Contagion in Theology and Law: Ethical Considerations in the Writings of Two 14th Century Scholars of Nasrid Granada

Abstract

The Black Death, which struck al-Andalus in the second half of the 8th/14th century, was an unprecedented natural disaster. In this essay I examine the legal and ethical responses of two Granadan scholars to the social and intellectual challenge posed by this event. Whereas previous scholarship has almost universally lauded the stridently critical stance of the wazir Ibn al-KhaãÊb as an exceptional example of rational empiricism, I argue that his stance is more productively understood when compared to that of his teacher Ibn Lubb. Both scholars articulated an ethical response to an insurmountable challenge from within a medical and legal framework. Their interpretive choices and conclusions were based not so much on one scholar's privileging of empirical evidence over legal dogma, or vice versa, as they were on both scholars' grounding their respective statements in differing understandings of the nature of the evidence at hand.

Islamic Civilizations and Plagues: The Role of Religion, Faith and Psychology During Pandemics

“…Much of the historical studies focus on two issues in examining the religio-legal and medical debates found among pre-modern Muslim scholars: (1) whether Muslims escaped from the plague (or not) and (2) how they perceived the contagiousness of the disease (Shabana, 2021). The literature shows that the occurrence of outbreaks in Muslim lands often sparked much legal debate among scholars and jurists, who were not only religious authorities but also as front-line representatives of the Muslim community (Bulmuş, 2012;Curry, 2017;Dols, 1974Dols, , 1977Hopley, 2010;Stearns, 2007). Yet, even when scholars pursued dissimilar lines of legal arguments, they had the common principle of prioritizing the welfare of the ummah (i.e., the greater Muslim community) and of abiding by the prophetic narrations.…”

“…The pandemics were followed by cycles of plague epidemics that lasted for centuries. More relevantly to the focus of the current article, pestilence occurred repeatedly in Muslim territories starting with the initial wave as part of the Justinian Plague and intensified during the Black Death and the following outbreaks (Conrad, 1982;Gökhan, 2008;Lowry, 2003;Stearns, 2007).…”

Minding the pandemic

“…Did the Prophet accept the fact of contagious diseases among animals, but not humans? (See Stearns 2010Stearns , 2007Dols 2012. ) In searching for Muslim responses to COVID-19 in 2020 I have only come across reference to the 'no ʿadwa' hadiths in contexts that question that the Prophet would ever have denied the transmissible nature of diseases.…”

Islam, Leprosy, and Disability: How Religion, History, Art, and Storytelling Can Yield New Insights and Acceptance

“…333-341). Justin Stearns [26] has observed that Islamic legal reasoning "was seldom carried out in a theoretical vacuum." Stearns' comment includes the qualifier "in the 8th/14th century," but I would proffer that this has always been the case for scriptural texts regarding matters which have an empirical/ scientific dimension.…”