The Books of the Mudawwanah

The Mudawwanah is the record of the answers given by Abdarrahman ibn al-Qasim in particular, Ibn Wahb and other direct students of Imam Malik, who were living in Egypt, to the questions of Sahnun. I post just the names of the book headings here since it is an interesting view of the things that these very serious men thought were important when compiling a work about ALL of the shariah. Compare these book headings against the issues that people think of overriding importance today, such as women’s dress, and the disparity is revealing.

The Books of al-Mudawwanah al-Kubra

 

1. Wudu [and ghusl and tayammum]

2. Salat (two books)

3. Fasting

4. ‘Itikaf without fasting

5. Zakat

6. Hajj (three books)

7. Jihad

8. Hunting

9. Slaughtering Animals

10. Sacrifices

11. ‘Aqeeqah

12. Vows

13. The Sunnah Divorce

14. Swearing to Divorce

15. Marriage (three books)

16. Lowering the Veils (consummating the marriage)

17. [A woman] being given the choice [of whether to consider herself divorced] and being given the right over herself

18. Breast-feeding and Suckling

19. Dhihar Divorce [by a man declaring to the woman that she is as his mother’s back or other word forms similar to that]

20. [Divorce by] Cursing 

21. Abstaining from Sexual Intercourse [with a slave-girl until it is clear whether she is pregnant by a previous owner]

22. Setting Slaves Free

23. Slaves who write a contract to buy their freedom

24. Slaves who are set free on the death of their master

25. Slave Women who are mothers of their owners’ children

26. The Clientage and Inheritance [of slaves who have been set free]

27. Inheritances

28. Money Changing

29. Advance Payments (three books)

30. Sales with Different Time Periods

31. Corrupt Sales

32. Profit Sharing

33. Deceptive Transactions

34. Agencies

35. Fruit-bearing Trees (including olives, etc.) assigned by their owner to another person

36. Trading in the Land of the Enemy

37. Concealing Defects in Goods

38. Settlement [of disputed transactions]

39. Making Manufacturers Accountable

40. Wages and Hire

41. Renting Riding Camels and Other Mounts

42. Renting Houses and Lands

43. Renting Lands

44. Crop-sharing

45. Pestilences or Calamities

46. Partnership

47. Qirad

48. Judgements

49. The Office of the Qadi

50. Testimonies

51. Claims

52. The Indebted Person

53. Bankruptcy

54. One Authorised to Trade

55. Standing Surety and Taking Responsibility that another’s obligations will be discharged

56. Transfer of Debts

57. Pledging (Pawning)

58. Property Taken Wrongfully [by force but not by stealth]

59. Laying Claim to Rights

60. Pre-emption (two books)

61. Division [of inheritance] (two books)

62. Bequests (two books)

63. Gifts

64. The Gift

65. Dedicating a Property Inalienably (habs or waqf) and Sadaqah

66. Sadaqah

67. Trusts and Deposits

68. Lending

69. Lost Property and Stray Animals

70. Runaway Slaves

71. Wells’ Precincts

72. Hudud Punishment for Adultery and Defamation [of a woman’s honour]

73. Stoning

74. [Intoxicating] Drinks

75. Theft

76. Those Who Wage War [on the Muslims]

77. Wounds i.e. corporal crimes

78. Capital Crimes

79. [Compensatory] Fines for Bloodshed

Published by admin

Abdassamad Clarke is from Ulster and was formally educated at Edinburgh University in Mathematics and Physics. He accepted Islam at the hands of Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi in 1973, and, at his suggestion, studied Arabic and tajwid and other Islamic sciences in Cairo for a period. In the 80s he was secretary to the imam of the Dublin Mosque, and in the early 90s one of the imams khatib of the Norwich Mosque, and again from 2002-2016. He has translated, edited and typeset a number of classical texts. He currently resides with his wife in Denmark and occasionally teaches there. 14 May, 2023 0:03

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