118 r Juliette Hassine
the Muslim judges “illegitimate” (al fsolim), which followed Maimonides,
who referred to the prophet Muhammad as ha-Pasul (the illegitimate
one).^22
The poems mention documents produced in court and apparently pre-
sented to the sultan as well. Let us consider the declaration of allegiance
to Islam. Did Morocco of 1834 require that conversion to Islam should
be confirmed by a written document, as was the case in the Andalusia
of Maimonides under the Muwahidūn (the “Unitarians”) and in later
periods? At the time when the Muwahidūn also ruled in Morocco, the
many incidents of conversion arising from oppression and persecution
aroused suspicions of insincere conversion. Thus converting to Islam, it
was decided, should be an act of free will and not merely a superficial act.
Therefore, the converts declared fidelity to Islam before witnesses, and a
document was drawn up to that effect, which was witnessed by a notary
and signed by the convert. This procedure was like a statement or bearing
witness, and its requirements created the assumption that the candidate
understood the law with requisite awareness of the religious duties ex-
pected of him.^23
In his book, Rey reviews the stages of conversion to Islam as carried out
in Andalusia.^24 It is reasonable to assume that his source of information
believed that the Andalusian procedure from the Muwahidūn era was
perhaps comparable to that followed in Morocco.
With regard to the procedures and laws relating to the age of a person
condemned to death and the method of implementing the sentence, the
concept of taklif (the imposition of duties on mankind by God) is of im-
portance.^25 Other legal concepts such as ’akl or state of mind and bulugh,
i.e., physical and sexual maturity, according to Islamic law also should
have played a role in Sol’s case.^26 Sol was 17 years old at the time her sen-
tence was passed, and she was not pregnant, weaning, or menstruating.
Under Islamic law, these factors should have been checked before carry-
ing out the death sentence.^27
According to Islamic law, tuba (the grace period of penitence) nor-
mally lasts three days, but it could have been extended to further inves-
tigate whether or not the condemned person’s decision to revert to the
former religion was freely made. Because a decision regarding the choos-
ing of one’s religion should not be coerced, torture is not permitted.
Tuba is part of a legal procedure and is common to both Hanbali and
Maliki law current in Morocco of that day; it was not accepted in Sunni,