The Sultanate period (1206-1526) is well-known for the production of a large number of works on Islamic jurisprudence (Figh-I-Islami) in Arabic and Persian. These works included Fatawa-collections compiled by learned jurists of the period on their own or at the instance of Sultans and nobles. The present work is a comprehensive study of these Fatawa. The work contains a general study of the origin and development of Fatawa compilation during Muslim rule in India and thoroughly examines the important Fatawa of the Sultanate period especially Al-Fatawa al-Ghiyasiah, Fatawa-I-Firuzshahi and Al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniah. Apart from critically analyzing main contents of the Fatawa, the author evaluates them from the point of view of their response to the contemporary problems of society and state. The work also gives an insight into the mechanism adopted by jurists and medieval India to solve the new problems of legal interest particularly Muslim – non-Muslim relationship which had been agitating the minds of Muslim masses of those days. Thus, in addition to the juridical and legal value, the Fatawa literature of the period is also of great significance from historical point of view as it reflects the peculiar problems of socio-economic and political life that emerged in those-days India. The book is well-documented and the author’s findings are fully supported by authentic sources. It would be of special interest not only for the students and scholars of Islamic Studies but also for the researchers in religious and intellectual history of medieval India.
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