A distinct Ismaili油system of jurisprudence was founded after the establishment of the油Fatimid油dynasty in North Africa. The pre-Fatimid IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja平far al-畊diq (d. 765), as his successor. were preoccupied in various parts of the Abbasid Empire with missionary activities, promising the advent of the expected messianic figure called油Mahdi油and油Qaim油who would restore justice and equity. Toward this goal, they developed a highly sophisticated gnostic system of thought, wherein the油batini油(esoteric) sciences were more emphasised than the油zahiri油(exoteric) sciences. Law not only belonged to the latter category but also had very little practical use until the Ismailis had not obtained political power. Hence, it was not a priority at that stage. This, however, does not mean that they completely neglected law. The early Shii communities, especially the油Imamis, shared a common heritage with each other up to the death of油Imam油Jafar al-Sadiq in 148 AH/765 CE. Thus, they shared certain rituals and practices that had evolved until then. Recent scholarship has demonstrated that油Imam油Muhammad al-Baqir played a major role in the shaping of Shii jurisprudence (Lalani, pp. 114-足26), which became crystallised during the time of his son油Imam油Jafar al-Sadiq and was known as油madhab油Ahl al-Bayt油(rite of jurisprudence from the family of the Prophet). It should be also noted that both the Ismailis and the油Imamis油consider油Imam油Muhammad al-Baqir and his son油Imam油Jafar al-Sadiq as the founders of their respective systems of law, because most of the traditions in油Qadi油al-Numans油禽温ai馨 al-Islam油and Abu Jafar Muhammad Kulaynis油Kitab al-kafi油are traced back to these Imams. This school of jurisprudence was not in favour of油ray油(personal opinion) or油qiyas油(analogical deduction), both of which prevailed in the contemporary circles of the Sunni juris-consults油(faqih).油The Ismailis shared certain ritualistic features with other Shii, such as the wiping of the feet in ablution, saying油basmala油(i.e., the formula油Besm Allah al-rahman al-rahim)油aloud in recitation of the Quran and during obligatory prayers, and addition of the formula油hayya ala khayr al-amal油(come to the best of work) in the call to prayer油(adhan;油Lalani, pp. 120-24).
Soon after his triumphant entry into油Qayrawan油in 296 AH/909 CE, Abu Abd Allah al-Shii, a major Fatimid油糸温i油who was instrumental in the founding of the Fatimid dynasty, appointed Muhammad b. Umar Marvazi, a local Shii figure, as judge (Qadi).油Marvazi imposed strict adherence to the above Shii rituals and legal practices. Moreover, he ordered the omission of油al-salat khayr men al-nawm油(prayer is better than sleep) from the morning call to prayer and prohibited the油tarawih油prayers led by a mosque油imam油during the month of油Ramadan. In the Friday sermon (khutba) he added the blessings (salat)油on Imam Ali, bibi FatimaDaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and his first wife, Khad朝ja bint Khuwaylid. Also wife of 平Al朝 b. Ab朝 畊lib and mother of al-畍asan and al-畍usayn., Imam Hasan, and Imam Husayn immediately after the blessings on the Prophet. He also issued an order forbidding jurists to give legal opinions except according to the Shii madhab油(school), declared油talaq al-batta油(irrevocable divorce) invalid, and upheld the right of a daughter to inherit the whole of her fathers estate, to the exclusion of油asaba油(agnates), in the absence of a son (Ibn al-Haytham, pp. 64-67; Maliki, II, pp. 41, 55-56, 60-足62; Ibn Izari, I, pp. 151,159,173).
Unfortunately, we have no information about legal compositions of Marvazi or his immediate successors in the office of油qada油IfriqiyaMediaeval Muslim name for modern-day Tunisia; also the area where the Fatimids founded their state in the early tenth century..油One can only surmise that some of those judges might have written law manuals hoping that their works would be recognised officially. Even if they did, their works were overshadowed by those of油Qadi油al-Numan and soon fell into disuse and were lost.
