WI: If Islam never was founded

I'd argue that the legal and the political system of Islam were just two of the many things that they absorbed from the populations they conquered - especially the political system, as the kept many of the political structures intact in the countries they conquered. The laws were not so different from other Near Eastern law codes.

Actually I think the major difference between the Islamic law and the other law codes from the region is that the Islamic law had stricter religious basis, and could not be quite altered on a whim of a ruler. The laws that were NOT mandated in the holy book (but instead propagated by kings/priests/rulers/etc) were more mutable, and more subject to misuse or misinterpretation.

On a side note, you know what I have just realized? I've been arguing that Islam was of great benefit to the Arabs as without it, they either could not have conquered as much as they have, or would not have been able to hold their territories... :)
 

Leo Caesius

Banned
Actually I think the major difference between the Islamic law and the other law codes from the region is that the Islamic law had stricter religious basis, and could not be quite altered on a whim of a ruler. The laws that were NOT mandated in the holy book (but instead propagated by kings/priests/rulers/etc) were more mutable, and more subject to misuse or misinterpretation.
Actually, as far as the Qur'an goes, there's very little to do with law there. The Islamic legal tradition is a "case law" system like other Near Eastern legal traditions, and in most cases it borrows whole cloth from the neighboring traditions. Private law is the area in which Islam differs most significantly from its neighboring traditions, and even in the case of private law the basis is usually cultural rather than religions.
 
Actually, as far as the Qur'an goes, there's very little to do with law there. The Islamic legal tradition is a "case law" system like other Near Eastern legal traditions, and in most cases it borrows whole cloth from the neighboring traditions. Private law is the area in which Islam differs most significantly from its neighboring traditions, and even in the case of private law the basis is usually cultural rather than religions.

I am not arguing that Shari'a is essentially based on precedent (which actually makes it not too dissimilar from the Anglo-American common law system, at least in principle), but when the precedent in question goes back to a religious figure, it gives it an additional level of authority. Given Muhammad's role as not only a ruler or a military leader, but also effectively a judiciary in Mecca and Medina, this created a set of decisions that for all intents and purposes held more weight than those made by a purely secular ruler or judge. Which, in my opinion, creates additional weight to that aspect of Arab conquest, thus making it last to the present in some shape or form.
 
Top