akra'.pdf al-Aḳraʿ b. Ḥābis b. ʿIḳāl b. Muḥammad b. Sufyān b. Mudjāshiʿ b. Dārim, Tamīmite warrior. Al-Aḳraʿ is an epithet (“bald”); his proper name (Firās? ull?) is disputed. He is said to have been the last judge in the djāhiliyya at ɈUkāẓ, having inherited this office (which was a privilege of Tamīm) from his ancestors; he performed this duty until the rise of Islam, giving his judgments in sadjʿ (al-Djāḥiẓ, Bayān, i, 236). He is said also to have been the first to prohibit games of chance (ḳimār), but was accused of partiality in the controversy between Badjīla and Kalb. He took part, and was captured, in the battle of Zubāla (or Salmān, according to al-Balādhurī and Yāḳūṭ) and was freed by Bisṭām b. Ḳays. Another exploit of al-AḳraɈ was the raid on Nadjrān after the battle of al-Kulāb al-thānī (see al-Naḳāʾiḍ, 46, 448; Ibn Ḥabīb's statement (Muḥabbar, 247) that he took part in al-Kulāb al-awwal is due to a confusion with his ancestor Sufyān: see Aghānī, xi, 61). Ibn Ḥabīb also states that he was one of the djarrārūn, who succeeded in uniting a whole branch of his tribe, the Banū Ḥanẓala, under his banner. According to Ibn Ḳutayba (al-Maʿārif, 194) and Ibn al-Kalbī (quoted in the Iṣāba) he was a Zoroastrian (madjūsī); this is of importance for the estimation of Persian influence on some sections of Tamīm. Nothing is known of his attitude towards Muḥammad up to the time when he joined the Prophet in al-Suḳyā during the expedition to Mecca in 8/630. He took part in the conquest of Mecca and was one of al-muʾallafa ḳulūbuhum who were presented with gifts, which gave occasion to a famous verse of ɈAbbās b. Mirdās. He took part also in the battle of Ḥunayn and refused to return his booty, in spite of the Prophet's request. (For Muḥammad's somewhat negative opinion of him see also Ibn Hishām, iv, 139.) He participated later in the deputation of Tamīm to the Prophet, the traditional account stressing his arrogant conduct; nevertheless, he was appointed to collect the ṣadaḳāt of part of the Banū Ḥanẓala (al-Ansāb, x, 970r). Together with other chiefs of Tamīm, he interceded for the captives of the Banu 'l-ɈAnbar, and was a witness to a letter despatched by the Prophet to Nadjrān. During the ridda, according to Sayf (al-Ṭabarī, i, 1920), al-AḳraɈ and al-Zibriḳān proposed to Abū Bakr to guarantee the allegiance of Tamīm against the grant of the kharādj of Baḥrayn, and it was only ɈUmar who prevented Abū Bakr from accepting the proposal. In view of the situation of Tamīm at this period, this tradition does not seem trustworthy, but it may reflect ɈUmar's attitude to al-AḳraɈ (cf. Bayān, i, 253, and ʿUyūn al-Akhbār (Cairo), i, 85). Sayf relates also that he took part in the battle of the ridda alongside Khālid b. al-Walīd, and was in the vanguard at the battles of Dūmat alDjandal and al-Anbār. His name is last mentioned in 32/652-3, when he was sent by alAḥnaf b. Ḳays to subdue Djūzdjān; he must have been a very old man at that time. AlBalādhurī mentions that his descendants lived in Khurāsān. (M.J. Kister) Bibliography Ibn Hishām, Sīra, index Bukhārī, ch. on Wafd Banī Tamīm, iii, 65 Naḳāʾiḍ (Bevan), index Ibn al-Kalbī, Djamharat al-Ansāb, B. M. 1202, 65 Balādhurī, Futūḥ, Cairo 1319, 414 idem, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, MS, x, 969v-970r Ḥassān b. Thābit, Diwān, Cairo 1929, 243-52, 353 v Ibn SaɈd, index Mubarrad, Kāmil, Cairo 1355, i, 133 Djāḥiẓ, Bayān, i, 236, 253 Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥabbar, 134, 182, 247, 473 Ibn Ḳutayba, Maʿārif, Cairo 1935, 194, 305 Ṭabarī, index Aghānī, Tables Ibn ɈAbd Rabbihi, ʿIḳd, Cairo 1940 f., index Ibn Rashīḳ, ʿUmda, ii, 160 Ibn Ḥazm, Djamhara, 219 Ibn ɈAsākir, iii, 86-91 Yāḳūṭ, s. vv. Salmān, Djūzdjān Ibn al-Athīr, index LA, s.v. ḳaraʿa Ibn Ḥadjar, Iṣāba, s.v. al-AḳraɈ E. Bräunlich, Bisṭām b. Qais, Leipzig 1923, 46 Maḳrīzī, Imtāʿ al-Asmāʿ, Cairo 1941, index. [Print Version: Volume I, page 343, column 1] Citation: Kister, M.J. "al-AḳraɈ b. Ḥābis b. ɈIḳāl b. Muḥammad b. Sufyān b. MudjāshiɈ b. Dārim." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; , Th. Bianquis; , C.E. Bosworth; , E. van Donzel; and W.P. Heinrichs. 

RajabEI.pdf Radjab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, was observed as a holy month in the period of the Djāhiliyya in spring. It was the month of the sacrifices of the ʿatāʾir offered to the pagan deities as a token of gratitude for the augmentation of their flocks and herds. It was also the time of invocations of their deities to increase the number of their flocks. It was as well the month of the sacrifices of the furuʿ, the firstlings of the flocks and herds. The owner of the flock had to sacrifice one ewe out of fifty (or hundred) of his herd. The holy month of Radjab was also the month of peace in the Arab peninsula; the tribes refrained from raids and warfare. The month was called al-aṣamm “the deaf” because no sound of weapons was heard during that month and al-aṣabb “the pouring” because the unbelievers of Mecca used to say that the mercy is pouring forth in this month. Another by-name of Radjab was al-radjm “the stoning” because the Satans were stoned in that month and were expelled from the dwellings of the tribes. Other bynames attached to Radjab were: al-muḳīm “the constant,” because its sanctity was a firm one, since Radjab is one of the four ḥurum months; al-harim “the aged” because the sanctity of the month was an ancient one, dating from the time of Mu ar b. Nizār; as the tribes of Mu ar venerated this month, it was also named radjab Muḍar. Because of the comprehensive peace among the tribes and their abstaining from hostilities, the month was called munṣil al-all and munṣil al-asinna, pointing to the fact that the spearheads were removed, weapons laid down and no fighting among tribes was launched. The name al-muʿallā “the elevated” was attached to Radjab because it was a month highly respected among the Arab tribes. The name al-mubriʾ “the clearing [from fault]” was given to the month because warlike activity was given up, no iniquity was committed and no act of hypocrisy was perpetrated during the month. A peculiar name granted to Radjab was al-muḳashḳish “the exonerating,” denoting that Radjab distinguished between the people who stuck to the tenets enjoining abstention from fighting during the month and those who violated the sanctity of the month by fighting. Finally, the month was called al-ʿatīra because the sacrifices of the ʿatīra were carried out during this month. According to tradition, the month of Radjab was a time of devotional practices, exertions and fasting. Invocations against the iniquitous and the wrong-doers in this month were especially efficacious. The opinions of the scholars of Islam as to the permission to continue these practices in Islam were divergent, controversial and even contradictory. The differences in their opinions are clearly exposed in the utterances attributed to the Prophet in the collections of ḥadīth. An utterance attributed to the Prophet and recorded in the early collection of ɈAbd alRazzāḳ (d. 211/826) says that the Prophet approved of the sacrifice of the ʿatīra which the people used to practice in Radjab. The Prophet said, “Do it, and name it al-radjība.” The utterance of the Prophet enjoining sacrifice of the ʿatīra and naming it the radjība is opposed by an utterance attributed to the Prophet enjoining annulment of the sacrifice of the firstlings and the sacrifice of the Radjabī ʿatīra. It is recorded in the same collection and is formulated plainly: lā faraʿa wa-lā ʿatīra “there is no [sacrifice] of the firstlings nor of the ʿatīra.” This prohibitive tradition was, however, changed by the interpretation given to it by alShāfiɈī: there is no sacrifice of the ʿatīra nor of the faraʿa “as an obligatory practice”, adds al-ShāfiɈī. This comment of his changes, of course, the meaning of the tradition and its significance. In the same way was interpreted the utterance of the Prophet ʿalā ahl kull bayt an yad̲h̲baḥū shāt fī kull radjab wa-fī kull aḍḥā shāt . The expression ʿalā kull ahl bayt an i in i an i i in i i in is, however, interpreted not as an enjoinment but only as a recommendation. The utterance has to be understood as recommendation for every family group to sacrifice a ewe during every month of Radjab and to sacrifice a ewe on every aḍḥā celebration. An utterance of the Prophet about the ʿatīra permits the sacrifice of the ʿatīra in any month of the year and enjoins the practice of charity, dividing among the poor the meat of the slaughtered beasts. It is obvious that the sanctity of Radjab was, according to this tradition, fairly limited, or even abolished, while the advice of charity was especially stressed. A tradition reported on the authority of ɈĀɇisha says that the Prophet enjoined the slaughter of the firstling of the herd numbering fifty, which tallies with the prevalent Djāhilī practice. But another tradition attributed to the Prophet says, “Practice the sacrifice of the faraʿa if you want”. Thus the sacrifice was left to the discretion of the believer. A peculiar utterance of the Prophet turns the sacrifice of the faraʿa into a voluntary practice, with a special reservation of the Prophet changing the aim of the practice. The Prophet permitted the practice but remarked that it would be preferable to feed the camel until it grows up and to ride it on expeditions and raids for the cause of God; similarly, it is preferable to feed the ewe until it grows up, to sacrifice it and to divide the meat among the poor. Similarly, the utterance of the Prophet in which he is said to have approved of the faraʿa, saying al-faraʿa ḥaḳḳ, was considerably changed by the added reservation that it would be better to feed the destined sacrificial animal until it grows up and can be used to ride on it in a raid for the cause of God (in the case of a camel) or to slaughter it (in the case of a ewe) and give the meat as charity to a needy widow. Scholars of Islam stress that the slaughter of animals in Rad̲j̲ab was continued in the first period of Islam and was only later abrogated. Al-Ḵh̲aṭṭābī (d. 388/998) considered the ʿatīra compatible with the principles of Islam: it was in the period of Islam sacrificed to God in contradiction to the j̲āhilī ʿatīra, which was sacrificed to the idols. There is indeed a report saying that Ibn Sīrīn (d. 110/729) used to slaughter the ʿatīra in Radjab. Strictly orthodox scholars stressed that there is no valid tradition concerning the virtues of Radjab. There were, however, scholars, especially from among the pious and devoted, who favoured the widely-circulated popular traditions allegedly uttered by the Prophet, emphasising the virtues of Radjab and encouraging the carrying out of the various practices considered laudable and right. The Prophet is said to have named Radjab “the month of God”, s̲h̲ahr Allāh, because it was the month of the people of the ḥaram (i.e. the people of Mecca) who were called āl Allāh. The problem of the sacrifices during the month of Radjab was only one aspect of the disputes among the Muslim scholars as to the ritual practices performed in the Muslim community in that month. A significant tradition ascribed to the Prophet singled out the peculiar sanctity of three months of the year: “Radjab is the month of God, ShaɈbān is my month and Rama ān is the month of my people.” As the month of Radjab was put on par with the two other months there was an obvious tendency to competition between these holy months regarding the rewards of the ritual practices performed during these months, the exceptional position of certain nights of the months and the prayers during these months. The competition between Radjab and ShaɈbān is clearly presented in a tradition reported on the authority of Zayd b. Aslam. The Prophet was informed about people fasting during Radjab. He remarked, “How far are they from the virtues of the people fasting during ShaɈbān!” Zayd observed, “Most of the fasting of the Prophet, except in Rama ān, was in ShaɈbān.” The partisans of Radjab quoted a report of Ibn al-ɈAbbās saying that the Prophet used to fast so many days in Radjab that his Companions did not think that he would break his fast; and he used to break his fast so that they doubted whether he would resume it. As against the people venerating ShaɈbān, the partisans of Radjab had recourse to utterances attributed to the Prophet in which the fasting of Radjab was recommended and very high rewards were promised to people who were fasting in it. The Prophet is said to have stated that the month of Radjab is of a high position and that the good deeds of the believer gain multiple rewards. He who fasts one day in Radjab is in the position of a believer who would fast a year. He who fasts nine days, for him the gates of Hell are closed; he who fasts eight days, for him the eight doors of Paradise are opened; he who fasts ten days, God will fulfill for him every wish; he who fasts fifteen days, a herald will announce from Heaven that god forgave him every sin which he had committed in the past. In the month of Radjab God carried Nūḥ (Noah) in the ark; he fasted during Radjab, and bade his people to fast during it, thus expressing their gratitude to God for their salvation. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal said that he had in his possession a tradition recording the rewards for fasting of every day of Radjab; he considered, however, the ḥadīth a forged one. The fasting of the whole month of Radjab was nevertheless frowned upon and sometimes forbidden in order not to create a similarity with Rama ān. The practices of fasting during Radjab were censured by Abū Bakr, ɈUmar and people of the ṣaḥāba, says Ibn Taymiyya. Some nights of Radjab are considered to be replete with God's graces. In the first night of Radjab, God will grant every supplication of the believer. It is one of the five chosen nights in the year. Another prayer strongly censured by Ibn Taymiyya was the prayer practised in the midst of Radjab called ṣalāt Umm Dāwūd. A night highly praised by those who observed Radjab was the night of the ṣalāt alraghāʾib “the night of the prayer for extensive and desirable gifts”; it starts on the eve of the first Friday of Radjab; the prayers and supplications contained hundreds of invocations, prostrations, rakʿas and recitations of some sūras of the Ḳurɇān. The believer is requested to fast on the Thursday preceding this night. A night of Radjab distinguished by the rich rewards is the night of the twenty-seventh of Radjab. The believer spending this night in vigils: praying; thanking God; repeating a hundred times the various phrases of gratitude, the oneness of God, invocations and supplications; performing prostrations and rakʿas; and reading a sūra of the Ḳurɇān and fasting the next day, will be highly rewarded by God; he will attain God's grace as if he fasted a hundred years and practiced vigils for a hundred years. On that night, Muḥammad was sent as a prophet. The significant events connected with the life of the Prophet which allegedly happened in Radjab turn the month into one of the most distinctive periods of the year. According to a tradition, the mother of the Prophet conceived him on the first evening of Radjab; another tradition claims that he was born in Radjab. Some traditions assert that the event of the laylat al-miʿrādj occurred in Radjab. Other traditions claim that the date of the isrāʾ was the twenty-seventh day of Radjab. The struggle of the orthodox scholars against those practices of Radjab widely approved by pious ascetics and Ṣūfīs was not entirely successful. These practices have survived and form until the present time an essential part of Muslim popular belief and ritual. (M. J. Kister) Bibliography ɈAbd al-Razzāḳ, al-Muṣannaf, ed. Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān al-AɈẓamī, Beirut 1391/1972, iv, 342, no. 8000, iv, 341, no. 7998, iv, 341, no. 7999, iv, 340, no. 7997, iv, 337, no. 7989, iv, 337, nos. 7990-1, iv, 340, no. 7996, and see ibid., iv, 338, nos. 7992-3, iv, 292, no. 7858, iv, 317, no. 7927 Ibn Abī Shayba, al-Muṣannaf fi ʾl-aḥādīth wa ʾl-āthār, ed. ɈAbd al- Ḵh̲āliḳ Afghānī, repr., n.p. n.d., viii, 64-7 Abū YaɈlā al-Mawṣilī, al-Musnad, ed. Ḥusayn Salīm Asad, Damascus-Beirut 1407/1987, x, 282, no. 5879 (and see the abundant references of the editor) Subkī, Ṭabaḳāt al-shāfiʿiyya al-kubrā, ed. ɈAbd al-Fattāḥ Muḥammad Ḥulw and Maḥmūd Muḥammad al-Ṭannāḥī, Cairo 1383/1964, ii, 111 Munāwī, Fayḍ al-ḳadīr, sharḥ al-djāmiʿ al-ṣaghīr, Beirut 1391/1972, vi, 435, no. 9914, iv, 321, no. 5457, iv, 375, no. 5674, iii, 454, no. 3953 ɈAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣaffūrī, Nuzhat al-madjālis wa-muntakhab al-nafāʾis, Beirut, n.d., 189-95 Ibn Taymiyya, Iḳtiḍāʾ al-ṣirāṭ al-mustaḳīm mukhālafat aṣḥāb al-djaḥīm, ed. Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Fiḳī, Cairo, ɈĀbidīn 1369/1950, 293, 302 Abū ɈUbayd al-Ḳāsim b. Sallām al-Harawī, Gharīb al-ḥadīth, ed. Muḥammad ɈAẓīm alDīn, Ḥaydarabad 1385/1966, ii, 4-6 ɈAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad b. DjaɈfar b. Ḥayyān, Abu ɇl-Shaykh al-Anṣārī, Ṭabaḳāt almuḥaddithīn bi-Iṣbahān wa ʾl-wāridīn ʿalayhā, ed. ɈAbd al-Ghafūr ɈAbd al-Ḥaḳḳ Ḥusayn al-Balūshī, Beirut 1407/1987, i, 279-82, nos. 27-9 (and see the references of the editor) ɈUmar b. Badr al-Mawṣilī, al-Mughnī ʿan al-ḥifẓ wa ʾl-kitāb, Cairo 1342, 33, 36 Ḳurṭubī, al-Djamiʿ li-aḥkām al-Ḳurʾān = Tafsīr al-Ḳurṭubī, Cairo 1387/1967, vi, 326 Ibn ɈAsākir, Taʾrīkh Dimāshḳ, ed. ɈAbd al-Ḳādir Badrān, Beirut 1399/1979, vi, 246, vii, 347 inf.-348 sup. Bayhaḳī, Faḍāʾil al-awḳāt, ed. ɈAdnān ɈAbd al-Raḥmān Madjīd al-Ḳaysī, Mecca 1410/1990, 89-90, no. 7, 106-7, 311-12, no. 149, 95-8, nos. 11, 12 Wadjīh al-Dīn ɈAbd al-Raḥmān b. Khalīl al-AdhruɈī, Bishārat al-maḥbūb bi-takfīr aldhunūb, ed. Madjdī al-Sayyid Ibrāhīm, Cairo n.d., 41, no. 98 Bayhaḳī, al-Djāmiʿ li-shuʿab al-īmān = Shuʿab al-īmān, ed. ɈAbd al-ɈAlī ɈAbd al- Ḥamīd Ḥāmid, Bombay 1409/1988, vii, 382- 3, no. 3520, 390-3, no. 3529, 393-5, nos. 3530-1 Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Taʾrīkh Baghdad, Cairo-Baghdād 1349- 1931, viii, 331, no. 4421 ɈAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suhaylī, al-Rawḍ al-unuf, ed. ɈAbd al-Raḥmān al-Wakīl, Cairo 1387/1967, i, 70 Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī, Madjmaʿ al-zawāʾid wa-manbaʿ al-fawāʾid, Beirut 1967, iii, 188, 191 Murta ā al-Zabīdī, Itḥāf al-sāda al-muttaḳīn bi-sharḥ asrār iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, Beirut n.d., iii, 422-5 Ibn Ḥadjar al-ɈAsḳalānī, Tabyīn al-ʿadjab bi-mā warada fī faḍl radjab, ed. Abū Asmāɇ Ibrāhīm b. IsmāɈīl Āl ɈAṣr, Beirut 1408/1988 Ibn Himmāt al-Dimashḳī, al-Tankīt wa ʾl-ifāda fī takhrīdj aḥādīth khātimat sifr al-saʿāda, ed. Aḥmad al-Bazra, Beirut 1407/1988, 96-7, 112-13 Maḳrīzī, al-Khabar ʿan al-bashar, ms. Dār al-Kutub 947, Taɇrīk̲h̲, p. 444 ɈIzz al-Dīn b. ɈAbd al-Salām al-Sulamī, Kitāb al- Fatāwā, ed. ɈAbd al-Raḥmān b. ɈAbd al-Fattāḥ, Beirut 1406/1986, 117 ɈAbd al-WāsiɈ b. Yaḥyā al-WāsiɈī, al- Mukhtaṣar fī targhīb wa-tarhīb ḥadīth sayyid albashar, Cairo 1345, 26 ult.-27 al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Khallāl, Faḍāʾil shahr radjab, ed. ɈAmr ɈAbd al-MunɈim, Ṭanṭā 1412/1972 ɈAlī b. Sulṭān al-Ḳārī, al-Adab fī radjab, ed. ɈAmr ɈAbd al-MunɈim, Ṭanṭā 1412/1992, also ed. ɈAbd Allāh ɈAwda in JSAI, forthcoming Badr al-Dīn Shiblī, Maḥāsin al-wasāʾil fī maʿrifat al-awāʾil, ms. B.L., Or. 1530, fol. 56b ɈAlī Maḥfūẓ, al-Ibdāʿ fī maḍārr al-ibtidāʿ, Cairo 1388/1968, 296-7 Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Djubayr al-Kinānī, Riḥla, Beirut 1388/1968, 98-104 Muḥammad b. ɈAlī b. Ṭūlūn al- Dimashḳī, Faṣṣ al-Khawātim fī-mā ḳīla fi ʾl-walāʾim, ed. Nizār Abāẓa, Damascus 1402/1982, 92-4. For additional bibl., see M. J. Kister, Radjab is the month of God, in IOS, i (1971), repr. Variorum, London 1980, Studies in Jāhiliyya and early Islam, no. XII. [Print Version: Volume VIII, page 373, column 2] Citation: Kister, M. J. “Rad̲j̲ab.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C. E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 

aysEI.pdf Ḳays b. ʿĀṣim b. Sinān b. Khālid b. Minḳar b. ɈUbayd b. MuḳāɈis, Abū ɈAlī (according to other versions: Abū Ṭalḥa or Abū Ḳabīṣa), a mukhaḍram chief of the Banū MuḳāɈis and leader of his tribe. Tribal tradition emphasised his generosity, care for people under his protection, mildness and leniency. Al-Aḥnaf b. Ḳays reported the story, recorded in the compilations of adab, of how Ḳays b. ɈĀṣim received calmly the news about the murder of his son and magnanimously pardoned the murderer who was brought fettered into his presence. A poet of Sulaym, ɈAbbās b. Mirdās, praised his noble behaviour towards his djār. He is counted among the magnanimous ones (ḥulamāʾ) and the nobles of the Djāhiliyya who abstained from drinking wine. His reintroduction of the practice of burying alive female infants is connected with a story of a woman of his family who, when captured in a raid on the tribe, preferred to remain with her captor and refused to return to her tribe. In order to prevent the recurrence of such an ignominy he decided to bury his daughters alive; verses 8-9 of Sūra LXXXI are said to have been revealed in connexion with this practice of Ḳays b. ɈĀṣim. Ḳays is recorded as a leader of his tribe in the stories of the battles which took place in the first decade of the 7th century. He was victorious in all of his battles, except that of Abraḳ al-Kibrīt where he was captured with his mother and two of his sisters. In the battle of al-Sitār he is said to have killed Ḳatāda b. Salama al-Ḥanafī; if this report is true, Ḳatāda must have been a very old man when Ḳays killed him, as he had already been a tribal leader during the Expedition of the Elephant and had been warned by Ṭarafa of the advancing troops of Abraha (see Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb, al-Munammaḳ, ed. Khursheed Aḥmad Fariq, Hyderabad 1383/1964, 69). The attack on the ɈAbd Ḳays at Djuwāt̲h̲a, in which Ḳays distinguished himself, seems to have been led by al-Ahtam. The attack on the Lahāzim (see W. Caskel, Ǧamharat an-Nasab, Leiden 1966, ii, 2627) at Nibādj-Thaytal was a joint action undertaken by Ḳays at the head of the MuḳāɈis and Salāma b. Ẓarib, chief of the Adjārib (see Caskel, op. cit., 144). His rapid action and his effective tactics assured them of victory. In the battle of al-Kulāb II (where the tribal units of Tamīm gathered after the slaughter of al-Mushaḳḳar) Ḳays became the leader of the troops of SaɈd and by his energetic action and bravery helped to win the battle; the Tamīm attacked by allied Yamanī tribes took spoils and captives. It was at this battle, which took place at the beginning of the second decade of the 7th century, that Ḳays clashed with al-Ahtam. The animosity between these two leaders and the rancour between Ḳays and al-Zibriḳān b. Badr are echoed in the recorded verses of hidjāʾ and in the stories about the deputation of Tamīm to the Prophet. A mathal story reports the part played by Zayd al-Khayl (who left his tribe for some time and dwelt in the camp of Ḳays) in repelling an attack of the ɈIdjl against the MuḳāɈis; Ḳays denied Zayd's meritorious deed and because of this gained the epithet “the liar”. Tamīmī tradition stresses the role of Ḳays in the deputation of Tamīm to the Prophet, emphasising that the Prophet was impressed by him and named him “the chief of the nomad people” (sayyid ahl al-wabar). A spurious tradition records a conversation between the Prophet and Ḳays, in which Ḳays told the Prophet that the first man who applied radjaz in driving camels (ḥidāʾ) was the ancestor of the Prophet, Mu ar; the first man who received information about the appearance of a prophet named Muḥammad was Sufyān b. Mudjās̲h̲iɈ al-Dārimī, who accordingly named his new born son Muḥammad. It is apparent that the tendency of this tradition is to stress the Prophet's link with Mu ar and Tamīm. The alleged sincerity of Ḳays' belief is indicated in a story of his divorce of his beloved wife from the Banū Ḥanīfa, because she refused to embrace Islam. The Prophet exhorted Ḳays to donate some of his flocks to the poor and needy, and is said to have forbidden tribal alliances to be formed in Islam. The Prophet appointed Ḳays tax collector of the