Languages of Law: Islamic Legal Cosmopolis and its Arabic and Malay Microcosmoi

Abstract

In premodern monsoon Asia, the legal worlds of major and minor traditions formed a cosmopolis of laws which expanded chronologically and geographically. Without necessarily replacing one another, they all coexisted in a larger domain with fluctuating influences over time and place. In this legal cosmopolis, each tradition had its own aggregation of diverse juridical, linguistic and contextual variants. In South and Southeast Asia, Islam has accordingly formed its own cosmopolis of law by incorporating a network of different juridical texts, institutions, jurists and scholars and by the meaningful use of these variants through shared vocabularies and languages. Focusing on the Shāfiʿī School of Islamic law and its major proponents in Malay and Arabic textual productions, this article argues that the intentional choice of a lingua franca contributed to the wider reception and longer sustainability of this particular legal school. The Arabic and Malay microcosmoi thus strengthened the larger cosmopolis of Islamic law through transregional and translinguistic exchanges across legal, cultural and continental borders.

Acehnese Loanwords and Contact with Other World's Languages

“…All participants similarly answer that the word knife in Aceh is spelled as 'sikin'. They also familiarly say that this word comes from Arabic (Kooria, 2019).…”

Provisions Regarding Low Heritage In The Compilation Of Islamic Law (Study In Nagari Koto Gadang, Koto Besar District Dharmasraya District)

“…The concept of inheritance in Minangkabau custom and the Compilation of Islamic Law has several similarities and differences, where these similarities and differences will provide clarity about the position of inheritance in Minangkabau custom according to the provisions contained in the Compilation of Islamic Law (Bunaiya dkk., 2021;Kooria, 2019;Mourad, 2019). The similarities and differences are explained as follows :…”