The office of qadi al-qudat in Cairo under the Bahri Mamluks. Islamkundliche Untersuchungen Bd. 100.

Aus der Bibliothek von Prof. Dr. Albrecht Noth (1937-1999), langj�igem Professor f�r Geschichte und Kultur des Vorderen Orients in Bonn und Hamburg. Einband leicht berieben. - Legal systems of one form or another are necessary for all states in order to prevent chaos and insure the smooth running of government, commerce, and society in general. Islamic civilization developed its own legal system, the sharia, and one of the principal officers concerned with its administration was the judge or qadi. Yet even before the shari'a had evolved, arbitrators or judges were needed to resolve legal disputes. The first qadi of Islam, in fact if not in name, was the Prophet Muhammad himself. Right from the beginning he was faced with a number of legal problems arising not only out of the natural frictions and conflicts of any community, but also out of the terms of the Quran itself; for example, problems of inheritance. The early caliphs continued to exercise such functions, but other close associates of the Prophet were probably called upon to settle disputes as well, since at this stage no special body of judicial officers existed. ISBN 9783922968429