Custom is a source of Islamic law in general and Siyar (Islamic international law) in particular. Islamic jurists have set out the elements and conditions of customs for general jurisprudential purpose. However, no one has, to the authors’knowledge, formulated them from Siyar perspective. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap by tracing two important elements of an international custom, namely frequent and dominant general practice of States, and acceptance of that practice as law. These two will constitute a valid custom provided they fulfill certain conditions, most importantly that the custom must not conflict with Shari’ah or the spirit of Shari’ ah.

Considering Custom in the Making of Siyar (Islamic International Law)
  1. Introduction
  2. A Brief Perusal of the Islamic Jurisprudential Criteria of Custom for the Purpose of Siyar
  3. Elements of Customs for the Purpose of Siyar
  4. Conclusion

• Md (Muhammad) Anowar Zahid & Rohimi B. Shapiee(Faculty of Law, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia))