Translator’s Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the present volume, which is the first English translation of the Al-I ṭk ām fī Tamyīz al-Fatāwa ʿan al-Aṭkām wa Taṣarrufāt al-Qāḍīwa'l-Imām (The Criterion for Distinguishing Legal Opinions from Judicial Rulings and the Administrative Acts of Judges and the Ruler [hereafter, “the Criterion”]) by Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad b. Idrīs al-Qarāfā. This work is neither of theoretical jurisprudence nor of substantive law, but exists at the intersection of both. The Criterion aims to reconcile the idea of divinely revealed law with the fact that the practical norms of Islamic law can be applied only through the actions of particular human institutions.

The Criterion for Distinguishing Legal Opinions from Judicial Rulings and the Administrative Acts of Judges and Rulers

This chapter presents the English translation of the Introduction of the Criterion. Here, the author discusses the meaning of legal opinion, judicial ruling, and administrative acts, and how the book provides a comprehensive treatment of these issues. The book is composed in the form of a series of questions, in the manner that replicates the discussions that took place between the author's colleagues and himself. The answer immediately follows each question, pointing out the subtleties of these points and the issues that derive from them, as manifested in judicial decisions, legal opinions, and administrative acts of public officials. The book contains forty questions.