MuḳāɈis and the Buṭūn (see Caskel, op. cit., 230). After the death of the Prophet, Ḳays seems to have wavered in his loyalty to Medina. He doubted the stability of the Medina establishment and preferred to divide the taxes collected for Medina among his tribe. This he apparently did according to some kind of agreement with al-Zibriḳān; when al-Zibriḳān later hurried to Abū Bakr with the taxes levied from his tribal units, Ḳays felt himself deceived and accused al-Zibriḳān of treacherous behaviour. Both leaders showed no hostility towards Medina at the beginning of the ridda: they escorted ɈAmr b. al-ɈĀṣ in their territories when he was on his way from ɈUmān to Medina; they took a neutral stand towards Medina while waiting to see whether Medina would stand fast against the tribal revolts. Ḳays further aided Sadjāḥ, but no war action of his on her behalf is recorded. After the revolt of the Banū Ḥanīfa was crushed, Ḳays joined ɈAlāɇ al-Ḥa ramī when he was on his way to Baḥrayn, but even then he simply escorted him through the territories of the SaɈd; only later did he decide to fight on his side. He fought bravely, and is credited with the killing of al-Ḥuṭam and Abdjar b. Budjayr. Ḳays settled in Baṣra. He is said to have had 33 sons and many daughters. Ṭalaba b. Ḳays was known for his generosity; Muḳātil b. Ṭalaba was in the deputation of the nobles of Tamīm and ɈĀmir b. ṢaɈṣaɈa sent by Ibrāhīm b. ɈArabī to ɈAbd al-Malik. Mayya, the daughter of Muḳātil b. Ṭalaba, was the beloved of Dhū ɇl-Rumma. According to Ibn Kathīr, Ḳays died in 47/667. He enjoined his sons not to reveal his place of burial, because he feared the Banū Bakr b. Wāɇil, whom he had fought and who hated him. Following the example of the Prophet, he gave orders to refrain from lamentations at his funeral. He was eulogised by ɈAbda b. al-Ṭabīb in his famous elegy in which he said “The death of Ḳays was not the death of one man: it was [as if] the edifice of a people had fallen down”. (M. J. Kister) Bibliography Aghānī, index Ṭabarī, index al-Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, Ms. ɈAs̲h̲ir Ef. 597/8, fols. 1019a-1020b al-Bakrī, Muʿdjam, ed. Muṣṭafā al-Saḳḳā, Cairo 1368/1949, index Abū Zayd, al-Nawādir fī ʾl-lugha, ed. SaɈīd al-Shartūnī, repr. Beirut 1387/1967, 92 al-Sharīf al-Murta ā, Amālī, ed. Muḥammad Abū ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm, Cairo 1373/1954, index al-Marzubānī, Nūr al-ḳabas, ed. R. Sellheim, Wiesbaden 1964, index Mufa al al- abbī, al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, ed. Ch. Lyall, Beirut 1920, 317, 741 Aḥmad b. Abī Ṭāhir, Balāghāt al-nisāʾ, al-Nad̲j̲af 1361, 51, 87-8 Ibn Ḥubaysh, al-Maghāzī, Ms. Leiden, Or. 343, pp. 13, 25, 72 Ibn al-Kalbī, Djamharat al-nasab, Ms. Br. Mus., Add. 23297, f. 78b al-Wāḳidī, al-Ridda, Ms. Bankipore, Cat. xv, 1042, fols. 27b-29a Ibn AɈtham, al-Futūḥ, Hyderabad 1388/1968, 50-51, 53 al-Djāḥiẓ, al-Bayān wa ʾl-tabyīn, ed. al-Sandūbī, Cairo 1351/1932, index idem, al-Ḥayawān, ed. ɈAbd al-Salām Hārūn, Cairo 1384/1965, iii, 490 Ibn Ḳutayba, al-Maʿānī al-kabīr, Hyderabad 1368/1949, i, 507, ii, 825, 1025 idem, ʿUyūn al-akhbār, Cairo 1349/1930, index idem, al-Maʿārif, ed. al-Ṣāwī, Cairo 1353/1935, 131 (repr. Beirut 1390/1970) Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, ed. Ilse Lichtenstaedter, Hyderabad 1361/1942, 126, 237-8, 248 ThaɈālibī, Thimār al-ḳulūb, ed. Muḥammad Abū ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm, Cairo 1383/1965, 315, no. 484 al-ɈAbbās b. Mirdās al-Sulamī, Dīwān, ed. Yaḥyā al-Djubūrī, Baghdad 1388/1968, 61-2 Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Baṣrī, al-Ḥamāsa al-Baṣriyya, ed. Mukhtār al-Dīn Aḥmad, Hyderabad 1383/1964, ii, 60, no. 157, 238, no. 4 al-Buḥturī, al-Ḥamāsa, ed. L. Cheikho (repr. Beirut 1387/1967), 245, no. 1321 Abū Tammām, al-Ḥamāsa, Sharḥ al-Tibrīzī, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī ɇl-Dīn ɈAbd alḤamīd, Cairo 1357/1938, ii, 285-6 al-Mubarrad, al-Kāmil, ed. Muḥammad Abū ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm, Cairo 1376/1956, index Ibn ɈAbd Rabbihi, al-ʿIḳd al-farīd ed. Aḥmad Amīn, Ibrāhīm al-Abyārī, ɈAbd al-Salām Hārūn, Cairo 1368/1949, index Ibn Durayd, Ishtiḳāḳ, ed. ɈAbd al-Salām Hārūn, Cairo 1378/1958, index Ibn ɈAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, ed. ɈAlī Muḥammad al-Bidjāwī, Cairo n.d., iii, 1294-96, no. 1240 Ḳurṭubī, Tafsīr, Cairo 1387/1967, iii, 56, xix, 233 Ibn Ḥadjar, al-Iṣāba, Cairo 1325/1907, v, 258, no. 7188 Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, Cairo 1286, iv, 219-21 al-Ḳālī, al-Amālī, ed. al-Maymanī, Cairo 1344/1926, index al-Bakrī, Simṭ al-laʾālī, ed. al-Maymanī, Cairo 1354/1936, i, 487-8 al-Haythamī, Madjmaʿ al-zawāʾid, Beirut 1967 (repr.), iii, 107-8, iv, 221-2, ix, 404 Bukhārī, al-Adab al-mufrad, ed. Muḥibb al-Dīn al-Khaṭīb, Cairo 1379, 328-9 al-Fattāl al-Naysabūrī, Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn, al-Nadjaf 1386/1966, 487 Yazīdī, al-Amālī, Hyderabad 1367/1948, 101 al-Wāḳidī, Maghāzī, ed. M. Jones, London 1966, iii, 975, 979 al-Zadjdjādjī, al-Amālī, ed. ɈAbd al-Salām Hārūn, Cairo 1382, 29, 88-9 Abū Dāwūd, Ṣaḥīḥ sunan al-Muṣṭafā, Cairo 1348, i, 59 ɈAskarī, Djamharat al-amthāl, ed. Muḥammad Abū ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm and ɈAbd al-Madjīd Ḳaṭāmish, Cairo 1384/1964, index Ḥamza al-Iṣfahānī, al-Durra al-fākhira, ed. ɈAbd al-Madjīd Ḳaṭāmish, Cairo 1971, i, 164-5, no. 187, 287-9, no. 400, 324, no. 511 al-Maydānī, Madjmaʿ al-amthāl, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī ɇl-Dīn ɈAbd al-Ḥamīd, Cairo 1379/1959, i, 220, no. 1179, ii, 65-6, no. 2711, 169, no. 3211 al-Ḳurashī, Djamharat as̲h̲ʿār al-ʿArab, Beirut 1383/1963, 34-5 Ibn SaɈd, al-Ṭabaḳāt, Beirut 1380/1960, vi, 319, vii, 36 Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-athar, Cairo 1356, ii, 203 Ibn Hishām, Sīra, ed. al-Saḳḳā, al-Abyārī, Shalabī, Cairo 1355/1936, iv, 206-7 212-13, 270 al-Maḳrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, ed. Maḥmūd Muḥammad Shākir, Cairo 1941, i, 434, 439, 509 al-Zurḳānī, Sharḥ ʿalā 'l-mawāhib al-laduniyya, Cairo 1325, iii, 44 Yāḳūt, Muʿdjam al-buldān, s.v. Abraḳ al-Kibrīt, Djadūd, Thaytal, al-Kulāb, Musallaḥa, al-Sitār al-MuɈāfā b. Zakariyyā, al-Djalīs al-ṣāliḥ al-kāfī, Ms. Topkapi Saray, Ahmet III, no. 2321, fols. 19b, 154a al-Maḳdisī, al-Badʾ wa-l-taʾrīkh, ed. Cl. Huart, Paris 1899, v, 109 Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa-l-nihāya, Beirut—al-Riyā 1966, viii, 31-2 Ibn Abī ɇl-Ḥadīd, S̲h̲arḥ Nahdj al-balāgha, ed. Muḥammad Abū ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm, Cairo 1962, xv, 128, 130 ult. ɈAbd al-Ḳādir Baghdādī, Khizānat al-adab, Būlāḳ 1299, iii, 427 al-Ḥuṣrī, Zahr al-ādāb, ed. ɈAlī Muḥammad al-Bidjāwī, Cairo 1389/1969, ii, 965 Ibn Abī ɇl-ɈAwn, al-Tashbīhāt, ed. Muḥammad ɈAbd al-MuɈīd Khān, Cambridge 1369/1950, 323 ɈAskarī, al-Maṣūn fī ʾl-adab, ed. ɈAbd al-Salām Hārūn, Kuwayt 1960, 16 Thābit b. Abī Thābit, Khalḳ al-insān, ed. ɈAbd al-Sattār Farrādj, Kuwayt 1965, 90 Ibn Ḥazm, Djamharat ansāb al-ʿArab, ed. E. Lévi-Provençal, Cairo 1948, 205-6 idem, Djawāmiʿ al-sīra, ed. Iḥsān ɈAbbās, Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Asad, Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir, Cairo n.d., 25, 290 Dhū ɇl-Rumma, Dīwān, ed. C. H. H. Macartney, Cambridge 1919, 624 (no. 79, v, 57) Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak, Hyderabad 1342 (reprint al-Riyā ), iii, 611-12 Djarīr and al-Farazdaḳ, Naḳāʾiḍ, ed. A. A. Bevan, Leiden 1908-12, index Ch. J. Lyall, Translations of Ancient Arabian Poetry, London 1930, 33-4, 84 W. M. Watt, Muhammad at Medina, Oxford 1956, 138 Ḥusayn b. ɈAlī al-Maghribī, Adab al-khawāṣṣ, Ms. Bursa, Ḥu. Çelebi 85b, fols. 36b-37a Ch. Pellat, Risāla fi ʾl-ḥilm, Beirut 1973, index. [Print Version: Volume IV, page 832, column 1] Citation: Kister, M. J. “Ḳays b. ɈĀṣim b. Sinān b. Khālid b. Minḳar b. ɈUbayd b. MuḳāɈis, Abū ɈAlī (according to other versions: Abū Ṭalḥa or Abū Ḳabīṣa).” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C. E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 

HadjibEI.pdf Ḥādjib b. Zurāra b. ɈUdus b. Zayd b. ɈAbd Allāh b. Dārim b. Mālik b. Ḥanẓala b. Mālik b. Zayd Manāt b. Tamīm, an eminent sayyid of the Dārim of Tamīm in the period of the Djāhiliyya. His name was, according to Abu ɇl-Yaḳẓān, Zayd, and his kunya Abū ɈIkrisha. Ḥādjib, a member of one of the noblest families of Bedouin society, was known for his mildness. A particular incident in connexion with Ḳurād b. Ḥanīfa later caused Ḥādjib to kill Ḳurād, which led to clashes between some families of Dārim. The first battle attended by Ḥādjib was the battle of Djabala. He was captured and freed himself by paying the exceedingly high ransom of 1100 camels. He headed the troops of Tamīm in the encounters of al-Nisār and al-Djifār and was defeated. Ḥād̲j̲ib continued the tradition of friendly relations between al-Ḥīra and the Dārim and attempted to gain for the Dārim the privilege of the ridāfa, which had been entrusted by the rulers of al-Ḥīra to another branch of Tamīm, the YarbūɈ. The YarbūɈ refused to cede the ridāfa to the Dārim, marched out against the forces of al-Ḥīra sent against them, and defeated them at Ṭikhfa. Ḥādjib attained fame through a visit to the court of Persia. He asked the Persian ruler to permit his people to pasture their herds in the Persian territory, since they were suffering from a heavy drought caused by the curse of the Prophet on Mu ar. Ḥādjib left his bow as pledge, promising that his people would not harass the subjects of the Persian ruler. When the Prophet lifted his curse, Ḥādjib was already dead. His son ɈUṭārid went to the Persian king, who returned to him the bow and granted him a precious suit of clothes, which ɈUṭārid presented to the Prophet while visiting him with the delegation of Tamīm in 9/630. The Prophet, however, refused to accept the gift. This widely current story is contradicted by a report recorded in a commentary of Abū Tammām's Dīwān. According to this report Ḥādjib gave his bow as pledge when he was entrusted by the Persian ruler to escort a caravan to ɈUkāẓ. After he had successfully carried out his mission he was “crowned” by the ruler of Persia. Some traditions claim that Ḥādjib embraced the religion of the Magians. Whether Ḥādjib met the Prophet is rather doubtful, since traditions claiming this seem not to be trustworthy. He died in the twenties of the 7th century. (M. J. Kister) Bibliography Bishr b. Abī Khāzim, Dīwān, ed. ɈIzzat Ḥasan, Damascus 1960, index The Dīwāns of ɈAbīd b. al-Abraṣ and ɈĀmir b. al-Ṭufayl, 98 (ed. Lyall) Ibn al-Kalbī, Djamhara, Ms. Br. Mus., ff. 65a, 134a, 178b al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, Ms. ff. 351a, 909b, 960a, 964b, 967b, 983b, 989b, 992a Naḳāʾiḍ Djarīr wa-ʾl-Farazdaḳ (ed. Bevan), index al-Farazdaḳ, Dīwān, ed. al-Ṣāwī, 44, 116, 129 Schulthess, Über den Dichter al-Naǧāšī und seine Zeitgenossen, in ZDMG, liv, 449 Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, ed. I. Lichtenstaedter, index al-Djāḥiẓ, Mukhtārāt, Ms. Br. Mus. f. 113a al-Djāḥiẓ, Ḥayawān, ed. A. S. Hārūn, i, 374, ii, 93, 246 al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt, ed. Lyall, index Ibn Ḳutayba, al-Maʿārif, Cairo 1934, 262, 266, 285 idem, K. al-ʿArab, ed. Kurd ɈAlī, Rasāʾil al-Bulaghāʾ, 346, 372 al-Mubarrad, al-Kāmil, ed. Muḥammad Abu ɇl-Fa l Ibrāhīm, Cairo 1956, i, 226, ii, 77 Abū Tammām, Dīwān, ed Muḥammad ɈAbduh ɈAzzām, Cairo 1957, i, 215-217 Ibn Durayd, Ishtiḳāḳ, ed. ɈA. S. Hārūn, 237 Ibn ɈAbd Rabbihi, al-ʿIḳd al-farīd, ed. Amīn, al-Zayn, al-Abyārī, ii, 9, 12, 20 al-Marzubānī, Muʿdjam al-shuʿarāʾ, ed. Krenkow, 328 Ibn Ḥazm, Djamharat ansāb al-ʿArab, 220 Ibn Rashīḳ, al-ʿUmda, Cairo 1934, ii, 176 al-Marzūḳī, al-Azmina, ii, 273 Abu ɇl-Baḳāɇ, al-Manāḳib, Ms. Br. Mus. ff. 8a, 42a, 121b ThaɈālibī, Thimār al-Ḳulūb, Cairo 1908, 501 Ibn al-Shadjarī, Mukhtārāt, ed. Zinātī, Cairo 1925, ii, 22 Ibn Abi ɇl-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahdj al-balāgha, Cairo 1329, iii, 426 Ṭayālisī, Musnad, Hyderabad 1321, 5 al-Rāzī, al-Zīna, ed. H. b. Fay Allāh, Cairo 1957, i, 147 Ibn Ḥadjar, al-Iṣāba, Cairo 1907, no. 1355, 482, 4067, 4071, 9141, 5559 al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat al-arab, Cairo 1927 iii, 381 al-Ḥalabī, Insān al-ʿuyūn, Cairo 1932, i, 10 LA, s.v. ṭ.r.r. Ibn al-Kalbī, Ansāb al-Khayl, ed. A. Zakī, Cairo 1946, 40 Aghānī, index Ibn Ḳutayba, al-Maʿānī al-kabīr, Hyderabad 1949, 476 Ibn al-MuɈtazz, Ṭabaḳāt, ed. Farrādj, Cairo 1956, 199. [Print Version: Volume III, page 49, column 1] Citation: Kister, M. J. "Ḥādjib b. Zurāra b. ɈUdus b. Zayd b. ɈAbd Allāh b. Dārim b. Mālik b. Ḥanẓala b. Mālik b. Zayd Manāt b. Tamīm." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C. E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 

GhalibEI.pdf Ghālib b. Ṣaʿṣaʿa b. Nādjiya b. ʿIḳāl b. Muḥammad b. Sufyān b. Mudjāshiʿ b. Dārim, an eminent Tamīmī, famous for his generosity, the father of the poet alFarazdaḳ. The tradition that Ghālib was a contemporary of the Prophet (lahu idrāk) seems to be valid; the tradition that he visited the Prophet and asked him about the reward of the deeds of his father in the time of the Djāhiliyya (Aghānī, xix, 4) seems however to be spurious. Ghālib belonged to the generation after the Prophet; his name is connected with the names of Ṭalba b. Ḳays b. ɈĀṣim and ɈUmayr b. al-Sulayl al-Shaybānī, tribal leaders in the time of MuɈāwiya, in the story of the men of Kalb who tried to find the most generous man (Aghānī, xix, 5; in Ibn Abi ɇl-Ḥadīd's Sharḥ, iii, 426, ed. 1329 A.H., Ghālib is mentioned with Aktham b. Ṣayfī and ɈUtayba b. al-Ḥārith, which is an obvious anachronism). The most generous man among the three sayyids was indeed Ghālib. (Ghālib was a neighbour of Ṭalba in al-Sīdān, in the vicinity of Kāẓima). He is said to have visited ɈAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and introduced to him his son al-Farazdaḳ; ɈAlī recommended him to teach his son the Ḳurɇān. (According to the tradition of Aghānī, xix, 6 he visited him in Baṣra after the battle of the Camel. According to the story quoted in Baghdādī's Khizāna, i, 108, Ghālib was then an old man; al-Farazdaḳ was in his early youth). Ghālib earned his fame by his generosity. Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb counts him in his list of the generous men of the Djāhiliyya (al-Muḥabbar, 142); al-Djāḥiẓ stresses that he was one of the generous men of the Islamic period, not inferior to the generous men of the Djāhiliyya, although public opinion prefers the latter (al-Ḥayawān, ii, 108, ed. ɈAbd alSalām Hārūn). Ghālib is said to have granted bounteous gifts to people, not asking them even about their names. The story of his contest with Suḥaym b. Wathīl al-Riyāḥī in slaughtering camels in the time of ɈUthmān is quoted in many versions. Al-Farazdaḳ mentions this deed of his father boastfully in his poems; Djarīr refers to it disdainfully; the competition was censured in Islam as a custom of the Djāhiliyya (Goldziher, Muh. St., i, 60). A peculiar story in Naḳāʾiḍ 417 tells how he threw to the populace in Mecca (anhaba) 40,000 dirhams. Ghālib was assaulted by Dhakwān b. ɈAmr al-Fuḳaymī in consequence of a quarrel between Fuḳaymī men and a servant of Ghālib who tried to prevent them from drinking water from a reservoir belonging to Ghālib in al-Ḳubaybāt. MudjāshiɈī tradition denies the Fuḳaymī claim that Ghālib died in consequence of this assault. He died in the early years of the reign of MuɈāwiya and was buried at Kāẓima. Al-Farazdaḳ mourned his father in a number of elegies (cf. Dīwān al-Farazdaḳ, 163, 210, 611, 676, ed. al-Ṣāwī). His tomb became a refuge for the needy and the oppressed who asked help, which had indeed always been granted to them by al-Farazdaḳ (cf. Dīwān al-Farazdaḳ, 94, 191, 757, 893 and Naḳāʾiḍ 380). Al-Farazdaḳ often mentions him in his poems as “Dhu ɇl-Ḳabr” or “Ṣāḥib al-Djadath” (Goldziher, Muh. St., i, 237). (M.J. Kister) Bibliography In addition to the sources quoted in the article: Balādhurī, Ansāb, Ms. 971a-b, 972a, 974a, 978b, 992a, 1043b al-Marzubānī, Muʿdjam, 486 al-Mubarrad, al-Kāmil, 129, 280 Ibn Ḳutayba, K. al-ʿArab (Rasāʾil al-Bulaghāʾ), 350 idem, Shiʿr, ed. de Goeje, index Ibn Durayd, Ishtiḳāḳ, ed. Hārūn, 239-40 Al-Djāḥiẓ, al-Bayān, ed. al-Sandūbī, ii, 187, 225, iii, 139, 195 Aghānī , index Naḳāʾiḍ, ed. Bevan, index al-Djumaḥī, Ṭabaḳāt, ed. S̲h̲ākir, 261 al-Ḳālī, Amālī, ii, 120 idem, Dhayl al-Amālī, 52, 77 Yāḳūt s.v. Ṣawɇar, Miḳarr Ibn Ḥadjar, al-Iṣāba, s.v. Ghālib (N. 6925), Suḥaym (N. 3660), al-Farazdaḳ (N. 7029), Hunayda (N. 1115-women) Baghdādī, Khizāna, i, 462 al-ɈAynī, al-Maḳāṣid, i, 112 [on margin of Khizāna] al-Farazdaḳ, Dīwān, ed. al-Ṣāwī Ṭabarī, ed. Cairo 1939, iv, 179. [Print Version: Volume II, page 998, column 1] Citation: Kister, M. J. "Ghālib b. ṢaɈṣaɈa b. Nādjiya b. ɈIḳāl b. Muḥammad b. Sufyān b. MudjāshiɈ b. Dārim." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 2 

BistamEI.pdf Bisṭām b. Ḳays b. Masʿūd b. Ḳays, Abu ʾl-Ṣahbāʾ or Abū Zīḳ (according to Ibn al-Kalbī, Djamhara 203, nicknamed “al-Mutaḳammir”)—pre-Islamic hero, poet and sayyid of the Banu Shaybān. His family was considered one of the three most noble and aristocratic Bedouin families (al-Aghānī, xvii, 105). His father is known (al-Muḥabbar, 253) as one of the “dhawū ɇl-Ākāl” (enjoying grants of the foreign rulers) and was granted by the Sāsānid kings as a fee Ubulla and the adjacent border territories (Ṭaff Safawān) against the obligation to prevent marauding raids of his tribesmen. Failing to fulfill his obligation in face of the opposition in his own tribe, and being suspected of plotting with Arab chiefs against Persian rule, he was imprisoned and died in a Persian gaol (al-Aghānī, xx, 140). It is a significant fact, that Bisṭām did not avenge the death of his father. On the contrary, Persian diplomacy succeeded, despite the Arab victory at Dhū Ḳār, in assuring the collaboration of Bisṭām, and a fairly trustworthy tradition (al-Naḳāʾiḍ, 580) shows that the Shaybānī troops were equipped by the Persian ʿāmil at ɈAyn al-Tamr. Born in the last quarter of the 6th century A.D. (T. Nöldeke, in Der Islam, xiv, 125) Bisṭām became a leader of his tribe at the age of twenty (Ibn al-Kalbī, op. cit.) and succeeded in uniting his tribe: he is known as one of the “djarrārūn” (al-Muḥabbar, 250). Abandoning the idea of fighting the Persians he directed all his activities against his neighbours of the Banū Tamīm. His first raid against the Banū YarbūɈ, a branch of the Banū Tamīm, was—according to al-Balādhurī—at al-AɈshāsh (Ansāb, x, 998 b). The Shaybānī troops were defeated, Bisṭām himself was captured and released without ransom. His second raid was probably at Ḳushāwa (Ansāb, x, 1003b). Here it is clearly mentioned that Bisṭām commanded the attacking troops, but the raid itself was insignificant and ended with seizing of camels of a clan of the Banū Salīṭ. To the same early period belongs apparently the encounter with al-AḳraɈ b. Ḥābis at Salmān, in which al-AḳraɈ was captured. A more serious enterprise was the raid of Ghabīṭ al-Madara (known as the Yawm Baṭn Faldj). A tribal federation of the ThaɈālib was attacked and overcome by the troops of Bisṭām, but when the attackers proceeded against the Banū Mālik b. Hanẓala, they met resistance and were put to flight with the aid of warriors of Banū YarbūɈ. Bisṭām, captured by ɈUtayba b. al-Ḥārith, had to pay a very high ransom and was compelled to promise not to attack the clan of ɈUtayba any more (Ansāb, 998a, 988a, 995b, 996a). Breaking his promise he attacked after a short time the camp of ɈUtayba's son at Dhū Ḳār (Ansāb 995b, 998a) and succeeded in seizing the camels (the raid is also known as Yawm Fayḥān). Not content with this victory, he prepared an attack on the Banū Tamīm in order to capture ɈUtayba; but he was defeated in this battle at al-Ṣamd (or Dhū Ṭulūḥ) and barely escaped with his life (Ansāb, 998a). A further battle at al-Ufāḳa (known as the battle of al-Ghabīṭayn or al-ɈUẓāla), prepared and aided by the Persian ʿāmil at ɈAyn al-Tamr, ended with the defeat of the attackers and with the escape of Bisṭām (Ansāb, 1004 b). Bisṭām fought his last battle at Naḳā al-Ḥasan. He was killed by a half-witted abbī, ɈĀṣim b. Khalīfa, who is said to have boasted of his deed at the court of ɈUthmān. The date of his death may be fixed at circa 615 A.D. Very little is known about the posterity of Biṣṭām. His grand-daughter Ḥadrāɇ, the daughter of his son Zīḳ was about to marry al-Farazdaḳ but died before the appointed date. Bisṭām is said to have been a Christian. He was the sayyid of his tribe; when the news of his death reached his tribe, they pulled down their tents as an expression of their sorrow. Many elegies were composed on his death, and his person was glorified as the ideal of Bedouin courage and bravery. But in the times of al-Djāḥiẓ, in the urban mixed society of the towns of ɈIrāḳ, his glory faded away and the common people preferred to listen to the story of ɈAntara (al-Bayān, i, 34) which came closer to their social equalitarian tendencies (cf. EI, s.v. ʿAntara, R. Blachère). (M. J. Kister) Bibliography Sources quoted in E. Bräunlich, Bisṭām b. Ḳays, Leipzig 1923 and by Th. Nöldeke, in his review of Bräunlich's book in Isl. xiv, 123 Ibn al-Kalbī: Djamharat al-Nasab, MS Brit. Mus. No. Add. 23297 (reported by Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb), 203 al-Balādhurī, Ansāb, MS., x, 988a, 995b, 998a, 1003b, 1004b al-Djāḥiẓ, al-Bayān (ed. Sandūbī) index Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar (ed. Lichtenstaedter) index al-Suwaydī, Sabāʾik, Baghdād 1280, 103, 112, 113 al-Āmidī, al-Muʾtalif, 64, 141 al-Marzubānī, Muʿdjam al-Shuʿarāʾ (ed. Krenkow) 300, 324, 405 Ibn Ḥazm, Djamhara (ed. Lévi-Provençal), 306 Djawād ɈAlī, Taʾrīkh, Baghdād 1955, 362-3, 370 R. Blachère, A propos de trois poètes arabes d'époque archaïque in Arabica, iv, 231-249 W. Caskel, Aijām al-ʿArab, in Islamica, iii, 1-100 Muḥammad b. Ziyād al-AɈrābī, Asmāʾ al-Khayl (ed. Levi della Vida), 60, 89 Abuɇl-Baḳāɇ Hībat Allāh, al-Manāḳib (B.M. MS. 23296), 36a, 38b, 42a, 44a, 111b al-Djāḥiẓ, al-Ḥayawān (ed. ɈA. S. Hārūn), i, 330, ii, 104. [Print Version: Volume I, page 1247, column 2] Citation: Kister, M.J. “Bisṭām b. Ḳays b. MasɈūd b. Ḳays, Abu ɇl-Ṣahbāɇ or Abū Zīḳ.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 

AkthamEI.pdf Aktham b. Ṣayfī b. Riyāḥ b. al-Ḥārith b. Mukhāshin, Abū Ḥayda (or Abu ɇlḤaffād, Ansāb; the verse quoted there is, however, attributed in K. al-Muʿammarīn, 92, to RabīɈa b. ɈUzayy, also of Usayyid) of the clan of Usayyid, a branch of the tribe of Tamīm, was one of the judges of the djāhiliyya. The biography of Aktham consists mostly of legendary stories. Numerous traditions tell of missions by kings and chiefs to ask advice from him. The utterances of Aktham contain wise sayings about life, friendship, behaviour, virtue, women, etc. His personality as reflected in these sayings may be compared with that of Luḳmān to whom some of the wise sayings attributed to Aktham are actually attributed in other traditions. Aktham is famous as one of the muʿammarūn. Muslim tradition tries to bring him into relation with the person of the Prophet and stresses that Aktham approved of Islam; he is even said to have spurred on his people to embrace Islam and to have died as a martyr on his way to the Prophet, but these traditions are certainly spurious. Aktham is said to have had descendants in al-Kūfa, particularly the ḳāḍī Yaḥyā b. Aktham. (M. J. Kister) Bibliography Naḳāʾiḍ of Djarīr and Farazdaḳ (Bevan), index Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, Istanbul MS, fols. 964r, 1070r-1075r Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥabbar, index Sidjistānī, K. al-Muʿammarīn (Goldziher), 9-18 Djāḥiẓ, Bayān, index Ibn Ḳutayba, Maʿārif, Cairo 1935, 35, 130, 240 idem, ʿUyūn, index Mubarrad, Kāmil, Cairo 1355, index Washshāɇ, Fāḍil, MS Brit. Mus., Or. 6499, fols. 118r, 121r Aghānī, Tables Ibn ɈAbd Rabbih, ʿIḳd, index abbī, Fākhir (Storey), index Ibn Ḥazm, Djamharat Ansāb al-ʿArab, 200 Ibn al-Athīr, Usd, Cairo 1280, i, 111-3 Ibn Ḥadjar, Iṣāba, no. 482. [Print Version: Volume I, page 345, column 1] Citation: Kister, M. J. “Aktham b. Ṣayfī b. Riyāḥ b. al-Ḥārith b. Mukhāshin, Abū Ḥayda.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs. 

