An Unbeliever Can Rule Dār al-Islām: Ḥanafī Law in the Wake of the Mongol Invasion

Abstract

Prior to the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 7th/13th century, Ḥanafī jurists had adopted two definitions of Islamic lands (dār al-islām): according to a “lenient” definition attributed to Abū Ḥanīfa, an unbelieving ruler may rule over dār al-islām, and according to a “strict” definition attributed to Abū Yūsuf and al-Shaybānī, he may not. As the Mongols overran Central Asia and Iran, later Ḥanafīs began to favor the lenient definition so that lands under non-Muslim occupation might retain the status of dār al-islām as long as Muslims had security and the freedom to worship. In this article, I evaluate the assumptions about Mongol rule that underpin the lenient definition. Persian historians such as Waṣṣāf and Shabānkāraʾī report that the Mongols permitted self-rule, and Muslims were adjudicated in their own courts according to Islamic law. Local histories support the claim that Islamic life can continue under occupation by nonbelievers.