Considering Custom in the Making of Siyar (Islamic International Law) (original) (raw)

The Classical and Contemporary Approaches towards International Law: Conceptual and Thematic Study of Siyar (Islamic International Law)

International Journal of Social Science & Entrepreneurship

This precise research work elucidates the derivation, sources, and gradual development of Islamic international law, which is also termed as “(Siyar).” This article is a humble endeavor to discover the position and role of Islamic International Law (Siyar). It debates about the pioneers and sublime jurists who treated Siyar as a distinct legal discipline and who methodically clarified the basic rubrics of Siyar. This research concludes that as Islamic legal principles are not only one of the leading legal schemes across the globe but also that Islam positions its illustrious place among different creeds and cultures of the world, Islamic jurisprudence is one of the leading sources of international law. The research is qualitative and interpretative, in which authors have relied on the classical and modern writings and have analytically scrutinized them in the modern context. Surely, this article debates that since public international rules are not irreligious in nature, these are “...

Islamic International Law (Siyar): an Introduction

This work explains the origin, sources, and evolution of Islamic international law (Siyar). It attempts to locate the role and place of Islamic International law (Siyar). It argues that Abu Hanifa was the first jurist to treat Siyar as a separate legal science and who systematically explained the rules of Siyar. This works discusses the role of Siyar within the domestic law in Pakistan. It concludes that since Islamic law is not only one of the principal legal systems in the world but also that Islam is one of the main forms of civilizations; therefore, Islamic law must be one of the sources of international law. Finally, it argues that since public international law is not secular in nature, but rather 'neutral' so as to 'accommodate' Muslim states. Siyar only

Modern Application of Siyar (Islamic Law of Nations): Some Preliminary Observations

Arab Law Quarterly, 2011

Siyar or Islamic Law of Nations has gone through a period of sclerosis due to the decline of the Islamic Civilisation. This article identifies two issues that have a bearing on the modern application of siyar. First, the interaction between revelation and reason is relevant in the formulation and application of siyar rules in the world today, which can be accomplished via siyāsah shariyyʿah or Sharīʿah-oriented policy. Second, the notion of 'State'-the main subject of international law-may point to difficulties in appreciation of the siyar concept of territories (dār) in the modern world. These concepts are evolving, based on the need for Muslim States to protect themselves from foreign aggression. Finally, siyar can be institutionalised through the sources of modern international law, but whether this can be achieved depends on gaining consent from the Muslim States.

Analysis of Origin, Development and Nature of Islamic International Law

Kardan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities , 2018

Modern scholars generally initiate history of almost all of the social sciences-related discourses with the ancient Greeks and the Romans and then jump to the modern era, thus other nations and civilizations are overlooked. The same happens with the international law discourse. Scholars of international law trace back the modern law of nations to the ancient Greeks and the Romans, while they both had no proper international law. On the other hand, Islamic Law of Nations 1-which is a rich source of a proper international law-is omitted. The present paper explores definition, early development and sources of Muslim International Law in which it argues that Islamic International Law was developed as a separate branch of law by eighth-century Muslim jurists. It similarly explains the nature of the science of siyar, in which, it explores the vital characteristics of Islamic Law of Nations, which international law lacks, such as divinity, justice and stability. Then, this paper discusses the reality of bifurcation of the world into dar al-Islam as well as dar al-harb and its relations with the theory of perpetual war, in which it contends that it is merely for the purpose of defining jurisdiction. Finally, for those who are interested in further studying the subject, the paper provides a general literature review.

Islamic International Law: Historical Foundations and Al-Shaybani's Siyar. By Khaled Bashir. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018. Pp 320. $143 (cloth). ISBN: 9781788113854

Journal of Law and Religion, 2020

The history of international law is a much-contested topic, the lineage of which is often traced to certain individuals, who are often either Western male lawyers or politicians and their texts or treaties that founded the eld and its subelds. This contestation occurs because of certain uncritical Western-centric views that tend to romanticize Western scholars while ignoring non-Westerners' contributions to international law. At the heart of this history, however, is the universality of the general principles of international law, and claiming that these principles and practices and the individuals who advanced them are all Western demonstrates an ignorance of non-Western contributions to the law and, more importantly, of its colonial origins. Therefore, recent scholarship that is critical of the history of international law should be always welcomed, as it adds substance, robustness, and richness to the eld. Also to be welcomed are studies that explore the contributions of non-Western jurists to international law, such as Khaled Bashir's Islamic International Law, on Muhammad Al-Shaybani (750-805), an Iraqi Muslim theologian and jurist who authored Al-Siyar, a major treatise on international law. Bashir's book is a valuable addition to the literature of international law, as it can be regarded as the rst comprehensive English-language study of Al-Shaybani's Siyar. What distinguishes this volume from other works that feature the Siyar is Bashir's scholarly comparisons between Al-Shaybani and ve European theologians and scholars of international law: Gratian, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Francisco de Vitoria, and Hugo Grotius. Although Al-Shaybani's Siyar, as Bashir recognizes, primarily concerns the laws of war and peace, Bashir refers to it as an Islamic international law, a term agreed upon by other scholars of Al-Shaybani's work. Al-Shaybani's contributions to international law are summarized by Bashir as the following:

The Role of Fiqh al-Siyar in International Law-Making: Escaping the Lethargy

Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies

International law has developed since its pre-20th century consent-based positivistic framework to ‘international law-making’ where the role of state sovereignty is seen to have eroded. This development, however, still reproduces its pre-20th century colonialist features against non-European (including Islamic) legal thought, pushing them to the peripheries of relevance. Recently, countering that, stronger voices have demanded international law to generally include non-European and specifically Islamic international legal scholarship. However, while having a very rich body of classical scholarship, contemporary literature of fiqh al-siyar (Islamic international law) suffers from lethargy. It neither mentions nor responds to the trend of international law-making. This article, employing a literature-based research approach, bridges the gap of that lethargy so that fiqh al-siyar could develop to properly respond to the current trend of international law-making. It is found that fiqh a...