la_tashabbahu.pdf "DO NOT ASSIMILATE YOURSELVES ... " La tashabbahu ... The sweeping victories gained by the Muslim forces during their conquests in Syria, Iraq and Persia, and their speedy advance in these vast areas, brought about a meeting between the Muslims and the native peoples of those areas. It is, therefore, evident that new principles had to be established in order to guide the Muslim community in its relations with Christians, Jews and Magians. Basing themselves on interpretations of Qur'anic verses, Muslim scholars stated that Jews and Christians were to be considered unbelievers.1 Very early commentators of the Qur'an interpreted the verse: "And confound not truth with falsehood ... " (wa-la talbisu l-haqqa bi-l-batili -- Qur'an II, 43) as constituting a warning to the believers not to mix Islam with (the precepts and injunctions of -- K) Judaism and Christianity.2 Many of the traditions touching upon this subject See, e.g., 'Abd al-Jabbar, Tanzih al-qur'an 'ani l-mata'in, Beirut ed., pp. 118-119 (cf. p. ll8, 13. wa-dhalika sifatu l-yahudi wa-hum kuffar ... ); Muqatil, Tafsir, MS. Ahmet III, 74-2, fol. 2llb. ( ... wa-dhalika anna 1- yahuda wa-l-nasara yusl!rikuna fi salatihim fi l-biya'i wa-l-kana'isi ... ). There is however a difference between the unbelief of the People of the Book and that of those who associate idols with God (al-mushrikun); the latter are stronger in their unbelief ( ... Ii-anna kufra l-mushrikina aghla~u min kufri ahli l-kitabi ... ); Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Al;lkam ahli l-dhimma, ed. Subbi al-Salib, Damascus 1381/1961,I, 10. 2 Yabya b. Salam, Tafsir, Mukhtasar Ibn Zaman in, Ms. Fas, Qarawiyyin no. 40-34, p. 8 (. .. qala qatada: ya'ni la takhliru l-islama bi-l-yahudiyyati wa-l-naSraniyyati ); al-Qurtubi, Tafsir, Cairo 138711967, I, 341-342 (see p. 341, 1.3 la talbisu l-yahudiyyata wa-l-naSraniyyata bi-l-islami wa-qad 'alimtum anna dina llahi lladhi la yuqbalu ghayruhu wa-la yujza ilia bihi l-islamu wa-anna l-yahudiyyata wa-l-nasraniyyata bid'atun wa-laysat min allahi .. .); Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, Beirut 1385/1966, I, 146; al-Tabari, Tafsir (= Jami' al-bayan 'an ta'wil al-qur'an), ed. Mabmiid and Abmad Shiikir, Cairo n.d., I, 568, no. 825 (and see another interpretation ibid. no. 826: 322 were scrutinized by I. Goldziher.' The Muslim community was enjoined to observe strictly the injunctions of the Qur'an and to follow faithfully the sunna of the Prophet. Jahili customs and usages were to be abandoned. Thus the prayers performed at sunrise and sunset, when the polytheistic unbelievers ial=mushrikun) used to prostrate themselves to the sun, were forbidden. The sun rises and sets clasped between the two horns of the Devil.' Jahili al-haqq is rendered by: al-tauriu lladhi (!) anzala llahu 'ala musa and al-batil by alladhi katabidu: bi-aydlhim); al-Samarqandi, Taf sir, Ms. Chester Beatty, 3668, I, fol. 16 b; al-Shaukani, Fatl) ai-qadir al-jami' bayna [annayi I-riwaya wa-l-diraya min 'ilmi l-taisir, Beirut n.d. I, 76; Abu Hayyan, Tafsir al-bahr at-mubit, Cairo 1328, I, 179; and see Muhammad b. Abi Bakr al-Riizi, Masa'il al-riizi wa-ajwibatuha, Cairo 1381/1961,p.5 ... li+anna l-murada bi-talblsihim al-haqqa bi-l-biuili kitiibatuhum fi l-tauriui mii laysa minhii ... ; Muqiitil, Tafsir, ed. 'Abdallah Shahata, Cairo 1969, I, 34: ... thumma qiila li-I-yahiidi wa-Ia t albi sii ... wa=dhiilika anna I-yahuda yuqirrisna bi-ba'4i amri muhammadin wa-yaktumuna badan. 3 See, e.g., I. Goldziher, "Ober jiidische Sitten und Gebrauche aus muhammedanischen Schriften," MGW J, vol. XXIX, (1880),302-365; idem, "Usages Juifs d'apres la litterature religieuse des Musulmans," REJ, XXVIII (1894) 75-94; and see the comprehensive study on this subject published recently: Albrecht Noth, "Abgrenzungsprobleme zwischen Muslimen und nicht-Muslimen: Die "Bedingungen 'Umars (al-shurul al-t umariyva)" unter einem anderen Aspekt gelesen,"JSAl, IX [1987] 290-315. 4 See e.g. 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, ed. Habibu l-Rabrnan al-A'zami, Beirut, 139211972, II, 424-434 (al-sa'atu llatl yukrahu fiha I-saliuut; according to some traditions prayer in the middle of the day is also reprehensible: see e.g. al-Daylami, Firdaus ai-akhbiir, Ms. Chester Beatty 3037, fol. 186a ... la tusalli: 'inda lulu'i l-shamsi, [a-innaha tatlo'« bayna qarnay shaytiinin, fa-yasjudu laha kullu kafirin, wa-Ia 'i nd a ghurubiha f a-innana t aghr ubu bayna qarnay shaYlanin, [a-yas judu lahii kullu kafirin, wa-Ia wasala l-nahari [a-innaha tasiuru [ahannama 'inda dhiilika ... ; al-Suyiitl, Jam' al-jawami', Cairo 1978, I, 895; Ibn Taymiyya, l qtidii' al-sirat al-mustaqim, mukhalafatu a$l)ab al=jahim, ed. Muhammad l;Iiimid al-Fiqi, Cairo 1369/1950, p. 135-136; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, Hyderabad 1355, repro Beirut, II, 453-455; al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawa'id wa-manba al-fawa'id, Beirut "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 323 during the tawat were rejected and forbidden.' The of bewailing the dead, which were considered' to be a of Jahiliyya customs, were also forbidden." Bedouin greeting were to be given up. When al-Zubayr came to Prophet in his illness and greeted him by saying iaalani llahu. tidaka, the Prophet rebuked him by saying that he had not yet given up his bedouin manners (ma tarakta a'r abi yyataka ba'du}.1 The meal consumed after the funeral practices practices remnant forms of visit the 1967, II, 493; Muhammad l;Iabibullah al-Shinqiti, zs« at-muslim fima 'alayhi l-bukhiiri wa-muslim, Cairo 1387/1967, I, 134, nos. 347-348; al-Munawi, Fayd ai-qadir, sharb ai- jami' al-saghir, Beirut 139111972, V, 318-319, nos. 9408-9409; Ibn Kathir, al= Bi dii y a wa-l=nihaya, Beirut-al-Riyad 1966, I, 62; al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-qiiri, Cairo 1348, XV, 192; al-Zamakhshari, al-Fii'iq, ed. Muhammad Abu I-Fal;il Ibrahim and 'Ali al-Bijawi, Cairo 1971, III, 179; CA, s.v. qrn; al-Majlisi, Bi/Jar ai-anwar, Tehran, 1392, LXXXII, 254, sup.; ai-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al='ummal, Hyderabad, 1395/1975, VIII. 124, no. 881; al-Tabarani, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, ed. Hamdi 'Abd ai-Majid al-Silafi, n.p., 1405/1985, I, 352, no. 1070, VII, 227, no. 6946, 234, nos. 6973-6974, VIII, 62, no. 7344; al-Busiri, Mi$ba/Ju l-zuja]« tt zawiiidi bni majah. ed. Musa Muhammad 'Ali and 'Izzat 'Ali 'Atiyya, 'Cairo 1983, I, 412, no. 1253; Ibn Khuzayma, $a/Ji/J, ed. Muhammad Mustafa l-A'zami, Beirut 1395/1975, II, 256-257, nos. 1273, 1275. 5 See e.g. Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtidii', pp. 124-125; cf. M.J. Kister, "Concessions and conduct," in G.H. Juynboll (ed.), Studies on the first century of I slamic society, Southern Illinois University Press, 1982, pp. 100-103; and see U. Rubin, "The Ka'ba, Aspects of its ritual functions and position in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times," JSAl, VIII (1986), 97-131. 6 See e.g. Ibn Abi Shayba, at-Musanna], ed. 'Abd al-Khaliq al-Afghiini, Hyderabad 1388/1968, III, 389-390 (but see ib. p. 391 sup.: the niya/Ja permitted). And see about the forbidden practices of the wailing women ib. p. 290 sup.: anna rasida lliihi ts] la'ana man halaqa w a+kh ar aqa w a=s al aq a ... ; ib. anna r asiil a llahi ts) la'ana t-khamishata wajhahii wa-l-shaqqata jaybahii ... ;) and see al-Biisir i, Mi$ba/J ai-zujaja fi zawiiidi bni miijah, I, 518-520, nos. 1580-1583,521, no. 1585. 7 Miilik b. Anas, Risiil a f i I-sunan wa-l=mawii'i z wa-l=iidiib, ed. 'Abdallah Ahmad Abu Zina, Cairo 1403/1983, p. 44. ttafaqa 324 was considered a Jahili practice," Ibn 'Umar refrained from praying in a mosque embellished with merlons ishurutiu) and gave an order to pull down the merlons because they were reminiscent of the idol stones iansab) of Mecca," The main concern of the religious leaders of the Muslim society was to establish some barrier between the Muslim community and the communities of the Jews, Christians and Magians. This separation was to be upheld in the various spheres of social relations, as well as in rites and customs. In the very early period after the death of the Prophet some young boys kept their side curls uncut. Anas b. Malik was enraged when he saw a young boy with such curls and ordered him to shave them immediately, because this was the fashion of the Jews,'? The Prophet told his daughter Fatima to pierce the lobes of the ears of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, in order to differentiate them from the usage of the Jews," Some scholars maintained that (al-fa'am 'ala l-mayyit) 8 Ibn Abi-Shayba, at-Musannaf, III. 290. inf.; and see 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, III. 550. no. 6664 ... 'an saidi bni jubayr qala: thaliuhun min 'amali l-jahiliyyati: al-niya/:latu wa-l=ta'iimu 'ala l-may yiti wa-baytiaatu l-mar'ati 'inda ahli l-mayyiti laysat minhum ; and see al-Bii$iri, al-Zujii]«, I, 535, no. 1612. 9 Ibn Taymiyya, lqti4a'. p. 132, info 10 Ibn Taymiyya, I qtida', pp. 131, inf.-132 sup.; and see L 'A S.V. qss; Ibn al-Athir, al-Nihaya [i gharibi I-hadlth, ed. Mahmiid Muhammad al-Tanahi, Cairo 1385/1965, IV. 71, S.V. qss; idem. Jiimi' al-usid min ahiidlthi l-rasid, ed. Muhammad l;liimid al-Fiqi, Cairo 1368/1949, V, 424, no. 2893. 11 Ibn Biibiiyah al-Qummi, Man la ya/:l4uruhu l-f aqih. ed. Hasan al-Miisawi al-Khursiin, Beirut 140111981,III, 319, no. 1534;and see the description of Sufyiin al-Thauri as a young man with an earring in his ear: Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil [i au'ala'i l-rijiil, al-Muqaddima, ed. Subhi I-Badr i l-Samarr a'I, Bagdad 1977, p. 156; and see al-Mundhiri, al-Targhib wa-i-tarhib, ed. MUQyi l-Din 'Abd al-Hamid, Cairo, 1381/1961,IV. 223. no. 3182:... wa-inna [i udhuni Ia-qurtayni, wa-ana ghuliim ... ; and see the opinion of Miilik b. Anas in 'Abdallah b. Abi Zayd al-Qayrawiini, al-Jami' [i l+sunan wa-l-adab wa-l=maghazi wa=l=t a'r i kh, ed. Muhammad Abii I-Ajfiin and 'Uthman Bitt ikh, Tunis-Beirut 140211982, p. 231:... wa=akrahu l-qurta mina l=dhahabi li-l-ghilmani i-sighar. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 325 performing circumcision on the seventh day after a boy's birth is disliked, as this may indicate an assimilation to a Jewish custom." Orthodox scholars were unwilling to instruct people to avoid work on Friday, considering this to be too close to the usage of the Jews and the Christians who do not work on Saturday and Sunday respectively," The believers were enjoined to refrain from placing their hands on the tombs or kissing them when visiting a cemetery; it was considered a Jewish custom." The Prophet ordered the believers not to greet each other in the way observed by Jews and Christians: the Jews greet each other by raising their fingers, the Christians by raising their hands," Some traditions attributed to the Prophet claimed that he forbade shaking hands with dhimmi s. The prohibition is explained by commentators by saying that the dhimmi s are 12 See 'Abdallah b. Abi Zayd al-Qayrawiini, al-Lami', pp. 208 ult.-209 sup.... qala miilik: wa-Ia yu'jibuni an yukhtana l-sabiyyu bnu sab'ati ayyam, wa-hadha fi'lu I-yahud ... [but see the note of the editors, ib.l; and see Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zad al-maiid fi hadyi khayri I-'ibad, Beirut, n.d. II, 4. 13 See al-Turtiishi, al-Hawaditn wa-t-bida', ed. Muhammad al-Talibi, Tunis 1959,p. 133:... wa-qata malik [i l-mudawwana inna bada ao$/;lab ai-nabiy yi (0$) kanu yakrahiina an yatruka l-rajulu I-'amaia yauma i-jumu'a kama tarakati i-yahudu wa-i-nao$ara [i yaumi l+sabti wa-l-ahadi ; and cf. Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zad al-maad, I, 115. 14 'Abd al-Qiidir al-Jiliini, al-Ghuny a li-tiilibi tari qa l-haqqi 'azza wa-jalla, Cairo 1322, I, 44: ... wa-idha zara qabran ia yada' yadahu 'alayhi wa-ia yuqabbilhu, [a-innahu 'iidatu I-yahud ... 15 AI-Muniiwi, Fayd, VI, 402, no. 9798: ... ia tusallimis taslima l-yahiuii wa-l-nasara, [a-inna tasllmahum isharatun bi-I-kufufi wa-l-hawaiibi. (And see the comments of al-Muniiwi, ib); AI-Muniiwi, Fayd, V, 384, no. 7679: ... laysa minna man tashabbaha bi-ghayrinii, ia tashabbahii bi-t-yahiidi wa-Ia bi-l=nasarii [a-inna taslima I-yahudi l-isharatu bi-t-asiibi' wa-tasllma l-nasarii l-ishiiratu bi-t-akuifi ; Ibn Taymiyya, al-Lqtida; p. 85; al-Suyiiti, Jam' al-jawami', I, 684; Ibn al-Athir, Jami' al-usid, VII, 388, no. 4861; Abii Ya'Ia, Musnad, ed. Husayn Salim Asad, Beirut 140411984, III, 397, no. 1875; Ibn al-Qaysariini, M a'rif ai al-tadhkira fi l-ahadithi l-maudiia, ed. 'Imiid al-Din Ahmad Haydar, Beirut 1406/1985, p. 139, no. 387; Fawii'i d min kaliimi bni rajab, Majmii'a, Ms. Hebrew University AP. Ar. 8* 158, fol. 104a = Ms. 326 unbelievers, kuffar, and therefore do not deserve to have their hands shaken. The Muslims, on the other hand, are brethren, and they have to greet each other with the shaking of hands and with the greeting of salami" Malik b. Anas, however, did not see any wrong in shaking hands with Jews and Christians,"? Similar in content were some traditions traced to Ibn 'Abbas. Had Pharao greeted me by saying, "May God bless you", I would answer, "And you". "And Pharao is dead already", added Ibn 'Abbas," Ibn 'Abbas is said to have recommended that the greeting of a Jew, a Christian or a Magian be answered in a proper manner; he based himself on Sura IV, 86: And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet with a fairer than it, or return it; surely God keeps a watchful count over everything, which in his opinion referred to believers and to unbelievers alike." A tradition traced to Abii Musa al-Ash'ari, who is said to have answered in a due manner the greeting of a dihqan in a letter sent to him, displays the same attitude." Some traditions enjoin that the response of a believer to the greeting of the People of the Book be confined to the utterance "And upon you"; this concise response was justified by the fact that the Jews greeted the Prophet by saying at-sam 'alayka, and the Prophet ordered that the malediction of the Jews be answered Laurenziana, Or. 197, fol. 94a; Goldziher, Uber jUdische Siuen, p. 355. 16 Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, al-Manhiyyat, ed. Muhammad al-Sa'Id Zaghliil, Beirut 1405/1985, p. 76 sup.; comp, al-Muniiwi, Fay4, VI, 350, no. 9569: nahi: an yusafaha I-mushrikiina au yuknau au yuraMaba bihim (and see ib; the comments of al-Munawl); and see 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jiliini, al-Ghunya, I, 44. 17 Malik b. Anas, Risiila, p. 44. 18 Fal,llu lliihi al-Jiliini, Fa41u llahi l-samad taudihi l=adabi l-muirad li-abi 'abdi llahi muhammadi bni ismiilla l-bukhiiri, Hims, 1388/1969, II, 555, no. lIB; al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, X, 319,no. 10609. 19 AI-Jiliini, op.cit., II, 549, no. 1107; and see: Mabmiid Muhammad al-Zabidi, 'Uqiid al-jawahir al-munifa, ed. Wahbi Sulaymiin al-Albiini, Beirut 1406/1985, II, 151ult.-152. 20 Al-Jiliini, op.cit; II, 544, inf.-545, sup. rt "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 327 by the ominous: wa-'alaykum.21 Several traditions enjoined upon Muslims not to be the first to greet Jews and Christiansf? this injunction was often coupled with the utterance of the Prophet in which it was said that Jews and Christians encountered on a road should be forced to the narrowest part of the way.23 In another tradition, the list of people from whom one should withhold one's greeting includes Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, wine drinkers, people who cast doubts on the 21 AI- nuer, op.cit., II, 545, no. 1102, II, 548, nos. 1105-1106,II, 553, no. 1ll0; Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Dinawari (Ibn al-Sunni), 'Amal ai-yaum wa-l-tayla; Hyderabad 1358, p. 67; Ibn al-Athlr, Jiimi' al-usul, VII, 389-392, nos. 4863-4866; Malik b. Anas,Risala, p. 44; al-Ja$$i~, Ahkam al-Qur'an, Qustantiniyya, 1338, III, 427; Abu Ya'li, Musnad, V, 295, no. 2916, 410, no. 3089, 425, no. 3114, 445, no. 3153,478, no. 3214; ai-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz; IX, 68, no. 646, 69, no. 660, 70, nos. 672, 675; Goldziher, Ober jicdisck« Siuen, p. 308; al-Da'I Thiqat at-Imam, al-Majalis al-mustansiriyya, ed. Muhammad Kamil Husayn, n.p., n.d., p. 109; 'Ala' al-Dln 'Ali b. Balaban al-Farisl, al-Ihsan [i taqrib sahihi bni hibban, ed. Shu'ayb al-Ama'iit, Beirut 1404/1984, II, 220, no. 503. 22 AI-Ja~~i~, op.cit., III, 427: ... qii!« abu bakrin l i.e. al-Jassas]: wa-innama kuriha al-ibtida'u li-anna t-saiam« min tahiyyati ahli l+lannati fa-kuriha an yubda'a bihi l-kafiru idh laysa min ahliha wa-la yukrahu l-radda 'ala wajhi I-mukafa'ati ... ; al-Jilini, op.cit .. II, 545, no. 1102;Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil fi du'afa'i I-rijal, VII, 2237-2238; Abu Ya'li, Musnad, II, 236, no. 936; al-Muniwi, Fay4, VI, 386, no. 9726; al-Tabaranl, al-Mu'jam al-kablr, II, 277-278, nos. 2162-2164; I. Goldziher, Uber jiJdische Siuen, p. 307. 23 AI-Jilani, op.cit., II, 547, no. 1103, 554, no. 1111;al-Muniwi, Fay4, VI, 386, no. 9726; al-Suyuti, Jam' al-jawamt, I, 87; Ibn al-Sunni, 'Amal, p. 67; Ibrahim b. 'Ali al-Fayruzabadi ai-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab [i [iqhi /-imami I-shafi'i, Beirut 1379/1959 (repr.), II, 255; Ibn al-Athir, Jami' al-usul, VII, 392, no. 4867; al-Jassds, Ahkam, III, 427; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zad al-maiid, II, 27 [and see the different views of the Muslim scholars on this subject, ib.1; al-Fayrjiziibddf, Sifr al-sa'ada, Beirut 1398/1978, p. 103; Muhammad Mustafi 'Azmi [= al-A'zaml], Studies in early lJadith Literature, Beirut 1968, Ar. text, p. 20, no. 29 and pp. 80-81 lthe assessment of the traditionl 328 pedigree of people's mothers and players of chess." In one of the pious utterances the believer is recommended to utter the formula of the oneness of God when looking at a church or a synagogue, on hearing the sound of a horn ish abur) or a church-bell (niiqus) or when looking at a group of unbelievers, Jews or Christians," Scholars devoted some attention to the problem of how to deal with a greeting given by mistake, that is, if a Muslim responded to the greeting of a dhimmi but later realized that he had made amistake, he would often come back and ask him to "give him back" the greeting." In one case of this kind the reason for asking the response to the greeting to be "given back" is formulated as follows: the mercy of God and His blessing are reserved exclusively for the Muslims; therefore the believer ('Uqba b. 'Amir al-Juhani) substituted the invocation "May God expand the span of your life tata!« llahu hayataka) and multiply takthara) your wealth and children" to the conventional response to a greeting.i" The reason why one should avoid a greeting which contained a reference to the "Mercy of God" was that the blessing to someone who sneezed had been changed because of the Jews. The latter would present themselves to the Prophet sneezing, and would expect the Prophet to say, "May God have mercy upon you trahimakumu lliihu)", but the Prophet used to say: "May God lead you to the right way (yahdikumu lliihu wa-yuslihu biilakum)."28 It is similarly forbidden to use the 24 AI-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz, IX, 132, no. 1099; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i'tidal, II, 417, no. 4296. 25 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilanl, al-Ghunya, I, 47 ... wa-yustahabbu id/.la ra'a bay'atan au kanisatan ... an yaqida: ashhadu an la iliiha ilia liahu wahdahu la sharika lahu ilahan wa/.lidan la ndbudu ilia iyyahu. 26 Al-Jfldn], op.cit., II, 555, no. 1115; . Goldziher, Ueber juedische Sitten, p. I 308. 27 AI-Jilani, op.cit; II, 554, no. 1112;al-Dhababi, Mizan al-i'tidiu, II, 401, no. 4247: idha daautum li-ahadin mina l+yahiuii au al-nasarii fa-qulu: akthara lliihu miilaka wa-wuldaka. 28 AI-Jilani, op.cit., II, 555, no. 1ll4; Ibn al-Sunni, "Amal, p. 72; Ibn al-Athir, Jam;' al-usid, VII, 400, no. 4888. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 329 formula salamu llahi 'alaykum when writing to non-Muslims; the formula to be used should be al=salamu 'ala man ittabaa I-huda; this formula was used by the Prophet in his letter to Musaylima." The believers were warned of adoption of ideas and customs of Jews and Christians and were enjoined not to follow them in their practices and rites. But it is worthwhile to notice that the Prophet himself is said to have followed the practices and rituals of the People of the Book until ordered by God to act differently." 29 Malik b. Anas, Risala, p. 40. 30 See e.g. al-Haziml, al-I'tibar [i bayiini l-nasikhi wa-l-mansiikhi mina l=akhbiir, Hyderabad 1359, p. 121:... Kana yat ashabbahu bi-ahli l-kitiibi, [a-lamma nusikha dhiilika wa-nuhiya 'anhu ntahii ... ; and see al-Tahawi, Shorb ma'iini l-Iuhiu; ed. Mahmiid Sayyid Jao al-Haqq, Cairo 1388/1968, I, 489: ... Kana yattabi'u ahla l-kitiibi I)atta yumaru bi-khilafi dhiilika ... li-anna hukmahu $alla lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallam an yak una 'ala shari'ati l-nabiyyi lladhi kana qablahu I)atta yuhdatha lahu shari'atun tansukhu ... ; and see ib. p. 490 the comment of 'Ali when the believers stood up at a funeral: "that [was so] while you were Jews", dhalika wa-antum yahudu ... ; al-Tahawi explains that 'Ali referred to the fact that they followed the shari'a of the Jews; later it was abrogated by Islam. And see ib. p. 389: the hairdress of the Prophet was like that of the Jews; it was later changed by the Prophet. And see Ibrahim al-Bajiir I, Hiishiy a 'ala l-shama'ili l-muhammadiy ya ... li-i-tirmidhi, Cairo 1344, p. 41: ... kana yasdilu sharahu ... wa-kana l-mushrikiina yafruqiina ru'usahum ... wa-kana yuhibbu muwafaqata ahli l-kitabi [ima lam yu'mar fihi bi-shay'in, ay fima lam yutlab fihi minhu shay'un 'ala jihati l-wu jiib! au al-nadbi; qala l-Qurtubi: wa-hubbuhu muwafaqatahum kana fi auwwali l-amri 'inda qudiimihi l=mad i nat a f i l=waqti lladhi kana yastaqbilu qiblat ahum [ihi li=t a'allufihim, f a-Iammii lam yanfa' [ihim dhiilika wa-ghalabat 'alayhim al-shaqwa amara bi-mukhiilafatihim [i umiirin kathiratin; wa-innama iuh ar a mahabb at a ahli l=kitiib] duna l=mushriki n l i+t am as suki ul a'ik a bi-b aqii y a sh arii'i'] l-rusuti, wa-ha'ula'i wathaniyyiu: ; and see the discussion concerning the shari'a followed by the Prophet in the period of the Jahiliyya before his Call: Ibn al-'Arabi, Tafsir at-qur'an (=Al)kam al-qur'im}, pp. 23-24; 'Abdallah b. 330 Believers were enjoined to refrain from disputes with the People of the Book as to the Torah, the Injil and the Zabiir, and from confirming their views; believers should affirm the truth of passages which are true, and which have been falsified or declared untrue (fa-tukadhdhibunahum) by the People of the Book. The believers were enjoined to believe only in the holy Book, i.e. the Qur'an," An extremist attitude towards the dhimmis is exposed in traditions which say that Jibril refrained from conveying the revelation to the Prophet and from touching his hand because the Prophet had touched the hand of a Jew. Only after the Prophet had performed the ritual ablution did Jibril shake his hand and convey the revelation to him.32 A similar tradition says that the Prophet advised Abii Hurayra not to shake hands with a Jew or a Christian after having performed the wudis'; if he shook hands with them, he would have to repeat the Muhammad al-Sadiqi al-Ghimari, Takhri] al)adithi Huma' [i usuli l-liqh, ed. Yiisuf 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mar'ashll, Beirut 1405/1984, pp. 184-185; al-Zurqani, Sharh. al-mawahibi l-laduniyya, Cairo 1328, VII, 239-242: ... wa-qad ikhtalaf a l-'ulama'u hal kana 'alayhi l-saliuu wa-l+saliimu qabla ba'thatihi mutaabbidan bi-shar'i man qablahu am la ... ; and see Mughultay, ai-Zahr al-biisim [i sirat abi l-qiisim, MS. Leiden Or. 370, fol. 110 a-b: ... qala l-madhiri: ikhtalaf a l-nasu hal kana muia'abbidan qabla nubuwwatihi salta llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam bi-shari'atin am la ... 31 Al-Daylami, Firdaus al-akhbiir, Ms. Chester Beatty 3037, fol. 188 b, sup.; al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, IX, 413, no. 9759. The utterance /a tusaddiqu ahla l=kitiibi is said to have been connected with a peculiar usage in the first stage of Islam, as reflected in the following report: .'. 'an abi hurayrata lrl qala: kana ahlu /-kitabi yaqra'una l=t aurata bi-l-cibrani y y ati wa-yulassirunaha li+ahli l=isliimi bi=l-c ar abi y y ati; [a+qiil a r asiue llahi l sl : /a t usaddi qk ahla l-kitabi ... ; see Ibn Hazm, al-Fisal fi lrmilal wa-/-ahwa'i wa-l-nihal, Cairo 1384/1964, II, 13sup.; cf. al-Suyiiti, al-Durr al-manthiir [i l-tafsir bi-l-mathiir, Cairo 1314,II, 48. 32 Al-Suyiiti, al-Durr al-manthiir, III, 227; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i'tidiil, ed. 'Ali Muhammad al-Bijawf, Cairo 1382/1963, III, 299; I. Goldziher, Usages juifs, p. 76. