UCLA

This dissertation examines Muslim legal thought on shar‘ man qablanā, or pre-Muḥammadan law, along with its application. Pre-Muḥammadan laws referred to those laws practiced by prophets or communities who were recognized within the Muslim theological framework as having been recipients of divinely sent messages in the past. In theorizing pre-Muḥammadan law, Muslim jurists discussed a number of issues relevant for the study of Islamic law, including the place of the Torah and the laws of pre-Muḥammadan communities (e.g., the Jews and Christians) within Islamic legal thought. This project first outlines Muslim legal understandings of pre-Muḥammadan law from the 2nd century onward, before providing case studies of early Muslim engagement with these laws. The case studies that are explored include examples where Muslim jurists explicitly cited Biblical legal dicta, referred to the lived practice of Jews and Christians in the matter of dietary law, or derived pre-Muḥammadan law from Qur’ānic exegesis and elsewhere.