|
The jurisprudence of
architecture and town-planning in Islamic civilizations
Dr. Khaled Muhammed ‘Azab
Islamic Concepts of Building and Architecture :
There are two concepts to building and architecture in
Islamic jurisprudence :
The first prerequisite is one of strength. This attribute is
one of the aspects of Islam since excellence is sought in
every action taken by the Muslim, and strength is the sinews
of excellence. As far as social life and business relations
among people are concerned, perfection is required in every
action, and if a Muslim undertakes some work for the account
of another person, he should ensure that this work is well
done. Such perfection can only be attained by those who have
gained experience and become well versed in their trade. The
Prophet (PBUH) has emphasized this by saying : “May Allah
bestow His mercy on those who conscientiously carry out
their work”(1), and also : “Allah is pleased when whoever of
you undertakes some work carries it out in all
conscience”(2). The Prophet emphasized the importance of
soundness and strength in building, as was witnessed by the
account narrated by Talq Ibn Ali Attameemi when he said : “I
came to the Prophet (PBUH) as he was building his mosque
with the help of some Muslims. I was familiar with the task
of treating and mixing clay, so I took the brush and started
to mix the clay while the Prophet watched, then he said :
'This Hanafite is skilled at clay” , and in another version
: “Leave the clay to the Hanafite, he is the most skilled of
you at it”. This only shows that strength and soundness are
a prerequisite in building not only out of the duty of
perfection, but also to guarantee safety, protection and
prevention of harm.
The second prerequisite is one of aesthetics. It is the
Muslims’ duty to attend to their appearance and their attire
because Islam is a religion of beauty and purity. The Muslim
worships one God, Allah, Who is Beautiful and loves beauty.
Indeed, beauty is desired in building and architecture in
the same way it is sought in dressing and other aspects of
life. The beauty of a building shows in its harmony and
pattern, as defined by time and space and as long as this
building is sound in its essence and its purpose(3).
The Islamic art of building and architecture was governed by
the two following frameworks in terms of thought :
The first framework is the Islamic legal policy (or
Sharia-based policy), which is the policy followed by the
ruler or governor with regard to architecture, whether it
pertains to matters of general policy or directly to
building, both of which influence building and architecture.
The second framework relates to architecture-related
jurisprudence. This refers to the set of rules that flowed
from the dynamic of building as a result of the interaction
of individuals and their desire to build and edify, and to
the ensuing questions addressed by Muslim scholars, while
inferring legal rulings in accordance with the rules of
jurisprudence.
The queries of Muslims to scholars came as a natural
consequence of their desire to build edifices compatible
with their values and their civilization. As time went by,
the rulings issued by scholars in this regard accumulated to
form a legal framework governing the dynamic of building in
society and to which adhered both the rulers and the ruled.
The vision of Sharia-based policy for building or
architecture constitutes a general governing framework that
addresses major issues rather than minor ones. It has a
number of common denominators with the jurisprudence of
architecture, as the latter is based on legal premises and
civilisational values that are specific to the Ummah.
The Islamic jurisprudence on building is based on general
concepts that the Sharia-based policy has to respect, though
policy-makers often bypass these generalities, as they rely
on authority and power to fulfil their wishes. Politics is
based on the power of the state enforcing it, while the
building-related jurisprudence is based on the society that
endeavours to preserve and implement the rules of this
jurisprudence as perceived by scholars.
Sharia-based policy has been the subject of innumerable
writings, of which the most important is the Muqaddimah of
Ibn Khaldun, considered to date the most mature piece of
writing in this field and which contains an important
chapter on the subject. There are also countless political
reference books that tackle the relationship between Sharia
policy and architecture, particularly with regard to the
conditions and criteria of building cities(4).
The building-related jurisprudence, on the contrary, was
not as favoured in terms of writings as Islamic legal policy
was. This is attributed to the fact that the
building-related jurisprudence is an applied science more
linked to society than to authority. Thus, the controversy
it gave rise to was addressed in the books of fatwas and
incidents and, compared to the science of Islamic legal
policy(5), only a few books were totally dedicated to it.
First Framework :
Governance is based on the dynamic effectiveness through
which the ruler seeks to fulfil the interests of the ruled.
The scholars of Sharia policy were aware of this and wrote :
“The sultan has to follow a policy which is for us one of
firmness and does not limit itself to what the Sharia has
explicitly stipulated”(6).
This definition was addressed in more detail by Ibn 'Uqail
Al Hanbali, to whom the previous definition is attributed,
through one of his debates with a Shaafiite jurisprudent who
said : “There is no politics but for what concurs with the
Sharia”. To this, Ibn ‘Uqail replied : “Politics is every
practice that ensures that people are closest to
righteousness and farthest from immorality, even if it has
not been prescribed by the Prophet peace be upon him or
conveyed through divine revelation. If you mean that there
is no politics but that which concurs with the Sharia in the
sense that it does not contradict it, then I grant you that.
But if you intend it to be confined exclusively to what the
Sharia explicitly stipulates, then this is wrong and untrue
to the Companions(7).
The definition provided by Ibn Najim al-Hanafi in his book
'Al Bahr Al Raeq' (The Clear Sea) flows in the same
direction : 'The apparent interpretation of their words is
that politics is any action taken by the ruler for a
perceived interest, even if no partial evidence exists
thereof(8).
With these definitions in mind, we can infer the content and
essence of politics from the following points :
- The legitimacy of politics is based in essence on its
fundamental necessity, as only this gives body to its
legitimacy on the basis of individual or collective
acceptance.
- The human relations that are concerned by politics are not
individual relations but more of an expression of collective
bonds : the bond of the community to the individual and the
community to the community.
- Politics in essence cannot be dissociated from its purpose
and objectives. These objectives simply become achievable
through a given means(9).
If we attempt to apply these fundamentals in the vision of
Sharia-based politics, we will once again be able to confirm
several fundamental elements that form the conventional
imports of the concept of legal politics. One of these is
that politics is based on interest-motivated jurisprudence
where no text exists. Thus, the driving force of politics
becomes interest, a dynamic motivation that seeks congruence
with the content of the Sharia(10). Thus, politics is
subject to the ruler’s vision of the nation's interests as
regulated by legal restrictions. In this respect, we may
infer the perception of Sharia scholars of the role of the
ruler in the field of building and architecture.
Al Mawardi has identified general criteria for a settlement
site. A site can only be considered fit for settlement if it
complies with these criteria, which he enumerated in the
course of his addressing the significance of ‘misr’, i.e.
the city. He then identified five objectives that must be
sought in the establishments of cities, namely :
First : the pursuit of peace and serenity.
Second : the safekeeping of assets and funds from perdition
and loss.
Third : the protection of wives and other female members
from offense and humiliation
Fourth : the fulfilment of needs in terms of goods and
trade.
Fifth : the earning of livelihood(11).
If we take a close look at these conditions, we will find
that they are suitable for all eras. No settlement-worthy
site can be found that is lacking in the exclusive and
all-inclusive conditions, as they include quietude,
safekeeping of property, preservation of honor and sanctity,
securing of basic needs and trade, and finally the earning
of livelihood. Thus, Al Mawardi covered the social and
economic and security aspects of life and firmly asserted
that a place devoid of any of these conditions is not fit
for human habitation(12).
We can also cite his saying : “If one of these conditions
were to remain unmet, the site would not be considered fit
for settlement, and would bring about regression and
destruction”(13).
Scholars of politics have defined in great detail the
criteria that the statesman should take into consideration
when selecting a site and founding cities and towns. Some of
these conditions, as mentioned by Ibn Khaldun, are :
1- The town or city should be surrounded by a wall to ward
off harm and damage.
2- It should be located in a naturally protected site such
as a place on a hilltop, near a river or along a bay, etc.
3- The site chosen should provide plentiful clean and fresh
air as prevention against diseases.
4- Water should be within easy access such as from a river
or water springs.
5- Grazing lands should be available for cattle.
6- Farming lands must be available to provide food and
sustenance(14).
These conditions enable every city to grow and prosper. Ibn
Al Azraq analysed in detail what had been written by Ibn
Khaldun on the subject. He pointed out two essential
objectives which should be pursued in all matters related to
cities, namely the avoidance of harm and the quest for
interest. In this regard, harm falls under two categories: a
physical one related to the land, and this harm can be
prevented by surrounding the city with a wall or building it
in a naturally protected location that would be hard to
reach by the enemy. The second one is related to the
atmosphere and can be prevented by choosing sites blessed
with clean air. It has been often noted that air that goes
stale as a result of stagnation or its presence within the
vicinity of contaminated waters, decomposing matter or
decaying swamps spreads diseases among the animals living
there.
A case in point is the city of Fez, which was highly
populated when the movement of building extended in Africa.
The dense population helped produce a movement of air and
reduced its harmful effects, thus removing sickness and
decay. But when the numbers of its inhabitants dwindled, the
air became stagnant and grew foul as a result of the
contamination of its waters resulting in the spread of
diseases and ailments. He also cited the counter-example of
a city created with no regard for the quality of its air and
where many diseases broke out because of the restricted
number of inhabitants. But when the latter became numerous,
the situation changed. This was the case in the Sultan’s
seat in Fez when the New Fez was created, and in many other
parts of the world(15).
