given its earlier abolition in 1841 which makes direct reference to the abolition of wager of law. No wager of law was allowed in assumpsit, even though the cause of action were a simple debt. This led to the general adoption of assumpsit – proceeding originally upon a fictitious averment of a promise by the defendant – as a means of recovering debts. Where a penalty was created by statute, it became a common form to insert a proviso that no wager of law was to be allowed in an action for the penalty. Wager of law was finally abolished in 1833 (3 & 4 William IV. c. 42). In Islamic law The practice of compurgation (known as qasāma) was a part of the customary penal law in pre-Islamic Arabia, and became a part of early Islamic jurisprudence. If the body of a murdered person was found on occupied lands or a village, fifty inhabitants were required to take an oath that they did not cause the person's death, nor did they have knowledge of who did. If fewer than fifty persons were available, the people present had to swear more than once until fifty oaths had been obtained. This freed the people at the scene of criminal liability, but they were bound to pay blood money to the agnates of the decedent. See also Slade's Case Trial by combat Trial by ordeal References Bibliography External links Legal history 1833 disestablishments English legal terminology Medieval law Germanic legal codes Welsh law Oaths Medieval English court system