Hence, the conclusion is that most of al-Mawardi’s ideas are...

Hence, the conclusion is that most of al-Mawardi’s ideas are partly a heritage of the past and partly a clever manipulation of the opinions current in his time. A closer examination of his work, however, discloses that he is not a mere recorder of facts handed down to him but a shrewd statesman and diplomat.

There is enough historical data to sanction the view that on many fundamental questions al-Mawardi’s opinions were dictated by the exigencies of his time and the special circumstances of his life.

In the preface of his al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah he writes, “Since these principles of royalty are mainly concerned with the conduct of rulers, and since the direct application of these principles to the entire business of government prevents the rulers from an inquiry into their true nature, and because these rulers are too engrossed in State affairs and diplomacy, I have brought out a separate book discussing all of them, in obedience to the behest of one whose allegiance is essential in order that he may be informed of the different schools of law and may know what the people owe to him so that he may demand its fulfillment, and what he owes to them so he may fulfill it.

[And he has asked to be informed about these things] out of love for justice in his enactments and decisions and for the sake of equity in his imposts and rewards.”[^1] The mention of authority in this passage refers to the Caliph, especially because al-Mawardi had been raised to the high office of Aqda al-Qudat ,[^2] and represented the Caliph in his negotiations with the Buwaihids.

Further, it is necessary to point out that the declining power of the Buwaihids in the beginning of the fifth/11th century because of internal conflicts and insurrections in the army and because of Mahmud of Ghaznah’s solicitations for the ‘Abbasids, made the Caliph al-Qadir and his son al-Qa’im aspire to regain the lost glory of their fore-fathers.

The first step in this direction was the legal definition and exposition of the powers and prerogatives of the Caliph which had well-nigh been forgotten and had fallen to oblivion. The historical situation explains al-Mawardi’s efforts to propound a theory of the caliphate in which everything depends on the authority of the Caliph, in an age in which the prestige of the Caliphate had fallen to its lowest ebb.

Al-Mawardi’s endeavours have been supposed to be directed to the theoretical discussion of an ideal State.