al-Hisba fi al-Islam, aw Wazifat al-Hukuma al-Islamiyya
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah
al-Hisba fi al-Islam, aw Wazifat al-Hukuma al-Islamiyya (Public Oversight in Islam, or the Function of the Islamic Government) is a treatise on Islamic administrative and economic governance by the Hanbali jurist and theologian Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) . Also titled Qa'ida fi al-Hisba and Risalat al-Hisba, the work examines the institution of hisba, the duties of public officials, and the scope of state intervention in social and economic affairs .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn Taymiyya establishes that the fundamental purpose of all public offices (wilayat) in Islam—including supreme governance, military leadership, the judiciary, financial administrations, and the office of the inspector (muhtasib)—is to ensure that all religion is directed toward God and that the word of God remains supreme . He roots these offices in the overarching obligation of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong .
Within this framework, the book distinguishes the jurisdiction of the muhtasib from that of governors, judges, and financial administrators . The muhtasib is tasked with enforcing general religious duties not covered by other magistrates, such as compelling the public to perform the five daily prayers at their prescribed times and disciplining those who fail to do so by physical punishment or imprisonment, though capital cases are left to other authorities .
Economic and Administrative Doctrines
A substantial part of the treatise focuses on market ethics and public economic regulation . Ibn Taymiyya addresses the following key areas:
- Price Regulation (Tas'ir): The treatise argues that price-fixing is not prohibited in absolute terms; rather, it becomes mandatory when sellers refuse to offer essential commodities except above fair market value (qimat al-mithl) or when monopoly harms the public . In such circumstances, the ruler intervenes to compel sales at an equitable price . Conversely, forcing sellers to trade below cost without fair consideration is prohibited because it corrupts prices, causes the hoarding of basic foodstuffs, and destroys wealth .
- Monopolies and Collusion: Ibn Taymiyya prohibits hoarding essential provisions (ihtikar) and collusive agreements among merchants or buyers that distort prices to the detriment of ordinary consumers .
- Consultative Mechanism: To establish fair pricing, the treatise advises the ruler to convene leading merchants and independent market witnesses to evaluate real costs and set terms mutually agreeable to traders and the public without coercive injustice .
Reception and Influence
Ibn Taymiyya's positions on market regulation, monopolies, and equitable pricing were adopted and incorporated by his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya into his work al-Turuq al-Hukmiyya fi al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya . In modern scholarship, the treatise has served as a primary classical source for studies on Islamic public administration, political theory, and state economic regulation, including Muhammad al-Mubarak's study al-Dawla wa Nizam al-Hisba 'inda Ibn Taymiyya .
Transmission and Editions
The text is preserved as an independent treatise within the Hanbali legal corpus and appears in the compendium Majmu' Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (volume 28, pages 60–120) . It has seen multiple independent printings:
- An edition introduced by Muhammad al-Mubarak, published by Dar al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya (1387 AH / 1967 CE) .
- An edition edited by Sayyid Muhammad ibn Abi Sa'da, published by Maktabat Dar al-Arqam in Kuwait (1403 AH / 1983 CE) .
- An edition titled Qa'ida fi al-Hisba, edited by Muhammad al-Hammud al-Najdi and published by Dar Ilaf .
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