Instrument for Social Justice 84. Nisab and Rates of Zakat 85. Recipients of Zakat PART TEN: PUBLIC MORALITY 86. Governor of the Market as Public Prosecutor 87. Appointment of Arbitrators to Consolidate the Mahdiyya and Enhance Public Morality in Light of Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong 88. A Catalogue of Statutory Punishments on Moral Offenses 89. Negative Innovations Entail Discretionary Punishments PART ELEVEN: TESTIMONY 90. A False Witness Is Liable Either to Be Decapitated or to Have His Property Taken Away or His Hand Amputated CONCLUSION APPENDICES Bibliography Glossary General Index

Reviews

'While a lot has been written on the Mahdi, it is indisputable that the content of this book Shari`a and the Islamic State in 19th-Century Sudan: The Mahdi's Legal Methodology and Doctrine is an intellectual masterpiece. The book presents the important information one needs to know about the legal system of the Mahdi's theocratic state in 19th-century Sudan. [...] Layish's efforts in bringing the Mahdi documents together and his analysis of them has contributed to our knowledge of the legacy of the Mahdi's legal traditions without repeating what other scholars have already said. The contents of this particular work, therefore, throw more light on the Mahdi's legal methodology. This contribution of Layish's will serve as a guide for whoever is interested in seeking to better understand the mansur (proclamations) issued by the Mahdi himself, as well as the indispensable role of the Qur'an and Sunna of the Prophet which served as sources for his concept of the Sari`a'. Martin A. Wullobayi in Islamochristiana 42 (2016)

Author Information

Aharon Layish, Ph.D. (1973), is Professor Emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published extensively on modern Islamic law, Muslim and Druze family law and waqf, tribal customary law. Recent publications are Shari'a and Custom in Libyan Tribal Society. An Annotated Translation of Decisions from the Shari'a Courts of Ajdabiya and Kufra, Leiden, 2005; Legal Documents from the Judean Desert. The Impact of the Shari'a on Bedouin Customary Law, Leiden, 2011.

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