Hisba, Arts and Craft in Islam (Arabisch-Islamische Welt in Tradition und Moderne)

This book focuses on a historical and cultural aspect of medieval Islam: the market inspection (hisba) in the Muslim state and its impact on the development of arts and crafts. It is a pioneer work in Islamic Studies in which this aspect is studied from historical and cultural points of view. The study deals with two main issues. The first is the history of market inspection in medieval Islam, where it highlights some additional notes concerning the origin of the institution of market inspection in Islam and also emphasizes its cultural role in the Muslim society. The second issue focuses on the impact of the institution of market inspection on the development of the visual arts and crafts in medieval Islam. Methodologically, the study surveys the references to the crafts in the manuals of hisba and compares them with the information about these crafts as they run in reality.