164 chapter five
Development of Islamic Juridical Philosophy
The first wave of Islamic writing on economics was preceded with,
and later on surrounded by, an active movement in the thinking of
Islamic jurists who devoted particular attention to the socio-religio
side of Islam. By the time the first specialised work on economics
appeared there were two distinct well established schools of Islamic
thought, developed over a period of two centuries or so, and, a third
was beginning to make itself evident. While an independent body of
Islamic economic literature was taking a distinctive shape, a fourth
school of thought (the Œanbalì) was firmly founded. These schools
had a considerable influence on the thinking of the jurists’ writing
on economics who were themselves followers of one school or another.
For example, while the chief justice Abù-Yùsuf belonged to the
Œanafìschool, Yahya ibn Adam al-Qurashi belonged to the Œanbalì
school. When considering the effect these schools have had on the
development of Islamic economics, it may be worthwhile to explore
briefly the development of the Islamic juridical thought on the eve
of, and during, the first appearance of specialised work on Islamic
economics.
The events of the first civil war in Islam (656–661) that took place
between Caliph Ali and Mu"awiyah left Muslims divided into three
religio-political groups: the Khawàrij, the Shì"ah and the Jama"a or
Sunnì. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Khawàrij were
those who, although were fighting with Caliph Ali against Mu"awiyah
at the beginning, disagreed with him after the arbitration that lead
through deceit to his removal (Al- ̨abarì). The religious sincerity of
the Khawàrij and their devotion to the religion is difficult to ques-
tion. They were courageous, puritans and prepared to die for their
beliefs but they went to the extreme of claiming that by accepting
arbitration Caliph Ali became an unbeliever.
The Shì"ahs stood at the opposite end of the Khawàrij, they sup-
ported Caliph Ali in his dispute to the bitter end. The Shì"i sup-
port reached the level of believing that the Message of Islam was
meant to be descended on Caliph Ali but by mistake on the part
of the Arch Angel Gibra"il it went to the Prophet Muœammad. The
name of Caliph Ali was then added to the name of Prophet
Muœammad in the Shì"i Muslims’ call for prayer. After Caliph Ali’s
death and the retirement of his elder son al-Œassan from politics,
the Shì"iah instigated al-Œusayn’s revolt against Mu"awiyah’s son