Qadi油al-Numan, an Ismaili Shii from油QayrawanSee Kairouan, entered the service of the Fatimid dynasty at an early age and served in various capacities the first four caliphs consecutively for over half a century, from 312AH/924 CE until his death in 363AH/974 CE. He was commissioned by the fourth imam-caliph油al-Muizz油al-Din-Allah (r. 341-65 AH/953-75 CE) to compose the油禽温ai馨 al-Islam,油his magnum opus, which was officially promulgated as the Fatimid code. He is, therefore, rightly regarded by the Ismailis as the one who propounded their law.油Qadi油al-Numan had also composed several legal works based on the油madhab油of the油Ahl al-Bayt. In his first and voluminous油Kitab al-izah,油which has reached us in abridged versions, his efforts were directed to the collection and classification of a vast number of legal traditions transmitted from the family of the Prophet. He compiled this work from all the available sources. This early and massive work consisting of 3,000 folios could be seen as an attempt by油Qadi油al-Numan to lay the foundation on which Ismaili law could then be built. Consequently, he made several abridgments of the油Kitab al-izah,油namely油Kitab al-akhbar油(or油al-ikhbar), Mukhtasar al-izah,油al-Urjuza al-muntakhaba,油Kitab al-iqtisar,油and油Kitab al-ikhtisar (or油Mukhtasar al-athar,油or油Ikhtisar al-athar).油In addition to those legal texts, he also wrote refutations of the Sunni schools of jurisprudence and their founders, such as Malik b. Anas, Abu Hanifa, and Shafi’i油(for the chronology of these works and the development of Numans thought, see Poonawala, 1996, pp. 119-24). In his油Ikhtilaf usul al-madhahib油(p. 22),油Qadi油al-Numan cites the decree of油Imam油al-Muizz al-Din-Allah, wherein he is instructed by the latter about the roots of jurisprudence. It states that, in issuing his legal decisions,油Qadi油al-Numan should first follow the油河顎姻a稼, next, the tradition (sunna)油of the Prophet, and for what is not found in either of them he should turn to the油madhab油of the Imams from the family of the Prophet. If something still remains doubtful and difficult to resolve, he should refer the matter to the油Imam. In his油Kitab al-iqtisar油(p. 167) and油Kitab al-ikhtisar,油Qadi油al-Numan proposes the same principles for issuing legal decisions and rejects油ray油and油qiyas.
The油禽温ai馨,油according to Imad-al-Din Idris (d. 872 AH/1468 CE), a Mustali-Tayyibi油糸温i油and a historian, was closely supervised by the Caliph-Imam al-Muizz himself (Idris, p. 44). The work follows the general pattern of law manuals and is divided into two volumes. The first deals with the acts of devotion and religious observances (i恢温糸温岳)油while the second with laws pertaining to human interactions (muamalat).油Qadi油al Numan states on the authority of油Imam油Jafar al-Sadiq that Islam was founded on seven pillars, that is,油walaya油(devotion to the imamIn general usage, a leader of prayers or religious leader. The Shi’i restrict the term to their spiritual leaders descended from 平Al朝 b. Ab朝 畊lib and the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima.),油tahara油(ritual purity),油salat油(prayers),油zakat油(charitable giving),油sawm油(fasting in the month of油Ramadan),油hajj油(pilgrimage to Mecca), and油jihad油(holy war).油Walaya,油the corner-stone of Ismaili faith, embodies the doctrine of the油imamate油that lies at the basis of Shi’ism, and油Qadi油al-Numan transformed it into a dynamic principle after the establishment of the Fatimid油caliphateThe Muslim political institution or state centred around the caliph, which came to an end, historically, in 1924 with the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire.. It is considered the highest and the noblest of the seven pillars, without which no human acts of devotion and worship are acceptable to God. It should be noted that, unlike with the Ismailis,油walaya油did not become part of the Imami legal works. The油禽温ai馨油was therefore the first juristic text to give油walaya油a legal status in Islamic law. For the Ismailis and the newly founded Fatimid dynasty, it was not merely a religious belief but was the very basis of their claim to the political leadership of the Muslim community. In the chapter on油jihad,油Qadi油al-Numan included the ‘ahd (a command document) ascribed to油Imam油Ali b. Abi Talib油(禽温ai馨, tr., I, pp. 436-56), which dealt with the rulers conduct with his subjects. This document, according to Wadad Kadi (p.104), represents the Ismaili theory of the state.油Tahara,油which implies physical and spiritual purification and is a necessary requirement for the valid performance of prayers, was raised by油Qadi油al-Numan to the status of an independent pillar (diama,油pl.油糸温ai馨).
