The Function of the Institution of Wilāyat al-Sūq in Establishing the Social, Cultural, and Religious Security of Cities Based on Maghrebi–Andalusian Sources

Abstract

The institution of Wilāyat al-Sūq was one of the most important administrative organizations in the Maghreb and al-Andalus, responsible for establishing a significant aspect of social, cultural, and religious security within society. This study seeks to examine the role of this institution and, particularly, the role of the Ṣāḥib al-Sūq in these domains by relying on three major surviving sources of ḥisbah from the western Islamic world, entitled Thalāth Rasāʾil fī Ādāb al-Ḥisbah wa al-Muḥtasib, authored by ʿUmar ibn ʿUthmān al-Jarsīfī, Ibn ʿAbdūn al-Tujībī, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Raʾūf. It highlights significant aspects of the social history of the Maghreb and al-Andalus. These three sources emphasize that the aforementioned institution achieved its intended objectives through measures such as supervising public spaces, including bathhouses, mosques, roads and urban services, prisons, and the moral integrity of society. The most important aspect of this supervision involved monitoring women, preventing any form of inappropriate mixing between women and men, dealing with intoxicated individuals, and prohibiting their presence in society. Oversight of government officials, public customs and etiquette, the dhimmī communities, urban structures, and the management of animals was also carried out to further organize social and cultural affairs within society. In addition to these responsibilities, the Ṣāḥib al-Sūq exercised strict supervision over religious practices, including prayer, fasting, and zakāt, and sought to ensure the proper implementation of religious obligations.