The second fundamental condition is the securing of
interest. This is achieved through compliance with a number
of criteria, including the availability of water such as
when the city is located on a river or close to freshwater
springs. The presence of water within easy reach of the
city makes it easier for dwellers to meet their water
needs. Another criterion is the availability and closeness
of pastures for cattle and livestock, as people need animals
for breeding, milking and riding. The presence of pastures
close to the city is certainly more advantageous than the
hardship of seeking far ones. Equally important is the
availability of farmlands because crops provide sustenance,
wood for burning and for building. Many of the farmlands’
yields, in fact, form part of basic and accessory goods.
Besides, the city’s closeness to the sea facilitates the
importation of goods from remote countries. It is no secret
that all of these criteria vary according to the specific
needs and requirements of the dweller(16).
While the criteria listed by Ibn Khaldun are related to the
issue per se of cities, Ibn Abi Rabie addressed the role of
the governor in planning the city and described this role in
great detail. The responsibilities that a ruler must
shoulder in this regard are summarised by Ibn Abi Rabie in
eight points :
1) To convey drinking water to the city to facilitate easy
access thereto.
2) To gauge the width of roads and streets to ensure their
convenience and avoid narrowness.
3) To build a mosque in the heart of the city to make it
close to all its dwellers.
4) To gauge the size and number of markets needed to ensure
that the inhabitants can secure all their needs in goods.
5) To set a distance between the tribes making up the city’s
inhabitants to ensure that rival tribes are not too close to
clash.
6) If he wishes to live there, the ruler can set up house in
its most spacious parts and establish his entourage around
him.
7) To surround it with a wall for protection against enemies
and treat it as one single house.
8) To bring to the city as many craftsmen as needed by the
inhabitants(17).
What becomes clear from the writings of Ibn Abi Rabie, who
died in 272AH/885AD is the degree of awareness associated
with the rational analysis of criteria in establishing
cities. In fact, in conveying water to the city and
guaranteeing access to drinking water without hardship,
there is an indicator of the development of urban planning
to a level where the selection of the location is carried
out in all freedom, thus transcending the natural
determinism where the planner has to make sure the city
founded is built close to rivers and in sites rich in
natural resources(18).
- Water is the sinews of life and a factor in the emergence
of civilisations when available. It is also a factor in
their demise when it becomes scarce. Ibn Abi Rabie sets as a
condition for the ruler wishing to build a city far from
conventional water sources to convey this water all the way
to the city, as was actually the case in many Islamic
cities. Muslims brought water to Madrid from the
surrounding hills which abounded with subterranean waters
and which were located 7 to 12 km away from the city. The
water was conveyed through canals in which it ran in a
gradual incline that allowed the flow of water into the
city. It is no wonder Andalusians chose to name their new
town ‘Majreet’, a combination of the Arabic word “majra” and
the Latin suffix “-eet” denoting abundance. The name then
meant ‘the town abounding with canals’ referring to the
underground ducts and canals that criss-crossed the town
conveying water to its inhabitants. As for Jeddah, it also
suffered for long from the shortage of water. When Al
Maqdisi visited it, he described it as a “bustling” city of
which the inhabitants were wealthy and engaged in trade but
suffered greatly from the lack of water. Towards the middle
of the fifth century of the Hegira, Annassir Khasru arrived
in Jeddah and noted the absence of trees and plants despite
the city’s architectural and building prosperity, a state
owed to the scarcity of water. During the Circassian
Mamluke era, Qansuh Al Ghuri was appointed ruler over the
city and took great interest in solving the water crisis. He
had water conveyed from the regions located west of the city
and thus contributed largely to its prosperity. At the
Citadel built by Salah Eddine El Ayyoubi in Cairo, a
ninety-meter-deep well was dug in rock to bring water to the
fortress. The well is made of two shafts that are vertically
unconnected but have the same depth, which is the reason why
some historians refer to two wells instead of one. The
surface area of the horizontal section of the lower well is
2.3 square meters, while this surface in the upper well is 5
square meters. The latter surface was needed in the upper
well to accommodate the bulls needed for operating the
waterwheel set up at the bottom of the first shaft and which
draws water from the bottom of the second shaft to its
level. Another couple of bulls operate a second waterwheel
set up at the top of the two wells ; its function is to draw
water from the level of the second waterwheel to the
surface. The most amazing aspect of the design and execution
of the upper well is the thinness of the carved rock wall
separating the bottom of the well from the sloping passage
of the bulls. Its thickness was measured and found at some
places not to exceed 20 cm.
- With regard to streets, Ibn Abi Rabie maintains that they
must be planned in a convenient way for human use and for
the means of transport available at the time, driven either
by animals or human beings. Should a revolution change the
landscape of transport such as the one witnessed in modern
times and which introduced the use of horse-pulled carriages
followed by cars, then streets must be compatible with the
means of transport and nature of their use for each age. The
historians who studied Islamic cities and criticised the
narrow streets were applying the standards of modern times
transport and failed to take into consideration the nature
of the times when these cities were built.
- The condition of centrality in the building of mosques is
explained by the need for ease of access to a facility used
by people five times a day. By being central, the mosque can
be reached from all directions and at more or less equal
distances. The choice of the heart of the city as a location
for the great mosque is perhaps reflective of the choice
position that faith holds in people’s hearts. The central
mosque represents the bond linking all the parts of the
city. In the same way that the Kaaba is the pivotal point of
the world to which Muslims turn when performing their
prayers five times a day, Muslims in any city seek the
central mosque at the heart of the city to perform their
prayers. Perhaps, the only difference between the main
mosque and other mosques where the five prayers are
conducted is that the first one brings the whole city
together on Friday and is usually the place where the prince
or ruler delivers the Friday Sermon which often carries a
political and social import.
- The condition of gauging the need in markets in sufficient
numbers is indicative of many things : these markets should
not exceed the needs of the citizens, which would result in
a collapse of prices and loss of goods, nor should they be
too few and push prices upwards. It also indicates that the
size of these markets should be determined in such a way as
to match the size of the population(19).
- The condition of maintaining a distance between the
various tribes making up the population and the danger of
bringing together rival tribes in the residential part of
the city is a reflection of far sight in urban planning,
comforted by an in-depth knowledge of ethnicity. In other
words, the ruler should strive to bring about an ethno-urban
homogeneity and prevent ethnic clashes which would
inevitably lead to segregation and transform the city into
divers ethnic groups which are inappropriately distributed.
In truth, many contemporary planners have not granted this
phenomenon enough importance in their urban plans. This has
resulted in the population’s return to internal immigration
on account of ethnic and family affiliations.
- Surrounding the city with walls was a feature of cities
before the industrial revolution. These walls had a twofold
function : first, preserving society within the walls as one
family (Ibn Abi Rabie does say : “as one household”), and
second, protection in view of the scarcity of weapons at the
times and the prevalence of wars, particularly in border
cities. Many Islamic cities had not been enclosed, in fact,
within walls, but the disintegration of the caliphate
structure into statelets and the breaking out of conflicts
between them led to the building of walled cities. The
Crusade invasions of Syria (Ash-Sham) and the threat they
posed for Egypt led to the erection of walls around cities
or their restoration. When Salah Eddine (Saladin) took over
the rule of Egypt, he brought with him a project for
defending Egypt and liberating Syria from the Crusaders. The
project included the fortification of the internal front by
building a wall around the two parts of the capital of
Egypt, Cairo and Fustat, to facilitate their defence,
especially as Fustat, having no walls to protect it, had
been burnt by the Fatimid vizier Shaur lest it should fall
in the hands of the Crusaders, for it had no protective wall
at the time. From the Fatimid experience, it became apparent
to Salah Eddine that it would be extremely difficult to
defend Fustat and Cairo at the same time. He realised that
if he were to build walls for each part of the capital, each
of the two cities would need its own military force to
defend it and therefore the army reserved for the protection
of the capital would be divided in two and weakened. Thus,
it was necessary to build the wall and extend it to include
Fustat and build a fortress halfway between them to serve as
a command post for the army defending the capital(20).
The development of artillery between the fifteenth and
nineteenth centuries gradually reduced the importance of
city walls. These walls crumbled under the onslaught of
cannons and artillery developed by the Ottomans and the
Europeans. With the help of cannon fire, the Ottomans spread
terror unknown back then. In their battle against the
Hungarians in Mohatch, cannon fire broke the line of
Hungarian troops in two halves. The Ottoman cannon balls
fired on the troops defending Malta in 1565 AD reached sixty
thousand in number, while those with which the Ottomans
showered Famagosta between 1571 and 1572 AD were estimated
at 18,000(21). Gradually, Europe began to react to the
crumbling of walls before the artillery, and low but thick
sand barricades begun to replace walls, as cannon balls sunk
into them and fizzled out. Then, the Europeans started using
posts which they called cavaliers at the highest points and
fitted them with defensive artillery. This system proved to
be efficient, and was therefore soon generalised to all of
Europe. Napoleon used this technique by setting up a
fortress on the Derrassa hills from which he attacked Cairo
and Al Azhar during the first revolution of Cairo(22). This
led to a gradual drop in the importance of walls and
fortresses and gave birth to new concepts of defending
cities. In 1919 AD, Paris removed its walls which had become
obsolete and ineffective(23).
- Ibn Abi Rabie also instructed the ruler to bring to the
city all the crafts it needs, which condition is conducive
to its prosperity and guarantees that all its needs are met.
It is apparent that Sharia scholars did not contribute much
to what Ibn Abu Rabie wrote, though his writings were
subjected to further analysis and clarification by both Ibn
Khaldun(24) and Al Mawardi(25).
