ABSTRACT
The chapter suggests that the primary conceptual distinction between worship and transaction rested in the manner in which the obligation arose and the place of those acts in a larger understanding of human action, rather than just the private or public nature of the act. It provides an analysis of selected theoretical and practical discussions on obligations in some well-known classical Islamic treatises on law and legal theory. The chapter argues that the rise of obligation in Islamic legal thought is the result of the balancing of considerations pertaining to divine authority and the practicality of human this-worldly needs. It explains obligation was seen primarily as a reason for action among many, and that the possibility of reward or punishment was not particularly central to this understanding. The chapter also argues that the ritual–transaction distinction does not indicate any profound difference in type, but rather points to the justification and manner of formulation of some obligations.
