6 - Concluding observations

Summary

The themes treated in this enquiry bear upon a number of issues relevant to interfaith relations as explored by early Muslim traditionists and jurisprudents. The great variety of pertinent views and the nature of the arguments marshalled by their protagonists testify to the vibrant intellectual life of Islam in the early period of its history. The mere existence of this variety is not in any doubt in view of previous research and in view of the material surveyed in the preceding five chapters. It is much more difficult to interpret its significance. Students of Islamic tradition are aware of the extensive literature that has been devoted to this issue. Does it reflect regional variations the existence of which is again being debated recently? Is it related to differences between the emerging madhāhib? Is it possible to discern features common to a certain school of law? Or does the variety represent perhaps a development in time? In other words, is it possible to identify Schacht's “well established precedent” or “ancient practice” in the topics which we have studied and suggest that it had certain characteristics – later to be marginalized or relegated to the recesses of “forged” traditions (mawḍū^cāt) and superseded rulings?

It was not the primary goal of this work to attempt a comprehensive answer to these much debated questions.