The油禽温ai馨,油as a law manual, addresses matters of substantive law, hence,油Qadi油al-Numan restricted the authorities to油Imam油Jafar al-Sadiq and his predecessors. In this work he does not deal with the day-to-day running of the state, where the ultimate authority was the ruling油Imam. The sources of law, according to油Qadi油al-Numan, are the油河顎姻a稼Muslims believe that the Holy 河顎姻a稼 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More, the tradition (sunnaCustom or practice; particularly that associated with the exemplary life of the Prophet Muhammad, comprising his deeds and utterances as recorded in the 畍ad朝th.)油of the Prophet, and the teachings or rulings of the Imams. The major differences with Imami (Twelver Shii) law are that油Qadi油al-Numan admitted the prohibition of temporary marriage油馨顎岳a,油and the introduction of a fixed calendar rather than sighting the new moon for the beginning and end of油Ramadan油(禽温ai馨,油tr., I, p. 339 , II, p. 214). The油禽温ai馨油is considered by the Mustali-Tayyibi Ismailis as the greatest authority on their law and has remained until today a source of supreme authority for them in legal matters.
Ibn Killis (d. 380 AH/991 CE),油vizier油of the Imam-caliph al-Aziz, is credited to have composed a legal work based on the pronouncements of油Imam油al-Muizz and油Imam油al-Aziz (r. 365-86 AH/975-96 CE), but the work did not survive. After油Qadi油al-Numan, there was no significant development in Ismaili law either during the remainder of the Fatimid rule in Egypt or in Yemen, where the Mustali-Tayyibi community survived for the next four centuries after the fall of the油Fatimids油in Egypt (567 AH/1171 CE) and the油Sulayhids油in Yemen (532 AH/1138 CE). It was in India that the works of油Qadi油al-Numan were glossed. Aminji b. Jalal (d. 1010 AH/1602 CE), an eminent jurist, deserves special mention in this respect. His油Kitab al-sual wal-jawab油(Majdu, pp. 37-38) is an interesting collection of legal questions and their answers. Another noteworthy work is the anonymous油Kitab al-sual wal足 jawab al-masaik al-Hind ma al-hawashi men kutub al-Qadi al-Numan油(Majdu, p. 37) , which consists of questions put to the contemporary油糸温is油and other油dawa油dignitaries and the answers given by them. In addition, it contains extensive excerpts from the works of油Qadi油al-Numan that have not survived, especially油Kitab al-izah油and油Mukhtasar al-izah. Another anonymous work worth mentioning is油Taqwim油(or油Taqawim)油al-ahkam油(Majdu, pp. 36-37), wherein various topics in law concerning what is permitted and what is forbidden are arranged in a novel way. All the latter three works reiterate that油ray油and油qiyas油are not permitted. Hence, they give answers to the questions posed in the form of a ruling, however, without going into the details of methodology as to how the authorities arrived at those answers.
One can thus conclude that Ismaili jurisprudence began with油Qadi油al-Numan and ended with him. Before him, there was no distinct Ismaili jurisprudence, and after him there was no significant development except glosses, repetition, and restatement.
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