Islamic Studies

Front Matter

Editorial Team — 2024-12-31

‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb’s Treaties with the People of the Book

Ahmed El-Wakil — 2024-12-31

Muslim and non-Muslim historical sources provide us with contradictory stipulations in the treaties attributed to the second Caliph of Islam ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭāb. This article argues that the initial treaties were non-intrusive, with few, if any restrictions on the non-Muslim populations. Notwithstanding that, some security concerns may have been implemented by ‘Umar’s generals during the early conquests on a temporary basis. When the major urban centres came to be classified as amṣār al-Muslimīn, the restrictions that had been imposed in the garrison towns of Kūfah, Baṣrah, and Fusṭāṭ were now transferred to cities like Damascus, Jerusalem, and Ṣan‘ā’. The article concludes that over time, more and more restrictions were placed on the local non-Muslim populations, beginning with the decrees of the Umayyad Caliph ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Azīz and culminating with the edicts of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil, after which the Pact of ‘Umar took its final form.

The Qur’ānic Covenants

Ahmer Bilal Soofi — 2024-12-31

This paper explores the Qur’ānic concept of covenants through a legal lens, presenting a structured framework to examine the Qur’ān’s assurances, directives, and obligations as legally cognizable agreements. By integrating theological scholarship with principles of modern contract law, the study identifies Qur’ānic covenants as foundational to divine-human interaction. Through detailed analysis, the paper categorizes these covenants into overarching universal commitments, legal relationships with nonbelievers, and a comprehensive array of believer-specific agreements, including personal, social, and worldly obligations. Emphasizing the Qur’ān’s unique legal architecture, the research illustrates how covenants resemble modern contractual elements such as offer, acceptance, and consideration while maintaining the Qur’ān’s spiritual and transcendental essence. The findings highlight the Qur’ān’s capacity to regulate moral and ethical conduct internally, independent of external legal systems, underscoring its relevance to contemporary faith-based and secular frameworks. This interdisciplinary approach offers profound insights into the Qur’ānic message, reaffirming its role as a self-sustaining system of accountability and ethical universality.

The Qur’ānic Sūrah as an Autonomous Unit of Analysis

Eltigani Abdelgadir Hamid — 2024-12-31

This paper aims to discern the central integrating theme(s) of Sūrat al-Baqarah. Within any Qur’ānic sūrah, there are, assumingly, some organizing themes around which single verses revolve. Disconnected from these organizing themes, the meanings of single verses can be obscured. To test this hypothesis, the paper uses Sūrat al-Baqarah, which is the longest sūrah in the Qur’ān, as a case study. After revisiting some existing interpretive entries employed by scholars of Qur’ānic studies; namely, the sūrah’s name, its opening verses, and its closing ones, we have deduced two more entries, and have, consequently, developed a new interpretive model. Applying this model to Sūrat al-Baqarah has proved to be a useful method for detecting its major themes, as well as its overall structure. We have concluded that there is a strong connection between the name of Sūrat al-Baqarah, its opening verses, and its concluding remarks and that these three are greatly augmented by the other two entries we have added. We have also found that all these entries converge on two central ideas: concealing and/or revealing the truth. A careful analysis of these two concepts helps to discern the primer objective of the sūrah and its internal structure and, hence, enables us to have a better understanding of why some ideas and episodes are included in this sūrah while others are not.

Al-Firāsah as a Basic Condition for Achieving Justice in the Judiciary

Huda Hilal — 2024-12-31

The disagreement among scholars in the field of Islamic jurisprudence requires in-depth research to shed light on opposing viewpoints. Unfortunately, Ibn al-Qayyim’s (d. 751/1350) assumptions about the use of firāsah (ability to interpret signs and contextual evidence) in the judiciary did not receive much attention, despite his efforts to revitalise traditional jurisprudence by adding new meanings and purposes. This study aims to present a comprehensive view of Ibn al-Qayyim’s theory of firāsah in the judiciary. It seeks to answer the following questions: What is Ibn al-Qayyim’s vision of firāsah and what is his legal evidence for it? What are the methods for applying it in the judiciary? What is the position of Muslim scholars regarding his views? The study arrived at some valuable conclusions that can be summarised as follows: Justice is the most important goal of Islam, and to achieve it, the arbiter must use multiple means in addition to confession and witnesses, such as indication (qarīnah), sign (imārah), and circumstantial evidence. Successful firāsah depends on two factors: the sharpness of the arbiter’s mind and the clarity of evidence. Ibn al-Qayyim employed several categories of firāsah, including inferring internal states from external gestures, inferring the recondite from facial reactions and tongue slips, and others. He excluded the Greek physiognomy, which infers dispositions from physical features, as it contradicts Islamic teachings. However, most Muslim scholars strongly opposed his vision, citing authentic ḥadīths as evidence for their views. Ibn al-Qayyim, on the other hand, supported his theory with Qur’ānic verses and the greatest objective of sharī‘ah, which is to achieve justice.

The Hindūstānī Mujāhidīn and the British from the Annexation of Punjab to the Frontier Uprising of 1897

Ishtiaq Ahmad — 2024-12-31

Hindustani Mujahidin came to the Indian North-West Frontier with Sayyid Ahmad from Rayi Baraili. They, after the demise of their leader, were not powerful enough and hence became highly dependent on the local tribes. The local chiefs not only used them against each other but also made them party to their conflict with the colonial British. After the Ambilah (Ambelah/Ambela) expedition of 1863, the Hindustani Mujahidin faced the worst time of their stay in the Indian North-West frontier due to first, their enmity with the Akhūnd of Swat, and second, the strong colonial check on their supporters in India. This paper argues that on every occasion when Hindustani Mujahidin faced the colonial troops, they not only suffered heavily but were compelled to wander from place to place. The 1890s were particularly a decade in which the Hindustani Mujahidin tried their utmost to avoid confrontation with the colonial troops. This was the reason that the Mujahidin as a group or party remained neutral in the Frontier Uprising of 1897.

Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi and Hamid Mavan. Islamic Legal Methodology: A New Perspective on Uṣūl al-Fiqh.

Eriouiche Mohammed — 2024-12-31

Peter Adamson and Fedor Benevich. The Heirs of Avicenna: Philosophy in the Islamic East, 12-13th Centuries.

Murtaza Saifuddin Gadiali — 2024-12-31

Annual Table of Contents

Editorial Team — 2024-12-31

Back Matter

Editorial Team — 2024-12-31