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 331 ablution." Although scholars called upon Muslims to restrict their contacts with the People of the Book, the believers were urged to summon them to embrace Islam whenever they met them." The consensus of the Muslim scholars was that the precepts of Islam abrogated the injunctions of every religion which preceded Islam; God annulled the laws of the Torah, the Injil and the other religions, and made the laws of Islam incumbent upon mankind and upon the iinn.3s If the Torah or the Gospels are taken as booty during a military expedition, they should not be left to stand as they are, because these are books deliberately altered tmubaddalat and without any sanctity (Ill hurmata laM). The writing should therefore be scratched out, and the vellum or paper utilized in a proper fashion." It stands to reason that traces of Jewish and Christian rites and usages should be abrogated. The Prophet forbade believers to lean on their left when sitting during prayer. Such practices were labelled by the Prophet "the prayer of the Jews"." The believers were ordered not to sway during prayer from one side to the other in the manner of the Jews when they prayed" 33 Muhyi l-Din Ibn al-'Arabi, al-Wa,faya, Beirut n.d., p. 198;'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, al-Ghunya, I, 44 info 34 Muhyl l-Din Ibn al-'Arabi, al-Wa,faya, p.198. 35 Ibn Qayyirn al-Jauziyya, Al)kam, I, 259. 36 Ibrahim b. 'Ali al-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab, II, 241 info 37 AI-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz al-lummal, VII, 342, no. 2212, VIII, 97, no. 716, 98 nos. 717-718;al-Munawi, Fayd, VI, 345, no. 9536; al-Tabarani, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, VII, 316, no. 7243: hadhihi [ilsatu l-maghdkbi 'alayhim. 38 AI-Muttaqi l-Hindi, Kanz, VIII, 129, no. 921: ... 'an ummi ruman qalat: ra'ani abii bakrin amilu fi l-saliui [a-zajarani zajratan kidtu ansarifu min saliui thumma qd!«: sami'tu rasida lIahi i sl yaqidu: idhii qiima ahadukum [i I-,faiati [a-l=yusakkin alrafahu wa-Ia yamilu mayla l-yahlidi, [a-inna taskina t-atrat! min tamami l-saliui ; al-Khalliil, ai-Musnad min masa'il ahmad b. mukammad b. hanbal, Ms. Br. Mus. Or. 2675, fol. 80a: ... wa-I-yahudu tanudu [i l-saliui, wa-kadhiilika 332 or when the Torah was unrolled." Muslim scholars disapproved of invocations at the minbar that were accompanied by the raising of hands and by loud noises; these were labelled taqlis al-yahud.40 Standing up and raising one's hands during the t aw a] was condemned as a Jewish custom. "Jews in the synagogues use such a practice", said 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'A~, and advised the believers who used to follow this practice during the tawat to utter such invocations in their councils tmaiatis, not during the fawilf).41 Jews used to close their eyes l-riifidatu ... 39 Ibn al-Athir. al-Nihaya, V, 124. s.v. nwd. 40 Al-Turtiishi, Kitiib al-hawiidith; p. 59 inf. [The text la tuqallis taqlisa I-yahud is interpreted by Malik (b. Anas) as denoting rising of the voice and rising of hands in invocation. Taqlis in this meaning could. however, not be traced in the standard dictionaries; but a very similar definition is given for taqlis (with a sin): alrtaqli s huwa raf'u l-sauti bi-l+dua'] wa-l-qirii'ati wa-ghiniii ; see e.g. L 'A. S.v. qls; and see ib. other interpretations of the verbl. According to tradition the Prophet was entertained by taqlis on the day of 'id at-fur: kana yuqallasu lahu yauma l-fitr ; this is rendered by al-Munawi by: ... yudrabu bayna yadayhi bi-I-duff wa-I-ghina'[al-Munawi. Fay d, V. 238. no. 7130]. Taqlis, entertainment. play. is said to have been practiced on two days of feasts in the period of the Jjihiliyya; it was replaced by the entertainment on the days of "id al-fitr and "id al-a4I:ta. [See e.g. al-Tahawi, Mushkil al-iuhlir, Hyderabad 1333. II. 2lll. Qays b. Sa'd b. 'Ubiida is said to have been astonished that this practice was abandoned after the death of the Prophet L .. shahidtu "idan bi-I-anbar, [a-qultu lahum: ma Ii la ariikum tuqallisisna kama kanu yuqallisiina 'ala 'ahdi rasuli llahi (s); al-Tahawl, M ushkil, II, 209]. A similar utterance is attributed to 'Iyac;l al-Ash'ari Ial-Suyiiti, Jam' ai-jawiimi', II, 586, inf.l. 'Iyac;l stresses that the taqlis is a sunna lf a-innahu sunnatunl ; the word taqlls is explained by Yiisuf b. 'Adiyy as an entertainment in which girls and boys used to sit on the roads playing drums and other instruments lib. II, 586, penult., and cf. al-Tabawl, Mushkil, II, 212, sup.l And see on taqti s in the time of the Prophet: Ibn al-Athir, U sd al-ghiiba, IV, 164 and Ibn l:Iajar, al-Isaba, IV, 756. no. 6143. 41 About raising of hands during prayers and invocations see: al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i'tidal, ed. 'Ali Muhammad al-Bijawi, Cairo 138211963, III, 429, no. 7036: man raiaa yadayhi [i l-saliu fa-Ia salata lahu; and see "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 333 during their prayers; this practice forbidden in Islam.P Two features was disliked and even of Jewish prayer, the Ibn Hibban al-Busti, Kitab al-majruhin, ed. Mahmiid Ibrahim Ziiyid, n.p. 1976, III, 46, 11.1-2; bn al-Qaysarani, Ma'rifat al-tadhkira, p. 85, no. I 17: ... a-r a'ayt um r af' akum a y di y akum fi l+saliiti innahli la-bid'atun; and see the various versions of this utterance: al-Bustl, al-Majruhin, I, 186:... bid'atun, yani ilii udhunayhi; ma zada rasidu. llahi 'ala hadha, ya'ni thadyayhi ... wa+auma'a hammiid ila thad y ayhi ... ; wa-l=arabu tusammi l=salata ,du'a'an, f a-khabaru hammiidin hadha a-ra'aytum raf'akum aydiyakum [i l-saliui' ariida bihi "fi l-dua'!" ... ma rajaa nabiyyu llahi ts) yadayhi [auqa sadrihi fi I-du'a' ... ; and see a l-Biisfr i, Mi$bahu I-zujaja, I, 299, no. 860: ... ra'aytu rasida llahi (s) yarfdu yadayhi fi l+saliui hadhwa mankib a yhi hl na y af t at ihu t-saliaa wa-hi na yarka't« wa-hina y as judu ... ; and see another tradition ib. pp. 299-301. Cf. Ibn al-Qaysariini, Mo'rif atu l-tadhkira, p. 153,no. 451:... raaytu l-nabiyya is) kana idhii raf aa ra'sahu mina l-sajdati I-ilia rajaa yadayhi tilqa'a w a jhihi ; and see ib. p, 117, no. 233: ... kana idha raka'a raf a'a yadayhi la yujawizu bihimii udhunayhi wa-qala: al-shaytanu yarfau yadayhi [auqa rasihi; and see Ibn Hibban al-Busti, al-Majruhin, I, 316: ... inna l-shaytana hina ukhri]a mina l+jannati raf'a yadayhi fauqa ra'sihi; and see this tradition: Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil fi 4u'afa'i l-riiii! III, 1224; al-Tabarani, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, IX, 300-301, nos. 9298-9300; and see the scrutiny of the different versions of the tradition of rising the hands: Murtada I-Zabidi, 'Uqudu 1-[awiihiri l-munif a, ed. Wahbi Sulayman al-Albiini, Beirut 1406/1985, I, 100-103 [and see the comments of the editorl; and see Muhammad b. Ja'far al-Kattani, Nazm at-musaniuhir mina i-hadithi l-mutawiuir, Cairo 1983, pp. 85-86, no. 67, 176-177 no. 203. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-'uium wa-i-hikam, ed. 'Abd al-'Aziz Kiimil and Muhammad al-Ahmadi Abii l-Niir, Cairo 1969,I, 222, penult.-226; cf. Abii Ya'Ia, Musnad, V, 291, no. 294; and see al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, X, 388, no. 10779; Ibn Khuzayma, I, 294-296, no. 583, 344-345, nos. 693, 695, III, 146-147, nos. 1791-1792; and see, e.g., M.J. Kister, "Concessions and conduct" in: G.H.A. Juynboll (ed.) Studies on the first century of Islamic society, p. 98, note 80; al-Turtiishi, al-Ifawadith, p. 122. 42 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, II, 271, no. 3329; Ibn Taymiyya, l qud«, p. 85; al-Daylami, Firdaus, Ms. Chester Beatty 3037, fol. 186a; al-Jarrabi, Kashfu l-khafa'i wa-muzilu l-ilbiis 'amma ishtahara mina l-aMdithi sen« 334 sadl and the ishtimal al-samma',43 were strongly disapproved of. Tradition says that the Prophet was admonished not to follow other unpleasant features of Jewish prayers: members of a Jewish congregation would lower their voices and, then raise them, following the lead of one of them, who raised his voice and shouted loudly." The believers were ordered to abstain from talking to each other during prayers, as this was the custom of Jews and Christians." The greeting may God hear your and our prayer on the Day of the Feast was marked by the Prophet as a greeting of the People of the Book and he, 'alii alsinati l-niis, Beirut 1351,no. 3003; closing of eyes was however permitted in certain circumstances: see 'Izz ai-Din 'Abd al-Salam, al-Fatiiwii, ed. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd al-Fattah, Beirut 1406/1986, p. 147, no. 106. 43 AI-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubrii, Hyderabad [reprint al-Riyad 1968], II, 242-243; Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil, II, 730; Ibn Taymiyya, lqtidii', pp. 129-131 [see the discussion about the meaning of the word and the problem of the permissibility of prayer in this way]; Ibn al-Athir, al-Nihiiya, s.v. sdl; al-Suyihi, Jam' at+Lawiimi', II, 492: ... Iii yashtamil ahadukum ishtimiila l-yahud ... ; ai-Muttaqi l-Hindi, K anz, VIII, 13, no. 78: ... Iii yashtamil ahadukum [i l-saliui shtimiila l-yahud 129, nos. 917-918; al-Tiisl, al-Nihiiya [i mujarr adi l-f iqhi wa-f atawa, Beirut 1390/1970, pp. 97 inf.-98 sup.; al-Majlisi, BilJiir al-anwiir LXXXIII, 203-211;al-Babrani, ai-Hadii'iq al-nadira tt alJkiim al-titraii Hiihira, ed. Muhammad Taqiyy al-Ayrawanl, Najaf 1379,VII, 122-125; and see Abii Yiisuf, Kitiib al-iithiir, ed. Abii I-Wafa, Cairo 1355, p. 39, nos. 201-202 [and see the comments of the editorl: and see ibn Khuzayma, $alJilJ, I, 378, no. 769 [ishtimiill, 379, no. 772 [sadl]; and see Zayn ai-Din b. Ibrahim b. Nujaym al-Misr i, Sharh. risiilati l-.faghii'ir wa-l-kabair, Cairo 1401/1981, p. 63. 44 Ibn Kathir, Taisir, IV, 361; al-Tabari, Taf sir, [Biiliiq 1321,repro Beirut] XV, 125; and see al-Suyiiti, al-Durr al-manthisr, III, 156:... wa-akhraja abu l-shaykhi 'ani bni 'umara qiila: kiinat bani: isrii'ila idhii qaraat a'immatuhum jiiwabuhum [a-kariha Iliihu dhiilika li-hiidhihi l-ummati; qala: idhii quri'a l-qur'anu [a-stami'i: wa-an$itu. 45 AI-Muttaqi ai-Hindi, K anz, VIII, 112, no. 809; al-Suyiiti, al-Durr al-manthisr, III, 156. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 335 therefore, disapproved of it.46 One item of clothing which marked the difference between the ritual of the Muslims and that of the Jews was the shoe. Shoes were indeed a token of high social position for their owners. The Prophet was ordered to wear shoes and to set a seal (i.e, a ring with a seal) on his finger.'? Shoes were considered to be "the wear of the prophets"," The Prophet is said to have advised the believers to hold shoes in high esteem, as they were "the anklets of men"," One of the epithets of the Prophet was Sahib al-na'layni" According to one tradition, the Prophet entrusted his Companion, Abu Hurayra, with a special mission: he handed him his shoes and ordered him to assure everyone whom he met while carrying them that he would enter Paradise if only he uttered the shahada, as a token of his firm belief. Abu Hurayra was however impeded by 'Umar in his mission, for 'Umar kicked him and threw him to the ground. Abu Hurayra returned 46 Ibn Harnza al-Husayni al-Dimashqi, al-Bayisn wa-/-ta'rif [i asbab wurudi I-I)adithi l=shar'i], Beirut 1400/1980, II, 339, no. 1038. Ibn al-Qaysarani, Ma'rifat al-tadhkira, p. 157, no. 472; Ibn Hibban al-Busti, al-Majrul)in, II, 149; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i'tidal, II, 543, no. 4791; ai-Muttaqi l-Hindi, Kanz, IX, 133, no. 1101.[but see al-Majril)in II, 301: the Prophet approved of this greeting]; and see I. Goldziher, Usages Juijs, p. 85. 47 Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawa'id, V, 138; al-Munawi, Fayd, II, 190, no. 1635; Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Maghribi, Fatl) al-mutdal fi madhi I-ni'al, Hyderabad 1334, p. 100; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Al)kam ahli I-dhimma, p. 755. 48 Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Maghribi, Fatl) al-mutdal, p. 27. 49 AI-Daylami, Firdaus, Ms. Chester Beatty 4139, fol. 35b: ... istajidi: I-ni'al [a-innahii khalakhilu I-rijal ; al-Zamakhshari, Rabi'u l-abrar wa-nu,fU,f al-akhbbr, ed. Salim al-Nu'aymi, Bagdad 140211982, IV, 28 (attributed to al-Ahnaf'); Ibn Qutayba, 'Uyun al-akhbar, Cairo 1349/1930, I, 301 (attributed to al-Ahnaf); al-Jal}i~, al-bayiin wo-l-tabyin, ed. 'Abd al-Salarn Harlin, Cairo (reprint Beirut), III, 98; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Al)kam, p. 755 (attributed to 'Umar), 50 Ahmad al-Maghribi, Fall) at-muta'Iil, p. 101; al-Zurqani, Sh arb al-mawiihib ai-laduniyya, Cairo 1326, III, 136, 1.3. 336 to the Prophet, gave him back his shoes and, crying, informed him of 'Umar's deed. 'Umar succeeded in persuading the Prophet that Abu Hurayra's mission should be stopped, as the promise of Paradise might have brought about remissness in carrying out one's religious duties," Yellow shoes were regarded with favour, and the Prophet is said to have stated that he who wears them would enjoy contentment as long as they were on his feet.52 Scholars admitted, however, that it is not incumbent on the believers to wear shoes like those of the Prophet." An utterance attributed to the Prophet says that God granted the Muslim community the distinction of performing their prayers while wearing shoes." In another utterance attributed to the Prophet it is stated that shoes are the adornment of prayer." The Prophet interpreted the phrase: "0 children of Adam! look to your adornment at every place of worship [khudhit zinatakum 'inda ku/li masiidin, Siirat al-a'raf, 31J", as denoting an injunction to wear shoes during prayers." A great many traditions state that the Prophet used to 51 Ahmad al-Maghribi, Fath al-mutabl, pp. 60-61. 52 Al-Suyiitl, al-Durr al-manthiir, I, 78; al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, X, 320, no. 10612. 53 See Muhammad Ahmad aI-'Adawi, U:sul [i l-bido'i wa-l-sunan, n.p., 1401, p. 42. 54 Al-Suyiitl, al-Durr al-manthia, III, 78, inf.: '" mimmii akrama Ilahu bihi hadhihi I-ummata lubsu ni'alihim [i saliuihim ; 'Ali b. Muhammad b. 'Araq, Tanzih al=shari'ati I-marf iia 'ani t-ahiidithi l-shani'ati l-maudiia, ed. 'Abd al-Wahhiib 'Abd al-Latif and 'Abdallah Muhammad al-Siddiq, Beirut 1399/1979, II, 101, no. 74. 55 Al-Suyiiti, al-Durr, III, 78, inf; Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawa'id, II, 54; Abu Ya'Iii, Musnad, I, 405, no. 532. 56 Al-Qurtubi, Taf sir, VII, 190 sup.: ... ilbasii ni'alakum [a=sallli. fiha ; Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil, pp. 1829, 2156, 2171;aI-Suyuti, al-Durr, III, 78 inf.: ... khudhi: zinatakum 'inda kulli masjidin, qala: sallu [i ni'alikum ; al-Shaukani, Fatb al-qadir, II, 201; and see ib. min tamiimi l-saliui al-saliuu [i l-ndlayn ; (and see this tradition: aI-Muttaqi l-Hindi, K anz, VII, 376, no. 2450; and see Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil, VI, 2156); Ibn 'Ariiq, Tanzik al-shari'a, II, 101 (zayn al-saliui I-hidha'u). "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 337 pray with his shoes on.!? Some sources record lists of Companions and fiibi'un who performed their prayers while they were wearing shoes." Ibrahim al-Nakha'i took care to put on his shoes at the beginning of prayer." Very high merit was placed on prayer while wearing one's shoes: according to a tradition, an angel announces to the believer who prays while wearing shoes that all his sins have been forgiven and that he should resume 57 Al-Tahawi, Sharh' ma'ani i-athar, ed. Muhammad Sayyid Jiidd al-Haqq, Cairo n.d., I, 511-512; Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawii'id, II, 54, 55; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubrii, II, 431; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, I ghiuhat al-lahfim min masayidi l-shaytan; reprint Beirut, 1358/1939, I, 147; al-Suyiiti, al-Durr, III, 79 sup.; Ibn 'Adiyy, ai-Kamii, VI, 2214; Ibn Hajar aI-'AsqaIiini, Patb al-biiri, sharb sahih al-bukhari, BiiIiiq 1300 (repr, Beirut), I, 415; Ibn Daqiq al-Td, ai-Ilmam bi-ahadithi l-ahkam; ed. Muhammad Sa'id aI-MauIawi, Damascus, p. 91, no. 204; al-Maghribi, Fath al-mutaiil, pp. 49, 50; al-Yiisufi, zs« al-muslim, V, 65; al-'Ayni, 'Umd at al=qari, IV, 119; Ibn Abi Shayba, ai-Musannaf, II, 415; al-Muniiwi, Fayd, V, 222, no. 7059; 'Abd al-Razzaq, ai-Musanna], I, 384, no. 1500 (and see ib. no. 1502: the Prophet entered the mosque wearing shoes, prayed wearing shoes, and left the mosque wearing shoes); Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Maqdisi, al-Muharrar [i l-hadlth, ed. al-Mar'ashli, Samiira and all-Dhahabi, Beirut 1405, I, 177, no. 208; al-Tabaranl, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, XXII, 205, nos. 539-540; aI-Muttaqi I-Hindi, K anz, VIII, 138-139, nos. 994, 999, 1001, 1002, 1006, 1011; 'Umar b. Shabba, Ta'rikn at-mad ina ai-munawwara, ed. Fahim Muhammad ShaItiit, Mecca 1399/1979, p. 40; al-Biisiri, Misba/J ai-zuja]«, I, 349. A remarkable report says, however, that Miilik b. Anas forbade the governors to ascend the minbar of the Prophet lscil, in Medina] wearing shoes or boots [see 'Abdallah b. Abi Zayd aI-Qayrawiini, al-Jiimi', p. 140, sup.J. 58 Mal)miid Muhammad Khattab al-Subki, al+Manhal al=adhb al-maurlid, sharb sunan at-imam abi dawud, Cairo 1394, V, 41; Ibn Abi Shayba, ai-Musanna], II, 416-417; and see 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, I, 386, no. 1508, 387, nos. 1509, 1511;al-Jahiz, ai-Bayan wa-/-tabyin, III, 110. 59 'Abd al-Razziiq, al-Musannaf, I, 387, no. 1510;and see the tradition idha qumtum iia l-saliui [a-ntailii: Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil, VI, 2156, inf.; Ibn 'Ariiq, Tanzih ai-shari'a al-marfica 'ani l-akhbari l-shani'ati l-maudica, II, 100; al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i'tidiil, III, 509, no. 7351. 338 his worship anew." The reason for the injunction to pray while wearing one's shoes is given in a widely circulated utterance of the Prophet: "Act against the practice of the Jews, as they do not pray while wearing one's shoes or their boots" (khaiilu l-yahisda, t a-innahum la yusallisna ti ni'iilihim wa-ia [i khilalihim).61 Another tradition of the Prophet on this subject has a slightly different wording. It says: "Pray while wearing your shoes, and do not assimilate yourselves to the practice of Jews ($allu [i ni'iilikum wa-la tashabbahis bi-i-yahud).62 Muslim scholars explained the Jewish practice of praying barefoot by the fact that Jews considered prayer while wearing shoes as signifying lack of respect and esteem (scil, for the sanctuary); furthermore, the Jews in their conduct followed Moses, who was ordered to take off his shoes in the holy valley of Tuva, mentioned in the Qur'an (Siirat Ta-Ha, 13).63 60 AI-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz, VII, 376, no. 2449. 61 Mahrnud al-Subki, al-Manhal al-'adhb, V, 42; al-Suyiiti, al-Durr, III, 78; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sun an al=kubra, II, 432; Niir ai-Din al-Haythami, Majma' ai-sawdid, II, 54; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Lghiuhat al-lahfiin, I, 147; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-bari, I, 415; al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-qiiri, IV, 119; al-Daylami, Firdaus, Ms. Chester Beatty 3037, fol. 75b; ai-Muttaqi I-Hindi, K anz, VII, 374, no. 2430; al-Muniiwi, Fayd, III, 431, no. 3879; al-Suyiitl, Jam' at-jawami', I, 505 penult.-506; Ibn 'Ariiq, Tanzih al-shari'o, II, 101, no. 74; Ibn Qayyim, Ahkam, p. 156; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, II, 432, sup.; Ibn Taymiyya, I qtiqa', p. 178; Niir ai-Din al-Haythami, Mawarid al-~am'an ila zawii'idi bni hibbiin, ed. Muhammad 'Abd al-Razziiq Hamza, Cairo n.d., p. 107, no. 357; and see I. Goldziher, Uber judische Siuen, p. 314. 62 See, e.g., al-Muniiwi, al-Fayd, IV, 201, no. 5021; and see al-Dhahabi, Mizan at-i'tidiu. IV, 457, no. 9835: ... salli: [i I-ni'Iil khalifu I-yahud transmitted by Shaddiid b. Aus; ai-Muttaqi l-Hindi, K anz, VII, 374, no. 2431. 63 Mahmiid al-Subki, al-Manhal al+adhb, V, 45 inC.;al-Muniiwi, Fayd, IV, 201, no. 5021. And see the comments of al-Muniiwi, ib.: the leather of Moses' shoes was from an impure beast, a donkey, and he was therefore ordered to take them off. In addition, he had to receive the blessing of the holy valley [ai-wadi al-muqaddasi by touching its ground with his "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 339 The problem of the prayers of the believers while wearing their shoes caused a vivid discussion as to the ways of performing the ritual ablution, the wudii', The verse enjoining the wudu', [Siirat al-rna'ida, verse 6] was interpreted by some scholars as enjoining washing of the feet; others assumed that it imposed only the obligation to wipe the feet.64 As for the prayer feet. The Prophet stated that the conclusions drawn by the Jews and their practices were not sound ['ala ghayri sihhatini, though the matter itself was true. (Cf. al-Zurqani, Shorb ai-muwatta', ed. Ibrahim 'Atwa 'Awad, Cairo 138211962, V, 281, 1.1 ... [a-qala ka'b: kiinati: min jildi himiirin mayyitin, [a-hiidhii sababu amrihi bi-khal'ihii; [a-akhadha l-yahiidu minhu anna khaia l-nalayni [i l-salati laysa bi-sahib .. .). These arguments are recorded in al-Qurtubi's Tafsir XI, 173; al-Qurtubi mentions however other reasons for the commandment to take off the shoes: Moses was ordered to do so because of awe and respect for the holy place, Tuwa; like in the haram of Mecca one had to enter the holy place of Tuwa barefoot. According to another interpretation the removal of his shoes by Moses denoted metaphorically the removal of thoughts on children and family from his heart. 64 See e.g. ai-Muttaqi l-Hindi, Kanz, IX, 328, nos. 2720-2721; Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Hadi l-Maqdisi, al-Muharrar fi I-I)adith, I, 99, no. 37, 100, nos. 39, 41, 106, no. 52, 108, no. 60; al-Bii!$iri, Misbal)u l-zuiii]«, I, 183, no. 187. A significant utterance reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas says that people objected to everything except washing [of feet], but he Ii.e, Ibn 'Abbas] did not find in the Qur'an anything except wiping [of the feet]: inna l-nasa abau illii I-ghusl. wa-Ia ajidu [i kitabi lliihi ilia I-masha (ibidem, no. 188); and see al-Shafi'I, Ikhtilii] al-hadith, ed. 'Amir Ahmad Haydar, Beirut 1405/1985, pp. 169-171[and see esp. the utterance of al-Shafi'I, ib., p. 170; and see the references of the editorl; and see the contradictory traditions: 'Abd al-Razzaq, ai-Musannaf, I, 18-28, nos. 53-82; al-Suyiiti, al-Durr al-manthiir, II, 262-263 [see the significant utterance attributed to Anas b. Malik, ibid. p. 262: nazala l-qur'iinu bi-t-mashi, wa-l-sunnatu bi-l-ghuslit; al-Tabari, Tafsir led. Shakir], X, 52-64, 74-80, nos. 11447-11536[see the contradictory opinions pp. 58-59 and the harmonizing assumptions pp. 62-64; see the opinion of al-Tabari pp. 74-80); al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, I, 67-77 [see p. 68 seq.: babu l-takriiri f i ghusli l-ri jlayni, biibu l-dalili 'ala anna [arda l-riilayni l+ghuslu wa-anna mashahuma Iii yajzi ; and see p. 74 about performing the washing of the feet while wearing shoes]; see Abii 340 of the believer wearing boots, he was absolved from washing his feet at every wudii' on condition that he had washed his feet before putting on his boots," These traditions enjoining not to assimilate themselves seem to belong to a very early phase in the emergence of Islam, in which it was felt to be essential for the nascent Muslim community to establish distinctive features for its own religious rites and practices, so as to differentiate itself from all other religious communities. There was however no full consensus among Muslim scholars in a later period as to prayer in shoes. Traditions recorded in very early collections of hadith seem to indicate a certain amount of reservation. Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 A.H.) asked 'Atil whether a believer may pray while wearing shoes. 'Ata answered, "yes", and added that he had heard that the Prophet had prayed with his shoes on. "What is wrong with them (i.e. with shoes)? The Prophet also prayed while wearing boots", said 'Atil.66 Ibn Jurayj's doubts as to whether or not prayer while wearing shoes is permissible are exposed in this tradition. Another report tells of Abu Hurayra's denial of the rumour that he did not allow people to pray with their shoes on. He asserted that he had seen the Prophet pray in shoes,"? Uncertainty as to the manner of prayer is visible in a significant conversation between two of the Companions of the Prophet: Abii Miisa al-Ash'ari and 'Abdallah b. Mas'iid. Abu Musil led the prayer Ya'Ia, Musnad, I, 449, no. 600: '" thumma akhadha bi-kaff ayhi mina l-mii'i [a+sakka bihimii 'alii qadamayhi wa-fihimi: l-na'lu thumma qalabaha thumma 'alii l-ukhrii mithla dhiilika; qultu: [i l-nalayni? qala: fi l-nalayni, thaliithan. See Ibn Khuzayma, Sahih, I, 83-87, nos. 161-168, 100-101, nos. 199-202. 65 See, e.g., al-Tabarani, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, II, 334, nos. 2393-2394, and cf. ib.; IX, 288, no. 9238; and see al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, I, 292 ult. 66 'Abd al-Razzaq, al=Musanna], I, 384, no. 1501; cf. al-Kattani, Nazm al-mutaniuhir, p. 99, no. 81. 