Abū al-Hasan 'Alī Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Habīb al-Māwardī, known in Latin as Alboacen, was an Islamic jurist of the Shafi'i school most remembered for his works on religion, government, the caliphate, and public and constitutional law during a time of political turmoil. Appointed as the chief judge over several districts near Nishapur in Iran, and Baghdad itself, al-Mawardi also served as a diplomat for the Abbasid caliphsal-Qa'im and al-Qadir in negotiations with the Buyid emirs. He is best known for his treatise on "The Ordinances of Government." The Ordinances, Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya w'al-Wilayat al-Diniyya, provide a detailed definition of the functions of caliphate government which, under the Buyids, appeared to be rather indefinite and ambiguous.
Biography
Al-Mawardi was born in Basrah during the year 972 C.E. Some authors make the claim that his family was Kurdish, a claim which is unsubstantiated. The Shafi'ihistorianal-Khatib al-Baghdadi recorded his father as being a rose-water seller. Growing up he was able to learn Fiqh from Abu al-Wahid al-Simari and subsequently took up his residence in Baghdad. While both Basrah and Baghdad were centers of the Mu'tazilaschool of thought, the great Shafi'i jurist al-Subki would later condemn al-Mawardi for his Mu'tazila sympathies. He was eventually appointed chief qadi of Baghdad, and subsequently was entrusted with various responsibilities on behalf of the Caliphate: On four occasions he served as a diplomat on behalf of Caliph al-Qa'im, his successor al-Qadir also entrusted al-Mawardi as a diplomat in a negotiation with the Buyid emirs and charged him with the task of writing his treatise on "The Ordinances of the Government." Among many of his various other works he is also credited with the creation of darura, a doctrine of necessity. Al-Mawardi died at an old age in Baghdad on 30 Rabi'a 450/27, May 1058.
Works
Al-Ahkam al-Sultania w'al-Wilayat al-Diniyya
Qanun al-Wazarah
Kitab Nasihat al-Mulk
Kitab Aadab al-Dunya w'al-Din
Personas of the Prophethood
On The Ordinances of the Government
According to Wafaa H. Wahaba, "For al-Mawardi the caliphate symbolized an entire politico-religious system that regulates the lives of men in a Muslim community to the smallestdetail. Hence the emphasis in placed on the qualifications, power and duties pertinent to ... This approach to the matter would explain the working arrangement finally reached by the Buyids and the Abbasid caliphs, later followed also by the more efficient Seljuqs, whereby the military held actual power while recognizing the Caliph as the supremehead of government and receiving from him, in turn, recognition of their mundane authority."
