FINAL REMARKS ON LEGAL THEORY 137

gradual development, traces of the influence of earlier doctrines, and occasional inconsistencies,¹ Shāfi'ī's legal theory is a magnificently consistent system and superior by far to the doctrines of the ancient schools. It is the achievement of a powerful individual mind, and at the same time the logical outcome of a process which started when traditions from the Prophet were first adduced as arguments in law. The development of legal theory is dominated by the struggle between two concepts: that of the common doctrine of the community, and that of the authority of traditions from the Prophet. The doctrine of the ancient schools of law represents an uneasy compromise; Shāfi'ī vindicated the thesis of the traditionists; and the classical legal theory extended the sanction of consensus to the traditionist principle.

The most important outside witness for the development of Muhammadan legal theory is the secretary of state Ibn Muqaffa' in his Risāla fī al-Ṣaḥāba.² According to him, it is part of the duty of the government to teach the Koran, to be well-versed in the sunna, to uphold the standards of trustworthiness and integrity, particularly in the dispensation of administrative justice and the examination of complaints, and to avoid irresponsible persons (pp. 124, 129 f.). The Caliph ought to admit to his company righteous lawyers who might serve as a model for the people (p. 129). The lawyers ought to be the educators of every town and ought to prevent the spread of [political] heresies (bida') (p. 130). These counsels reflect the conscious encouragement of Muhammadan law by the first 'Abbāsid Caliphs.