ARABIC LEGAL TERMS IN MAIMONIDES

Although many aspects of the relationship between medieval Jewish culture and medieval Islamic culture have been extensively studied, notably the rise and development of Jewish philosophy under Islamic influence and the transformation of medieval Hebrew poetry under the impact of medieval Arabic poetry, the relationship between Jewish law and Islamic law in the medieval period remains untouched. This study is an attempt to contribute to this rich but neglected area of research through an examination of the technical legal terminology employed in the Arabic writings of Maimonides, the greatest and most influential Jewish legal scholar of the Middle Ages.;Each term is examined with respect to three questions: First, what are the possible meanings which this term has in Islamic law? Second, what meanings does this term have in Maimonides? Third, do the former illuminate the latter and in what ways? In order to place Maimonides' use of Arabic legal terms in proper historical perspective, the use of each term in the extant writings of earlier Judeo-Arabic legal scholars of importance (e.g., Saadiah, Samuel ben Hophni, Alfasi, Ibn Megas) is studied. In addition, in an attempt to explore the question of whether Maimonides' Arabic legal terminology represents a borrowing from Islamic legal texts or perhaps reflects instead the impact of Arabic terminology current in the business community of the Muslim world, the terminology of the published legal documents from the Geniza is examined.;The major conclusions which emerge from this study are two. First, Maimonides makes extensive use of Arabic legal terms, albeit not always with precisely the same meanings, and employs these terms for basic concepts and institutions of Jewish law. Second, in his use of terms which appear in Muslim legal writing, Maimonides draws upon a well-established specialized terminology of legal writing in Judeo-Arabic, the use of which can be documented in the extant writings of previous Judeo-Arabic legal scholars of prominence; the existence of this specialized terminology demonstrates that the impact of Islamic law on Judeo-Arabic halakhah expressed itself not only in the emergence of new forms of halakhic writing, e.g., tracts organized topically rather than according to the order of the Talmudic tractates, but in a process of extensive and significant terminological borrowing as well. The question of whether Arabic legal terms entered Judeo-Arabic halakhah by virtue of Jewish acquaintance with Islamic legal texts or by virtue of Jewish familiarity with usage in the business community of the Muslim world remains an open one.;Some thirty-one terms are examined in three chapters. Chapter I deals with some terms from Islamic legal theory which appear in Maimonides. Chapter II deals with terms from the Muslim law of procedure. Chapter III deals with terms from the Muslim law of property. A general introduction describes the methodology which is utilized in the study, and a concluding section outlines the broad conclusions which emerge.