The book of sale: being the second chapter of Majallah Ahkam al-Adliyah

• Main Authors: Siddiqi, Yousuf Azim, Hassan, Rusni, Hasan, Aznan
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF) & EXIM Bank Malaysia 2021
• Subjects: BPH Islamic Economics; BPK Islamic law. Shari'ah. Fiqh
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/112042/1/112042_The%20book%20of%20sale.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/112042/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Islamic jurisprudence and its law trace their origins back to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with the start of Holy Revelation (waḥī) from the cave of Ḥirā’ on the outskirts of Makkah. The start was from the Holy Commanad of iqrā’ which literally means read. Hundreds of rulings, principles, maxims were laid down during the life of Prophet Muhammad’s Makkah and then Madinah life. The following era of the Four Caliphs ensured to keep a strong connection with these set of rulings by crafting an meticulous system which addressed various aspects of life, and not just creed or spiritual messages. Trade and commerce were never neglected in the Holy Revelation and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s verbal and practical life. In the coming decades and centuries, scholars and jurists focused on various types of commercial contracts which eventually helped Muslims to create memorable civilizations. Centuries-long great achievements made by Muslim scholarship, market regulators and traders’ practices were point of discussion and deliberation not only by Muslims, rather by nonMuslim knowledge seekers who were eager to explore and benefit from centuries of marvellous efforts. Despite its oceanic coverage, but Islamic jurisprudence remained difficult to be grasped by amateur readers which limited its reach. On the other hand, with start of industrial revolution and followed by slow movements towards globalization and interstate trade practices, the need for codification was immensely felt in different parts of Europe. In the mid 19th Centaury, the Ottoman Empire felt the need for commercial codification, followed by family law codification. Some projects were commissioned but failed to complete the designated task. Eventually, Majallah committee was commissioned to overlook the task of codifying rulings related to trade and commerce. After years of endeavours efforts, Majallah committee succeeded to bring books on Islamic rulings related to almost all the aspects of trade and commerce. Since the law book was meant to be used by judges and lawmakers. The Book of Sale so some sections were even dedicated to legal proceedings as well. Majallah was enacted as a law across various territories and remained effective even after the fall of the Ottoman Empire one century back. It could be said that Majallah was first of its kind of a state-level effort made to codify rulings of Islamic jurisprudence. Jurists, scholars and law experts remained till date interested to serve the reference with short notes or long commentaries. Unfortunately, most of these works were in Arabic, with little effort being made to cater English speaking readers. Further, there were few English translations of Majallah besides the shortcomings in selecting right terminologies which affected the quality of available translations.