216 COMMON ANCIENT DOCTRINE

Ibn 'Abbās, to whom the common ancient doctrine was ascribed, knew the correct interpretation of the Koran better than others.

Foster-parentship. The ancient Iraqians and Medinese were essentially agreed that a single act of breast-feeding produced foster-parentship.¹ The traditions in the Muwaṭṭa' and in Tr. III, 56, starting with one from 'Ā'isha, were an unsuccessful effort to introduce a minimum number of feedings.²

Umm al-walad. See below, p. 264 f.

Contracts

Khiyār al-majlis. See above, pp. 159 ff.

Sale of the walā' and of the mukātab slave. See above, p. 173 f.

Sale of dogs. Muhammadan law at the beginning regarded dogs as res in commercio. According to the Iraqians, who have retained the common ancient doctrine, (a) the sale of dogs is valid, and (b) if a man destroys a dog he is responsible for its value to the owner. The idea of the ritual uncleanness of dogs was taken over from Judaism.³ The Medinese, therefore, rejected proposition (a), and expressed this doctrine in a tradition from the Prophet, but inconsistently maintained proposition (b). Only Shāfi'ī was consistent enough to reject both propositions (Tr. III, 51 ).

Pre-emption. See below, p. 219 f.

Security. See above, p. 186 f.

Fiscal Law and Law of War

Zakāt tax of the minor. The development started with the common ancient doctrine, based perhaps on an administrative regulation of late Umaiyad times, that the property of minors was liable to zakāt tax.⁴ This remained the Medinese doctrine, and it developed the corollary that the guardian was authorized to trade with the property of his ward, so that the zakāt should not eat into the capital, and to pay the tax on his behalf.