Muslim Slave System in Medieval India c15.5

c15.5

*Fatawa-i-Alamgiri* thus forms the most important source book for Muslim law in India. It was compiled in the later Mughal period, gathering information from books and judgements of Qazis through all the centuries of Muslim rule. And more importantly it was written in Indian environment. Besides citing from the treatises and scriptures from the Quran to the *Hidayah*, it quotes as its sources almost all great authorities like Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, Imam Karkhi, Fatawas of Qazi Khan, *Fateh-ul-Qadiri*, *Sharah Ziadat-ul Utabi*, *Akhtiyar-i-Sharai Mukhtiyar*, *Muhit-i-Surkhi*, etc., etc. The *Hidayah* and the *Fatawa-i-Alamgiri* thus form the most authentic volumes for the study of Muslim slavery in medieval India. Its corpus deals with all aspects of Muslim law concerning the life of Muslims including the two aspects under discussion - upkeep and manumission, sale and purchase of slaves - in great detail.⁴