Shame (Ḥayāʾ) as an Affective Disposition in Islamic Legal Thought

Abstract

The recent “ethical turn” in the study of Islamic law has directed much attention to the cultivation of “virtuous passions” as central to the project of the classical Sharīʿa. This model has been particularly salient in the study of normative rituals, and some scholars have extended it to encompass much broader social and disciplinary aspects of the ideal Sharʿī order. The present paper focuses on the concept of ḥayāʾ (shame), understood as the fear of moral or social disapprobation, which is arguably the affective trait Muslim thinkers saw as most fundamental to proper social functioning and adherence to the law. The article compares the treatment of ḥayāʾ in ethical and legal works of scholars of the Shāfiʿī legal school in the 11th to early 12th centuries and argues that works of substantive law pursued a deliberately minimal approach to the role of affect.