political fragmentation and cultural diversity 263Ibn-al-Ukhùwwah (d. 1329)
Ma"alim al-QùrbahfiAœkàm al-Œisbah
Rules of Accountability and Public Duties
The Author
Diya"al-Dìn Muœammad ibn Muœammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurashi
al-Shafì"i is the full name of this author whose nickname was Ibn
al-Ukhùwwah. The date of his birth is not known but he died in
729 A.H./1329 A.C. Little is known of Ibn al-Ukhùwwah except
that he was an Egyptian. His work was renowned in Syria and else-
where (Levy, 1938).
The Book
Ma"alim al-Qùrbah consists of seventy chapters covering a wide range
of topics. A number of chapters, particularly the first ten cover general
issues on the conduct of Œisbahand the governance of the market
and business activities, while the rest address each type of business
and industry in detail. The general issues deal with the following
topics:
The qualifications required for the Œisbah and the duties of the
Muœtasib
Enforcement of the law and prevention of what is unlawful
Wine and unlawful trade
Prohibited transactions
Practices forbidden and practices permitted
Unlawful conduct in public markets
Weights and how they should be controlled
Scales and measurements of capacity and lengths
Preachers,
Judges and witnesses,
Military commanders and civil governors and the activities of the
population that concern them,The chapters that cover the types of trade and industry deal with
an exhaustive range of industries and businesses. For example the
range covers the following: flour merchants and millers, bakers and
bread makers, seller of roast-meat, sausage makers, butchers, sellers
of liver and appetisers, vendors of cooked heads, cooked meat sell-
ers, pickled meat sellers, fish fryers, sellers of desserts, seller of milk,