political fragmentation and cultural diversity 237public duties. Interestingly, the work on Œisbah was subsequently
developed further after him, where we find specialized books, like
that of ibn-Taymìya, devoted entirely to Œisbah.
In his jurisprudence approach we find al-Màwardì, in dealing with
an issue, examining the opinions of Abù-Hanìfah and Abù-Yùsuf
(who was a Œanafì as shown previously), and he may agree or,
invariably, disagree with them. In his disagreement he would look
at the views of Màlik and al-Shafi", provide evidence from the Qur"àn
and Sunnah and express his views which, as a Shafì"i, coincide with
the Shafì"i school of thought.
By the standards of the day, al-Aœkàm al-Sùltàniyyahwas a major
addition to literature. Even with what might be viewed as a parallel
similarity with Abù-Yùsuf ‘s Kitàb al-Kharàj, al-Màwardì wrote his
book almost four and half centuries after Abù-Yùsuf completed his.
The book was also written during a period of political instability in
the Islamic state in contrast to the stability of the early Abbasìd
caliphate. In such chaotic circumstances the need for a book of this
nature must have been imperative to achieve justice and observe the
Sharì"ah. Al-Màwardì’s work could be viewed as a major contribution
to maintaining the rules of the Sharì"ah in relation to public finance
and achieving justice in matters related to raising state funds through
taxation and otherwise. The inclusion of a special chapter on Œisbah,
public duties, is an early recognition by al-Màwardì of the impor-
tance of the subject as a separate topic of study.
Al-Màwardì and his al-Aœkàm was a major landmark that posi-
tively interrupted a period of silence that spread over the Islamic
economic literature for several centuries. His al-Aœkàmis a major ref-
erence work for scholars in the field.
Now we turn our attention to microeconomics once more. Al-
Màwardì was a writer who was not concerned with how the state
manages its finance as much as he was with how the individual and
the community manage their economies. He is al-Ràghib al-A›fahànì.
Al-Ràghib al-A›fahànì(d. 502 A.H./1108 A.C.)
al-Zarì"ah fiMakàrim al-Sharì"ah, Means of Glorious Sharì"ahThe Author
Abù-al-Qasim al-Œusayn ibn Muœammad ibn al-Mufdal al-Ràghib
al-A›fahànì, a different A›fahànìfrom the scholar renowned for his