In Quest of Justice by Fahmy Khaled Mahmoud

Author:Fahmy, Khaled Mahmoud
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780520279032
Publisher: University of California Press

Violence and the Official Muḥtasib.There is no doubt that the theory of ḥisba as described in the fiqh texts analyzed so far presents a serious attempt to think about the complexity of pre-modern markets and how to monitor them. For example, Māwardī’s suggestion that the muḥtasib use calibrated scales that have been stamped with his seal was an original and, judging from the historical record, effective means of standardizing weights and measurements and controlling and detecting counterfeit currency in markets that were increasing in size and complexity.84 By coupling a meticulous mechanism of monitoring market transactions with “a form of care of the self [that is] initiated by someone concerned about another’s behavior,”85 ḥisba presents itself as a remarkable moral system that maintained the cohesion of the community, upheld internal peace, preserved the integrity of markets, expanded personal piety, and elevated the ethical standards of society. Not for nothing do Islamists believe that the practice of ḥisba resulted in “tranquility [ṭuma’nīna] spreading all over the Abode of Islam, where the inhabitants reveled in serenity [sakīna].”86

With regard to market control, what is most noteworthy about ḥisba is its prohibition of grain hoarding, windfall profits, adulterated products, and noncustomary prices. Its continued popularity over time can be explained by the fact that it harks back to a traditional view of social norms and obligations and insists on commonly shared notions of the proper function of several parties within the community. The ḥisba discourse about a moral economy that is characterized by just prices, fair markets, and a concern for the poor and needy has a seductive appeal especially in modern times, when markets have been disembedded from society, agrarian relations have been commercialized, and the centralized state has failed to provide adequate protection to the marginalized.

Yet despite its appeal, the fiqhī theory of ḥisba contains a very unsettling trait: according to this theory, the morality of the market is maintained not with friendly words of advice or by appealing to the shared values of the community but with a remarkable degree of extreme violence.87 Modern-day proponents of ḥisba often ignore the fact that fiqh treatises on ḥisba explicitly authorized the muḥtasib to resort to violence as a necessary means of enforcing market regulations; these treatises considered appealing to morality, communal values, or local tradition insufficient and inadequate. In his influential description of the position’s qualifications, for example, Māwardī writes that the muḥtasib must be “free [i.e., not a slave], upright [‘adl], with a say in the matters of the faith, and knowledgeable about the evident breaches of the moral codes (al-munkarāt al-ẓāhira),” but he notes that he need not be “a religious scholar well versed in matters of the law” (‘ālim, min ahl al-ijtihād). But he should have “vigor and firmness” (ṣarāma wa khushūna).88 Māwardī justifies the need for such firmness by saying that the muḥtasib’s “office is created to intimidate, so that [demonstrating] overbearingness and harshness in the exercise of it may not be considered to exceed the limits or break the rules.

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