In this excerpt from Quḍāt Qurṭuba, Khushanī describes a scene between the judge Aslam b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (d. 312/924) and a Christian who has come to the judge asking to be put to death, convinced that only his likeness (shibh) would die, whereas his real self would go directly to heaven. Aslam tries to reason with him to dissuade him from martyrdom. In the end he lashes the man, thus proving that it is the man’s own body, not merely his likeness, that suffers the punishment. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Maribel Fierro uses this passage to highlight the liveliness of the narrative and the emphasis that it places on the stupidity and ignorance of the Christian, which contrast with the rationality of the judge’s arguments and his condescending attitude—all elements that heighten the scene’s comic value.
This source is part of the Online Companion to the book Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, ed. Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale(ILSP/HUP 2017)—a collection of primary sources and other material used in and related to the book.