pofition to war and rapine, and an unappealable vindiclivenefs of fpirit.
Their feclufion from the reft of mankind taught them to confider every
ftrange nation in an hoftile ligh t; and the term Hirbee expreffed, at
once, an (then and an enemy.
T his fhort and imperfect Iketch will ferve to familiarize or explain to
us a number o f extraordinary paffages in the following treatife. In fadt,
without fome fuch reference, feveral of the examples adduced in the
courfe of it muft appear unnatural or improbable, and the arguments
upon them frivolous or abfurd. In too many inftances they certainly are
fo ; the Mujfulman lawyers being as much addidted to verbofe fophiftry as
any of their Chriftian brethren. But a due regard to local circumftances
will teach us to confider, that numbers of the cafes here cited in elucidation
of particular points of law, although they may feem to an European
to be fuch as can feldom or never really happen, would yet appear, to a
Mujfulman, to contain no more than a neceffary provifion with refpedt to
cafes of frequent or probable occurrence. Many of them, indeed, feem
to be propofed merely as exercifes for the exertion of mental acumen, and
the difplay of fubtle diftindtions ; and as fuch they are perhaps not without
their ufe. With refpedt to the argumentative part in particular, although
abounding in futile fophiftry, ftill it poffeffes the advantage of leading to
a full development of the principles. It moreover places fubjedts in every
poffible light, familiarizes us to thé modes of reafoning in ufe among the
Mujfulman profeffors, (a matter of fome literary curiofity,) and frequently
involves material points o f law, not to be found under the heads to which
they properly relate
T he ,firft Angularity likëly to ftrike the European reader, on' calling •
his eye over thofe laws, is the great proportion of them which relates to
Haves, the difcuffions concerning whom occupy nearly a third of the
whole work. T o account for this, it is proper to remark that, among *
* See an inftance of this in Vol I. p. 8. article Z akatj where an opinion of Haneefa is,
Introduced with refpedt to a Kazee’s declaration of a debtor’s infolvency.
the
the firft votaries of IJldm, ■ whofe ideas of luxury extended not beyond the
plain fimplicity o f the paftoral life, the articles of property were few, and
confined, for the molt part, to Haves and domeftic animals. T h e former
generally conftituted their chief fubftance ; and the bodies o f bondmen have
in thofe countries formed, from the earlieft ages, a principal commodity
of traffic.— T h e Arabs, like moft other barbarous nations, had
ever been in the pradice of retaining as Haves all the captives taken
in war, whofe lives were fpared by avarice or policy. T h e children
of thofe captives partook o f the condition of their parents.—T h e fanatic
fury of the Sahaba, (companions,) under the prophetic banner, in
the beginning of their career, fpared neither age, fex, or condition ; but
when the firft ebullitions of zeal fubfided, their prifoners were referved
as a valuable part of plunder.— Every new conqueft poured into Arabia a
freffi acceffion of captives; and thofe formed, in time, not only a great
part of the wealth of individuals, but alfo a principal proportion of the
community. Hence the confiderable fpace which the laws concerning
slaves occupy— In numberlefs inftances, however, the cafes and examples
cited with refpeft to them are not exclufively reftrifhve to s la v e s ,
but may be confidered in the light of fo many legal paradigms, equally
applicable, in their conftruaion, to any other articles of commerce or
exchange.
T hus far the tranflator deemed it requifite to premife of the work in
creneral.— He is now arrived at a lefs agreeable part of his prefent duty, fince
indifpenfably produdive of a degree of egotifm,— it being neceffary to add-
a few pages concerning the Perfan verfon of the H E D A T A , and the
Englijh tranfation of that verfion..
W hen the-attention of the Britijh government in B en g a l was firft
dïrefted to the neceffity and importance of procuring fome authentic guide
for aiding them in their fuperintendance over the native judicature,
(founded on the reafons we haVe already ftated,) they difcovered, in the
f H books