Siyar

Siyar is a genre of Islamic literature and jurisprudence covering the law of war and international relations, describing how Muslim states are meant to conduct themselves toward believing and non-believing communities alike. The term originated in the late Umayyad period, when it first denoted the position or opinion of a school or sect on a creedal or political question, and became closely associated with the groups that rebelled against Umayyad rule, including the Zaydis, Ibadis, and Murji'ites. Works in the genre typically take the form of homilies and epistles addressed to the community of believers, read aloud by a preacher, setting out what a school held to be permitted and forbidden belief and conduct.