The problem of non-Muslims who insult the prophet muhammad

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2015

Abstract

Questions of whether, how, and why non-Muslims, whose infidel religious practice necessitates ongoing disregard for the Prophet Muhammad, should be punished for the crime of insulting the Prophet (sabb al-rasu¯l or shatm al-rasu¯l) prompted lively debate among Muslims in the eleventh century, especially Shafi'fs. This article presents the history and development of the law, and demonstrates that while two of its most draconian interpretations, that of Qa¯dl¯ Iya¯d and Ibn Taymiyya, eclipsed more nuanced discussions that took place among Sha¯fii¯s and Hanafis, some late Hanafi ulama viewed this as a bad development and sought to mine the tradition to reclaim and render normative a more lenient interpretation of the law.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of the American Oriental Society

First Page

529

Last Page

540

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