Customary law is the term used for written and unwritten codes of conduct in rural tribal communities, both settled and nomadic, in the Gulf and Yemen. Urban communities in the region maintain that their legal systems are based on Sharīʿa, or Qurʾānic law, in contrast to rural systems based on custom. In reality, there has been considerable mutual borrowing between rural custom and urban law, especially in neighboring communities. Details of customary law vary with time and place, but rules alwa…