ABSTRACT
In the words of Muslim jurisprudence scholar David Bonderman, no systematic new Islamic legal framework was necessary in the relatively simple society of seventh-century Arabia because the entire pre-Islamic customary laws and institutions were retained, subject only to changes as Muhammad decreed. The practice of Sulha is strictly limited to huquq al-abad, governing relations between people, where compromise and conciliation is preferred path, as long as it is equitable and just and does not violate any provision of Muslim law. On the other hand, all issues concerning huquq Allah are strictly out of bounds for Sulha; this aspect of Muslim jurisprudence governs the relations between God and people, including Claims of God, such as fornication and adultery; consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants; and apostasy, charity and acts of prescribed atonement or penitence. In Israel, Sulha and formal justice, strictly segregated from each other, and failure to resolve Sulha simply results in the interclan conflict dragging on for years, sometimes decades.