67 'Abd al-Razzaq, al=Musanna], I, 385, no. 1504; al-Tahawl, Sharb maani l-iuhiir, I, 511-512. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 341 and took off his shoes before starting the prayer. 'Abdallah asked him, "Why did you take off your shoes; are you in the holy valley of Tuva?"68 The conflicting perceptions underlying this report are elucidated in a different version of this tradition: 'Abdallah b. Mas'iid came to Abii Miisa al-Ash'ari, When the time of prayer arrived, Abii Miisa urged his guest to lead the prayer, but 'Abdallah refused since Abii Miisa was the host and the prayer was to be performed in his abode and in his masjid. Abii Miisa agreed, and before he started the prayer he took off his shoes. Then 'Abdallah b. Mas'iid asked him about the reason for his action enquiring ironically whether he thought he was in the holy valley of Tuva. The final phrase of the tradition, seems to hold the clue for the understanding of Ibn Mas'iid's question and for the desired conclusion: "We saw indeed the Prophet praying in boots and in shoes.?" Taking off the shoes is obligatory in the Ka'ba or in a Holy Place, but the usual daily prayers should be performed wearing shoes. Indeed, the Prophet prayed barefoot in the Ka'ba on the Day of the Conquest of Mecca." 'Abdallah b. Mas'iid's remark seems to have been grounded on the widely circulated tradition according to which God singled out the Prophet and the Muslim community granting them the privilege to perform their prayers in every spot on earth. "God made the earth for me a mosque and [its dust a means of] purification", says the utterance of the Prophet." 68 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, I, 386, no. 1507; al-Tabarani, ai-Mu'jam al-kabir, IX, 292, no. 9261. 69 Al-Tahawr, Shari) ma"mi i-athar, I, 511 inf.; and see al-Qurtubi, Tafsir, XI, 173 inf.; al-Tabaranl, al-Mu'jam al-kabir, IX, 293, no. 9262. 70 See Niir ai-Din al-Haythami, Mawarid al+zam'Iin; p. 252, no. 1022: ... hadartu rasida llalri (0$) yauma I-fati)i wa-salla [i l-kabati, [a-khalaa nalayhi fa-wada'aha 'an yasarihi ... 71 See, e.g., at-Baj], Sunan at-salihin, Ms. Leiden Or. 506, fol. 44b.; al-Tabari, Tahdhib ai-athar, ed. Mahmiid Muhammad Shakir, Cairo 140211982, I, 441; al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-qari, IV, 8-10 [ ... jaala l-arda kullahii Ii wa-li-ummati tahiiran wa-masjidan [a-aynama adrakati l+rajula min ummati I-saliuu fa-'indahu mas jiduhu wa-Tndahu 342 Accordingly there was no reason to take off one's shoes at prayer. Shoes had to be cleaned, of course, before prayer, and some of the sources include passages concerning the manner of cleaning one's shoes, especially as the Prophet and his Companions used to pray while wearing the same shoes in which they walked in the streets of Medina and in which they performed their bodily needs." According to one tradition a peculiar incident brought about a fundamental change in the perception of prayer and its rules. The Prophet is said to have taken off his shoes one day during prayer, and the believers followed suit. After the prayer the Prophet explained that he had taken off his shoes because the angel Jibril had informed him that there was filth attached to his shoes." Another noteworthy tradition relates that the Prophet took off his shoes during prayer only once and never repeated this again." Another reason why the Prophet took off r ahur uhu ; and see ib. several different versionsl; al-Kauani, N azm al-mutaniuhir, pp, 79-80, no. 59 [see the different versions recorded by the a ut hor l, and p. 207, no. 257; al-Ourtubl, Tafsir, XIX, 20; al-Haythami, Mawarid ai-sam'iin, pp. 104-105, nos. 338-345; Ibn al-Athir, J ami' al-usiil, VI, 312, no. 3668, 319, no. 3681; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, I ghalhal ai-iahfan min masiiyidi t-sna ytiin, Cairo 1358/1939, I, 148-149; and cf. Y. Friedmann, "Finality of Prophethood in Early Islam," JSAI, VII [19861181,note 16. 72 See, e.g., Mahmiid al-Subki, ai-Manhal al-tadhb, V, 43; al-Muniiwi, FaY4, V, 222 (see the commentary of the author on tradition no. 7059). 73 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Ighiuhat al-lahfan; I, 146 (it was the blood of a tick of a camel); al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, II, 431; Ibn Abi Shayba, at-Musannaf, II, 417; Mahmiid al-Subkl, ai-Manhai ai-'adhb, V, 40 inf.-41; al-Tahawi, Sharb mdiini l-Iuhiir, I, 511;Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil, p. 2162; Ibrahim al-Shiriizl, al+Muhadhdhab [i [iqhi i-imam, I, 70 sup.; Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Majma' ai-zawiiid, II, 55; al-Maghribi, Fatb al-mutaid, pp. 54-55; Sa'di Husayn 'Ali Jabr, Fiqh at-imam abi thaur, Beirut 1403/1983, p. 200; al-Ourtubi, Tat sir, XI, 174; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, Beirut 1380/1960, I, 480 ( ... anna fihima qadharan au ad han ... ); a l-T'abar anl, ai-Mu'jam ai-kabir, X, 83, no. 9972. And see Ibn Khuzayma, Sal;.il;., I, 374, no. 786, II, 107, no. 1017. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 343 his shoes after prayer is given in a tradition in which It IS stated that the Prophet once replaced a strap on his shoe that had been torn, by a new one; after the prayer the Prophet ordered that the torn strap be returned, explaining that he had been distracted during the prayer by the new strap." Another tradition relating to this theme says that the Prophet was bored by his shoes and therefore took them off duri ng prayer, followed by the believers." The event at which the Prophet took off his shoes during prayer is linked in some traditions with the utterance of the Prophet enjoining the believers to clean their shoes at the gate of the mosque, to put them on and to wear them during the prayer." It is surprising to read in the final passage of this story, recorded by 'Abd al-Razzaq and Ibn abi Shayba, that the Prophet took off his shoes and that the congregation followed suit and imitated his action. After the prayer the Prophet stated, "He who likes to pray in his shoes may do so, and he who likes to pray barefoot may do SO.18 Another report according to which the Prophet gave permission to pray either wearing shoes or barefoot records a different reason for this utterance of the Prophet: he just gave his feet a rest, and decided that he who wants to take off his shoes may take them off, he who wants to pray while wearing them may pray with his shoes on." A tradition which confirms this last Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, II, 416, 11.2-4; Ibn Sa'd. Tabaqiu, I, 481. 75 'Abd al-Rahlrn al-Traql and Abu Zur'a al-Traql, Tarb al-tathrib fi sharhi l-taqrlb, Halab n.d. II, 379; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu, I, 481. 76 Nur aI-Din al-Haythaml, Majma', II. 55. 77 'Abd al-Razzaq, ai-Musannaf, I, 388, no. 1514;al-Muttaqi l-Hindi, Kanz, VII, 375. nos. 2443-2444; and cf. ib. nos. 2440, 2442; Ibn Abi Shayba, al+Musanna], I, 191; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, II, 402 inf., 403 sup.; al-Harith al-Mubasibi, Fahm al-salat, ed. Muhammad 'Uthman al-Khasht, Cairo 1403/1983, p. 72; Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Mawiirid al-;am'an, p. 107, no. 360. 78 Ibn Abi Shayba, al+Mu s a nn a], II, 415, inf.; 'Abd al-Razziiq, at-Musannaf, I, 387. no. 1513; al-Muttaqi I-Hindi, K anz, VII, 376, no. 2446. 79 Al-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz, VII. 376, no. 2447. 344 point of view states indeed that the Prophet used to pray in either of the two manners, wearing shoes or barefoot." The change in the perception of the practice of prayer is evident: the believers were granted permission to pray as they wished, either barefoot or wearing shoes. Accordingly the imperative verb khiilifu had to be reinterpreted and was explicated as a word merely denoting permission," Al-Subki is right in stating that this tradition turns the obligation to pray with one's shoes on into a free choice left to the believer; being shoed while praying is put on a par with being barefoot.P The utterance became widely circulated in the period following the death of the Prophet, when the Arab tribes went on their huge conquest expeditions. The very early mosques in the conquered territories differed widely from the simple mosque of the Prophet at Medina; prayer with shoes on was not appropriate to floors covered with tiles or slabs. Besides, the Jews in some of these territories, in contrast to the Jews in the Arab peninsula, may have prayed while they were wearing shoes. Consequently, Muslim scholars were compelled to make a re-evaluation of the traditions about the manner of prayer in a mosque: prayer while wearing one's shoes was stated to be a concession ir ukh sa) reserved to the Prophet and his Companions. Shoes are admittedly an adornment of prayer, but treading on filthy ground imuliimas atu l=ar di llati t akthuru [ihi: t-naiasat) 80 Niir aI-Din al-Haythami, Majma', II, 54, 56; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubrb, II, 431; Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil, V, 1827; al-Maghribi, Fat/:! al-mutaiil, p. 95; al-Tahawi, Sharb ma'ani l-iuhar, I, 512; aI-Yiisufi, Zad al-muslim, V, 66; al-Suyfiti, Jam' al-jawami', II, 520; Mahmiid al-Subki, al-Manhal al=adhb al-mauriid, V, 43; 'Abd al-Razzaq, ai-Musannat, I, 385, no. 1503, 387 no. 1512;al-Muttaqi l-Hindi, Kanz, VIII, 139, no. 1000; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad (ed, Shakir), X, 157, no. 6627, 188, no. 6660, 206, no. 1679; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu, I, 480. 81 Mahmiid al-Subki, al-Manhal al=adhb, V, 43, 11.1-3: ... li+anna l-takhyira wa-l-tafwlda ilii l-mashi'ati dalilu l-ibiihati . 82 Mahrniid a l-Subki, al-Manhal al-l adhb, V, 43: wa-huwa min al=ahiuiithi l-siirii ati li-l-amri bi-I-saliui ti l-no'li fi L-ho di thi l-sabiqi min a l-wuikbi ila l-ibiiha ... "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 345 depreciates the position of such a prayer, and the elimination of impurity and filth is of greater importance than adornment (scil, through wearing shoes) during prayer," Some doubts were even cast on the soundness of the tradition khillitu i-yahud in connection with the transmitter of the hadith.14 Only Hanbali scholars continued to stick to the idea that prayer while wearing one's shoes is a sunni practice," The practice of prayer in the mosques without shoes became a common feature in the Islamic Empire; special chapters in the collections of hadith and fiqh discuss at length the problem where to put the shoes for the duration of the prayer." The clash between the early tradition, i.e. that the Prophet prayed while he was wearing his shoes, and the common practice of praying barefoot in mosques, is reflected in an utterance of al-Hasan [evidently al-Basril, who wondered why none of the transmitters who reported that the Prophet had prayed without removing his shoes did not themselves pray while wearing shoes." People in the mosques were not aware that the Prophet had prayed in shoes; the fact that some persons 83 AI-Munliwi, Fayd, III, 431 (See the commentary on no. 3879), V, 222 (See the commentary on no. 7059); Mahmiid al-Subk'i, al=Munhal al+adhb, V, 43; al-Maghribl, Fath al-muiaiil, pp. 51, 88; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-bari, I, 415; al-Yiisufi, Zad al-muslim, V, 64-66; al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-qiiri, IV, 119. 84 See al-Munliwi, Fayd, IV, 201 (See commentary on no. 5021); and see al-Dhahabi, Miz(ln al-i'tidiil, IV, 457, no. 9835; al-Maghribi, Fath' al-muta'iil, p. 89: ... warada [i kauni l-saliui [i l-ni'ii! mina l-zina al-ma'miiri bi-akhdhiha [i l-iiyati hadithun 4a'ilun jiddan auradahu ibn 'adiyy [i l-kamil wa-ibn mardawayb [i taisirihi min hadithi abi hurayra wa-t-luqayti min hadithi anas ... 85 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Ighiuhat ai-iahlan, I, 147-148. 86 See e.g. 'Abd al-Razzaq, al=Musanna], I, 389, nos. 1518-1522;ai-Muttaqi I-Hindi, Kanz, VII, 374, nos. 2434-2435. 87 Al-Jahiz, al-bayan wa-l-tabyin. III, 110:... wa-kana l-hasan yaqidu: mii a'jaba qauman yarwuna anna r asid a ll ah] is) salli: fi ndlayhi ... thumma ia tara ahadan minhum yusalli muntdilan. 346 appeared in the mosques with their shoes on brought about rows and clashes in the mosques, and these culminated sometimes in the killing of those persons," The attitude of the later Muslim scholars is reflected in a succinct response by the famous commentator of Muslim's Sahih, al-Nawawi [d. 676 Hl He was asked whether it was a sound tradition [hal saMal that the Prophet had prayed while wearing shoes, whether prayer with one's shoes on or prayer barefoot was preferable tatdal), whether it was a sound tradition that the Prophet had taken off his shoes during prayer and that his action had been imitated by his Companions, that he had asked them why they had done it and disapproved of their deed, and then why he had disapproved of it. Al-Nawawi stated that both traditions li.e, that he prayed wearing shoes and that he took off his shoes during prayer] were sound. Prayer barefoot is however preferable, says al-Nawawi, because the Prophet prayed barefoot more frequently than while wearing shoes; he merely prayed while shod in order to show that this manner of prayer is permissible. The Prophet took off his shoes when he was informed by Jibril that the shoes contained some filth iadhan), which prevented him from praying. Finally the Prophet disapproved of taking off one's shoes, because he objected ikariha) to an action being performed during prayer, which need not to be carried out during ritual service." It is noteworthy that al-Nawawi does not mention at all that there was an element of differentiation and exclusivity in the wearing of shoes during prayer; prayer with his shoes on was performed by the Prophet only in order to show that this manner of praying was permissible. In summing up, it may be assumed that the common and widely followed practice of praying barefoot in the mosques was a result of the significant changes in the social and material conditions of life in the Muslim community: the sumptuous style 88 See al-Maghribi, Fatl) al-mutaiil, p. 52; al-Yiisufi, Ziid at-muslim, V, 65. 89 AI-Nawawi, al-Manthurat wa-'uyunu l=masii'ili l-muhimmiit, ed. 'Abd al-Qiidir Ahmad 'Mii, Cairo 1402-1982, p. 39, no. 60. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 347 of building which characterized the congregational mosques, and the floors covered with carpets, called for the solemn prayers to be performed barefoot. In some areas of Arabia Jews may have continued to pray without shoes in their synagogues, but pious Muslim scholars did not object to a practice that was similar to that of some unbelievers in one place or another, provided that it was not contrary to the usages of Islam." A peculiar opinion as to the utterance enjoining the believers to pray wearing shoes in contradistinction to the practice of the Jews who pray barefoot is expressed in a book by Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, The reason for this injunction was, according to Ibn Qayyim, that the Prophet ordered the believers to deviate from the practices of the People of the Book and therefore enjoined them to pray with their shoes on. After the death of the Prophet 'Umar forbade the People of the Book to wear shoes of the kind worn by the Muslims," The difference between the injunction of the Prophet and the order of 'Umar'? is explained by Ibn Qayyim's scrutiny of the social and political situation at the time of the Prophet, and of the changes undergone by the Muslim community in the period of 'Umar, Shoes, says Ibn Qayyim, were not the wear of 90 Ahmad b. Ahmad al-Khaliji al-Shiifi'i l-Khalwati, al-Wasm [i l-washm, Cairo 1323, pp. 19-20: ... wa-amma sultanu [-'ulama'i al-Tzzu bnu 'abdi l-salam, rahimahu llahu, [a-innahu ashiira ilii raddihi fi f at awahu idh qiila: l-muradu bi-I-aajimi lladhl na nuhi nii 'ani l-tashabbuhi bihim alba'u l-akasirati [i dhalika l-zamiini, wa-yakhtassu l+nahyu bima yaf'aiimahu 'ala khilafi muqtada shar'inii; [a-amma ma fa'aluhu 'ala waf qi l-l jabi au al-nadbi au al-ibahati fi shar'ina fa-Ia yut r ak li=ajli t a'iuihim iyyahu, f a-inna l-shar'a la yanhi: 'ani l-tashabbuhi bi-ma adhina lliihu fihi ... 91 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Al)kam, p. 748: .. , wa-nahahum 'umaru radiya liahu 'anhu an yalbasii ni'al ai-musiim in. 92 Ibn Qayyim, Al)kam, p. 755, 1.4: ... qiila: wa-f l kitiib 'umar: wa-lii yalbasicna l-nalayn, qala: [a-yumndu ahlu l-dhimma min lubsi [ami'i l-ajnasi mina l-ni'al; wa-l-na'lani huma min ziyyi I-'arabi min abadi l-dahri ila yaumina hadha ... 348 al-'ajam; they used to wear a kind of boot called ai-tamsak= and they should be forced to return to this peculiar wear. Furthermore, so says Ibn Qayyim, shoes are the wear of scholars, honourable persons (ashraf) and distinguished men (akabir), and should consequently be reserved for their use alone. One has to admit, says Ibn Qayyim, that the Jews of Medina and its surroundings indeed wore shoes, and that the prophet did not forbid them this practice. He merely enjoined the believers to act contrary to the Jewish habit of praying barefoot, and ordered them to pray while wearing shoes. Neither the Prophet nor Abu Bakr, sayd Ibn Qayyim, obliged the People of the Book to wear the ghiyiu, the garments that were meant to differentiate them from the Muslim community, since the believers had still not overpowered the People of the Book, nor had they yet abased them or occupied their countries; the People of the Book were in control of the majority of these countries and the believers kept their status according to the agreements and peace pacts that had been concluded ( ... Ii-anna l=musli mi na lam yakitnit qad istaulau 'ala ahli l-kit ab wa-qaharishum wa-adhalluhum, wa-malakis biladahum; bal k anat aktharu bil adihim lahum wa-hum tiha ahlu sulhin wa-hudnatinu" consequently, the only thing that could be done at that time was to order the believers to act differently from the practices of these people. But when God granted the Muslim community victory and gave them the lands and possessions of the conquered peoples, and when the believers could impose upon them the law of Islam, 'Umar ordered the People of the Book to wear the ghiyiu; and all the Companions gave their consent to the injunctions of 'Umar." It is thus evident that 93 The word was evidently miscopied by the scribe and misread by the editor. The correct reading seems to be al-shamushak. Prayer while wearing arab shoes was preferred; prayer while wearing shamushak boots was forbidden. (See al-Tlisl, al-Nihiiya [i mujarradi l-fiqh; p. 98; al-Bahrani, al-Hadiiiq al-niidira, VII. 114-115). 94 Ibn Qayyim. Ahkiim. p. 755. info 95 Ibn Qayyim, Ahkiim. p. 756. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 349 'Umar's order concerning the shoes of the People of the Book was in accordance with the injunction of the Prophet, and consistent with the new circumstances of the Muslim strength and power. The shoes of the Prophet remained an object of veneration among the common people and especially among the pious believers. A single shoe of the Prophet was preserved for centuries and kept with great care and reverence. Finally it came into the possession of al-Malik al-Ashraf (Qait Bay), who built a special room for it at the side of the minbar in the madrasa al=ashrafi yya. The single shoe was placed under a copula covered with silk curtains; the room was sumptuously decorated and the visiting crowds kissed the heavily scented shoe. The shoe also had miraculous powers of healing. Pious ascetics and mystics composed verses in praise of the shoe. A special keeper was hired and was given a pay of eighty dirhams per month. He was enjoined to open the room for the visiting crowds every Monday and Thursday." The transformation of Muslim practice from the wearing of shoes at prayer to taking them off provides a fascinating example of the manner in which customs initially frowned upon as an imitation of unbelievers, were gradually adopted as the only correct form of behaviour. 96 AI-Maghribi, Fall) al-mutaal, pp. 355-359. 350 ADDENDA ad note 1: A significant latwlz of Ibn Taymiyya touches upon the sensitive question of Jews and Christians who secretly believe in Islam, and of Muslims who outwardly show belief, but in reality are hypocrites hiding Jewish, Christian or apostatic beliefs. Some people claim that the angels remove from their graves the bodies of the Jews and Christians who secretly believed in Islam and place them in the graves of Muslims, and in contrast remove the bodies of the unbelieving Muslims from their graves and place them in the graves of Jews and Christians. Ibn Taymiyya had no knowledge of such a tradition. He states, however, that the Jews and Christians who secretly believed in Islam before the time of their agony did not declare their belief in Islam at their death will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection with the Muslims, while the unbelieving Muslims will be gathered with the unbelievers, their equals. [Ibn Taymiyya, al-Fatawii l-kubrii. Beirut, n. d. I, 369, no. 2241 ad note 6: See al-Tsami, Simt ai-nuiismi l-awlz'il wa-l-tawlzli, Cairo 1380, I, 411. lr'nwali [i anbii'i ad note 7: See this tradition in al-Tabari, T'ahdhib al-iithar wa-t at silu l+thiibiti 'an r asiili lliihi l sallii lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallaml min a l-akhbiir, ed. Mahrniid Muhammad Shakir, Cairo 1982, IV, 111-112, nos. 180-183. [And cf. ib. no. 184. And see the assessment of this tradition ib. pp. 112-1131 ad note 9: According to a report recorded in a l-Muttaqi I-Hindi's K anz al=lummal, VIII, 127, no. 906 the believers avoided performing prayers in churches adorned with statues. ad note 12: And see Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Tuhiat al-maudiui bi-ahkami l=mauliui, Beirut n. d., pp. 143-145. "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 351 X, 319, no. ad note 18: See al-Tabarani, 10609. at-Mu'jam al-kabir, ad note 19: See Ibn Abi Shayba, al=Musannai, ed. Mukhtar Ahmad al-Nadwi, Bombay 1401/1981, VIII, 443, no. 5816: ... 'an ibni 'abbiisin, qala: man sallama 'alaykum min khalqi llahi [a-ruddis 'alayhim wa-in kana yahisdiyyan au nasraniyyan au majiisiyyan; ibid. VIII, 438-440. nos. 5799-5805. [And see the reference of the editor]; Muhammad Murtada al-Zabidi, al-'Uqudu l-muniia, II, 151,info - 152. ad note 21: See al-Fasawi, at-Marita wa-t-ta'rikh, II, 491; Ibn Abi Shayba, ai-Musannat, VIII, 442-444, nos. 5810-5819 [And see the references of the editor]; Muhammad Murada al-Zabidi, 'Uqudu l-jawahiri l-munita, II, 151. ad note 22: See al-Dhahabi, Mizlzn al-i'tidlzl, al-Zabidi, al-'Uqud al-munita, II, 151. ad note 26: See Ibn Abi Shayba, al+Musannat, 5919 [And see the note of the editor1. I, 598, no. 2262; VIII, 468, no. ad note 30: See Abu Ya'la, Musnad, I, 231, no. 266: ... inna rasisla llahi salta llahu 'alayhi wa-saltam kana yuhibbu an yatashabbaha bi-ahli l-kitabi [ima lam yanzil 'alayhi shay'un [a-idha unzila 'alayhi tarakahu. [And see the references of the editor]; and see Ibn Abi Shayba, ai-Musannat, VIII, 261, no. 5127: ... kana ahlu l-kitabi yasdiliina asharahum ... wa-kana rasidu llahi sal/a llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam yuhibbu muwataqata ahli l=kit abi fima lam yu'mar bihi; qala: ta-sadala rasiilu llahi lsl nasiyatan [perhaps: nasiyatahul thumma [arraqa ba'du. ad note 35: See e. g. Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Hidayat al-hayara [i ajwibati i-yahiidi wa-l-nasara, Beirut, n. d., p. 79: ... fa-inna lai za l=taurati wa-I-iniili wa=l=qur'ani wa-/-zabilri yuradu bihi l-kutubu t-mu'ayyana tiiratan, wa-yuradu bihi I-jinsu taratan; ta-yuabbaru bi-latzi l-qur'ani 'ani l-zabiir wa-bi-laf,+i l-taurati 'ani I-qur'an wa-bi-Iaf,+i l-injili 'ani l=qur'hni aydan. 352 wa-li l-hadithi l=sahihi 'ani l-nabiyyi lsl khuitita 'ala da'uda l=qur'Iinu [a-kana ma bayna an tusr aja dabbatuhu ila an y arkaboha y aqra'u l=qur'iina, t a-i=muradu bihi qur'anuhu wa-huwa l-zabiau ... ad note 37: See e. g. al-Suyfiti, inf.-464 iqi'datu I-yahudl al-Hiiwi li-I-Iatawi, I, 463 ad note 41: See Yahya b. Ma'in, al-T'a'ri kh, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Niir Sayf, Makka al-mukarrama 1979, IV, 231, no. 4102: ... kana ibnu mas'iidin yart a'u yadayhi [i l-quniui ila thady ayhi; and see op. cit. III, 464, no. 2284: ... qultu li-yahyi; ma t aqiclu [i l=t akbi r ii t-Tdayn ... qala: ar a an art a'a yadayya Ii kulli takbiratin ... [and see the comments of the editor]; and see op .cit p. 467, no. 2293 the opinion of Abii 'Ubayd al-Qasim b. Sallarn, And see Abii Shama, al-Ba'itn 'ala inkiiri I-bida'i wa-l-hawadith; ed. 'Uthman Ahmad 'Anbar, Cairo 1398/1978, p. 87: ... la-mina I-bida'i ... wa-amma rat'u aydihim 'inda I-du'a'i [a-bi d'atun qadimatun; and see ib. inf.: 'Abd al-Malik about the bid'a of raising the hands on the minbar on Friday; Ibn Hibban al-Busti, at-Mojrishin, II, 270: ... sallaytu khalt a rasiili llahi Isl wa-abi bakrin wa-iumar a t a-kanii y ar t a'Iin a aydiyahum i i awwali l= s al at i thumma la ya'uduna. And see Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kamil, VI, 2162: the tradition with a slightly different variant: ... la-lam yart a'ic aydiyahum ilia 'inda stittahi l-salati, And see al-Dhahabi, Mi zan al=i'ti diil, I, 208, no. 817: ... 