Medieval Indian Law

The Sources of Islamic Law

Quran, Sunnah, Ijma, Qiyas

Classical Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) recognises four main sources: the Quran; the Sunnah (the practice of the Prophet, recorded in the hadith); ijma (the consensus of jurists); and qiyas (analogical reasoning). Of the four Sunni schools, the Hanafi school was dominant in medieval India, and the Hanafi Hedaya was the leading text applied by courts.

• Four sources: Quran, Sunnah, Ijma, Qiyas.
• The Hanafi school was dominant in India.

Delhi Sultanate and Mughals

The Qazi System

Courts of the sultans

Under the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, justice was administered by qazis (judges) applying Islamic law, under a chief qazi (Qazi-ul-Quzat) at the capital. The Sadr-us-Sudur supervised religious endowments and often held the chief qazi's office too. The ruler was the fountain of justice and heard appeals himself. Hindus were largely left to their own laws and caste and village bodies in personal and civil matters.

• Chief judge: Qazi-ul-Quzat.
• Hindus were largely governed by their own laws in personal matters.

Muhtasib, Mir Adl and Kotwal

Officers of justice and order

Alongside the qazi, the mir adl helped with the execution of justice, the muhtasib (censor of public morals) enforced religious and market regulations, and the kotwal was responsible for policing and order in towns and could try petty offences.

• Muhtasib: censor of public morals.
• Kotwal: town police chief.

Early 17th century

Jahangir's Chain of Justice

Zanjir-i-Adl

In his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, the Mughal emperor Jahangir records that after his accession he had a golden "chain of justice" (zanjir-i-adl) hung from the Shah Burj of the Agra Fort to the riverbank, with sixty bells, so that anyone denied justice could shake it and be heard by the emperor himself.

• Recorded in the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
• Hung at the Agra Fort with sixty bells.

c. 1670s

Fatawa-e-Alamgiri

Aurangzeb's legal digest

Compiled under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (Alamgir) by a board of Hanafi jurists led by Shaikh Nizam Burhanpuri, the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri (also called Fatawa-i-Hindiya) is a comprehensive digest of Hanafi law. It was used by British courts in India in the 18th and 19th centuries when deciding matters of Muslim law.

• Compiled under Aurangzeb.
• A digest of Hanafi law.