Affect and Shari’ah: Exploring emotions among the Muslims of Malabar in turbulent colonial settings

Abstract

Ever since the affective turn in the social sciences, emotions are understood to play a key role in cultivating selves. To think of affect and emotions in the Islamic tradition is tricky because it is the act itself that is evaluated on the basis of the five key rulings (ahkam). And yet intentions, will, feelings are almost always the mainstay of any Islamic principle – whether it relates to etiquettes or rituals. This paper attempts to elaborate on these connections between ahkam and affect by making use of a historical-anthropological lens. It examines shifts in emotions during the colonial period in Malabar to show how it directly impacts the shari’a and the Muslim subject henceforth. ‘Karaha’ and ‘yaqeen’ are two categories that are thought alongside contempt, surprise, and shock among the Muslims of Malabar in these turbulent times. The paper reads theological texts written around the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries alongside colonial archives.