Legal politics scholars’ perception of architectural
edifices :
One question lingers about the perception by Sharia-based
politics scholars of the architectural edifices related to
authority and power. This relation is seen by Ibn Khaldun as
a direct correlation between the might of a state and the
greatness of its architectural achievements. Ibn Khaldun
emphasised the variations in terms of the beauty, solemn
character and strength of buildings in accordance with the
might of the states. In this respect, he says : “The status
of edifices can vary to such an extent that they can hardly
be noticed. If we consider what has been reported to us
about the Abbasids, the Umayyads and the Ubaydiyyins and if
we compare the authentic accounts thereof to what we see in
these states which are lower in rank, we will find a great
difference owed to the variations existing in their might
and the edifices of their dynasties. All monuments are a
reflection of power as stated so one can infer from these
remnants the status of states in their power, weakness,
might or smallness”(26). Ibn Radwane Al Malqi(27) considered
architectural edifices as the pride and assets of the state
and the means of achieving wellbeing. He enumerated the
achievements of the sultans of Muslims in terms of lofty
edifices imposing architectural structures(28).
However, scholars perceived these edifices in a different
way. Caliph Annassir indulged in building in Andalusia to
such extents that he had gold and silver-plated tiles in his
dome at the Zahraa palace, spending huge amounts of money
and fashioning the ceiling in fascinating bright yellow and
virginal white. Upon its completion, he sat there with his
court and asked his entourage, the viziers and the servants
present there, boasting about the dome’s wonders and beauty
: “Have you seen or heard of a king before me who has
achieved such wonder or been capable of it ? They said : “By
Allah, no, O Commander of the Faithful. You are unique in
every respect and no other king has ever preceded you in
these marvels nor have we heard of such a tale”. He was
delighted at their response. As he sat there, the magistrate
Mundhir Ibn Said entered with his head bowed in dejection
and took a seat. The King repeated what he had said about
the golden ceiling and his ability to have it fashioned.
Tears filled the eyes of the judge and fell on his beard,
and he said :“By Allah, Commander of the Faithful, I never
thought Satan, may Allah damn him, would work havoc on you
to such extents, nor that you would allow him to dominate
you so much, with all the blessings that Allah bestowed on
you and favoured you with over all the people, so that you
end up in the same status as the infidels”. Annassir was
then irritated and said : “Watch your words, and how can you
put me on par with the infidels ?” The judge said : “Yes,
did not Allah say : “And were it not that (all) men might
become of one (evil) way of life, We would provide for
everyone that blasphemes against Allah Most Gracious, silver
roofs for their houses, and (silver) stairways on which to
go up” (Azzukhruf, verse 33). The Caliph grew sullen and
cried in repentance to Allah, then thanked the judge and
ordered the demolition of the golden dome(29).
Ibn Khaldun was perspicacious when he identified the link
between the architectural edifices, the state and the
dynamic of building. The process of urbanisation is seen by
Ibn Khaldun as made up of four stages. The first stage is
when the core of the city is small and its inhabitants and
buildings are few. The following phase is marked by a
progression in building and a diversification that
accompanies the growth of population. In the third phase,
building comes to a halt and the population stabilises at a
certain level. Then comes the final phase or the return to
square one and to the phase of simplicity and civilisational
deterioration, then, at times, Allah raises after it another
generation(30).
Speaking about the first phase, Ibn Khaldun says : ‘When
towns are planned for the first time their inhabitants are
scare as are the building materials such as stones, lime and
other wall coating materials such as tiles, marble, glass,
mosaic and mother-of-pearl. Thus, building is at that stage
rustic and uses primitive tools’. ‘Comes the second phase’,
Ibn Khaldun says, ‘when the pace of building picks up and
the citizens grow in numbers, the building materials become
more available as the activity becomes more intense and the
craftsmen more numerous until the city reaches its utmost
limits. This phase is marked by population growth, an
abundant city planning and the emergence of sophisticated
building materials such as marble and mosaics.
In the third phase : “The pace of building slackens, the
population recedes and the building activities diminish. As
a result, building skills are lost, work diminishes in
response to the dwindling population. Subsequently, less
building materials such as stones, marbles and others are
brought to the city. Building relies more on the materials
already existing in older edifices which are transferred
from one building to another as more and more buildings,
palaces and houses are abandoned”. This phase marks the
regression of the building activity in all its forms as a
result of the dwindling population, which in turn obviates
the need for more building materials which are substituted
by materials salvaged from existing edifices.
In the final stage : ‘The materials are moved from one
palace to another and from one house to another till most of
it is lost, and people revert to the rustic way of
building’. This return to the origin marks a full circle
that resembles the life cycle of the human being. He starts
out as a child, grows up then becomes old. This is very
similar to reality because urbanism is a human phenomenon
that blossoms and fades away just like humans and their life
conditions(31).
Ibn Khaldun adds that these phases are closely linked to the
life span of the state itself. The first phase of a state is
one of foundation. It is a phase marked by lack of
sophistication, shunning of over-indulgence, and of
harshness and bravery. The second phase, which he labelled
as the phase of “autocratic” is one marked by a transition
from the life of coarse simplicity or primitive building to
extravagant life or sophisticated building. In the third
phase, all link to primitive life disappears and is replaced
by indulgence in a life of luxury that induces cowardice,
loss of manliness and bravery. This is the phase of
“idleness and meekness”. The final stage often coincides
with the demise of the state which totally falls into
oblivion as Ibn Khaldun says. This marks also the demise of
the civilisation istelf(32). Before Ibn Khaldun, Al Mawardi
had said : ‘The state emerges at first with rough and
uncompromising dispositions to ensure the obedience of
people. Then it becomes moderate and straight so that the
rule achieves stability and quietude, and finally ends with
the spread of the tyranny and weakness resulting from
decline and lack of firmness(33).
While the luxury that accompanies building and its
adornments is often a civilisational aspect that denotes
elevation, it is also an important factor in the political
demise of the state. Ibn Khaldun says in this regard :
“Luxury, wealth, easy and peaceable life under the rule of
the state leads to meekness and inactivity and a tendency to
give in to majestic inclinations in matters of building and
clothing, seeking abundance and sophistication in the two as
much as in the furniture and objects of luxury and other
accessories. The coarseness of simplicity disappears and
bravery and tribalism shrink and people indulge in the
wealth that Allah bestows on them. Their offspring and
successors grow up in this luxurious life, become too
arrogant to serve themselves, and develop a contempt for
anything related to patriotism, and so on so forth until
this becomes part of their traits and a way of life. Their
tribal instincts and their bravery diminish as the
generations succeed one another, until the day comes when
these instincts disappear totally, signalling the end of the
state”(34).
Ibn Khaldun says : “When people indulge in luxury, they
develop a taste for new occupations such as singing for
example, which can only be engaged in by those who have
secured all the basics, and this is the last feature of a
civilisation.” Ibn Khaldun refers to music as an advanced
form of art and as an employment(35). The inherent danger of
luxury is human’s inability to defend themselves, as they
get accustomed a pampered life. They may hire people to
discharge their duties for them to such extents that they
have recourse to a third party to defend them in return for
money. It is not a secret that the mercenaries hired to
defend a country are its most dangerous enemy(36).
Machiavelli says in this regard that mercenaries are useless
troops being divided, greedy and having no regard for order
or respect for covenants or agreements. They fake bravery
before friends but are cowards before foes. They herald the
end of the state at their own hands or by paving the way for
the covetous from outside(37). To a large extent, the words
of Machiavelli are true, but there are special cases in
history that are exceptional such as the Mamlukes, even
though towards the end of their reign they presented traits
similar to those of mercenaries.
The Mamluke Phenomenon :
The Mamlukes took utmost interest in architecture and
edification. Having been at first a political phenomenon,
they were largely motivated by politics to build and edify.
The Mamluke regime was unique and no similar phenomenon can
be found in ancient civilisations even though it was based
on slavery as a way of raising armies. The unique character
of the Mamluke system lied in its capacity to become an
institution governed by strict rules, which also enabled its
members to lay their hands on the power, defend the lands of
Islam and fight ferocious enemies such as the Crusaders and
the Mongols in particular.
Muslim historians became aware of the importance of the
Mamluke system and its dedication to defending Islam after
the collapse of the Abbassid caliphate and the fall of
Baghdad in the hands of the Mongol invaders. The most famous
of these historians was Ibn Khaldun, who attributed this
phenomenon to the Arabs’ overindulgence in opulence(38).
The creation of the Mamluke order in Egypt dates back to the
reign of Assalih Najm Eddine Ayyub, who owned many white
slaves from Turkey who stood by his side in his times of
crisis when he was deserted by the Kurds. He bought large
numbers of these slaves and instituted a strict regime for
their education until they became his personal troops after
the Mansura battle where they defeated the Crusaders and the
Ain Jalut battle where they repelled the Mongols(39).
Subsequently, decision-making became their prerogative in
Egypt and Syria. Al Qudsi says in this regard : “The Turks
are now in charge of the Muslim common people. People do not
carry weapons of any kind, and saboteurs have come to be
intimated by them. Muslims have come to be reassured about
the safety of their families and people accepted the word of
the Turks(40).
