Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Legal Background 3
A Note on Genre 6
The Rote of Genre in Islamic Law 8
Chapter Overview 12
Chapter 1 What Is a Legal Distinction? 16
Defining Legal Distinctions 17
Premodern Definitions 17
Modern Understandings 31
Justifications for Legal Distinctions 36
Conclusion 41
Chapter 2 A General History of Distinctions 43
Furuq in Medicine 45
Furuq in Philology 54
Early Lexicographical Activity 58
Books of Farq 61
Forq and the Arabic Alphabet 69
Farq and Furuq in Other Fields 73
Farq in Philosophy 74
Farq in Ethics 76
Farq in Law 77
Conclusions 79
Chapter 3 Jadal as a Source for Legal Writings: The Cases of Khilaf and Furuq 81
Disputation and Distinction 82
Farq in Theological Disputation 84
Farq in Legal Disputation 87
Disputational Theory and Practice (Khilaf) 94
Disputation in Furuq 103
Conclusion 108
Excursus: The Logic of Legal Distinctions 110
Understanding Lexicographic Distinctions 112
Understanding Legal Distinctions 114
Concluding Thoughts 117
Chapter 4 Riddles and Entertainment 119
Literary Salons, Learning, and Culture 121
Literature and Practice of Legal Riddles 132
Legal Distinctions as Play 141
The Merging of Alghaz and Furuq 144
Separating Riddles and Distinctions: The Case of Jamal al-DIn al-Asnawi 148
Conclusion 154
Chapter 5 A Bibliographic Survey of the Distinctions Genre 157
Narrative Listing of Furuq Works 165
The Fourth/Tenth Century 166
The Fifth/Eleventh Century 167
The Sixth/Twelfth Century 171
The Seventh/Thirteenth Century 172
The Eighth/Fourteenth Century 177
The Ninth/Fifteenth Century 180
The Tenth/Sixteenth Century 182
Works of Indeterminate Date 183
Historical and Geographical Trends 185
A Note on Manuscripts 187
Conclusion 191
Conclusion 194
Appendix I Bibliography of Furuq Works by Madhhab 198
Shafi'i 198
Hanafi 203
Maliki 206
Hanbali 210
Shi'i Works 212
Works Incorrectly Said to Be of Legal Distinctions 212
Appendix II Chronological Furuq Bibliography 215
Third/Ninth Century 215
Fourth/Tenth Century 215
Fifth/Eleventh Century 215
Sixth/Twelfth Century 216
Seventh/Thirteenth Century 216
Eighth/Fourteenth Century 216
Ninth/Fifteenth Century 217
Tenth/Sixteenth Century 217
Unknown 217
Appendix III The Manuscripts of Furuq-A: Table of Contents 218
Appendix IV The Manuscripts of Furuq-B (Najm al-Din Naysaburi, attrib.): Table of Contents 221
Works Cited 225
Manuscripts 225
Printed Sources 226
Index 243
