political fragmentation and cultural diversity 261after discovering some market irregularities during a round of inspec-
tion. Matters related to disclosure of information, pricing, price bid-
ding, speculation, and so on are discussed in detail in the Sharì"ah.
After the Prophet, the caliphs, particularly during the rightly-guided
caliphate, are reported to have exercised the Œisbah.
With the growth in the complexity of the state, the spread of its
geographical location and the decline in the piety of individuals in
general and business ethos in particular, it became necessary that
the task of Œisbah was to be assigned to a specialised agency the
duties of which would cover the securing of the adherence to the
rules of the Sharì"ah. The first of these specialised agencies is reported
to have been established during the reign of the Umayyad caliph
Hishàm ibn Abd al-Màlik (105–125 A.H./724–743 A.C.), (Al- ̨abarì).
That seems to be an innovation that Hishàm introduced to the state
administration as explained in chapter four. Arabicisation, monetary
reforms, agrarian reforms and the establishment of just markets were
some examples of what had been innovated at the time. The insti-
tution of Œisbahseemed to have had considerable authority and pres-
tige, and the appointment of the head of the agency, al-Muœtasib,
was later surrounded with a distinct ceremonial procession. The anal-
ogy to the agency in modern time could be that of the two impor-
tant departments in modern governments: Department of Trade and
Industry and Central Auditing Office. Indeed, one more agency could
be added, the British RSPCA, Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, as one of the duties of the Muœtasib was to make
sure that animals were not overloaded with excessive loads beyond
what they could normally carry, or they were badly treated. The
religious function would be added to this modern analogy, as al-
Muœtasib was also responsible for the adherence to the rules of wor-
ship and the proper practice of the religion.
Writing on Œisbah
The first of what we could see reported of writing on Œisbahwas a
chapter in al-Màwardì’s al-Aœkàm al-Sùltàniyyah, chapter twenty. Even
as a chapter in a book, and not a separate book on the subject, al-
Màwardì’s chapter on Œisbahwas the first specialised work on the
subject. In a more specialised work al-Màwardì wrote a book on
Œisbah, “al-Rùtbah fi ̨alab al-Œisbah”. Contemporary to al-Màwardì