However, this institution became weak and ineffectual for
several reasons, the most prominent of which was failure to
purchase, raise and educate Mamlukes at a tender age and
thus ensure their loyalty to the state. Ibn Khaldun
considered this activity an industry and said in this regard
: “In any given state, the newly introduced breed (referring
to the Mamlukes) differ in their allegiance to the head of
state according to the age at which they join the service of
the ruler. In normal cases, solidarity in fighting and
defence is achieved through blood ties which explain the
natural solidarity with parents and relatives against
strangers and unrelated people, as stated above. Thus,
allegiance, companionship in slavery or alliance equate
family relations, for though family bonds are natural, they
are also fictitious. The factors that gave birth to
solidarity for the Mamlukes were companionship, mutual
defence, force of habit and co-existence with the educator
and mentor in all other matters of life and death. Once the
homogeneity bred by all this occurs, it is followed by
solidarity and allegiance. This is a natural process among
people and the same applies in the Mamluke-breeding
industry. Between the breeder and the bred is woven a
special degree of bonding that confirms homogeneity. Though
the blood ties are not there, the outcome of these ties is
there”(41). This was reflected in the concept of the family
among the Mamlukes who ruled over Egypt for more than two
centuries and a half (648-923AH/1120-1520AD). For them, the
family was not the one made up of the father, mother and
child. They did not even have a family life as the concept
is perceived despite the fact that most members of the
Mamluke community insisted on marrying and having children,
and also on indulging in the pleasures of having concubines,
slaves and mistresses. Instead, the Mamluke regime was built
on bonds that brought the Mamlukes together in slavery,
freedom, education and service. The ties that bound the
young Mamluke to an older one were very much similar to
those of parenthood or brotherhood, and in the life of the
Mamluke only one type of family ties existed. This is best
illustrated by the Mamluke terminology, as the Master(42)
stands for the father, while the Agha(43), and the Ani(44)
is the younger brother. Some Mamluke sources indicate that
the term ‘brother’ is a synonym of the term ‘khashdah’(45).
‘Fraternity’ is also synonymous with ‘kashdashiyya’. It was
often the case that the son did not replace his father in a
post nor did he inherit his fortune(46).
In fact, it was the Mamluke who replaced his master and even
inherited his property and took over his harem(47). Clear
evidence of this was in the fact that a master did not eat
with his children or harem but preferred to eat with his
Mamlukes. Some Mamluke deeds of ownership even stipulated
that the master was more deserving than anyone else of the
proceeds of the waqfs dedicated by the mamlkue(48). Thus,
the family life of the Mamlukes was not built around the
relationship of husband, wife and children, but more around
the bond between the master and his slaves, and the Mamlukes
with each other(49).
However, the deterioration of this relationship based on
mutual respect and fellowship was a prelude to the
disintegration and collapse of the Mamluke state and its
subordination to the Ottomans. Al Qudsi relates a story in
his history book that occurred during the rule of Ashraf
Barsbey (825-841AH/1422-1437AD) and reflected the
deterioration of the state of Mamlukes at the Citadel where
they were raised and trained. The story is of significance
and hence we chose to summarise it here. It is based on an
account narrated by the scholar Sheikh Shams Eddine, who was
a teacher of the sultan’s Mamlukes at the Citadel, to Abu
Hamed Al Qudsi after he narrated it at a gathering of some
princes. Two Mamlukes fought each other and one of them
caused the death of the other. When news of the death
reached the sultan, he sent for the master teacher. When he
arrived in his presence, the sultan asked him : “Are you the
teacher of this class ? The teacher answered : “Yes, and I
receive pay, meat and provender”. The Sultan then asked :
‘How much is your pay ?”. “One thousand dirhams, five pounds
of meat and three pounds of provender’, he answered. The
sultan then said : “You spend the sultan’s pay, eat the meat
and use the provender, and yet you teach the Mamlukes to
kill one another ?”. The teacher answered : “No, your
Majesty, I only teach them Islam, the Quran, prayers and
good morals. They have learnt to kill each other from other
than me, and I know who it is”. The king said : “Who would
that be ?”, but the teacher said : “I cannot name him for I
fear him”. The sultan reassured him and granted him
immunity, so he said : “The Sultan is responsible for this”.
When the Sultan asked for clarifications, the teacher said
that the newly purchased Mamluke used to cross four stations
in his education, carried out in the many floors of the
citadel where he spent five years at each floor. At the
first floor, he is tasked with bringing shoes to people,
filling water jugs for ablutions and sweeping the floor. If
he manages these tasks well, he moves to the second floor
where he is allowed to go out for the Friday prayer at the
mosque. If he is deserving, he moves up and is allowed to
stand at the gate of the palace and carry the arrows of the
Agha when he is in service. If he completes the third
five-year term, he moves to the fourth, qualifies for an
allowance and is free to come and go with his aghas. Thus,
he spends twenty years learning morals from the Aghas and
the Khashdashs and being shaped by the confined and
restricted life he leads, the result being that he acquires
a soft and smooth demeanour with people, never disturbs
anyone and grows up to be like that. But now, when Your
Majesty hears that so and so arrived from the lands of the
Circassians (new Mamaluke), he sends a horse adorned with a
gold saddle to receive him in Aleppo and grants him full pay
and a subordinate to serve him. So, Your Majesty cannot
attribute the sin to the person who did not commit it”(50).
Another factor of the fall of the Mamluke state and its
annexation by the Ottomans was the stagnation of the Mamluke
institution which was unable to keep pace with development
and progress and to assimilate the transformations that were
occurring in the field of arms and war techniques, namely
the introduction of gunfire. Actually, the Ottomans defeated
the Mamlukes in the battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516 thanks to
the modernity of their weapons, while the Mamlukes loathed
firearms and considered that excellence in fighting was the
result of equestrian skills and personal bravery(51).
There are a number of questions about how scholars perceived
the Mamlukes rule which was based on slaves imported and
trained in military fashion, and how legitimate this rule
was.
Scholars looked to the Mamluke regime for the protection of
the community since they lacked the fighting skills and the
disposition to do so. They needed the help of the Mamlukes
to protect society and adopted hence a military regime to
establish security in the Egyptian and Syrian towns, and to
protect society against any external invasion. The scholars
did not pledge allegiance to a particular regime, faction or
governmental system. Every stable Muslim military regime
that was capable of protecting the community from harm was
deemed acceptable. According to their political theory, a
military state was necessary to preserve a sound
organization of society, and that when the Mamlukes fought
against each other over the throne, the scholars recognised
the right of the victorious to rule, and safeguarded hence
society against these conflicts. This also explains their
acceptance in Greater Syria and Egypt of the authority of
the Ottomans who triumphed over the Mamlukes(52), since the
welfare and safety of society were their one and only
priority. Scholars helped Al Zahir Baybars to transfer the
Abbassid caliphate to Egypt in order to confer legitimacy on
the Mamluke reign. Scholars represented the educated
component of the Islamic society and were well versed in
literature, the Sharia and Islamic rites. They worked as
magistrates, imams, jurists, teachers, Quran memorizers and
narrators of the noble tradition of the Prophet. Some of
them were employed in the sultans’ courts while others
worked as muhtassibin (bookkeepers) and viziers in the
Mamluke government, and thus served as a link between the
authority and the society.
Second framework :
The second framework pertains to the accumulation of
building and architectural experience by Muslims and the
problems this activity faced and which were submitted to the
scholars who provided solutions. These solutions often gave
rise to general rules which were respected by the
authorities having been respected by the society, and
considered a Sharia-based law. This framework explains the
dynamic of building in the Islamic city and the rules and
criteria according to which edifices were built. Scholars
recorded the jurisprudence related to building very early in
history. The Egyptian scholar Abdullah Ibn Abdulhakam
(214AH/829AD) wrote Kitab Al Bunyan (The Book of Building)
which was mentioned in several fiqh sources though no
manuscript of the book has ever been found. However, it
remains an important and early indication of the development
of building-related jurisprudence in the city of Fustat
where Ibn Abdulhakam lived(53).
However, this framework was not sufficiently studied. This
omission resulted in the emergence of two separate schools
of thought on the study of the Islamic city. The first
school pertained to the old orientalist movement which
oscillated in describing this city between Islamic, Arab or
oriental, and saw nothing in this city save its narrow
streets, its multitude of side streets, zigzagging and
confusing labyrinth of alleyways and its introverted
houses(54).
They considered in the urban aspect of these cities an
unstable, anarchic and disorganized scene where ill-aired
residential blocks merge as a result of their inward looking
windows. The members of this school saw in the Islamic city
nothing but its negative aspects, and did not attempt to
understand the society and its rules. They did not either
analyse the interconnected factors that contributed to
giving the city its general outlook, whether these factors
were political, environmental, geographical, social or
religious, and without which no city or its architecture can
be understood.
As a consequence, a new and more objective school of
thought emerged. It viewed the city not as a chaotic
agglomeration of quarters and houses, but as a way of
organising the urban environment that takes into
consideration the desires and real needs of the population,
in total harmony with a well-integrated social
composition(55). If some parts of the city appeared to some
scholars to be anarchic, they may constitute on the opposite
a pattern that differs from architectural planning and has
its own aesthetic value(56).
The question raised here is the following: Were not the
Islamic cities planned by the authorities ? To answer this
question, it is necessary to describe the nature of this
city and the method of dealing with it. The ancient cities
that Muslims entered in conquest were left as they were and
the only additions made were the buildings needed for the
practicing of Islam such as mosques. They treated the old
edifices of these cities in accordance with the Sharia
rulings which divided buildings into :
- Necessary buildings : these include places of worship such
as mosques for prayers to be performed and fortresses, walls
and outposts that serve to protect the lands of Islam ;
- Recommended buildings : such as minarets, which are
favoured because they serve the purpose of calling people to
pray, markets where people buy the goods they need and that
spare them the hardship of seeking these goods from afar.
The Sharia encouraged the building of markets so that
tradesmen would settle there and people would find it easy
to purchase their goods.
