The First Signs of the Hisbah Institution in the Muslim World

In the history of Muslim governments, the institution of hisbah had been a functionary organ of the judiciary branch of state authority, its duty being the supervision of civil affairs and oversight on behavior of the citizens.When the hisbah institution was established for the first time is the subject of a range of different opinions among expert historians. Some believe that the institution was established sometime in the Prophet's lifetime or during the rule of his immediate successors, while others hold that it was created either in the Umawi (umayyad) or Abbasi periods of the Muslim khilafah.In this paper, the author, while presenting the various prevalent opinions and scrutinizing them carefully, deems the creation of the hisbah institution in the early periods of the Abbasi khilafah to be closest to truth.