Uncolonised Islam - the textual field of shariʿa within and beyond the colonial legal system in India

Abstract

One of the most coherently told stories in the history of colonial knowledge production is that of the “capture” of Islamic law or shariʿa. Scholars of South Asian history have shown how, in the process of accommodating Islamic law within the colonial legal system, it was turned into a rigid body of rules, derived from a small number of authorised sources, applicable only to familial and religious matters. This paper disputes that narrative and demonstrates that, in fact, Islamic jurisprudence or fiqh continued to thrive in colonial India, beyond the reach of colonial courts. Classical as well as modern works of Islamic jurisprudence, produced around the Islamic world, continued to be read and discussed, and with the advent of print technology, disseminated even more widely than before. Moreover, innovative legal thinkers, such as the Indian Muslim lawyer and judge – Sayyid Amir Ali – drew upon this field of knowledge in order to influence the deployment of Islamic law within the colonial legal system.