- Permitted buildings : such as houses built to be
exploited. The Sharia has sought to preserve religion, life,
property, honour and offspring. Allah has created material
means that human beings use in their quest to preserve these
elements. One of these means is building houses and abodes
that serve to preserve the lives, safeguard belongings and
honour of people, and where families prosper and the progeny
learns how to remain attached to religion and loyal to
society(57).
- Proscribed buildings : These include the building of
premises for abominable acts, such as bars, brothels,
gambling houses, building over graves and building on lands
belonging to others. This category of edifices was removed
by Muslims from the old cities they conquered.
As for new cities, we have looked at Fustat as a model and
there we can perceive a general plan laid out by the
authorities which stops at the borders of a quarter, a
district or a neighbourhood but contains enough roads to
meet the needs of Muslims in accordance with the
circumstances at the time of the planning and the means of
transport used then. Abu Yaala Al Furaa speaks about the
planning of Basra in the following terms : “The companions
of the Prophet urbanised Basra during the rule of ‘Umar and
turned it into living quarters for the tribes of its
population. They made the width of its main street 60 cubits
and the width of the other streets twenty cubits. Each
alleyway's width was set at seven cubits. At the centre of
every neighbourhood a wide square was reserved for tethering
horses and burying the dead. The houses were built directly
next to each other. This was done following decisions that
were taken after agreement was reached or a clear
indisputable text was found’(58).
But a question lingers on how cities and districts expanded
in an organised organic way without the intervention of the
authorities, and within a law that governed and bound every
member of society, and which was recognised and applied by
everyone out of their own will because it was inspired from
the general rules of Islamic fiqh ? The respect of religion
and of the values it carries and the entrenching of this
religion in society was the impetus to this.
Thus emerges in the jurisprudence of building and town
planning what is known as easement and possession with
prejudice. Servitude is a material and moral ownership. The
material one pertains to the site of the edifice, and the
moral one flows from the general values of society. Of these
rights is the right to build in height, the right of
easement and the right of water following(59). As for the
possesssion with prejudice, it means that the person who is
the first to build acquires a number of privileges that the
neighbour who comes after has to respect and take into
consideration when he builds his own dwelling. The first
house architecturally defines the second because of these
first-comer privileges. This rule was based on the Prophet’s
saying : “Do not harm and accept no harm (La darar wala
dirar)”(60).
Based on the above, we can formulate a conception of how the
town or district take shape through the many and successive
building operations carried out in accordance with the rules
of building-related jurisprudence. The streets of the city
become established after a period of time and their form is
determined by the category of people who use them. It
becomes then impossible to build further in these streets
because they become the ownership of the community of
Muslims and their control goes to their users. Each
inhabitant in a city crosses some streets more than others,
and in doing so becomes part of the group controlling the
streets that he uses. Thus, the number of persons in control
of a street varies from one street to another, this being
conditional upon the frequency of their use of this road
according to the location and direction of the road.
When a new neighbourhood is built, the construction follows
on the same pattern as the other parts of the city or
neighbourhood. If a given street is extensively used by
pedestrians, it will become wider and its users will, in
exercise of their right of easement(61) and right of
passage(62), ban any building that may cause the road to
narrow. Building goes on and structures are erected next to
each other until the roads take their shape and the limits
become defined following the use of people. Indeed, a road
is a reflection of the wishes, capacities and values of
people and results from the accumulation of decisions taken
by the inhabitants. It is built on a priority of use, and
thus we can produce a clear explanation of how the road
networks emerged, for example, in the area between the city
of Fustat and the Fattimid Citadel -Cairo-, and in Bulaq,
the suburb lying to the north-west of Cairo.
In consideration of the above, we can divide roads in
Islamic cities into three categories :
1- Public roads(63) such as the Great Kasbah of Cairo which
links the Futuh and Zweila gates. The expansion of this
kasbah came as a natural outcome of the intensive use by
large numbers of citizens of this road of which the
extensions are known as the Khiyamiyya, Al Mugharbilin and
Assuruj, and smaller parts such as Addarb Al Ahmar, Taht
Arrubu Street, Sikkat Al Habaniyya and Saleeba in Cairo. A
document has mentioned the public road linking Cairo and
Bulaq(64) as a road to which all Muslims had a right(65).
The state supervised this type of roads, maintained them and
prevented any violation thereof.
2- Half public, half private roads : are of a lesser degree
than public ones. Their use by the whole Muslim community is
less extensive than the first one and therefore the rights
of the citizens living on that street are greater. This type
of roads often leads to a public road and is the starting
point of a network of more private roads.
3- Private roads of which the best example is the dead-end
road. This type of road is owned by the inhabitants only,
hence its private nature. It includes the road that a gate
separates from the public or half public half private road,
the door serving as a separation and the roads beyond this
gate being the property of the inhabitants of the quarter or
neighbourhood which starts at the gate. One of the most
eloquent examples of this is the road of Atfat Al Hammam
situated behind the Zweila gate, the Atfat Al Misk gate in
Khiyamiyya, and the gate of Harat Burjuwan. The gate served
as an indication that the authority of the state in city
matters stopped and the authority of society started. This
society exercised its prerogatives in maintaining the
quarter, which was made of a labyrinth of side streets which
were either open or dead-ended and which criss-crossed with
each other but ultimately all led to the gate. The right of
easement of the streets of the quarter is restricted to the
inhabitants and no one, not even a new buyer, had the right
to use them in any way other than authorised by all the
parties in the quarter such as to install a water drain, an
arcade or a skylight(66).
It is clear that the authority here is collective and the
power rests in the hands of the community. If this community
fails to reach consensus, they have recourse to a magistrate
and not to the state because the power of the state is
political while the court represents the Sharia and its
judgement is binding. If we look at the cases submitted to
the judges or ulemas for fatwas, we can infer a number of
jurisprudential rulings related to the layout and building
of quarters and neighbourhoods.
Cases on the gates of quarters are some of the most
important cases that reveal how authority was exercised
within the quarter. A member of the neighbourhood may, after
approval of all the other inhabitants, build a gate for the
quarter on condition that he gains the right to extend an
arcade over the gate so as to extend space in his house.
This right was acquired by Hassan Agha when he lodged a
request with the judge to allow him to build a gate for the
street of Al Qazzazin and, in return, build an arcade on top
of it. He was given permission since no one in the quarter
objected(67). The court of al-Bab al-'Ali recorded a
similar request presented by Yusuf Ibn Mohammed, who
explained in his request that the gate of the quarter where
his house was located in Derb Sheikh Faraj in Bulaq had
collapsed a long time before and nobody had cared for its
restoration. He proposed to repair the gate at his expense
and build a floor on top of the gate to enlarge his house
which is adjoining the gate. He obtained the permission of
his neighbours and the judge authorised him to renovate the
gate and build the floor(68).
What if an inhabitant were to object ? Ibn Rami related in
his book “Al I’lan Bi Ahkam Al Bayane” the story of a man in
Tunisia who owned many houses in a dead-end quarter and had
one neighbour, who owned a single house in the same quarter.
The first man built a gate at the opening of the quarter.
The neighbour with the one house complained about this
action to the judge, who ordered that the gate be
demolished(69). The laws governing quarters stipulate that
the restoration or maintenance of their facilities must be
carried out on equal basis by their inhabitants, unless one
of them takes charge of that against a privilege granted to
him by the judge.
The relationship between the inhabitants of a quarter is one
of solidarity. It does not relate to the physical
maintenance and preservation of the quarter but goes beyond
that to the preservation of society’s structure and values.
The following story is an illustration of this. A group of
inhabitants of the Bab Chaariyya neighbourhood approached
the Hanafite judge at the Bab Shaariyya Court, Abu Al Hassan
Ibn Abu Al Yussur. Among them were Jaafar Ibn Abdullah,
Ahmed Ibn Sherif Mohieddine, Sherif Abdelbasset Ibn Sherif
Al Qassem, Haj Shems Eddine Ibn Abi Bakr, and Haj Mansour
Ibn Saud. They all complained that in their neighbourhood,
located inside Derb Zaed Ennil, have come to live a group of
women of disrepute, and that the inhabitants sustain
prejudice as a result. The judge ordered Abu al-Hassan bin
Aba al-Usr, the owner of the women’s house, to evict them in
three days, and instructed that only people of good morals
be allowed to live in the quarter. This case was registered
on 14 Rabie I 1016AH/1606AD(70).
The authority of the community remained prevalent within the
quarter. But with the passage of time, the post of the
neighbourhood’s sheikh was created. The sheikh was a citizen
chosen by the inhabitants to be in charge of the daily
matters of the neighbourhood. His position was voluntary and
he was often one of the prominent wealthy or scholarly
figures. When the state began to impose its authority over
the quarters inside cities in 19th century, the quarter lost
its social unity and its authority was taken up by the
state. The sheikh of the neighbourhood became a government
employee with a salary as it turned into the eye that the
government kept on the neighbourhood(71).
While the above was the focal point of the jurisprudence
related to town planning and architecture in the Islamic
civilisation, there is another aspect that has confirmed the
Islamic civilisational innovation in this regard, namely
Muslims perception of water as the beating heart of life and
a gift from Allah.
Islamic Perception of Water :
The Islamic perception of water is based on its status as
the source of all life, a gift from Allah and sustenance for
knowledge. In addition, water has a purification function
since it cleanses the Muslim physically and spiritually.
