IN THE COURTS OF THE NATIONS - DataSpace - Princeton ...

‘udūl. 76 These ‘udūl, whose livelihood came from the fees they charged for their services, were
integral to the functioning of sharī‘a courts. They drew up the notarized legal documents
attesting to contracts and other deeds, and recorded the proceedings of trials heard by the various
qāḍīs of the city.
When the Assarraf family was in need of the services of a qāḍī (as opposed to ‘udūl
alone), they usually frequented the court presided over by the qāḍī al-quḍā in Fās al-Bālī; on
some occasions, they also obtained documents signed by the qāḍī of Fās al-Jadīd, whose court
was far closer to their home in the millāḥ. 77 It is possible that the Assarrafs went all the way to
the qāḍī al-quḍā—a trek of at an extra three to four kilometers—because they had personal
connections to that judge which might have ensured them more favorable outcomes in his court.
It is also possible that they found themselves in that part of Fās al-Bālī in any case for their
business pursuits and thus that it was simply more convenient to visit the qāḍī there.
Alternatively, their choice of qāḍī could have been determined by the other party, such that the
Assarrafs were not always free to choose before which qāḍī they appeared.
It is not entirely clear where the Assarrafs engaged the services of ‘udūl. There do not
seem to have been permanent offices occupied by ‘udūl near the millāḥ in Fās al-Jadīd, though it
is possible that some of the mobile ‘udūl came to this part of the city to ply their trade. The
Assarrafs may also have made the trip into Fās al-Bālī to seek out the ‘udūl working near the
76
Ibid., 215-16, 21.
77
For those bearing the signature of the qāḍī al-quḍā (always referred to as the qāḍī al-jamā‘a in these documents) or
his representative, see, e.g.: TC, File #1, 15 Dhū al-Qa‘da 1275; 1 Rabī‘ I 1297; File #5, 8 Muḥarram 1299; 26 Rabī‘
I 1297. There are far fewer documents in the Assarraf collection bearing the signature of the qāḍī of Fās al-Jadīd or
his representative: see, e.g. TC, File #2, 8 Ṣafar 1294; File #9, 14 Jumādā I 1324. One document curiously refers to
the “representative of the qāḍī al-jamā‘a in Fās al-Jadīd” (nā’ib qāḍī al-jamā‘a bi-fās al-‘ulyā: TC, File #7, 10
Sha‘bān 1307). It is possible that the qāḍī al-jamā‘a had a designated representative in Fās al-Jadīd, though it is hard
to imagine that this post would not have overlapped with that of the qāḍī of Fās al-Jadīd. Another possibility is that
this is merely an error, and that the word “al-jamā‘a” was included mistakenly.
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