'an muqatil 'ani l=asbagh b. nub at a 'an 'aliyyin: lamma nazalat 'Ia-salli li-rabbika wa-nhar' qala: ya iibril ma hadhihi l=nahi ra? qala: ya'muruka rabbuka idha t aharr amt a Ii-l-salati an tart a'a yadayka i dha kabbarta wa-idha rakata wa-idha raia'ta mina l-rukii ... ; and see the list of the sources of the tradition about raising the hands: a l+Suy ut i, Kit abu l=a zhari l=mut aniu hir a [i t+akhb ari l-mutawatira, MS Hebrew Univ., Coll, Yahudah Ar. 773, fo1. Sa. And see recently M. I. Fierro, "La Polemique a propos de rat' al+yadayn ti l-saliu dans al-Andalus", Studia Islamica, 1987, pp. 69-90. "Do not assimilate yourselves ..... 353 II, 70: ... umirtu ad note 47: And see al- Nazwi, al-Musannai, bi-l-Tmama wa=l=nalayni wa-i-khatam. ad note 55: And see al-Haythami, al-Maqsid ai-'aliyy fi zawaid abi ya'ia t-mausili yy, ed. Nayif b. Hashim al-Da'is, Judda 1402/1982. p. 370, no. 335. ad note 57: And see Ibn Khuzayma, Sahih, II, 105, no. 1010; al-Haytharni, al-Maqsid al+aliyy, p. 370. no. 336. ad note 61: And see al-Dhahabi, Mi zan al-i'tidal, I, 375, no. 1406: ... inna l=yahuda idha sallau khalai: ni'alahum, to-idha sallaytum ta-htadhu ni'alakum. ad note 71: On the permission to pray in every place: see Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Hidayatu l-hayara, pp. 77, 1. 2, 84, 91, penult.; al-Majlisi, Bihar al=an war, XVI, 313, 316. ad note bi-sharn inf.; and shoes on 72: See Murtada l-Zabidi, Ithat al+sadati l=muttaqin asrar ihya'i 'uliimi l-din, Beirut n. d. [reprint] III, 307 see op. cit. other traditions about praying with one's discussed in a lengthy chapter, op. cit. pp. 307-309. Appendix by Menahem Kister In the preceding article tashabbahii "Do not assimilate yourselves ... "; (hereafter "LT"), numerous traditions are cited, according to which Muslims were forbidden to follow Jewish customs, so as to keep the two communities separate and their religions distinct. Other statements, worded in a manner relatively similar to those of the previous traditions, were apparently intended to censure certain customs practiced by adherents of the Muslim faith, by accusing these Muslims of following the undesirable practices of the Jews (e.g., regarding prayer). Despite the considerable similarity in formulation between these sets of statements, it appears that they are in fact different as far as Islam is concerned, they reflect two distinct trends. The first trend evidences a clear desire on the part of early Islam for self-definition, as well as a concern over the presence of Jewish influences and practices among its earliest believers. It should be recalled that Islam developed in the shadow of Judaism, among Arabs who maintained extremely close relations with Jews and their religion (especially the An$ar).l Particularly noteworthy in this connection is the Hadithi regarding Muhammad's habit of likening himself to ahl al-kitab, before he was commanded to act otherwise. The concept of film3 (knowledge) is also relevant in this connection: La 1 On the influence of the Ansar regarding the introduction of Jewish customs into Islam, see: M.J. and Menahem Kister, "On the Jews of Arabia--Notes" [Hebrewl Tarbiz 48 (1979), pp. 240, 240 ff. 2 Cited by I. Goldziher, "Usages Juifs," REJ 28 (1894), p. 89. 3 This concept in the Qur'an was discussed by F. Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant, Leiden 1970, pp, 19-35. However, it seems that Rosenthal paid insufficient attention to the aspect discussed below. Thus, it would appear that the development of the concept 'ilm in the Jahiliyya and Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 355 one of the principal factors which led the Arabs in the Jahiliyya to adopt some of the customs followed by their Jewish neighbours was their awareness of the Jews' (and Christians'?) observance of an obligatory and absolute religious praxis, which was deemed desirable by God," Only gradually did Mohammed and Islam come to regard their 'ilm as being superior to that of the Jews. Noteworthy is Sura 2, 144 (regarding the change of the qibla to Jerusalem): "If after all the knowlege ('ilm) you have been given you yield to their desires ('ahwii' ahum), then you will surely become an evildoer." We know that the An$ar used to pray facing Jerusalem even before Mohammed arrived in Medina," the relevant material in the Qur'iln still require extensive discussion by an expert. 4 Cf. the epithet 'aLim, i.e., "individual learned in the law", applied to Jewish sages in ancient Arabia. For the concept of 'ilm - suffice it to cite two traditions: "This tribe of the Ansar - idolators - was together with the tribe of the Jews - people of the book - and they saw that [the Jews] were superior to them in knowledge (fa4lan 'alayhim fi Film), and they followed many of [the Jews'] customs. The men of the book would only have normal sexual relations with women ... and the Ansar followed this practice of theirs" (al-Durr ai-Manthiir, Vol. 2, Cairo 1314 AH, p. 263, and his sources); "It happened that the Prophet reached the Qubii' mosque and said: Allah praised you because of your purity with regard to your mosque. What is this purity with which you purify yourselves? They said to him, 'Apostle of God, we do not know anything tnahnu La nalamu shayan), but 'we had Jewish neighbours, and they were accustomed to wash their posteriors from excrement, and we washed the way they did" (al-Haythami, Majma' at-Zawaid, I, Beirut 1967, p. 212). These two traditions (cited and discussed in the article mentioned in n. 1, pp. 237, 240) appear to be complementary; from them we may infer that the Ansar adopted numerous Jewish customs regarding everyday life and marital relations. 5 As opposed to the Ansar's feelings that "the Jews are superior to them in knowledge," and that "they know absolutely nothing." 6 See: Tabarl, Tafsir II, Ed. Mahmiid & Ahmad Shakir, Cairo n.d., p. 529, no. 1837 (1838); Muqatil, Tafsir, ed. 'Abdallah Mahmiid Shahata, Cairo 1969, p. 72; 'Umar b. Shabba, Ta'rikh at-Mad ina, ed. Fahim Muhammad Shaltiit, n.p., 1979, p. 51. I would like to thank my father, Prof. M.J. Kister, for providing me with these references. 356 and it is possible that the conception of the 'ilm was partially responsible for this. After Islam became an independent religion, it had to struggle in order to establish its uniqueness. The second trend manifests itself in Islam after it became an established religion, self-confident and certain of the impropriety of the Jewish customs. It was precisely this self-confidence which enabled it to censure undesirable Muslim practices as Jewish customs. For example, improper conduct in mosques, and the slightest swaying during prayer, was unquestionably not an imitation of Jewish practice, but rather a form of corruption which could be compared to the corruption of the Jews in their prayers. However, as far as the evidence of the statements cited above regarding ancient Jewish custom is concerned, both categories of statements cited in the preceding article have considerable value. I shall now comment briefly on these statements from the perspective of Jewish sources. We shall begin by discussing and surveying the development of the Jewish law thalakhah), with regard to the wearing of shoes during prayer; thereafter we shall make a number of brief comments on some of the other customs cited in the article. In the Muslim testimonia cited above, we have clear evidence of a Jewish custom (apparently followed by the Jews of Arabia) to pray barefoot in their synagogues. What is known regarding this practice from the Jewish legal sources?" According to the halakhah, the priests who served in the 7 See J. Reifmann, "Walking Barefoot" [Hebrew], Beit Talmud 1 (1871),pp. 78-80. Reifmann discusses a considerable number of the sources cited below. Likewise, a considerable number of the sources cited here have been discussed by the classical codifiers of Jewish law; however, there is still room for additional discussion of these passages as far as the approach to analyzing them is concerned. (I am indebted to Dr. David Rosenthal for drawing my attention to Reifmann's article.) On the existence of a generally positive attitude to wearing shoes, see ibid; p. 78. Cf. also Talmud Bavli, Berakhot 62b, according to MSS.: "Just as wearing shoes is respectful ... " See also R.N.N. Rabbinowicz, Diqduqe Soferim, Berakhot, Munich 1867, p. 365, note ~. Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 357 Temple were forbidden to wear shoes. Even someone who merely entered the Temple Mount was required to remove his shoes (Mishnah Berakhot 9:5). The issue of what practices were followed in synagogues in Palestine and Babylonia is somewhat more complicated. From the Mishnah, it seems that it was customary to pray wearing shoes. Mishnah Megillah 4:8 states: "One who says: I shall not serve as a reader of the prayers [literally: "pass before the ark"] in colored clothing may not read the prayers even in white clothing; [one who says] I shall not read the prayers wearing shoes may not read the prayers even barefoot." This statement appears in the midst of a series of laws regarding heterodox prayer customs. Thus, one may infer that there were heterodox Jews who insisted on leading the congregation in prayer (and perhaps entering the synagogue in general) only while wearing white clothing and walking barefoot. It has been conjectured that these Jews sought to model the customs of the synagogue after the practices followed in the Temple," However, there is no solid evidence for this assumption. Be that as it may, according to Jewish law and custom in Palestine during the Tannaitic period, there was no obligation to remove one's shoes during prayer, and removal of shoes for prayer was in fact opposed. The same impression is conveyed by the Baraita discussing Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai's decree that "the priests are not permitted to wear their sandals while walking up to the platform [in order to recite the priestly benediction]" (Talmud Bavli Rosh Ha-Shanah 31b = Sotah 40a). From this Bar ai t a, one of the Talmudic commentators inferred? that "it is permissable to enter a synagogue wearing sandals; wearing sandals was only prohibited to [the priests] ascending their platform,'?" These are all the 8 See Mishnah with the commentary of Ch, Albeck, Jerusalem/Tel Aviv 1952, p. 504 and elsewhere. 9 Rabbenu Hananel, cited by Tosafot on Sotah, ibid., s.v. Ny')~. 10 Reifmann (above, n. 7), attempts to weaken this proof, by claiming that this Baraita refers to recitation of the priestly benediction in a place not used on a regular basis for prayer. However, this interpretation 358 extant sources regarding the Jewish laws and customs regarding the wearing of shoes during prayers in the Tannaitic period [until the end of the second century C.E.1in Palestine. It was also customary to wear shoes during prayer in the Amoraic period in Babylonia. Regarding the Mishnah cited above ("One must not enter the Temple Mount with his staff, shoes, money-belt, or the dirt on his feet, nor may [the Temple Mount] be used as a shortcut, and a minori ad mains, spitting [is prohibited there"]) it was stated by the Amora Rava (IV century C.E.): "Spitting is permissible in a synagogue, by analogy to [the law concerning] shoes: Just as shoes are prohibited on the Temple Mount and permissible in the synagogue, so too spitting is prohibited on the Temple Mount, but permissible in the synagogue" (Talmud BavJi, Berakhot 62b). From here we see that according to Rava, it was obvious that wearing shoes in the synagogue was permissible (cf, also Rava's statement in Berakhot 63a), and it would appear that the same holds true regarding Rav Pappa and the anonymous Talmudic discussion iibid.). Indeed the Talmud reports that Rav Kahana used to put on his shoes tpuzmeqe) before praying (Talmud BavJi, Shabbat LOa), As the T osafot state, "From here it may be inferred that one should not pray barefoot,'?' To the best of our knowledge, then, in Babylonia the Jews prayed wearing shoes," Very little is known about the halakhah regarding prayer seems rather forced. 11 Tosaf ot Shabbat lOa, s.v. ')pr.)n~ ')r.)1. The meaning of the Aramaic idiom rame puzmeqe is clear from Talmud Bavli, Yoma 78a; Ketubot 65b; Ta'anit 22a. Therefore the interpretation cited briefly by R. Abraham Maimonides (Kitab Kifayat al-'Abidin, ed. N. Dana, Ramat Gan 1989, p. 103), that the meaning of these words is 'to remove one's shoes' (qila yanzauha) is probably influenced by current customs of prayer in the east. 12 J. Kafih, Halikhot Teman (Yemenite Customs) [Hebrew], Jerusalem 1978, p. 64, n. 3, cites the Talmudic statement in Mo'ed Qatan 17a regarding "that dog which ate the shoelaces of the rabbis" in connection with removing shoes before entering the synagogues. However, there is no evidence that this passage refers to synagogues. Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 359 with shod feet during the Amoraic period in Palestine. Only one allusion to the matter is extant, and it is found in an anecdote appearing in an obscure context in the Jerusalem Talmud:" "Yehudah the son of Rabbi Hiyya [third century C.E.l entered a synagogue; he left his shoes, and they were lost," He said, Had I not gone to the synagogue, my shoes would not have been lost" (Yerushalmi Bava M etzia 2:8, Be), Prima facie, it would appear from this passage, as a number of commentators maintain," that Jews in Palestine in the Amoraic period used to remove their shoes before entering the synagogue," (the situation was definitely different in Palestine during the Tannaitic period, as we have already noted). In light of the statements cited previously in the name of Babylonian Sages, Reifmann inferred that there was a dispute between the Babylonian and Palestinian scholars regarding the laws of prayer while wearing shoes,'? Were this conclusion certain, we could deduce that the practice of the Jews (ostensibly the Jews of Arabia) mentioned in the haditb was a Palestinian custom. This practice would then join a series of instances in which we find a connection between the observances of the Jews of Arabia and Palestinian customs," However, while the interpretation of the Yerushalmi suggested above seems very plausible, it should be recalled that the Yerushalmi here presents us with an anecdote, whose point is not fully clear, rather than an explicit legal assertion regarding the laws of prayer with regard to shoes. Hence, extreme caution 13 But see Pene Moshe's commentary, ad IDe., and S. Lieberman, Yerushalmi N ezikin, ed. E.S. Rosenthal and S. Lieberman, Jerusalem 1984, p. 138, on lines 37-38. 14 Ms. Escorial (ed, Rosenthal-Lieberman [above, n. 13], p. 50) reads here: "his shoes were lost" (not: "he left his shoes and they were lost" as in Ms. Leiden), 15 See R. Ishtori Ha-Parhi, Kaf t or Va-Ferah, ch. 7, and Rabbi J.S. Nathanson, Ziyyon Yerushalayim, ad IDe. 16 Similar customs in Greek and Roman worship. See Th. Wachter, Reinheitsvorschriften im Griechischen Kult, Giessen 1910,pp. 23-24. 17 Ibid. (above, n. 7). 18 Ibid. (above, n. 1), p. 236 ff. 360 should be employed before drawing far-reaching conclusions from such material. Moreover, it is possible that different customs obtained in different communities in Babylonia and Palestine. In any case, it is noteworthy that in Palestinan halakhic literature from the Geonic period, we read the "the skins of an unclean animal may be used to make [ ... sandlals for entering synagogues,"? Thus, this source attests, en passant, that during the Geonic period the Jews of Palestine used to wear shoes in the synagogue. The internal dynamic which one expects to find in Judaism calls for equating the laws of the synagogue with those of the Temple. Likewise, it may be expected that rites indicating respect for the synagogue should parallel the practices used to demonstrate respect towards persons of high status. (Additional support for this thesis might have been provided by Ex. 3:5 and Josh. 5:15, although early rabbinic sources do not cite these passages with regard to synagogue practice). Such arguments are expressed clearly and at length in a late Palestinian prayer book: "[And if) one had a shoe or a sandal on his feet, he should remove them olutsidel, and enltler barefoot, for servants ordinarily walk barefoot before their maslters .. .J above, as was the case with Moses and Joshua. For they were told: 'Remove your Islhoelsl' (?) ... for no one enters their presence wearing sandals. And if this is the practice before (human beings, who are created from a) putrid drop, so much the more so before the King of Kings, blessed be He. And so the Sages said: One should not enter the Temple Mount with his 19 S. Assaf, Teshuvot Ha-Ge'onim :lH'lIn (5702) (Responsa of the Ge'onim) [Hebrew], Jerusalem 1942, p. 124. (I am indebted to Professor I. Ta-Sherna for drawing to my attention this reference). In his notes, Assaf cites the parallel versions of this tradition: "Any tanned leather from an unclean animal may be used for sandals"; "any leather from an unclean animal, after being tanned may be used for sandals." It would appear, then that the leather must be tanned, in accordance with the Muslim law that only tanned leather may be used, especially for prayer (see below, n. 27). See also below. Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 361 staff and shoes. And if, because of our slinsl, we do not have the Temple Mount (in our possession), we still have a minor sanctuary lviz., the synagogue--M.K.l, and we must treat it with sanctity and reverence, as it is written, 'You shall revere my holy place.' Therefore, the ancients ordained that lavers with fresh water (should be provided) in the courtyards of all synagogues for the ablution of the hands and feet. And if one was weak or ill, and (hence) unable to remove his shoes, and he was walking cautiously, we need not trouble him to remove his shoes" iseil. to keep his shoes clean). It is quite possible that the halakhah of this passage (whose precise dating and circle of origin are uncertain) was influenced by the Muslim practice of removing shoes and washing the hands and feet; extensive Muslim influences can be detected in this prayerbook, as already noted by Wieder." It is possible that the first indications of the argument that the synagogue should be compared to the Temple may be found in the heterodox practice cited in Mishnah M egillah (above). Comparison of the synagogue to the Temple is found, inter alia, in the writings of the Karaite Anan (eighth century)." Apparently it was for this reason that Anan required worshippers to pray without wearing shoes." Similarly, the Karaite Qirqisani (second half of the tenth century), who rejects Anan's basic conception of the nature of the synagogue, also 20 Passages from this prayer book were cited by N. Wieder in his important article: "Muslim Influences on Jewish Worship" [Hebrew], M elilah 2 (1946), pp. 42, 87-91, 105, 109. Wieder associated this material with the pietistic movement of Rabbi Abraham Maimonides (but see below, n. 29a). The entire text of this prayer book was published by M. Margaliot, Hilkhot Erez Yisrael Min Ha-Genizak (Palestinian Halakhot from the Genizah) [Hebrew] Jerusalem 1974, p. 127 ff. Margaliot, in his brief introduction, rejects Wieder's assumption. 21 Anan, Seier Ha-Mizvot, ed, A.E. Harkavy, St. Petersburg 1903, pp. 33-37. 22 So it would appear from Ya'qiib al-Qirqirsani, Kit ab ai-Anwar wal-Mariiqib, III, ed. L. Nemoy, New York 1941, p. 622. It is possible that the argument from the Tent of Congregation and the service in the sanctuary cited by Qirqisani reflects Anan's argumentation. 362 rules that people must pray barefoot. From Qirqisani it would appear that this was the prevalent practice in his day (among Karaites, and perhaps not only among Karaites)." Perhaps it may be inferred from Qirqisani's remarks that this matter was the subject of a Karaite-Rabbanite polemic (see below). Qirqisani cites, inter alia, the verses regarding Moses and Joshua, who were both ordered: "Remove your shoes from your feet" before entering a holy place (Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). Qirqisani states: "It is inconceivable that the shoes worn by ... these two prophets ... happened to be made from the [skins] of an unclean animal, as the Rabbanites claim. Rather, God commanded them to guard the [sanctity of the] holy places by not wearing shoes.'?" It is particularly noteworthy that the claim cited by Qi rq isani in the name of the Rabbanites is extremely widespread already in the early Muslim commentaries on the Qur'an and in hadith literature; Muslim authors used the very same tradition, about Moses wearing shoes made from the skins of unclean animals, as an argument against the Jewish practice of praying barefoot in imitation of Moses' conduct. (see LT, n. 63)! Thus, one may wonder whether the Muslim tradition 23 Ibid.: "wa-l-dalil 'ala dhalika bayyinun ziihirun min ijma'i l-khalqi mina l-ummati 'ala tahrimi I-saliui 'ala l=tamiy y lam yukhali] [i dhalika wahidun minhum, wa-innama raat at-jamdaiu l-saliita bada l-ghusli bi=l=ghadiu ... wa-mithlu dhiilika fima i'talla bihi min amri l-nali wa-l-khuff ... " 24 I bid., p. 635: "wa-yajibu an takiina l-saliuu 'ala l-ardi min ghayri an yakima bayna l-qadami wa-bayna jismi l-ardi shay'un mina l-aisami la bisiuun wa-la ma shabihahu wa-la shay'un mina l-hidhii'! wa-la khuf f un wa-la na'lun wa-la ma kana naziran lt-dhiiiika; wa-hiidha aydan yutaallamu min maudi'ayni: ahaduhuma ma amara lliihu 'azza wa- jalla bihi musa 'alayhi l-saliimu wa+yehoshua (Hcb.) min khal'i l-hidha'i fi mawadi'i l=qudsi; wa-muhal an yakima dhalika l=hidhiiu lladhi kana 'ala dhay nik a l-waliyyayni l-khayrayni t-f adila yni l-nabiyyayn ittajaqa libasuhuma [ami'an min hayawan tamiyy 'ala ma idda'a l=rabbiiniy yiin, wa-innama amarahumii lliihu. 'azza wa+jalla bi-siyanati l-aqdiis min lubsi l-hidha' ... n Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 363 here did draw upon an ancient Jewish tradition," or did the Jews in fact draw upon this Muslim tradition. To be sure, we have no evidence in the Jewish halakhah that it was prohibited to enter a holy place wearing shoes made from the leather of unclean animals, but in light of the fact that the Palestinian halakhic passage cited above goes out of its way to affirm that this is permitted.t" it would appear that there were Jews who forbade it (or abstained from it). In Muslim religious law, this prohibition occupies a far more central position.?? However, whatever the source of this tradition may be, it is a striking example for a link between the polemical traditions of the two religions. It seems reasonable to assume that the contentions of the "Rabbanites" cited here owe their existence not merely to study of the verses in Exodus and Joshua, but rather were part of a polemic against the Karaite practice based on these verses. However, in addition to the arguments raised by the two sides, 25 Al-Qurtubi cites a different reason for rejecting the ruling concerning the removing of shoes, namely, that the words "Remove your shoes from your feet" should be interpreted allegorically: Moses must remove from his heart all thoughts about his wife and children (min 'amri l-ahl wa-l-wuld, see LT, n. 63). A similar claim is cited in the name of "some authorities" by Theodoretus (fifth century C.E.), Quaestiones, PG 80, ad loc.; Moses was told to take off his sandals "so as to dispose of his concern about sustenance (biotikas merimnas), for the leather of the sandals is dead skin." This argument reminds us of the comments found in the Zohar, whose author flourished in Spain a generation after a l+Qur tub i (see Zohar, III, 148a Cf. also: R. Bahya 6. Asher, Commentary on the Torah, ad. Ex 3:15); there, this verse is interpreted as an injuction that Moses abstain from sexual relations (and see: L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews V, Philadelphia 1947, p. 420, n. 122). Thus, even this allegorical mid rash was not an Islamic innovation. 26 See above, n. 19. Cf. also Qirqisani, op. cit. (n, 22), p. 953. 27 Related to this is the discussion of whether Moses' shoes were made of tanned or untanned leather, because tanning (dabgh) relieves the leather of its impurity (see e.g., al-Jassas, Al;tkam ai-Qur'an, Constantinople 1338 H, III, 219-220; see also Ibn Abi Shaiba, Musanna], ed. 'Abd al-Khaliq Afghani, Hyderabad, 1967, II, pp. 258-59). For these sources, too, I am indebted to my father, Professor M.J. Kister. 364 it is clearly possible that the influence of the Muslim law of removing one's shoes for prayer is manifest here, as this practice was, by that time, already accepted without any objection in Islam. Perhaps the comment of Rabbenu Hananel (Qairawan, end of the eleventh century), who notes that the Talmud implies that it is not necessary to pray barefoot," should be understood in light of the tension between the different customs, which apparently obtained even among the Rabbanites. The unique formulation of Maimonides (Egypt, twelfth century) seems to indicate acceptance of the new custom among the Jews: "One should not stand in prayer wearing his money-belt, or while barefoot, or with exposed feet, if the local custom is to appear before distinguished people only while wearing shoes.'