judges who were specialized in administering justice and that there were special officials who were responsible for implementing the judgments of them. The judiciary of the Maldives was a separate institution in the political organization of the country. As aforementioned, according to the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu, a set of customs called ‘poorube roodin’ was implemented as law in the country before the coming of Islam. From the same source and later historical records it is clear that after Islam the Islamic Shari’ah gradually became the main source of laws in the country. However, many years after Islam, the ‘poorube roodin’ still played an important part in the judicial system. Historical sources also say that the king was himself an authority. His decrees were treated as law and were implemented through the judicial system. During the first century after Islam the judiciary, therefore, underwent a radical change, with a completely alien system of law being introduced. The years which followed saw the operation of three main sources of law in the country, namely, the Islamic Shari’ah, the decrees of the King and customs. Since Islamic Shari’ah was introduced gradually, it caused the rules of Shari’ah to be altered by local customs. The Islamic Shari’ah was never implemented in the country in its complete and pure form. One example is in the dress code of the Maldivian women. Although the Shari’ah has specific commandments on this matter, accounts of Historians like Ibn Batuta, and François Pyrard show that these commandments were not implemented in medieval times. As for the duties of the judges, they were required to be thorough with both the Shari’ah laws and also the ‘poorube roodin.’ “Therefore,...the judge in the country was a scholar of not only Islamic law. He was also well versed in the customs and traditions of the Maldivian society.” While writing about the history of the Maldives during the period of Ninth-Twelfth centuries, H. C. P. Bell quotes from the famous Arab traveler-geologist Al Idrisi (1099–1186), “His (the King's) wife administers justice…” Was the queen the highest authority of administering justice from the beginning of political organization? After Islam did the queen rise to that position in the political arena of the country? Did that particular queen have an extraordinary influence on the administration of the state? There is not enough evidence to make a conclusion on this point. What is known is that no mention