Moreover, watering another human being or an animal is
considered a form of charity -zakat- in Islam. The Muslim
uses water to cleanse himself before praying, which confers
on water a vital importance. No house, building or place was
devoid of water in Cairo, Arrashid, Cordoba , Fes, Baghdad,
Damascus, Esfahan and Bukhara. The concept of water as a
means of purification merged with aesthetic and even
poetical ideas that took body in the water architecture that
adorned the cities of the Islamic world, particularly in
Andalusia with its dreamy palaces. In these palaces we
notice a strong sensorial presence, particularly in the
visual impact of the arabesques of Islamic art. The harmony
of light and shadow, manifest in the carvings and
muqarnassat (stalactite vault designs) adorned with floral
decorations and golden mosaics, was always completed with
water features that flowed inside the lavish halls as an
element of decoration and a mandatory architectural
component of Andalusian palaces. The contemplation of water
in its natural environment or between the walls of a house
heightened the feeling in the Muslim’s soul of the greatness
of Allah the bestower of this blessing. The sound of water
was a source of serenity and inspired a feeling of safety.
Water transferred the living and dynamic nature into closed
architectural structures and converted them into gardens of
marble, tiles and plaster. Water also enhances the light
element of the small architectural creation by receiving and
reflecting the light that falls on it and on its
surroundings like a celestial body with no clear source of
light. The reflection of sunlight on water and its
penetration into its liquid body generate the seven colours
of the rainbow, like a foretaste and an ephemeral indication
of heaven. Thanks to its diaphanous nature, water
contributes to highlighting the beauty of decorations as its
transparency does not occult the pieces of multicoloured
mosaics that coat the beds of fountains and ponds. Water
also takes shapes that vary according to the environment
where it flows. At times, it is a sweeping torrent, at
others, it rises powerfully to the sky then falls down again
in a perfect cycle. In many other times, it is flat and
clear and its serenity is only marred by the movement of
waves provoked by winds or falling water.
The princes of Andalusia have always wanted to merge the
religious concept and definition of water with its nature as
an aesthetic element. In the internal decorations of the
columns of their palaces, the concept of the garden was
recurrent. The live nature existing outside the walls of
their palaces in the form of trees, flowers, fruits, sky and
water, was rivalled by another garden within the walls with
trees in marble (columns), fine flowers and fruits in mosaic
(floral decoration), domes on muqarnass, then water, the
only element that maintained its live nature as no artist
could convert it into a dead nature(72).
All of this was linked to the Islamic predilection for
gardens, perhaps because they provided a drastic change and
relief from the desert environment closely associated with
the Arab society.
In the Islamic world, the Eden under which run rivers is the
ultimate promise of eternal happiness. The Andalusian
compared heaven to the city of Zahraa which was claimed to
be legendary. Interest in water as an aesthetic feature in
architecture was reportedly phenomenal. At the palace of the
governor of Toledo existed a domed pavilion which was
designed in such a way that water was conveyed through a
mechanical engineering process to the ceiling of the dome
before falling down in sheets of water along the sides of
the pavilion which thus becomes encircled in constant
rainwater. The ruler of Toledo used to sit there without a
drop of water touching him.
The Surur Palace, known also as Al Jaafariyya, housed ponds,
fountains and water canals that reflected all the pavilions,
thus giving them an illusion of vast space and magnifying
their beauty and splendour. All of this is confirmed by the
living model of Arab palaces that has survived entirely
untouched, namely Al Hambra palace in Granada(73).
Benefiting from Water Resources :
Muslims have been used to drawing benefits from the various
water sources. This was reflected in their categorisation of
these sources, a categorisation that clearly shows the
impact of fiqh. Because water is the beating heart of life,
scholars have taken special interest in its laws and
rulings.
There are three categories of water : river water, well
water and spring water. Each of these types has many
sub-divisions.
First : Rivers :
There are three categories of rivers :
First category : the great rivers created by Allah such as
Tigris, the Euphrates and the Nile. Everyone has the right
to benefit from these rivers.
Second category : The small rivers created by Allah and of
which there are two types: one type has an abundant flow of
water and can be utilised by all the community. The other
type has shallower waters and in this case, and starting
from the higher to the lower locations, each group can
benefit from the volume of two feet of dammed water, as in
the hadith.
Third category : This group includes man-made rivulets
flowing from a greater river flowing close to them. In this
case, the river is a common property and cannot be assigned
to one person over the others.
Abu Yaala(74) explains that this advantage is not common to
all times and all countries. It may differ in five ways
according to customs and needs :
- Difference in the nature of the land, fertile or
unfertile.
- Difference of the crops and trees cultivated.
- Difference in seasons.
- Variation in planting and harvesting seasons.
- Difference in the status of the water, flowing or
stagnant, used in irrigation(75).
Second : Wells :
Another extracted resource is well water. The digging of
wells has three situations :
- A well dug for the use of passers-by and its water is
common property. Othman, may Allah be pleased with him, made
a waqf of the Roma well.
- Wells that start as private but finish as public, such as
the wells dug by nomads who benefit from them while
stationed on the land, but after their departure the well
becomes public.
- A well dug by a person for his use, on condition that when
he reaches water he allows the others to water their cattle
but not to irrigate their cultures. The Prophet (PBUH) said
: “He who withholds water from cattle shall be deprived of
the mercy of Allah on the Day of Judgement”. Needless to
say, irrigation consumes a lot more water than watering
animals(76).
Third : Springs
There are three categories of springs :
First : Springs created by Allah and not developed by human
beings. The same rule applies to these springs as to rivers.
Second : Springs developed by human beings in which case
they become the property of the person who caused them to
well forth.
Third : Springs developed by a person on his own property.
In this case, the person has the priority of the use of
this water for irrigating his land, but he must allow cattle
farmers to use the springs to water their animals(77).
Today, water sources have become diversified and include
desalinated seawater, recycled waste water in addition to
rainwater. The utilisation of these waters also varies in
accordance with the needs felt in terms of time and space,
true to the saying of Abu Yaala that usage is determined as
per customs and needs.
Utilising Waters :
In pre-Islamic times, customs ruled in matters of water
utilisation. Nomadic tribes in the Arab Peninsula settled in
certain areas. Within the precincts of the sites where they
settled, called the Harem, the tribe determined the scope of
its utilisation of the subterranean and surface water
resources existing close to their campsite and falling
within its precincts, all the while granting due respect to
the rights of other tribes in neighbouring areas. Another
concept existed, al hema (sanctity), and referred to the
readiness of the tribe to defend its rights. It is made of
two elements :
The first element determines the physical delineation of the
precincts as drawn up on the lands. The second element
refers to the moral and legal rights of the tribe’s entity.
The violation of any one of these elements resulted in the
tribe’s rising to defend its sanctity.
When Islam emerged as a mission of reform and renewal, it
approved all the prevailing customs and conventions, but
annulled all the concepts that consecrated the individual
property of water and absolute easement rights, water being
primarily and ultimately the property of Allah, and should
be made available to all. Water became a common property
that could neither be monopolised, nor owned or sold, as the
Prophet’s hadith says : “People are partners in three :
water, pasture and fire”. This clearly shows the
illegitimacy of individual ownership of these three
elements. Therefore, water cannot be sold. Mohammed Ibn
Ishaq reports that Abdullah Ibn Abi Bakr narrated on ‘Umar
that Aicha said : “The Prophet (PBUH) warned against selling
water”. Abu Yusuf said : Our interpretation, and Allah knows
better, of this is that he warned against selling water
before it is poured into containers, and these containers do
not include wells and pools(78). The hadith proscribes the
selling of water, but judge Abu Yusuf sees in his
jurisprudence that water can be sold when the person exerts
efforts in collecting it and pouring it into containers.
In another hadith, Jaber Ibn Abdullah says : “The Prophet
(PBUH) proscribed the sale of water surplus”(79). Imam
Annawawi says in his interpretation of this hadith : “The
injunction against the sale of water surplus came against
the withholding of this water from cattle. If a person owns
a well that produces water in excess of his needs and there
are in the vicinity grazing lands that have no other source
of water than this, the owners of the cattle are unable to
let them graze unless they can water them from that well. In
this case, the owner of the well is forbidden from denying
the cattle access to the water surplus which he should make
accessible against no return. If he does not, the owners of
the cattle will not allow them to graze, and therefore his
withholding of the water is tantamount to his withholding
grazing”(80). Thus, the person becomes responsible for
withholding two public property components : water and
grazing on which an unequivocal proscription was pronounced
by the Prophet. The concept of the harem and the sanctity of
the campsite, which previously denoted a form of tribalism
in owning the rights to benefiting from and defending water,
evolved to take on a more functional character in accordance
with the precepts of Islam. Indeed, Islam deals with
sanctity of the sources of water such as wells, springs and
clefts according their categories. Each was granted
inviolable precincts that varied according to the nature of
the water and its abundance. The purpose of delineating
these precincts was to guarantee fairness in the
distribution of water through Ijtihad following the location
and movement of water in the bowels of the earth(81).
Muslim jurisprudents have endeavoured to generalise the
benefit of water to all, as a public right guaranteed by the
state(82). They even put the state in charge of cleaning
public rivers and maintaining their bridges. If a source of
water is owned by a given particular, it is up to them to
maintain it. Imam Abu Yusuf issued many useful fatwas in how
the members of these groups should carry out their duties.
