Abbas Poya - PhD Head of the research group Norms, Normativity and Norm Changes I , Department of Islamic Religious Studies, University of ErlangenNuremberg

In the internal debates of Islamic Theology, justice was usuallyunderstood as a divine concept. Justice was rarely conceived of as a matter ofworldly and social significance. A notable exception, however, is the work ofthe jurist and political philosopher Abū al-Ḥasan al-Māwardī (972-1058). Hedoes not discuss justice within the standard theological or juridicalframeworks, but as a worldly (dunyawī) and comprehensive (shāmil) matterthat is essential for managing the rules of social interaction and thefunctioning of society. This paper will present al-Māwardīʼs concept ofcomprehensive justice (al-ʿadl al shāmil), as introduced by himself in hisethical work, Adab al-dunyā wa al-dīn (The Ethics of Religion and of thisWorld). The paper will further answer the question, to what extent his conceptof justice was influenced by Mu tazili thinking

Islamic theology, justice, al-Māwardī, al-ʿadl al shāmil, Mu tazilites