112 • 8 ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONAdministration of the Law
At the dawn of Islamic history, the administration and enforcement of the
law were handled by the caliphs or their provincial governors. As society
grew more complex, they began to appoint Muslims who knew the Quran
and the sunna (as practiced by the early caliphs as well as by Muhammad)
to serve as qadis (judges). As the judicial system evolved, an aspiring qadi at
first got his legal training under an experienced jurist. Then schools were
founded in the city mosques for training within one (or more) of the vari¬
ous legal rites. The training schools for propagandists of Isma'ili Shi'ism
and, later, the madrasas founded by the Seljuks and other Sunni dynasties
became centers for training judges and other legal experts. Students would
read the law books and commentaries under the guidance of one or several
masters. When they had mastered enough information to serve as qadis,
they would be certified to practice on their own.
Various other judicial offices also evolved: the mufti (jurisconsult), who
gives authoritative answers to technical questions about the law for a court
and sometimes for individuals; the shahid (witness), who certifies that a
certain act took place, such as the signing of a contract; and the muhtasib
(market inspector), who enforces Muslim commercial laws and maintains
local order. Islam's legal system has never had lawyers to represent oppos¬
ing parties in court cases. Muslims maintain that advocates or attorneys
might enrich themselves at the expense of the litigant or criminal defen¬
dant. There were also no prosecutors or district attorneys. In most cases
the qadi had to decide from the evidence presented by the litigants and the
witnesses, guided by relevant sections of the Shari'a and sometimes by ad¬
vice from a mufti.
The caliph had to ensure that justice prevailed in the umma, not by inter¬
preting the Shari'a but by appointing the wisest and most honest qadis to
administer it. True, some Umayyad caliphs might have flouted the Shari'a
in their personal lives, but its rules remained valid for the umma as a whole.
We must always distinguish between what people can get away with doing
in their home (or palace or residence hall) and what they can do in public,
in the possible presence of a police officer. No Umayyad or Abbasid caliph
could abolish the Shari'a or claim that it did not apply to him as to all other
Muslims. When the caliph lost the power to appoint qadis and other legal
officers, the various sultans and princes who assumed his powers had to do
so. When the caliphate ceased to symbolize Muslim unity, then everyone's
acceptance of the Shari'a bridged the barriers of contending sects and dy¬
nasties. Even when the Crusaders and Mongols entered the lands of Islam
and tried to enforce other codes of conduct, Muslims continued to follow
the Shari'a in their daily lives. And to a degree that surprises some Western-