?" This statement, which bases the halakhah on local, secular custom, attests to the existence of variant customs and to Maimonides' lack of desire to reach a clear-cut decision concerning the matter. Maimonides' formulation might also reflect an attempt to compromise between the halakhah of the Babylonian Talmud and the new custom, which was gaining increasingly wide acceptance (see also below). It is noteworthy that his son, R. A braham Maimonides does not express any preference of praying barefoot," although he was very much influenced by the Muslim ritual of prayer (see below). R. Petahya of Regensburg (end of the twelfth century) testifies that the Jews of Babylon prayed barefoot in their synagogues," (It is almost certain that, at least in Babylonia, this custom was the result of Muslim influence). During the thirteenth century, R. Jacob bar Abba Mari bar Simeon Anatoli (born in Provence, lived in Naples) observed that "in those countries where narrow shoes are worn, they are cleaned before coming [to the synagogue--M.K.l .. .in 28 29 30 31 Above, n. 9. Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Tefillah 5:5. Above, n. 11. See also op. cit; p. 110 Travels of Rabbi Petahia, ed. and tr. A. Benisch, London 1859, p. 44. Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 365 those countries where it is customary to wear sandals and the like [= in the East--M.K.~ people remove them from their feet."32 R. Jacob associates this practice with the physical cleanliness required in a holy place and with repentence, and his interpretation is based on the verse "Remove your shoes from your feet" (see above). At the beginning of the fourteenth century, R. Ishtori Ha-Parhi, a Provencal Jew who later settled in Palestine, reports "the custom of [the inhabitants of] these countries to leave their shoes at the entrance of the synagogue, outside, unlike the custom of foreign people" [= the Europeans], and he finds support for this custom in the story found in the Yerushalmi cited above." In the fifteenth century, a most interesting piece of evidence appears regarding the development of the Jewish custom in the East, and it is especially significant with regard to the relationship between Judaism and Islam. R. Solomon ben Simeon Duran (North Africa) was asked concerning "a congregation which wished to stipulate that no one be permitted to enter a synagogue wearing shoes, because the Ishmaelites will reproach them for so doing. Furthermore, in that city itself, there is another synagogue, and the worshippers do not enter it wearing shoes. A number of individuals rose and objected, 32 Malmad Ha-Talmidim, Lyck 1866. 45a-b. R. Jacob associates this practice with repentance. and even sees fit to note in this connection: "Those nations which seek to liken themselves to us [by following] our upright laws [i.e.• the Christians] require penitents to avoid wearing shoes and to wear white clothing." Here we have a further example of the interrelationships between Judaism and the surrounding religions. Apparently. there were Jews in Ashkenaz who used to afflict themselves in this manner. R. Yizhak Or Zaru'a (Vienna. thirteenth century) says: "And in France I saw 'gibborim' (devoted pietists) walking barefoot on the Sabbath even (!) in the synagogue and reading the Torah barefoot. but it is not right to walk barefoot" (Or Zarila Hilkhot Sh abbat, no. 84 [12]. Zhitomir 1862. I. 20b). Perhaps it was in opposition to such practices that the Tosafot stress that one should not pray barefoot (above. n. 11). 33 Above. n. 15. 366 stating that Maimonides, of blessed memory, permitted one to enter a synagogue wearing shoes." Here, then, we have evidence of variant customs within the same city, as well as of the desire on the part of the leaders of that community to establish the Muslim custom as authoritative in the synagogue. Rabbi Duran's response is quite illuminating: "It is well known that a synagogue should be adorned and exalted ... however, respect is (defined as) whatever people consider respectful ... and in Christian countries, where it is not considered disrespectful for someone to enter even the king's presence while wearing shoes, if someone wears shoes in the synagogue, it is not considered disrespectful. But in these countries, where it is considered disrespectful to enter the presence of distinguished people, and certainly the king, in shoes, it is prohibited to enter the local synagogue wearing shoes. Even though [the synagogue] is not a true sanctuary, it is nevertheless holy ... Also ... in these countries, where people are careful to enter their own homes wearing shoes, it is prohibited to enter the synagogue in shoes. And concerning this matter, my master and father, our teacher." may he be remembered for eternal life, instituted this decree here, which is suitable for every sensible man. And the fact that such a decree was not instituted by the ancients does not prove that this is permitted ... Even if there were nothing prohibited about this, it would be proper to institute such a decree, [to prevent] the reproach to our people. And so much the more so that this is prohibited, for the reasons which I have cited/'" Rabbi Duran adopts Maimonides' basic formulation and conception and expands upon it. However, from the end of his responsum it is clear that he was not motivated solely by considerations of conventions, but principally by the desire to 34 I.e., R. Solomon ben Zernah Duran. Perhaps it is worth noting in this connection that he wrote a sharp polemic against Islam, based on verses from the Qur'an and betraying acquaintance with Arabic literature. See Magen va-Qeshet, ed. A. Berliner, Ozar Tov, Hebraische Beilage zum Magazin fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Berlin 1881. 35 Teshuvot Rashbash [Hebrew], Livorno 1742 section 285. Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 367 avoid the reproach of the Muslims." Ironically enough, the circuit is thus completed: ancient Islam wished to distance itself from the Jewish custom of praying barefoot, but ultimately this practice was adopted by the Muslims, and later, in other places and periods, the Muslim practice affected Jewish custom! In fact, by now it is difficult to determine what is the result of Muslim influence and what is a continuation of ancient Jewish custom. This custom apparently continued to gain acceptance, and by the sixteenth century, Rabbi Joseph Karo (lived in Safed) remarks that "custom of all Jews in Arab lands is to pray barefoot.'?" At least in some of these countries (e.g., Yemen), this practice is followed to this very day," If the requirement that shoes be removed before prayer in the synagogue was unique to the Muslim East, the basic sensitivity to the fact that dirt might cling to a person's shoes and thereby blemish his prayer was also present in Europe. The author of the "Book of the Pious" (Seter Hasidim) notes: "When one goes to the synagogue or the house of study, he must check his feet to make sure that there is no excrement on them, for the Torah says, 'Cast off your shoes from your feet,' and similarly [the Bible states] regarding Joshua. But it does not say, 'Remove your shoes,' for what benefit is there to remove one's shoes, if they remain near him? Therefore it says, 'cast off your shoes from your feet' - i.e., from a distance of four cubits.'?" 36 The desire to prevent humiliation of the Jewish religion on the part of the Muslims (cf. S.M. Stern JThs NS 19 [1968], p. 155, n. 2) by adopting Muslim strictures is already attested during the Geonic period. See Wieder's remarks (above, n. 20), and see also S. Lieberman, Tashlum Tosefta (second ed.), Jerusalem 1970, p. 66. 37 Beit Yosef on fur, Oran Hayyim, section 91, s.v. O#:JD'i1 :In:n In the Shulhan 'Arukh, section 91, Maimonides' formulation is cited verbatim. 38 See above, n. 12. This practice is followed to this very day among the Karaites (see above on their views) and the Samaritans. 39 Seier Hasidim, ed. J. Wistinetzki and J. Freimann, Frankfurt am Main 1924, p. 127. 368 We have already seen that R. Jacob bar Abba Mari ben Simeon Anatoli associates this custom, which is motivated by a concern for cleanliness, with that followed by Eastern Jews, even though for different reasons. Later on in Germany, too, in the responsa of Maharam Mintz (15th century)," the concern about dirt is emphasized, and for this reason that scholar ruled that it is forbidden to enter the synagogue wearing boots," "for dirt clings to them . . . even before a human king it is not customary to appear wearing something dirty, and so much the more so before the King of all kings, the Holy One, blessed be He ... and for this reason there are countries in which people pray only barefoot, without shoes. Now in these areas, it is not customary or acceptable to walk barefoot, and therefore we do not remove our shoes ... " However, Maharam Mintz rules that boots, which ordinarily get extremely dirty, must be removed." Here, again, in a different society and for different reasons, we find echoes of the halakhah prevalent in the East. From our discussion of the different customs regarding the removal of shoes for prayer and the history of these customs in Judaism and Islam, we can see the complex and often contradictory relationship between these two religions in the course of their development. Several additional remarks concerning the Jewish customs mentioned in the preceding article are in order. Sitting and reclining (LT, n. 37) during Jewish prayer are well-known phenomena. It is noteworthy that Rabbi Abraham Maimonides ordained that Jews should sit during prayer the 40 Teshuvot Maharam Mintz, Saloniki 1802, 38. 41 He refers to them as "sandalim,' apparently following the (incorrect) interpretation of Rashbam, Bava Batra 58a. 42 See also R. David b. Shmuel ha-Kokhavi (Provence, 13th century), Sefer Ha-Batim, ed. M. Hershler, III, Jerusalem 1982, p. 55 and note 807, that it was prohibited to enter the synagogue with nail-studded sandals (sandal ha-mesummar), apparently for the same reason. [Compare especially: R. Abraham Maimonides above, n. 29a1 Appendix to "Do not assimilate yourselves ... " 369 same way the Muslims do. The comfortable, disorganized way in which the Jews sat during prayer in his days seemed unacceptable to him.43 Likewise, regarding conversation during prayer among the Jews, a corrupt practice already mentioned in the haditn (LT, n. 45), Wieder" has demonstrated that it was the Muslim view which led to the reform introduced by Maimonides in Jewish prayer. As Maimonides states: ''Thus shall be removed the profanation of God's name among the gentiles, [after they saw howl the Jews spit and expectorate (or: blow their noses) and speak during prayer.?" The Jewish practice of swaying during prayer is mentioned in medieval Jewish literature." Apparently, the 43 See N. Wieder (above, n. 20), pp. 93-103, and especially p. 101;see also ibid., pp. 117,120. 44 Ibid., pp. 55-59. 45 ..... wa-yartofi'u hillul ha-sbim (Heb.) lladhi hasala 'inda l-goyyim (He b.) bi-anna I-yahud yabsuqi: wa-yamkhutis wa-yatahaddathii fi tay yi saliuihim, Li-anna I-amra kadhii yashhadicnahu" (Teshuvot Ha-Rambam, ed. J. Blau, Jerusalem 1986, 258, p. 484; 256, p. 475: "... alladhi yazunnu bina anna l-saliita 'indana ldbun wahadhuwun".) 46 R. Abraham ben Nathan of Lunel (d. 1215),Seier Ha-M anhig, ed. Y. Raphael, Jerusalem 1978, 1, p. 85, writes: "I found in the Midrash: A person is required to sway during prayer, for it is written: 'All my bones shall proclaim Thee, 0 Lord, who is like unto you?' This is also the custom of the rabbis of France and the pious men there." The same remarks are cited by R. Zedekiah ben Abraham (Italy, thirteenth century), Shibbole ha-Leqet, ed. S.L. Mirsky, New York 1966, p. 183, from "Ma'aseh Merkavah." See also Mahzor Vitry, ed. S. Horovitz, Niirnberg 1923, section 508, p. 630, on swaying among the Jews while studying Torah (= Commentary of 'Baal Ha-Turim on the Torah ed. I.K. Reiniz, Bne-Braq 1971,p. 167 (ad Ex. 20:15), and R. Judah Ha-Levi, Kuzari, 11:79-80. On swaying during prayer see also Zohar, III, 218b (judging from the style of the last two sources, they seem to be apologetic). It is noteworthy that the explanation for swaying during the Torah reading cited in Mahzor Vitry and by 'Baal Ha-Turim' appears almost verbatim in a late Arab source cited by Goldziher, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Sprachgelehrsamkeit bei den Arabern, I, Wien 1871,p. 27. [= Gesammelte Schriften, Hildesheim 1967, p. 31]. On 370 Muslim testimony is the earliest extant source regarding this ancient practice. In the Arabic sources cited in L T, n. 39, mention is made of swaying when the Torah was opened. If this claim is accurate (and the Muslim sources are not referring to swaying while the Torah was read), perhaps the reference is to the ancient custom of bowing down as the Torah was opened: "It is obligatory upon all men and women to look at the writing [in the Torah] and bow down,"?" Perhaps this bowing appeared to the Muslims as if the Jews were swaying. The practice of closing the eyes during Jewish prayer is first mentioned in Jewish literature," to the best of my knowledge, in the Zoharr" swaying during the qedushah prayer see: Seier ha-Manhig, p. 88 and the sources cited there; Shibbole ha-Leqet, p. 194. The explanation suggested there for swaying during recitation of the qedushah (in the name of "Rabbenu Shlomo") is based on Is. 6:4, "the foundations of the doorposts swayed." It is perhaps worthy of note that this verse is also cited as a source for swaying during prayer in order to attain mystical inspiration--in the wake of the Sufi dhikr--in Pirqe Haslaha, erroneously attributed to Maimonides, ed. D.H. Baneth and H.S. Davidowitz, Jerusalem 1939, p. 7. 47 Tractate Sof erim, ed. M. Higger, p. 261. On this custom, see the remarks of S. Lieberman, Sheki'in, Jerusalem 1970, p. 9, and add the following sources to the citation from Midrash Mishle appearing there: Tanhuma, ed. Buber, Genesis, p. 81, and n. 236; Z.M. Rabinowitz, Ginze Midrash, Tel Aviv 1977, p. 57, line 22. Cf. also the remarks of the Samaritan Marqah (fourth century): "You are the great book before which we have come to bow down" (Z. Ben-Hayyim, The Literal and Oral Tradition of Hebrew and Aramaic According to the Samaritans [Hebrew], IIII2, Jerusalem 1967, p. 247, and see also ibid., p. 256). 48 However, we do find that people covered their eyes with their hands during recitation of the Shema (according to many interpretations, so as to facilitate concentration): Berakhot 13b; see Rashi and Rosh, ibid; and Tur, Oral) Hayyim, section 61J). 49 Zohar, III, 260b: "One must cover his eyes, so as not to behold the Divine Presence ... one who opens his eyes during prayer, or who does not lower his eyes to the ground, brings the Angel of Death upon himself ... " The practice of lowering the eyes is already found in the 

rajab.pdf "RAJAB IS THE MONTH OF GOD ... " A Study in the Persistence of an Early Tradition M. J. KISTER in memory ofmy student DAVID S. ELLER The holy month of Rajab was observed during the period of the Jahiliyya in spring.1 It was the month of the `umra and of offering of the sacrifices of the `ata'ir to the pagan deities.2 The people of the Jahiliyya kept the sanctity of the month by refraining from raids and warfare.3It is said to have been a month of devotional practices and of fasting.4 According to some traditions swearing 1 See EI, s.v. "Radjab" (M. Plessner); S. D. Goitein, Studies in Islamic History and Institutions (Leiden 1966), pp. 92-93; J. Wellhausen, Reste arabischen Heidenturns (Skizzen und Vorarbeiten) (Berlin 1887), pp. 74, 93; G. E. von Grunebaum, Muhammadan Festivals (New York 1951), p. 36; W. Gottschalk, Das Geliibde nach iilterer arabischer Auffassung (Berlin 1919), pp. 106-107; K. Wagtendonk, Fasting in the Koran (Leiden 1968), p. 106; M. Gaudefroy-Demombynes, Le Pelerinage ala Mekke (Paris 1923), pp. IV, 192-198; C. Rathjens, Die Pilgerlahrt nach Mekka (Hamburg 1948), p. 66. [The above books are quoted by the names of their authors.] 2 See EI2 s.v. '''Atira'' (Ch. Pellat); F. BuhI, Das Leben Muhammeds (Heidelberg 1955), p. 88 (and see note 246, ibid.); al-Anbiirl, Shar/.l al-q~ii'id al-sab' al-(iwiil, ed. 'Abd al-Saliim Hdriin (Cairo 1963), pp. 294, 484; Ibn Qutayba, al-Ma'iinl al-kahlr (Hyderabad 1949), I, 67; al-NuwaYrl, Nihiiyat ai-arab (repr. Cairo 1964), III, 120; Ibn Durayd, al-Ishtiqiiq, ed. 'Abd aI-Salam Hdriin (Cairo 1958), p. 280 (with a divergent version: inna 'alii kulli muslimin Ii kulli 'iimin 'atiratan, wa-hiya shiitun kiinat tudhba/.lu Ii I-mu/.larrami la-nasakha dhalika I-at/bii. The month of sacrifice here is Mul;larram, not Rajab); J. Wellhausen, pp. 94, 115-116; W. Gottschalk, p. 119; W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion 01 the Semites (London 1914), pp. 227-228; K. Wagtendonk, p. 36; al-Jal;liz, Kit. al-lzayawiin, ed. 'Abd al-Saliim Hariin (Cairo 1965), I, 18. 3 See J. Wellhausen, p. 94; al-Farra', al-Ayyiim wa-I-Iayiill wa-I-shuhur, ed. Ibrahim alIbyiirl (Cairo 1956), pp. 12-13; al-Marziiql, al-Azmina wa-I-amkina (Hyderabad 1332 AH), 1,282,90,278; al-Jumal;lI, Tabaqiit lu/.lul al-shu'arii', ed. MaJ;unud Mul;l. Shakir (Cairo 1952), p. 61; VA,s.v. "~mm, ~/, rjb"; al-Turtushl, Kit. al-/.Iawiidith wa-I-bida', ed. Mul;l. al-Tiilibl (Tunis 1959), pp. 123, 125; 'All al-Qari', al-Adab Ii rajah, Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Ms. Arabe 6084, Majmu'a, fol. 65a (wa-yuqiilu rajabun al-~ammu li-annahu Iii yuniidii lihi "yii qaumiih" wa-"yii ~abiibiih" wa-li-annahu Iii yusma'u lihi /.Iissu I-silii/.li Iii Ii I-~abiibi wa-lii Ii I-rawii/.li); Ibn Qutayba, Tatsir gharib al-Qur'iin, ed. Al;lmad ~aqr (Cairo 1958), p. 185. 4 See S. D. Goitein, pp. 92-93; K. Wagtendonk, pp. 117, 120-122. 191 M. 1. Kister against the iniquitous and wrong-doers in this month was especially efficacious. 5 The veneration of this month seems to have continued in the period of Islam and to have survived until recent times. Contradictory traditions attributed to the Prophet, recommending some practices of Rajab or interdicting it, bear evidence of divergent opinion on this subject in the Muslim community during the early centuries of Islam. Heated discussions among Muslim scholars concerning different aspects of these practices make it possible to understand them better. These Rajab traditions are to be surveyed in the following pages of this paper. I The widely circulated utterance of the Prophet Iii fara'a wa-lii "atirata, "no sacrifice of the firstlings (of the flock) nor of the animals slaughtered in Rajab",« indicates explicitly the interdiction to perform the sacrifices of Rajab. This hadith is however contradicted by a tradition reported by 'Amr b. Shu'ayb.? The Prophet, when asked about the 'aqiqa, the fara'a and the 'atira, stated concerning the "atira: al-' atiratu haqqun, "the "atira is 0bligatory" (verbatim: the 'atira is an obligation). The word "atira is explained in the tradition as a sacrifice of a ewe, which the people of the Jahiliyya used in Rajab to slaughter, cook, and whose meat they used to consume and feed from (scil. the needy and poor).s More explicit about the obligatory character of the 'atira, the sacrifice of Rajab, is the tradition reported on the authority of Mikhnaf b. Sulaym.? "Upon the people of every house, stated the Prophet, there is an obligation every 5 See al-Kala'I, al-Iktifii' maghiizi l-mustafd wa-l-thaliithati l-khulafd'; ed. H. Masse (Alger 1931), I, 123-124; al-Jtlant, al-Ghunya li-fiilibi tariqi l-haqqi 'azza wa-jalla (Cairo 1322 AH), I, 196. 6 Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, ed. Ahmad Muh. Shakir (Cairo 1949-1956), XII, 104, No. 7135 and XIV, 171, No. 7737; al-Suyutl, al-Jiimi' al·~aghir (Cairo 1320 AH), II, 202; L 'A, s.v. "fr'"; comp, W. Robertson Smith, pp. 227, note 3, and pp. 462-465; al-Shaukiini, Nayl al·aufar(Cairo 1347 AH), V, 119; AbU I-Mabiisinal-:aaniifI,al-Mu'ta~ar min al-mukhtasar (Hyderabad 1362 AH), I, 274; Abu Da'ud, $a/;li/;l unan al-mustafii (Cairo 1348 AH), II, 8; s al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak (Hyderabad 1342 AH), IV, 236; al-Muttaql al-Hindl, Kanz al'ummiil (Hyderabad 1954), V, 48, No. 428; al-Tirmidhi, $al;li/;l(Cairo 1931), VI, 311-312; Muslim, $a/;li/;l(Cairo 1285 AH), II, 159; al-'Azizi, al-Siriij al-munir (Cairo 1957), III, 473, ult.; al- Tibrizi, Mishkdt al-masdbib (Karachi), p. 129. 7 See on him al-Dhahabl, Miziin al-i'tiddl, ed. 'Ali Muh, al-Bijiiwi (Cairo 1963), III, 263268, No. 6383; Ibn I;iajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib (Hyderabad 1326 AH), VIII, 48-55, No. 80. S Ahmad b. Hanbal, XI, 4-7, No. 6713; al-Shaukani, Nayl, V, 119; al-Suytltl, al-Jiimi' al-saghir, II, 67; al-Muttaqi al·Hindi, V, 48, No. 427; al- 'Azizi, II, 467, info 9 See on him Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Istt'ab, ed. 'Ali Muh, al-Bijawi (Cairo, n.d.), p. 1467. No. 2534; Ibn I;iajar, Tahdhib, X, 78; idem, al-Isiiba, VI, 72, No. 7842. n 192 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " year (to slaughter) a victim (scil. of the Sacrificial Feast) and a "atira", The "atira is glossed in the tradition as "al-rajabiyya", ('Alii kulli ahli bay tin fi kulli 'iimin UfJ/.liyyatun10 wa- "atiratun: hal tadriina mii 1-'atiratu? hiya l-rajabiyyatu).l1 It is evident that these traditions are contradictory and reflect two diverse attitudes towards the continuation of the practices of the sacrifices of Rajab in Islam: the one approving of the rajabiyya and incorporating it into the body of Islamic sacrifices, authorized by the utterance of the Prophet; the other one aiming at the abolition of the Rajab sacrifice, it too basing its arguments on the utterances of the Prophet. The two contradictory traditions tld fara'a wa-lii 'atirata and inna 'alii kulli ahli bay tin) are discussed by AbU 'Ubayd (d. 224 AH). Stressing the Jahill character of the 'atira, he remarks that this sacrifice was abolished by Islam. In his opinion, the hadith of "Iii fara'a" abrogates the hadith of "'alii kulli ahli bay tin ... " iwa-l-hadithu l-awwalu niisikhun li-hiidhii}.12 Al-Khattabi (d. 388 AH) records the opinion of AbU Da'ud (d. 275 AH) about the tradition of Mikhnaf b. Sulaym, which is identical with the opinion of Abu 'Ubayd, "The "atira, says Abu Da'ud, is (an) abrogated (practice)", al- 'atiratu mansiikhatun.tt Al-Khattabi emphasizes the difference between the meaning of 'atira in the times of the Jahiliyya and that of Islam. In the period of the Jahiliyya "atira denoted a ewe sacrificed for the idol; its blood was poured on the head of the idol - argues al-Khattabi. But in this hadith (i.e. in the hadith of Mikhnaf b. Sulaym) it denotes the sacrifices of an animal in Rajab. This, says al-Khattabt, fits the intent of the hadith and is compatible with the prescription of the religion.t+ Al Khattabi does not consider the In some traditions "ar/./:Iiitun". Ibn Hajar, al-Isdba, VI, 72; AbU Nu'aym, Akhbiir Isfahan, ed. S. Dedering (Leiden 1931). 1,73; al-Shaukani, Nayl, V, 117; L'A, s.v. '''atr''; AbU l-Mahasin al-l;IanafI, I, 274; 'Abd al-Ghant al-Nabulsi, Dhakhii'ir al-mawdrtth (Cairo 1934), III, 95; al-Suyiitl, al-Jdmi' alsaghtr, II, 60 (with a slightly different version: 'alii ahli kulli bay tin an yadhbahu shdtan ft kulli rajabin wa-ft kulli ar/./:Iiihtitan); al-Muttaql al-Hindl, V, 48, No. 429 and V, 57, No. s 500-502; al-Bayhaql, al-Sunan al-kubrii (Hyderabad 1356 AH), IX, 260; Muslim, II, 159; Abu Da'ud, II, 2; Ibn al-Athlr, al-Nihdya, ed. al-Tana1).i (Cairo 1963), III, 178 ('alii kulli muslimin at!/:Iatun wa-'atiratun); Ibn al-Athlr, Jiimi' al-usa; min al;liidith al-rasid, ed. MuI;1. l;Iiimid al-Fiqql (Cairo 1950), IV, 121, No. 1624. 12 Abu 'Ubayd, Gharib al-hadith, ed. MuI;1. 'Azim al-Dln (Hyderabad 1964), I, 194-195; VA, s.v. "tatr" (where the opinion of Abu 'Ubayd is recorded differently: wa-l-hadithu I-awwalu a~a/:l/:lu); nd see the note of the editor in Ibn al-Athlr's Jiimi' al-usid IV, 122 (Abu a 'Ubayda stated that the hadlth: "ld faraa ... " abrogated the hadlth: '''alii ahli kulli baytin ... "). 13 Hamd b. MuI;1.al-Khattabt, Ma'iilim al-sunan (Balab 1933), II, 226. 14 lb., ( ... al- "atiratu tafsiruhd Ii l-hadithi annahd shdtun tudhbahu Ii rajabin wa-hddhii huwa lladhi yushbihu ma'nd l-hadithi wa-yaliqu bi-hukmi l-dtn: [in text: l-tadayyunii); L'A, s.v. "'atr" (correctly: l-dini}; Ibn al-Athlr, al-Nihdya, III, 178 (correctly: l-dini). 10 11 193 M.J. Kister 'atira as abrogated; he seems to consider it lawful, although he has some reservations in connection with one of the transmitters of the hadith.t> The opinion that the "atira was abrogated by the Sacrificial Feast is plainly reflected in the hadith reported on the authority of This date is given as well by some ShI'I sources.46 Some traditions assert that the event of laylat al-mi'riij occurred in Rajab.s? The Prophet gathered the people in Rajab, according to a tradition reported Ibid., p. 29. See Muh. b. Pattal, Raudat al-wa'iztn (Najaf 1966), p. 396; Ibn Babuyah, p. 52. 