Al-Ahka^m As-Sulta^niyyah is a work in which Al-Ma^wardi theoretically and legally positioned the ima^mah and the status of the caliph again within the boundaries of the shari‘ah. It had set limits for the power of the caliph, too, via strict requirements and demands for religious and secular accountability; and this really had been extraordinary given the circumstances of the place and time Al-Ma^wardi had lived.