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In this excerpt from the introduction toQuḍāt Qurṭuba, Khushanī (d. 361/971) reminds his readers of the gravity of the decisions that Cordoban judges, past and present, confronted in their judicial proceedings. In so doing, he buttresses his account of the history of judgeships by providing some context as to the way judges both affected and were affected by the societies in which they operated. Specifically, Khushanī notes that the seriousness with which the role of judge was perceived had a detrimental effect on society, since many avoided judgeships out of fear that they would be punished for their rulings in the afterlife and that the position would leave a mark on their piety in their current lives. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Maribel Fierro uses this source to argue that the way in which potential judges reacted to offers of judgeships or the idea of serving as judges heavily impacted their reputation and image in society, with those who refused being seen as more pious and those who accepted tending to be perceived as seeking to burnish their reputations in the eyes of those in power.

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.

In these excerptsfromQuḍāt Qurṭuba, Khushanī reports that the Cordoban Umayyad poet al-Ghazāl (156–250/772–864) used his verses to attack the judge Jukhāmir b. ʿUthmān al-Shaʿbānī, whom he considered ignorant and foolish. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Maribel Fierro uses this report to show that judges and scholars also became figures of ridicule in Islamic folklore. In particular, they were satirized by poets, which sometimes led to the poet’s being punished by the mocked judge.

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.

In this excerptfromQuḍāt Qurṭuba, Khushanī describes another instance in which the judge Jukhāmir b. ʿUthmān al-Shaʿbānī was ridiculed by a poet, in this case Ibn al-Shamir (d. after 206/822). The judge had cards on which the names of the litigants were written; these would be read out to call the litigants to court. Ibn al-Shamir inserted among these cards one bearing the names of Yūnus b. Matī (Jonas) and al-Masīḥ b. Maryam (Jesus). The judge did not grasp what was going on and had them summoned, prompting strongly worded mocking verses from the poet. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, MaribelFierro uses this anecdote to show that judges and scholars were ridiculed, mocked, and satirized, especially by poets, sometimes leading to punishment of the poet by the mocked judge.

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.

In this passage from Akhbār quḍāt Miṣr,Wakīʿ (d. 306/918) records reports about a judge making funny comments and ridiculing people in the course of his juridical duties. According to this excerpt, ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Ḥasan al-ʿAnbarī (d. 168/785), a judge in Basra, recited poetry in court and made fun of serious affairs. During an inquiry regarding a particular man, it was revealed that the man loved young boys; the judge reacted by asking: “Is he the knight or the lancer?” On another occasion, al-ʿAnbarī asked a litigant from the tribe of Rabīʿa whether he knew some verses satirizing his tribe. The litigant responded with verses that denigrated the judge’s tribe, prompting the judge to acknowledge that his behavior had not been acceptable. In a further anecdote, al-ʿAnbarī joked about a woman in his court who answered in kind, with the exchange escalating to sexual remarks. However, al-ʿAnbarī’s jokes were not always welcome: according to Wakīʿ, some people complained to the governor about his attitude. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Maribel Fierro uses these anecdotes to highlight people’s overall acceptance of jokes and jesting by judges.

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.

In this excerpt from Quḍāt Qurṭuba, the Andalusian scholar Khushanī (d. 361/971) reports an anecdote about the judge of Cordoba, Yaḥyā b. Maʿmar (d. 229/843), who, during a religious festival in Cordoba, ordered his assistants to move his carpet forward so that the notables (ashrāf al-nās) and the officials of the Umayyad administration (khidmat al-sulṭān) who had hurried to take up positions near the carpet were left behind. His action prompted admiration and much talk as a clever trick with which Yaḥyā b. Maʿmar outwitted the powerful in favor of average Muslims.In another version of the same account reported by Qāḍī ʿĪyāḍ in hisTartīb al-madārik, the judge, by surrounding himself with people more interested in the religious duty he was performing than in his person, effectively rid himself of his opponents, who fell victim to the cleverness of the trick. In her chapter in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Maribel Fierro makes reference to the two versions of the anecdote to emphasize the comedic nature of the judge’s actions and the scene as a whole, and to develop the character of the judge.

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.