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This work aims to present key concepts, ideas, and events that can be derived mainly from Ibn Khaldun's chapter on economic life, which he captures with the heading, Chapter on Making a Living (ma 'āsh). Justifying this undertaking is the significance of Ibn Khaldun's contributions, the scarcity of translations of his work, and the dependency of secondary interpretive works on a single English translation. While a reading of Ibn Khaldun's economic philosophy through a textual analysis of the primary sources remains the focus of this work, a sampling of the interpretive and translation works is also presented here in order to understand the level of engagement of non-Arabic scholars with Ibn Khaldun's work and as a frame of mind with which economic philosophers and social historians might engage.

Contesting Justice examines the development of the laws and practices governing the status of women in Muslim society, particularly in terms of marriage, polygamy, inheritance, and property rights. Ahmed E. Souaiaia argues that such laws were not methodically derived from legal sources but rather are the preserved understanding and practices of the early ruling elite. Based on his quantitative, linguistic, and normative analyses of Quranic texts—and contrary to the established practice—the author shows that these texts sanction only monogamous marriages, guarantee only female heirs' shares, and do not prescribe an inheritance principle that awards males twice the shares of females. He critically explores the way religion is developed and then is transformed into a social control mechanism that transcends legal reform, gender-sensitive education, or radical modernization. To ameliorate the legal, political, and economic status of women in the Islamic world, Souaiaia recommends the strengthening of civil society institutions that will challenge wealth-engendered majoritism, curtail society-manufactured conformity, and bridle the absolute power of the state.

Diese Arbeit zielt darauf ab, Schlüsselkonzepte, Ideen und Ereignisse darzustellen, die sich hauptsächlich aus Ibn Khalduns Kapitel über das Wirtschaftsleben ableiten lassen, das er mit der Überschrift „Kapitel über den Lebensunterhalt“ (ma`āsh) zusammenfasst. Die Rechtfertigung dieses Unterfangens ist die Bedeutung von Ibn Khalduns Beiträgen, der Mangel an Übersetzungen seiner Werke und die Abhängigkeit sekundärer Interpretationswerke von einer einzigen englischen Übersetzung. Während die Lektüre der Wirtschaftsphilosophie von Ibn Khaldun durch eine Textanalyse der Primärquellen weiterhin im Mittelpunkt dieser Arbeit steht, wird hier auch eine Auswahl der Interpretations- und Übersetzungswerke präsentiert, um den Grad der Auseinandersetzung nichtarabischer Gelehrter mit Ibn zu verstehen Khalduns Werk und als Geisteshaltung, mit der sich Wirtschaftsphilosophen und Sozialhistoriker auseinandersetzen könnten. This work aims to present key concepts, ideas, and events that can be derived mainly from Ibn Khaldun’s chapter on economic life, which he captures with the heading, Chapter on Making a Living (ma`āsh). Justifying this undertaking is the significance of Ibn Khaldun’s contributions, the scarcity of translations of his work, and the dependency of secondary interpretive works on a single English translation. While a reading of Ibn Khaldun’s economic philosophy through a textual analysis of the primary sources remains the focus of this work, a sampling of the interpretive and translation works is also presented here in order to understand the level of engagement of non-Arabic scholars with Ibn Khaldun’s work and as a frame of mind with which economic philosophers and social historians might engage. Cet ouvrage vise à présenter des concepts, des idées et des événements clés qui peuvent être dérivés principalement du chapitre d’Ibn Khaldun sur la vie économique, qu’il capture sous le titre Chapitre sur Gagner sa vie (ma`āsh). Cette entreprise est justifiée par l’importance des contributions d’Ibn Khaldun, la rareté des traductions de son œuvre et la dépendance des travaux d’interprétation secondaires à une seule traduction anglaise. Bien qu'une lecture de la philosophie économique d'Ibn Khaldun à travers une analyse textuelle des sources primaires reste au centre de ce travail, un échantillon des travaux d'interprétation et de traduction est également présenté ici afin de comprendre le niveau d'engagement des érudits non arabes avec Ibn Khaldun. Khaldun et comme état d'esprit dans lequel les philosophes économiques et les historiens sociaux pourraient s'engager.

During pre-Islamic times,¹ the Arabs passed their wealth to able men who could protect their honor and their family.² It was a common practice then for men to enter into agreements with other men, assuming they lacked male progeny, whereby if a man died, the other would be his heir and also marry his wife to protect his honor and his family.³ With this kind of social order in place, marriage practices were, to some extent, a form of business transaction. It was common for a man to enter into such an agreement with another person of his choosing. If

In a spirited defense of the permissibility of polygamy, a Muslim scholar writes: One ought to not forget that acting justly before all wives also includes the laws of inheritance without exception. In that, the inheritance of wives is equal, the husband does not have the right to deny anyone of them because acting justly is mandated by God. . . . “Indeed God commands that you act righteously and that you give to the relatives; and He ordained that you avoid lewdness and wickedness. [al-naḥl: 90]¹ It is true that the wives equally share one-fourth or one-eighth (depending on

A civilization is a manifest expression of collective, sophisticated, and adaptive values in critical areas of public life. The said expression must be propagated and preserved by effective iconic and monumental means. Although a civilization is not necessarily a moral good, the positive achievements must outweigh the negative aspects. To be elevated from a major power to the center of gravity of a world civilization, a community must establish peaceful cities with inclusive citizenship, achieve complementary organization of labor, acquire refined sciences, literature, and culture, elect/select attuned government, institutionalize complex and inclusive religious system, and exhibit the flexibility and capacity

I contend that in order to understand the status of women in the Islamic discourse, one must have a good grasp of Islamic legal theory, which is the foundation of Islamic law. Not only is Islamic law eminent in governing the individual and collective life of Muslims, but it was Islamic legal scholars and ethicists who categorized “God’s speech” and gave it meaning. Stated differently, given that Islam governs all aspects of the adherents’ life, it is fair to conclude that such control of the social and personal life of the individual and the collective is accomplished by canonizing the

In the preceding chapter, I have introduced an outline of the major features and principles of Islamic law and jurisprudence. In this and the following chapters, I will apply those general principles to the specific cases that have an impact on the social, economic, and psychological well-being of women. In the following chapters and whenever it is necessary, I will introduce specific legal doctrines, jurisprudential principles, or methodological elements that apply to the laws being analyzed. In other instances, a reference to explanations in the previous chapters will suffice. I will start this chapter by an analysis and a critique

Souaiaia reviews Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities edited by Reza Asian and Aaron Tapper.