He said : “Your Majesty asked about a group of individuals
who wished to dig a river fed by the Tigris or the Euphrates
and exploit it jointly. How should they proceed ? All of
them should get together and start digging from the upper
levels to the lower ones. Whenever they reach a land
belonging to one of them, that person stops digging, and so
on and so forth until they reach the lowest part. Some
scholars said that the river should be dug from the highest
to the lowest levels. When the work is finished, the fees of
everybody who has participated in the digging should be
worked out. Since the river is to be used by every person
who drinks from it and waters his land, all the members of
the community should bear the costs jointly, each making his
contribution according to his material ability. Your Majesty
can apply any of these two opinions. Then he said: If the
owners of the river feared its overflowing and wished to
consolidate its banks but were met with the refusal of some
of them to participate, and they can perceive danger in not
doing so, then tell them that they should reinforce it on
the basis of personal shares. If no danger is perceived,
they must not be forced to do so and every person has to
reinforce the stretch of the river allocated to him(83).
(1) Ismail Al Ajlouni : Unveiling the Hidden and Clearing
the Confused, vol. 1, page 513. Arrissala Institution,
Beirut, 2nd Edition, 1403AH.
(2) Idem.
(3) Dr Abdulrahame Annufaissa : Responsibility of Architects
and Masons. Magazine of Contemporary Jurisprudence Research,
page 148, 6th year, issue No. 22, 1415AH.
(4) Nasser ‘Aref : On the Sources of Islamic Political
Heritage. International Institute for Islamic Thought,
Hernden, Virginia, United States of America, 1994.
(5) Cf. Khaled ‘Azab : Islamic Jurisprudence of Building.
Presshouse of Egyptian Universities, Cairo, 1997.
(6) Saleh AI Mohammed AI Khaled AI Rasheed : The Life and
Jurisprudence Choices of Abu AI Wafae Ibn ‘Uqail, Vol. 3, p.
701. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Sharia and Law,
University of AI Azhar, 1979.
(7) Ibn Qayyim AI Jawziyya : A'Lamu AI Mawqi’iyn 'An Rabbi
Al ‘Alamine', vol. 4, page 460-461. Dar AI Kutub Al
Haditha, 1968.
(8) Ibn Nujaim AI Hanafi : Al Bahr Raeq wa Sharh Kanz
Ad-Addaqaqii, vol. 5, page 11. On page 70 of the same
volume, the author says : 'I have not found any definition
of governance by the leading scholars. In his book AI
Khutat, Al Maqrizi says that the verb 'sassa' when affixed
to an action means to carry out this action. The person
becomes the 'saiss' of people by governing them, and a
person can be chosen by the people to lead and govern them
(sawwasahu al qaum). This is for the linguistic definition
of the word “siyyassa” (governance). Then it was described
as 'the set of man-made rules that guarantee the respect of
morals, the preservation of interests and of order.
Governance in this case is of two kinds: an equitable
governance that exacts right from the tyrannical and sinful,
and in this case it falls under the Sharia rules in terms of
bowing to the same set of rules. Many books have been
written about Sharia rulings. The other type is the
inequitable governance which is proscribed by the Sharia.
Commenting on this, Ibn' Abidine says in 'Minhat Al Khaleq
'ala al Bahr Ar-Raeq' that in the chapter dedicated to
fornication, the author said : “Governance is any act taken
by the ruler for a perceived interest, even if no particular
evidence exists thereof”. Mohieddine Qassem pointed out that
this definition was not mentioned in Ibn Nujaim Al Hanafi's
book “Kitab Assiyassa Ash-Shariyya”.
- Al Maqrizi : Al Khutat. Vol. 2, page 2.
- Ibn Nujaim Al Hanafi : Sharia Policy, manuscript of the
Azhariyya Library, No.496, compilations 269 and 287.
- Mohieddine Qassem: idem., pp. 77 and 78.
(9) Idem., page 85.
(10) Idem., pp. 86-87-88.
(11) Abu AI Hassan Ali Ibn Habeeb AI Basri Ash-Shafii AI
Mawardi : Tasheel Annadhar wa Taajil AI Dhafar Bi Akhlaqi Al
Mulk wa Siyassat AI Mulk. Page 161. Verified by Mohie Hilal
AI Sarhane, revised by Hassan Assaati. Dar Annahda AI
Arabiyya, Beirut 1981.
(12) Walid Al Munnais : Al Hisba ala Al Mudun wal Imrane,
pp. 46-47. Annals of the Faculty of Letters. University of
Kuwait. 16th Annal. Thesis 106, 1995-1996.
(13) Al Mawardi : previously cited reference.
(14) Abdulrahmane Ibn Muhammed Ibn Khaldun : Al Muqadimmah,
pp. 244-245, Dar Ibn Khaldun, Alexandria, 1998.
(15) Ibn Al Azraq : Badaii As-Sulak, vol. 2, page 764.
(16) Idem., pp. 765-766.
(17) Ibn Abi Rabie : Suluk Al Malek fi Tadbir Al Mamalik,
page 192. Authenticated by Naji Attakriti. Dar Al Andalus,
Beirut, 1981.
(18) Waleed Al Munnais : “Religious Interpretation of
Urbanisation”, page 22. Theses of the Kuwaiti Geographic
Society. Thesis No. 22, February 1984.
(19) Ibid., page 22.
(20) Ussama Abdulnaim : Walls of Salah Eddine and their Role
in the Survival of Cairo until the Mamluke Era, pp.
35-36-37. A Masters thesis. Faculty of Archaeology,
University of Cairo, 1992.
(21) Vernon Brodel : Material Civilisation, Economy and
Capitalism, Vol. 1, pp. 54-543. Translated by Dr Mostafa
Maher. Dar Al Fikr Liddirassat, Cairo, 1993.
(22) Abdulrahmane Al Hanafi Al Jabarti : Wondrous Monuments
in Biographies and Tales, vol. 3, pp. 34-35. Al Anwar Al
Muhammadia Press, Cairo, 1043AH.
(23) Seddiq Shihab Eddine : Town Planning and History of
Fortresses, page 453, Al Imara Magazine, 9th issue, 1939.
(24) Ibn Khaldun : Al Muqaddimmah, pp. 244-245.
(25) Al Mawardi : Tasheel Annadhar, pp. 161-162-163.
(26) Ibn Khaldun : Al Muqaddimah, pp. 224-242-243
(27) Abulqassem Abdullah Ibn Yusuf Ibn Radwan Annajari Al
Khazarji. He was born in 718AH/1318AD in Malaga in
Andalusia. He was a magistrate in Malaga then migrated from
Andalusia to work in the court of the Merinids in Morocco.
He died in 783AH/1381AD and left behind many books most of
which were in the form of letters to the Merinid dynasty.
See the preface of Dr. Ali Sami Annashar in his
authentication of the book : Ash-shuhub al-lami’a fi
ass-Siyassa an-Nafi’a of bin hadwan, pp. 3-31, Dar Athqafa,
Casablanca, 1984.
(28) Ibid., page 217.
(29) Dr. Akram Diaa Al ‘Umari : Values of Islamic Society
from a Historical Perspective, vol. 1, page 136. Series of
Kitab Al Ummah (39), Qatar, 1994.
(30) Ibn Khaldun : Al Muqaddimah, page 858. Authenticated by
Dr Ali Abdulwahed Wafi. Edition of Lajnat Al Bayane Al
Arabi, 1958.
(31) Waleed Al Munnais, idem., page 48.
(32) Zainab Al Hadhari : Philosophy of the History of Ibn
Khaldun, pp. 207-211. Dar Aththaqafa of Beirut, Cairo, 1979.
(33) Al Mawardi : Tasheel Annadhar wa Ta’jeel Ad-Dhafar,
page 155.
(34) Ibn Khaldun, Al Muqaddimah, vol. 2, page 424.
Authenticated by Ali Abdulwahid Wafi.
(35) Idem., vol. 3, page 969.
(36) Waleed Al Munnais, idem., page 50.
(37) Mechiavelli : The Prince, page 78. Translated by
Khairi Hammad. Dar Al Afaq Al Jadida, Beirut, 1981.
(38) Ibn Khaldun : Al Muqaddimah, page 192.
(39) Al Maqrizi : Al Khutat, vol. 2, pp. 236-237.
(40) Abdu Hamed Muhammed Abdullah Al Qudsi : Duwal Al Islam
Ash-Sharifat Al Bahiyya, pp. 119-124. Authenticated by Sobhi
Labeeb and Ulrich Harmon, German Institute for Oriental
Studies, Beirut, 1997.
(41) Ibn Khaldun, Al Muqaddimah, pp. 129-130.
(42) Ustadh (master) is an arabicised term, as there is no
word in Arabic where the letters ‘sin’ and ‘dhal’ can be
found together. It is a Persian word meaning the master or
the famous. During the Mamluke era, the title of ustadh was
also given to the tradesman or master who purchases and
raises the Mamluke.
- Dr. Hassan Al Basha : Al Funun Wal Wadaif Ala Al Athar ,
vol. 1, pp. 59-63.
- Dr Said ‘Ashour : The Mamluke Era in Egypt and Greater
Syria, p. 389. Dar Annahda Al Arabiyya, 1965.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq : The Mamlukes and the Concept of
Family, page 189. The Magazine of the Faculty of
Archaeology, Cairo University, 2nd issue, 1977.
(43) Agha, a word of Mongol origin, means the elder brother
and is very recurrent in the history of the Mongols. The
word became part of Persian and was used by writers who
lived after the invasion of Genghiz Khan. Its plural is
Aghan, Aghawan, or Aghayan.
- Dr. Hassan Al Basha : Al Funun Wal Wadaiif. Vol. 1, p.
