Sovereignty, Territoriality, and Private International Law in Classical Muslim International Law.

This article examines classical Islamic international law (al-siyar) as developed by eighth- to thirteenth-century Iraqi and Central Asian Ḥanafī jurists, challenging earlier scholarship that viewed it primarily as a religiously motivated, ad-hoc response to a failed universal Muslim commonwealth. It argues that Ḥanafī legal thought centered sovereignty and territoriality as fundamental to legal order, with shared religion being secondary, and that al-siyar constituted a systematic, positivist legal framework regulating relations between sovereign polities, including principles of private international law. The article critiques Majid Khadduri's influential interpretation of al-siyar as merely internal Muslim law or emergency regulation, showing instead that classical Islamic international law recognized the validity of non-Muslim legal orders and treaties, and incorporated their effects into Muslim domestic law. Through detailed analysis of canonical Ḥanafī texts and cases, the article highlights the role of sovereignty, jurisdiction, and peace treaties in shaping legal rights and obligations across Muslim and non-Muslim polities, thereby contributing to a more pluralistic and historically nuanced understanding of the origins and nature of international law.