The mention of shari‘a generally arouses the suspicion of those who don’t know the matter. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness of general issues of Islamic law in terms of property rights, focusing on the peculiarities of the practice in al-Andalus, through the study of the forms of transmission of property –with special attention to inheritance law–, women’s property rights and regulations for the dhimmis, that is, Christians and Jews settled in territories governed by Muslims. This paper highlights the plurality of its sources, including Roman law, its complexity and the patrimonial independence achieved by women as well as non-Muslim communities, when the requirements stipulated by the shari‘a were met.
Shari‘a, Muslim Spain, property rights, dhimmis, women.