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(a.), a technical term of Islamic law-making. 1. Definition and historical context. Tas̲h̲rīʿ , in the modern context, signifies statutory legislation incorporating elements from the s̲h̲arīʿa . In theory, legislative authority is alien to Islam. In the Middle Ages, temporal legislation by caliphs and rulers based on siyāsa s̲h̲ārʿiyya [ q.v.] was a common practice. This took place, however, within the framework of a theocracy, the underlying concept of which was the sovereignty of the s̲h̲arīʿa assumed to reflect the revealed will of Allāh on earth through His authori…

(a.), marriage (properly, sexual intercourse, but already in the Ḳurʾān used exclusively of the contract of marriage). In the present article, marriage is dealt with as a legal institution; for marriage customs, see ʿurs . I. In Classical Islamic Law 1. The essential features of the Muslim law of marriage go back to the customary law of the Arabs which previously existed. In this, although there were differences according to districts and the conditions of the individual cases, the regulations governing marriage were based upon the pa…