The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law - Wael B. Hallaq - Google Books

http://books.google.de/books?id=MPCN1yXEdg8C&pg=PA36&dq=earliest+qadi&hl=de&ei=F_dBTJGvL5Hv4Abws8nbDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=res

Long before the rise of Islam in the early seventh century, Arabia had come to form an integral part of the Near East. This book, covering more than three centuries of legal history, presents an important account of how Islam developed its own law while…