198 UMAIYAD PRACTICE AS THE STARTING-POINT

The same practice which the Medinese traditions ascribed to the Umaiyads, went under the name of 'Ali in Iraq.¹

The Umaiyad practice was attacked more successfully with references to the Koran. A counter-tradition relating the decision of the Prophet in the case of a certain Furai'a referred to Koran lxv. 2, tried to explain the opposite doctrine away by implying second thoughts on the part of the Prophet, and even claimed that 'Uthmān during his caliphate decided accordingly.² An Iraqian tradition makes Ibrāhīm Nakha'ī quote Koran lxv. 1, which is directly relevant, and give it an arbitrary interpretation which makes it even stronger.³ Koran lxv. 6 is also brought in.

This secondary doctrine prevailed both in Hijaz and Iraq, and was ascribed to 'Umar, Ibn 'Umar and Ibn Musaiyib, and to Ibn Mas'ūd and Ibrāhīm Nakha'ī respectively.⁴

Other points of Umaiyad practice regarding family law have been discussed before.⁵

C. UMAIYAD ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE

The starting-point of Muhammadan jurisprudence is not only popular practice under the Umaiyads as discussed in the preceding section; it is often the administrative practice of the government. The existence of administrative regulations, sanctioning the practice from which Muhammadan jurisprudence started, is sometimes directly attested⁶ and can sometimes be deduced from the subject-matter. Practically all individual cases in which we must postulate an Umaiyad administrative practice as the starting-point fall under the three great headings of fiscal law, law of war, and penal law; cases unconnected with one or other of these are few. This agrees well with the general character of Umaiyad government.