The idea of qanun entered the Muslim World in the thirteenth century, borrowed from the Mongol Empire following their invasions.
However, the influence of Abu ʾl-Suʿūd, the grand mufti of Istanbul from 1545 to 1574, kanun was expanded to deal with matters concerning property rights.
The kanun retained its relevance in the Middle East regarding civil, commercial, administrative and penal laws.
The word was then translated into and adopted by Arabic after the Ottoman Empire's conquest of Egypt under Sultan Selim I (ca.
In the Ottoman Empire, the term still carried the word's original meanings of a system of tax regulation.