Textological analyses of the “I’lam at-tilmidh bi ahkam an-nabidh”

Abstract

The article examines the Muslim legal provisions which treat an issue of nabiz (millet beer) in the pre Russian Dagestani work “I’lam at-tilmidh bi ahkam an-nabidh” (Notification to a student with regard to the statements on millet beer) by Abu Bakr al-Muawiya (d. 1791). He was a poet, lawyer and enlightener of the 18th century. The article is based on the content analysis of the most popular written work in the Arabic literary genre in Dagestan, known as “al-Fiqh”. The author highlights the underlying principles of Abu Bakr’s legal discourse as a key to discuss the issues of ethics, reason, values, and law teachings treated by the scholar in his work. The article provides a thorough description of the Dagestan Arabic manuscript, introduces a so far unstudied legal work of the Avar lawyer in the Russian Oriental studies, analyses its linguistic and thematic content. Refs 9.

Keywords:

manuscript, fiqh, nabidh, alcohol, mathhab, Islamic law, opinions