The case analyzed in chapter one dealt with an alleged sexual union between ʿAli b. Abi al-culāʾ, a distinguished member of his Community, and a female slave named Tāwatarā, who belonged to ʿAlī's daughter. ʿAli had no legal training, and because of his unfamiliarity with the doctrine of shubha, he believed that he had committed zinā, or fornication. His ignorance – and that of others – played an important role in the case. Our attention was primarily focused on the qāḍī, who was called upon to weigh two conflicting versions of the facts. He demonstrated his skills as a Jurist through his handling of Māliki legal doctrine and the rules of judicial procedure, even if his treatment of the legal issues was driven by palpable but unidentified extra-legal issues.

The case to be examined in this chapter is in one respect similar to that in chapter one: the Charge is fornication. But the defendant, al-Haskūrī, was accused of engaging in sexual relations with his former wife after having repudiated her on three occasions. More important, al-Haskūrī was not a layman but a distinguished Jurist. a