Hisbah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hisbah (Arabic: حسبة hisba, ḥisba, "verification") is an Islamic doctrine of keeping everything in order within the laws of Allah. This doctrine is based on the Qur'anic expression Enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong.

This doctrine has the following major aspects.

An obligation of a Muslim
An obligation of a state to ensure its sitizens observe the hisbah, in particular, the Sharia law.
In a broader sense, hisbah also refers to the practice of supervision of commercial, guild, and other secular affairs. Traditionally, a muhtasib (al-Muhtasib) was appointed by the Caliph to oversee the order in marketplaces, in businesses, in medical occupations, etc. The position of muhtasib may be approximately rendered as "inspector". See Hisbah (business accountability) for this aspect.

For example, in Saudi Arabia, the state establishment responsible for hisbah is the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

In various islamic states there is an establishment called "religious police" in the West. In some states it is state-established, in others it is independent of state.

[edit] See also

Hisbah bill

[edit] References

Michael Cook: Commanding right and forbidding wrong in Islamic thought. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge 2000. ISBN 0-521-66174-9
Michael Cook: Forbidding Wrong in Islam. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge 2003 . ISBN 0-521-82913-5