198 chapter five
said to be 30,000 dirham, most of which is said to have been spent
on learning as he devoted most of his time to education (Arnoos,
1986). This seemed to have been reflected in his views as demon-
strated in his book. But this wealth did not lead to vanity. We see
him emphasising in his book that the rich are in need of the poor
as the poor are in need of the rich.
The Book
What has come to us of al-Shaibànì’s Earnings of a Clean Living,
al-Iktisàb fial-Rizk al-Mustatàb, is about a 20,000 word summary of
his original book, by one of his followers, Muœammad ibn-Sama"ah.
The book itself does not seem to have survived the ravage of time.
Moreover, the summary includes some commentary notes by another
consecutive scholar, al-Sarkhasi, who died in 483 A.H. (ibid.). How
big the original book was, we do not know but with a summary of
that size the original book must have been substantial.
The general scientific approach of the book is the deductive
approach. The author raises the issue, examines the Qur"ànic verses
and the Prophet’s sayings and, then, states his findings. Representative
examples from real life were also given. And when the issue is con-
troversial the author is persuasive: he discusses the question, extracts
evidence from the Qur"àn and Sunnah, uses analytical reasoning and
then reaches a conclusion which very often has a compelling effect.
Again, an analytical approach of a judge—a Œanafìjudge.
Consumption and Earnings
Al-Shaibànìassociated consumption with earnings and, as expected,
the divine ruling. In what seems to be an austerity approach to phys-
iological consumption he divided consumption into three levels, the
first is the level of subsistence, or necessities, the second is the level
of moderation, or enhancement, and the third is the level of extrav-
agance, or refinement. Concerning the first, the consumer is com-
pelled by the divine rule to satisfy this level. This might sound like
stating the obvious as the consumer is driven to the satisfaction of
these needs by nature’s forces. But three points would clarify the
need for al-Shaibànì’s emphasis: first; to him the consumer is not
only the consumer per se, rather he is the household consumer that
includes in addition to himself his wife and dependent children and
parents, and, second; the level of physiological needs also includes