136.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq: idem, page 189.
(44) Ani or Ayani, pl. Aniat.
The origin of the word is Aniak or Apnak, a Mongol word that
means the younger brother, and was very commonly used in the
history of the Mongols.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq: idem., page 189.
(45) Kashdash, or khajdash, arbicised term for the persian
word khawajatash, or comrade in service, slavery or freedom.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq : idem, page 189.
(46) Al Maqrizi : Assuluk fi Maarifati Duwali Al Muluk, vol. 3, page
390.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq: idem, page 189.
(47) Ibid., page 189.
(48) Deed of Al Ghuri’s Waqf. Archives of the Egyptian
Ministry of Waqfs, Cairo, No 883.
- Dr Ahmed Abdulrazzaq: idem, page 190.
(49) Ibid., page 190.
(50) Al Qudsi, idem, pp. 128-130.
(51) On the resistance of the Mamlukes to technological
development in weaponry, cf. :
- Dr Abdulrahmane Zaki : Ibn Ayyas and the Use of Firearms,
page 97. Proceedings of the Ibn Ayyas conference. Studies
and Research of the Egyptian Association of Historical
Studies and the National Book Institution, 1977.
- On the concept of equestrian excellence and fighting
skills of the Mamlukes, cf. the dialogue that took place
between Sultan Selim and the Mamluke prince Qortibey in the
aftermath of his capture by the Ottomans.
- Dr Ibrahim Tarkhan : Egypt under the Circassian Mamlukes,
pp. 201-202, Cairo, 1969.
(52) Eire Lapidus : Islamic Cities in the Mamluke Era, pp
219-220. Translated by Dr. Ali Madhi. Al Ahliyya Institution
for publishing and distribution, 1987.
(53) Fareed Suleiman : Scholars and Cities, pp. 89-90. Arab
Historical Magazine for Ottoman Studies, Tunis, issue 9-10,
1994.
(54) De Planhol : The Geographical Fundations of the
History of Islam, page 49, Paris, 1968.
Ballbas (T), the Muslim Cities of Spain (A.I.E.O), VI, p.
25, 1942-1947.
(55) Chevalier, D : The Arab City in our Historical
Perspective : the Social Space of the Arab City, page 12,
Paris, 1969.
(56) Dr. Farid Suleiman : idem, page 84.
(57) Ebraheem Ibn Yusuf Al Faez : Building and Its rules in
Islamic Fiqh, pp. 85-158. PhD thesis, High Institute for
Magistrates, University of Imam Muhammad Bin Saoud, Riyadh,
1985.
(58) Abu Yaala, Muhammed Ibn Hussein Ibn Al Furaa Al Hanbali
: Royal Decrees, page 213, Dar Al Fikr, Cairo, 1974.
(59) Khaled ‘Azab : Jurisprudence of Islamic Architecture,
pp. 103, 104, 105, 106. Presshouse of Egyptian Universities,
Cairo, 1997.
(60) The hadith “Do not harm and accept no harm” (la darar
wala dirar) is one of the five main fundamental hadiths on
which the Islamic fiqh is based. The other four are ‘Your
actions are defined by your intentions”, “Religion is giving
advice”, “Avoid what I warn you against, and do as much as
you can of what I instruct you to do”. Cf. Al Qurshi, Yahya
Ibn Adam, ‘Al Kharaj, page 97, revised by Ahmed Shaker, Dar
Al Maarifa, Beirut, 1979. Dr Albarno explains these general
principles in the following : 1. Actions are defined by
their objectives, 2. No harm and no acceptance of harm, 3.
Doubt removes certainty, 4. Hard work brings ease, and 5.
Custom rules. Mohammed Sedqi Albarno : A Brief Explanation
of the General Rules of Fiqh, Arrissala Institution. Beirut,
1404 AH.
(61) The right of easement is a form of negative property in
the Sharia. It is a material right confined to real estate
since it benefits another property owned by other than the
first owner, whoever he may be. For example, running water
through the property of the neighbour, conveying waste water
from a given point, or crossing through the land of a third
party. Once the right of easement is established, it becomes
permanent unless its continuity causes harm to the others.
Many conditions can give rise to the right to utilisation,
namely : 1. common property of facilities such as roads,
rivers and public drainage. Every estate near to these
facilities has the right of passage, irrigation and the
drainage of excess water, because these benefits are common
to all people and can be enjoyed by them as long as they do
not prejudice the rights of others. 2. Terms of contract :
such as when the seller sets as a condition for the buyer
the right of passage or access to water on another land
owned by him, the condition thus establishing these rights.
3. Lapse of time: the right of easement on an old property
when people cannot determine the time this right was
established, but the assumption is that it was established
for a legitimate reason and in the pursuit of the wellbeing
of people, until the opposite is proven. See Dr. Wahbah Al
Zuhayli, Islamic Fiqh and Its Evidence, vol. 5, pp. 589-590,
Arrissala Institution, 1984, Suleiman Ibn Wael Altwaijri :
Right of Easement : A Comparative Study, PhD thesis.
Manuscript of Um Al Qura University, 1400AH, and Khaled
‘Azab, idem, pp. 104-105.
(62) Right of passage : the right of a person to reach his
property, whether it is a house or a land, through a road
that is either public or private owned by him or by a third
party or by both. Dr Wahbah Al Zuhaili : Islamic Fiqh and
Its Evidence. Vol. 5, page 607.
(63) Al Maqdisi defined this type of road as the road free
of individual claims and through which all people have the
right to pass. Its benefits are general and extend to every
person who uses it. It is prohibited to engage in any action
on this road that may undermine the right of passers-by,
since the use of the road/street is public and not private.
Al Maqdisi, Abu Hamed : Valuable Express Benefits of the Use
of the Roads of Cairo in the Doctrines of the Four Imams,
page 22. Revised by Amal Al ‘Amri, Egyptian Monuments
Authority, Series of One Hundred Books, 1988.
(64) Records of the Bab Al ‘Aali Courthouse in Cairo. Record
73, section 13, page 605.
(65) Cf. Al Assyouti on The Comprehensive Book of Fatwa
chapter on “Excellence in Delineating Roads”. Al Assyouti
was an Egyptian jurist who lived during the Mamluke Era. It
is easy to identify from his writings the categories of
roads and rules related thereto and the type of control
inhabitants exercised over these roads. Al Assyouti, Jalal
Eddine, on The Comprehensive Book of Fatwas, pp. 198-208.
Cf. also Annawawi, Abu Zakariyya Yahya Ibn Sharaf Addimashqi
: The Eden of Seekers, vol. 4, pp. 204-205-206. Publications
of the Islamic Office in Beirut, undated.
(66) Dr Wahbah Al Zuhaili, ibid., pp. 616-611-612.
(67) Deed of Hassan Agha’s waqf.
(68) Records of the Bab Al ‘Ali Court. Record 193, Section
883, page 240.
(69) Ibn Arrami, Mohammed Ibn Ibrahim Allakhmi : Al I’lam Bi
Ahkam Al Bunyan, pp. 196 and 104. Magazine of Malekite Fiqh,
Ministry of Justice, Kingdom of Morocco. Issues 2, 3 and 4,
Zhul Qi’da, 1402 AH.
(70) Bab Al ‘Aali Court, record 87, page 11, section 45.
(71) Abdulhamid Suleiman : Systems of Security Management in
Ottoman Egypt, page 68. Magazine of the Faculty of Arts,
University of Cairo, issue No 75, 1992.
Dr. Abdulmun’im Jemi’i, the Sheikhs of Cairo Quarters in the
19th Century, pp. 63-68, the Egyptian Historical Magazine,
vol. 39, 1996.
(72) See “The Magnificence of Andalusia Palaces, namely Al
Hambra Palaces”, by Mohammed Al Jamal, Historical Writings
on the Achievements of Yusuf I in Al Hambra Palaces. PhD
thesis at the Faculty of Letters, University of Alexandria,
1993.
(73) Sherif Jah, Margarita Jovet : The Water Mystery in
Andalusia, pp. 64-65. Arab Institute for Co-operation,
Madrid, 1999.
(74) Abu Yaala : Muhammad Ibn Al Hussein Ibn Al Furaa Al
Hanbali. Cf. his biography in Tabaqat Al Hanabilat by Ibn
Rajab, vol. 2, page 193.
(75) Al Furaa : Royal Decrees, page 215, anthenticated by
Hamed Al Fuqqi. Dar Al Fikr, Cairo, 1974.
Dr Waleed Al Munnais : Religious Interpretation of
Urbanisation, pp. 32-33, Kuwaiti Geographic Association and
the Geography Department at the University of Kuwait. Joint
publication, 62, February, 1984.
(76) Al Furaa, ibid. pp. 217, 220
(77) Ibid., pp. 217, 220.
(78) Abu Yusuf Yaacoub Ibn Ibrahim : Al Kharaj, 2nd
edition, Cairo, 1352 AH, page 97.
Dr Mahmud Rifai, Baghdad Abdulmumin : Rights of Water
Utilisation in Islam, Addara magazine, issue No. 1, year 19,
Riyadh, Shawwal, 1413AH.
(79) Imam Muslim, the Saheeh, interpreted by Imam Annawawi.
Vol. 4, page 73.
(80) Ibid., Vol. 4, pp. 73-74.
(81) Ibid. Vol. 4, pp. 73-74.
(82) Dr Mahmud Al Rifaii, Idem, page 71.
(83) Abu Yusuf : Al Kharaj, pp. 202-203, Cairo, 1973.
|
