His most notable work is
al-Mi`yār al-Mughrib ("The Clear Measure and the extraordinary Collection of the Judicial Opinions of the Scholars of Ifrīqiyā, al-Andalus, and the Maghrib"), a multivolume collection of legal opinions (
fatwas) and cases (
nawāzil) in North Africa and Islamic Spain. consists of 16 chapters about
notarization of Islamic legal documents. It includes the requirements and desired characters of a
notary public, standards and requirements of an Islamic legal document, as well as notarial topics such as how to correctly date a legal document. an extensive
fatwa arguing that it was compulsory for Muslims in Christian-conquered Spain to emigrate to Muslim lands. It was issued in 1491, shortly before the
fall of Granada which marks the end of the
reconquista. At this point, most of Spain excepting Granada were had been conquered by the Christians, and Muslims had already lived in these territories under Christian rule (such Muslims are also known as
mudéjars). In addition to citing the Qur'an, hadith and previous consensus of jurists, he also supported his case with a detailed demonstration of why the mudéjars were unable to properly fulfill a Muslim's ritual obligation. This fatwa is one of the most preeminent pre-modern legal opinions on Muslims living under non-Muslim rule, although it was issued in the context of Muslims in Iberia and North Africa. In addition to
The Most Noble Commerce, he also wrote a shorter companion fatwa, sometimes called the "Marbella fatwa", responding to a question about a man from
Marbella in Southern Spain who wished to stay in Christian Spain in order to assist those unable to migrate. These two fatwas were distributed as independent work, and are later included in his collection
The Clear Standard. Al-Wansharisi's position, which emphasised the obligation to emigrate, was the predominant position of the Maliki school at the time. The
Oran fatwa, issued in 1504 after the
forced conversion in the
Crown of Castile, was an exception to this majority opinion, arguing that it may be permissible for Spanish Muslims to stay and even outwardly conform to Christianity, when forced and necessary for survival. == See also ==