Mazalim
Flag of Abbasid dynasty
Abbasid Government Institution overview
FormedLate eighth century
DissolvedThirteenth century
JurisdictionCaliphate
Headquarters
Abbasid Government Institution executive

Al-Maẓālim (Arabic: المظالم, romanized: al-maẓālim, lit. 'injustices, grievances') were an ancient pre-Islamic institution that was adopted by the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth century CE. The main purpose of the maẓālim courts was to give ordinary people redress.[1] Al-Maẓālim, or the sultan's court, was distinguished from the shurṭa or police courts.[2]

References

  1. ^ Duindam, J.; Harries, J.D.; Humfress, C.; Nimrod, H. (2013). Law and Empire: Ideas, Practices, Actors. Rulers & Elites. Brill. p. 40. ISBN 978-90-04-24951-6. Retrieved 2023-07-19. the mazalim tribunals were an ancient institution that was adopted by the ʿabbasids in the eighth century. Its main purpose was to enable ordinary subjects to complain about the administrative elite of the empire.
  2. ^ Vikør, K.S. (2005). Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-19-522398-9. Retrieved 2023-07-19. group them into two main types recognized by the adab literature: mazalim, or the sultan's court, and shurta, police courts.

Bibliography

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