The concept of ʾamān in classical Islamic legal texts

Abstract

This essay analyses how the two medieval scholars Al-Shaybānī and Al-Sarakhsī used the concept of ʾamān in two works of Islamic international law. ʾAmān was a concept which was used already in the 8th century to facilitate trade and create stable and non-violent relations between the Islamic and the non- Islamic world. It was however constantly re-defined by the jurists through interpretation and the use of legal tools and reasoning. In classical Arabic, the root to which ʾamān belongs had two meanings, one related to safety and one related to trust. The Arabic root system makes it possible to derive several words from one single root, and in the case of ʾamān and its related terms, they could theoretically be related to any one of the two meanings. This opens for many different interpretations of the terms and makes it difficult for modern-day scholars to translate them with precision. This essay argues that in classical Islamic legal terminology, the concept ʾamān was considered a contract between a person granting a guarantee of safety and a person seeking to be protected from harm when travelling. Most of the time, the jurists discuss ʾamān given by Muslims to non-Muslim travellers, but the reverse was possible. ʾAmān could be granted upon certain conditions, which are discussed by the jurists, and could be granted by any person provided they did so by free will and in the interest of Islam and the Islamic community. Many of the terms related to ʾamān have been translated and explained by modern scholars. In those cases, the essay attempts to critically evaluate those explanations. In some cases, the findings confirm the previously established definition. In other cases, the results show that previous translations have been incorrect or lacking in detail.