40 G. E. von Grunebaum, "The Sacred Character of Islamic Cities", Melanges Taha Husain, ed. Abdurrahman Badawi (Cairo 1962), pp. 26-27. 41 Al-Zurqant, Sharh 'ala l-mawdhib al-Iadunniyya (Cairo 1325 AH), I, 131, line 4; Ibn Hajar al-Haythaml, al-Ni'ma al-kubrii 'alii 1-'iilam bi-maulidi sayyidi bani Adam, Ms (in my possession), fol. 19a, line 1. 42 Al-Zurqant, I, 132, line 19 (quoted from 'Abdari's Mudkhal); and see Ibn Hajar alHaythamI, al-Ni'ma al-kubrii, fol. 19a, lines 3-6; al-Majlisl, Bibiir al-anwiir, XX, 113, line 25 (lithogr. ed.); and comp. al-Suyiitl, al-Hiiwi, I, 305 sup. 43 Ibn l,Iajar al-Haythamt, al-Ni'ma al-kubrd, fol. 12b; al-Shatibl, al-Jumdn It akhbar al-zamdn, Ms. Br. Mus., Or. 3008, fol. 48a. 44 Al-Halabt, Insiin al-'uyun (Cairo 1932), I, 68; al-Zurqanl, 1,105, line 10. 45 Al-Suyutl, al-Durr al-manthiir (Cairo 1314 AH), II, 235 ult.; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zad al-ma'iid (on margin of Zurqanl's Sharb I, 58); Ibn al-Jauzl, Sifat al-safwa (Hyderabad 1355 AR), I, 27; al-Ghazall, Ibya' 'ulum al-din, (Cairo 1933), I, 328. 46 Ibn Babiiyah, p. 57; al-Tiisi, Amdli (Najaf 1964), I, 44; al-Bahranl, al-Hadii'iq anniit/ira ft ahkdm al- 'itra al-tdhira (Najaf 1384 AH), XIII, 362-363; al-Majlisl (Teheran 1386 AH), XVIII, 189. 47 Al-Zurqanl, I, 306, 308; al·'Abdari, al-Mudkhal (Cairo 1929), I, 294, line 10; see alDirini, Taharat al-quliib (Kafr al-Zaghara 1354 AH), p. 93, line 11; EI, s.v. "Mi'radj"; Abii Talib al-Makkt, I, 93; al-Ghazzall, I, 328; 'Ali al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 66a. 38 39 197 M. J. Kister on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, and informed them about the virtues of his All the rivers of the world visit in Rajab the well of Zamzam according to a tradition reported by Wahb b. Munabbih.s? The sanctity of Rajab was assessed in comparison with that of the other months in a peculiar utterance attributed to the Prophet. The Prophet said: "Rajab is the month of God, Sha 'ban is my month, Ramadan is the month of my people. "50 Close to this tradition is a hadith counting the rewards for the believers observing Rajab, Sha'ban and Ramadan and reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik. It is recorded in al-Bayhaqi's (d. 458 AH) Fadd'll al-auqdt and quoted by Ibn Hajar, "The month chosen by God is Rajab" - says the Prophet. "He who honours the month of Rajab - honours the order of God and he who honours the order of God - God will introduce him into the Gardens of Paradise and grant him His favour", etc.S1 Al-Bayhaqi marks the hadith as munkar, but Ibn Hajar differs, classifying it as "forged with obvious features of forgery" (bal huwa maudii'un ziihiru l-wad'i) and attributes the forgery to one of the transmitters, Nul). al-Jami', "Nul). the Collector", about whom people used to say that "he collected everything except truth."s2 Nevertheless al-Suyutl (d. 911 AH) recorded this tradition in his commentary of the Qur'an.53 A peculiar sun tradition sheds some light on the similarity of growth of pro-Rajab tenets in Sunni and Shi'I societies as well as on the manner of casting of the Shi'I traditions in this matter. 'Ali, says the tradition, used to fast the whole month of Rajab, and he used to say: "Rajab is my month, Sha'ban is the month of the Messenger of God, Ramadan is the month of God."S4 It is evident that this is a Shi'i re-moulding of the hadith "Rajab is the month pedigree.sf al-Qandilzl, Yandbi' al-mawadda (Najaf 1965), p. 16. Al-Dlrinl, p. 93. 50 AI-SahmI, Ta'rikh Jurjdn (Hyderabad 1950), p. 184; al-Sakhiiwi, al-Maqdsid al-hasana fi bayiin kathir min al-a/;liidith al-mushtahira, ed. 'Abdallah Muh, al-Sadlq (Cairo 1956), p. 224, No. 510; al-Jarrahl, Kashf al-khafii' wa-muzil al-ilbds (Cairo 1351 AH), I, 423, No. 1358; al-Suyutl, al-Jiimi' al-saghir, II, 21 inf.; Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- 'ajab, p. 10 sup.; alJllanl, I, 200; al-Shaukanl, al-Fawii'id al-majmu'a fi l-ahddtth al-maudii'a, ed. 'Abd alRahman al-Mu'allamt al-Yamant (Cairo 1960), p. 439, ult.; idem, Nayl, IV, 210; Ibn Biibiiyah, p. 52; al-Pattanl, Tadhkirat al-maudii'iit (Cairo 1343 AH), p. 116 inf.; and see a divergent tradition: sha'biin shahrt wa-ramaddn shahru lliihi... , in al-Jarraht's Kashf II, 9, No. 1551 and in Ibn Biibiiyah's Amalt, p. 13; and see 'Ali al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 65a inf.; idem, Risdlat al-a~iidith al-maudii'a, Majmu'a, fol. 61a. 51 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- "ajab, p. 13. 52 See on Nub al-Jami": a1-Dhahabi, Mizdn al-i'tiddl, IV, 279, No. 9143. 53 Al-Durr al-manthiir, 111,236 sup.; (and see Qasim al-Qaysl, Ta'rikh al-tafsir (Baghdad 1966), p. 132, about weak: and forged traditions in the commentaries of al-Suyiitl). 54 Al-Bahrant, XIII, 381 inf.; cp, Ja'far Mansnr a1-Yaman, Ta'wil al-zakdt, Ms. Leiden 48 49 198 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " of God, Sha 'ban is my month (i.e. of the Prophet), Ramadan is the month of my people". Another assessment of Rajab in relation to other months is reported in a hadith recorded on the authority of Anas b. Malik. The Prophet said: "The superiority of Rajab over other months is like the superiority of the Qur'an over other speech; the superiority of'Sha'ban over other months is like my superiority over other prophets; the superiority of Ramadan over other months is like the superiority of God over (His) believers."55 The scale of qualities is, in this hadith, rather different. The highest rank is, like in the Shi'I tradition mentioned above, given to Ramadan, III One of the most controversial practices of Rajab was the practice of fasting. Just as in the case of the sacrifices of Rajab, the partisans of fasting in Rajab took recourse to alleged utterances of the Prophet56 pointing to the merits of fasting and the efficacy of fasting during some particular days in this month. The antagonists rejected the sanctity of the month altogether, basing their arguments again on alleged utterances of the Prophet and marking the traditions in favour of fasting in Rajab as weak, untrustworthy or even forged. The lines of discussion on fasting resemble those of the discussion about the sacrifices. "In Paradise there is a river called Rajab" - says a tradition attributed to the Prophet. "This river is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. Or. 1971, fol. 38a: wa-qdla rajabun shahru lldhi wa-sha'biinu shahri wa-ramadanu shahru "aliyyin. 55 Al-Samarqandi, Tanbth al·ghiifilin (Cairo 1347 AH), p. 116; Ibn Hajar, Tabyln al-'ajab, p. 14; al-Pattanl, p. 116 inf.; al-Sakhawi, p. 299, No. 740; Ibn al-Dayba', Tamyiz al-tayyib min al-khabtth flma yadiiru 'alii alsinati l-ndsi min al-I;zadith (Cairo 1324 AH), p. 137; alShaukanl, al-Fawii'id, p. 440 sup.; and see an interesting shrt tradition in al-MajlisI's Bi/:liir XXXVII, 53 (newed.): Muhammad among his believers is like Ramadan in relation to other months, the family of Muhammad among the believers is like Sha'ban in relation to other months, "Ali among the family of Muhammad is like the best of the days of Sha "ban, i.e. the fifteenth day of this month. The believers of the family of Muhammad are like Rajab in relation to Sha 'ban. 56 Comp. J. Goldziher, "Neue Materialien zur Litteratur des Oberlieferungwesens bei den Muhammedanem", ZDMG L (1896), p. 482: "allerdings haben die Theologen mit seltener Ktihnheit in jedem auftauchenden Falle, den sie zu entscheiden hatten, ihre eigene Ansicht oder die der Lehrpartei der sie angeherten als Spruch des Propheten ausgegeben, zuweilen Spruche die lange Zeit als Urtheile angesehener Leute aus der Gemeinde des Islam bekannt waren, an den Propheten selbst angelehnt urn dadurch grossere Authoritiit fUr dieselben zu erlangen." 199 M. I. Kister He who fasts one day of the month of Rajab - God will give him to drink from that river."57 "In Paradise" - asserts another tradition - "there is a palace (prepared) for the people fasting in Rajab."58 The obligation of fasting in Rajab is motivated by miracles of God, His aid and deliverance of the righteous after plight and distress and His favour and grace granted to His believers in this month. Fasting is in fact an act of gratitude. God bade Nuh to set out on his ark in Rajab. He fasted this month, thanking God for His grace and ordered the people of the ark to fast this month according to some traditions. 59In Rajab God split the sea for Moses; Ibrahim and 'Isa were born during Rajab. God forgave the people of Yiinus their sins in Rajab; in this month too God forgave Adam.6o Rajab is nicknamed "the Deaf" (al-asammy; because the wrath of God was never heard of during this month; God punished peoples in other months, but never in Rajab.s! Rajab was also nicknamed al-asabb, "the Pouring", because the mercy of God poured forth during this month and flooded His servants; God bestows on them in this month graces and rewards which never an eye has seen, nor an ear heard, nor had it occurred to the mind of a man.62 Special rewards were promised, according to some traditions, for fasting on some particular days in Rajab. One of these especially venerated days is the twenty-seventh day of Rajab. On this day Muhammad was granted his prophethood. "He who fasts on the twenty-seventh day of Rajab will be granted by God the reward (otherwise) due for fasting sixty months", says a tradition reported on the authority of Abii Hurayra and attributed to the Prophet.O In another version of this hadith, he who fasts the twenty-seventh day of Rajab, and spends the preceding night awake (praying) will be rewarded just 57 Al-Jllanl, I, 200; al-Suytitl, al-Jami' al-saghir, I, 91 inf.; aI-'AzizI, I, 513; al-Dhahabl, Miziin al-i'tidiil, IV, 189, No. 8797; al-Bahrani, XIII, 381; Ibn Biibiiyah, p. 52; Ibn l;Iajar, Tabyin al-iajab, pp. 5-8; MuQ.. b. FattiiI, p. 401; al-Muttaql aI-Hindi, VIII, 360, No. 2646; al-Zurqanl, VIII, 128; al-Turttlshl, p. 125; 'Ali al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 65a; al-Suyntt, alHdwt li-l-fatiiwl, ed. MuQ.. Muhyl l-Dln 'Abd al-Hamld (Cairo 1959), I, 145; and comp, alAsyiiti, al-Kanz al-madfiin (Cairo 1288 AH), p. 74. 58 Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh (Tahdhib), ed. Ahmad 'Ubayd (Damascus 1351 AH), VII, 137; al- 'Azrzr, I, 513; al-Suyutt, al-Durr al-manthiir ,III, 235; al-Muttaql al-Hindl, VIII, 409, No. 2967-2968; al-Dlrlnl, p. 93, line 3; al-Zurqanl, VIII, 128; AbU Shama, al-Bd'ith. 'ala inkari l-bida'i wa-l-hawiidith; ed. Mahmud Fu'iid Minqara al-Tarabulsi (Cairo 1955), p. 55. 59 Al-Jtlant, I, 197; Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- "ajab, p. 17; al-Suyutt, al-Durr al-manthiir, III, 235; and see aI-ShaukiinI, al-Fawii'id, p. 440, line 12; 'All al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 65a. 60 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al-'ajab, p. 17. 61 Al-Jiliini, I, 196 info 62 Ibid., I, 197. 63 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- "ajab, p. 28; aI-Jiliini, I, 205. 200 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " as if he fasted one hundred years and spent the nights of a hundred years awake.s+ According to a tradition reported on the authority of 'Ali b. Abl Talib, the Prophet promised forgiveness of ten years (of sins) to the man who would fast that day and would supplicate at the breaking of the fast (da'ti 'inda l-if!tir).65 It is noteworthy that 'Abdallah b. 'Abbas - according to a tradition reported on the authority of al-Hasan al-Basrl - used to practice the i'tikiif on the twenty-seventh day of Rajab, and recite (among other sura's of the Qur'an) the sura of Laylat al-Qadr.66 This may, of course, point to the continuity of the Jahiliyya practice of i'tikiif during Rajab in the period of Islam and support the proposition of Wagtendonk about the link between the laylat al-qadr and the twenty-seventh day of Rajab.s" The link between laylat al-qadr and the month of Rajab is indicated in some comments on Sura XIII, 39. Mujahid relates this verse to the former, while Qays b. 'Ubad refers it to the tenth of Rajab.67a Of special merit was also fasting on the first day of Rajab. The Prophet, according to a tradition reported by Abu Dharr, said: "He who fasts the first day of Rajab, will get the reward equivalent to the fasting of a month." The seven gates of Hell will remain closed - continues the tradition - for a man who fasts seven days of Rajab; he who fasts eight days - the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him. God will turn into good deeds the wrong ones of a man who would fast ten days of Rajab. He who fasts eighteen days - a herald will call from Heaven: "God already forgave you (your sins), so start work (soil, of worship) again".68 Slightly different is the scale of rewards in a Shi'I tradition. Nub embarked on his ark on the first day of Rajab and ordered the people of the ship to fast this day. The fire of Hell will keep a distance of one year's journey from a man who fasted this day. The seven fires of Hell will be closed to a man who fasted seven days of Rajab. The eight gates of Paradise will be opened in the face of a man who fasted eight days of Rajab. The wishes of a man who fasts ten days of this month will be fulfilled. The sins of a man who fasted twenty five days will be forgiven and he will be told: "start again your (Pious) work". He who adds (days of) fasting - his rewards will be augmented.69 A tradition reported on the 64 Ibn I,Iajar, Tabyin al-tajab, p. 27; al·Suyuti, al-Durr al-manthar, III, 235 inf.; al-Jtlant, 1,205; 'All al-Qiiri', al-Adab, fol. 65a. 6S Ibn I,Iajar, Tabyin al- 'ajab, p. 28. 66 Al-Jtlanl, I, 205. 67 K. Wagtendonk, pp. 117-118. 67a AI-TabarI, Ta!sir, ed. Mahmud Mul,l. Shakir, XVI, p. 479, No. 20471 and p. 489, No. 20505. 68 AI·JUiini, I, 201. 69 Al-Bahranl, XIII, 381; al-Suytltl, aI-La'iili I-masnu'aft l-a/,liidlthi l-mauda:« (Cairo n.d.) II, 115; see Ibn I,Iajar, Tabyin al-tajab, p. 23. 201 M.l. Kister authority of Ibn 'Umar records as reward for fasting on the first day of Rajab the equivalent of fasting a year. If the believer would fast seven days, the seven gates of Hell would be closed for him. If we hould fast ten days, a herald would announce from Heaven: "Ask (anything you like) and you will be granted (it)"70. A gradually decreasing list of rewards is given in a tradition reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas: God will forgive the sins of three years for fasting on the first day of Rajab, two years for fasting on the second day of Rajab, one year for fasting on the third day of Rajab, then fasting on every following day will be counted with reward of one month."! A considerable reward is promised for fasting on the first day of Rajab in another tradition: God will forgive sixty years' sins to the man who fasts on the first day of Rajab; God will bring a mild judgment upon a man (I;zasabahu hisiiban yasiran) who fasts fifteen days; God will grant His favour to a man (kataba lliihu lahu rir}wanahu) who fasts thirty days of Rajab and He will not punish him.72 Some versions of the traditions quoted above do not mention the first day of Rajab, but mention only the rewards of fasting "a day of Rajab". Unusual in its generosity is a list of rewards reported on the authority of 'Ali. The Prophet said: "The month of Rajab is a great month; he who fasts one day of this month - God will count for him (the reward of) fasting a thousand years. He who fasts two days - God will count for him (the reward of) fasting two thousand years. He who fasts three days of this month God will count for him (the reward of) fasting three thousand years. He who fasts seven days - the gates of Hell will be closed for him ... "73 Among the fourteen nights of the year, which the faithful are urged to spend awake, there are three nights of Rajab: the eves of the first, of the fifteenth and of the twenty seventh of Rajab.74 The eve of the first day of Rajab is counted among the five nights in the year; if its practices are properly observed by the believer he will enter Paradise.T' Of special merit is also fasting on the first Thursday of Rajab (connected with the vigils of the eve of Friday and saldt al-raghd'ib], the fifteenth and the last day of Rajab.76 AI·Muttaqi al-Hindt, VIII, 360, No. 2648. Ibid., VIII, 360, No. 2647; al-Suyutt, al-Jiimi' al-saghir, II, 45; al- 'Azizi, II, 391. 72 Al-Jtlant, I, 201 info 73 See Ibn al-Jauzl, Kit. al-maudu'at, ed. 'Abd al-Rahman MuQ.. 'Uthman (Cairo 1966), II, 206-207. 74 Al-Jllanl, I, 202; AbU Tiilib al-Makkl, I, 93; al-Ghazall, I, 328. 75 Al-Jiliini, I, 202. 76 Ibid., I, 204. 70 71 202 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " A current tradition about fasting in Rajab reported on the authority of Sa'id al-Khudri gives a detailed account of the rewards of fasting on every day of the month. "Rajab is the month of God, Sha'ban is my month, Ramadan is the month of my people" - says the Prophet. Therefore he who fasts one day?? of Rajab out of belief and piety (imdnan wa-htisdbany deserves God's greatest favour (istaujaba ridwdna lliihi l-akbara) and God will lodge him in the upper part of Paradise. He who fasts two days of Rajab will get a double reward; the weight of every single reward will be like the mountains of the world. He who fasts three days God will put between him and between the fire (of Hell) a ditch extending for a distance of a year's journey.78 He who fasts four days of Rajab, will be healed from madness, elephantiasis, leprosy, the trial of the false Messias (fitnat al-masihi l-dajjali) and the chastisement of the grave Cadhiib al-qabr). He who fasts five days, will be protected from the chastisement of the grave (wuqiya "adhiiba l-qabri).79 He who fasts six days, will step out from his grave, his face shining more than the moon at the night of full-moon. He who fasts seven days - God will close for him the seven gates of Hell (closing for every day of fasting one gate). He who fasts eight days of Rajab, God will open for him the eight gates of Paradise (opening for every day of fasting one gate). He who fasts nine days, he will step out from his grave proclaiming lii iliiha illd lliihu and his face will not be turned away from Paradise. He who fasts ten days - God will lay for him at every mile of the path to heaven bedding (fariish) on which he might rest. As for him who fasts eleven days - there will be at the Day of Resurrection no believer superior to him except a believer who would fast the same number of days or more. He who fasts twelve days - God will bestow upon him two garments, one of which would be better than the world and all that is in the world. He who fasts thirteen days - a table will be put up for him in the shade of the Throne (of God) and he will eat from it, while other people will remain in distress (wa-l-niisufi shiddatin shadidatin). He who fasts fourteen days - God will grant him a reward which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which has not occurred to the mind of men twa-ld khatara 'alii qalbi basharin). He who fasts fifteen days - God will raise him on the Day of Resurrection in the stand (mauqif) of the believers.w He who fasts sixteen days - he will be among the "Youman" omitted in Ibn al-Jauzt's Maur!u'iit and in Suyfitf's La'iili. Compo MuQ.. b. al-Hasan al-'Amili, al-Jawiihir al-saniyya fi I-al)iidith al-qudsiyya (Najaf 1964), p. 140. 79 The reward of five days is not mentioned in Ibn Jauzi's Maur!u'iit and in SuyiitI's La'iili. 80 Here the tradition stops in Ibn al-Jauzl's Maur!u'iit II, 206, in Ibn Hajar's Tabyin p. 12 and in Suyiitt's La'ali II, 115, line 2 (there is however an additional phrase in Jnani's Ghunya I, 198: fa-ld yamurru bihi malakun muqarrabun wa-ld nabiyyun mursalun iIIii qdla ruba laka anta min al-iiminin); it is continued in Jllanl's Ghunya with the remark: wa-ft lafzin dkhara ziyiidatun 'alii khamsata 'ashara wa-hiya ... ; and see Ibn l;Iajar, Tabyin al- 'ajah, p.12 info 77 78 203 M. J. Kister first who would visit the Merciful, look at Him and hear His speech. He who fasts seventeen days - God will arrange for him at every mile of the path to Heaven a resting place.s! He who fasts eighteen days - God will build for him a palace opposite the palace of Ibrahim and Adam; they would greet him and he would greet them. He who fasts twenty days - a herald will proclaim for Heaven: "God has forgiven you what passed, begin thus anew your (Pious) work."82 Some descriptions of the rewards of people who fasted the whole month of Rajab are of the type of stories of the qu~~ii~ describe the palaces in Paradise, and the meals and the /:tiiris awaiting these people in Paradise.83 A Shi'I tradition gives the following vivid description of the Day of Resurrection. "At the Day of Resurrection - says the tradition reported on the authority of Ja'far al-Sadiq - a herald will call from the interior of the Throne: "Where are the Rajabis (people fasting in Rajab) 1" Then will stand up people with faces shining for the gathered (crowds), on their heads will be crowns of kingdom inlaid with sapphires and pearls. On the right side of every man of them will be a thousand angels and on the left side a thousand angels. They will say: "0 servant of God, mayest thou enjoy the grace of God". Then will follow the call from God, the Exalted: "My servants and My maidens, I swear by My majesty and power: I shall honour your residence and I shall bestow upon you gifts in bounty. I shall introduce you into apartments in Paradise under which rivers will flow and you will be for ever in it. How good is the reward of the pious. You volunteered to fast for Me a month which I sanctified and whose observance I bade. My angels, Introduce My servants and maidens into Paradise". Then Ja'far b. Muhammad said: "That concerns also people who fasted a part of Rajab, even one day at the beginning of the month, in its midst or at its end". 84 One of the most discussed topics involving the Rajab fast was fasting during the whole month.8s The opponents of fasting in Rajab based their argument See above the reward for fasting ten days. AI-Jiliini, I, 198-199; al-Suyutl, al-La'iili, II, 114-115; Ibn I;Iajar, Tabyin al-lajab, pp. 10-12,29-30; comp. Ibn Biibiiyah, pp. 52-57 sup. (continued until the thirtieth of Rajab); Muh. b. Fattiil, 396-400 (continued until the thirtieth of Rajab); and see al-Sahml, pp. 56 inf., 302 info 83 J. Goldziher, Muh. Studien (Halle 1890), II, 160; al-Babrsnr, XIII, 400; al-ZajjiijI, Amiili (Cairo 1935), p. 134. 84 Al-Bahranl, XIII, 401 (and see ibid., pp. 381, 396 about rewards for fasting of the first and the fifteenth of Rajab). 8S See K. Wagtendonk, p. 121. 81 82 204 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " on the well-known hadith reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas: "The Prophet forbade fasting in Rajab".86 Later scholars transmitted this tradition with the addition of the word "whole" (nahii 'an saumi rajabin kullihi).87 Partisans of fasting in Rajab criticized this tradition, emphasizing that two of its transmitters were "weak". The two weak transmitters were Da'ud b. 'Ata'88 and Zayd b. 'Abd al-Hamtd.s? They argued further that the word "nahii" was erroneously inserted into the text, as the tradition referred originally to the actions of the Prophet; it was the transmitter who changed erroneously the word into prohibition twa-innamd l-riwdyatu fihi min fi'Ii I-nabiyyi salld lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallama fa-harrafa l-riiwi l-fi'la ilii l-nahyi). If this version (i.e. nahii) is correct, the interdiction indicates merely a preventive measure (thumma in $abIJafa-huwa mahmidun 'alii I-tanzihi). It has to be interpreted according to the opinion of al-Shafi't. AI-Shari'i stated that he would disapprove of fasting a whole month like the fasting of Ramadan, or fasting on a peculiar day. He was afraid that some ignorant person might imitate such practices considering it obligatory.w This opinion of al-Shafi'I is quoted by al-Subki (d. 771 AH),91 (like by Ibn Hajar), from al-Bayhaqi's (d. 458 AH) Fa(lii'il al-auqdt. Al-Bayhaqi records the opinion of al-Shafi'I with a remarkable phrase: "wa-in fa'ala fa-hasanun", and comments that as it is common knowledge among the Muslims that the only obligatory fast is Ramadan, the idea of reprehensibility (connected with fasting a whole month, in this case Rajab) is accordingly lifted (fa-'rtaja'a bi-dhdlika ma'nd /kariihiyyati). Consequently it can be deduced from the arguments of al-Bayhaqi that the tradition of Ibn Majah merely expresses disapproval of fasting the whole of Rajab if this fast is put on an equal footing with Ramadan as obligatory. As the Muslim community is aware of the fact that the only month of mandatory fasting is Ramadan, there is no reprehensibility in fasting a whole month (in this case Rajab); if the believer fasts this month - it is a good deed. Although al-Subki could not find the additional phrase wa-in faala jabasanun in other sources - he accepts the version recorded by al-Bayhaqi 86 Ibn Miijah, I, 531 (anna I-nabiyya ~allti lldhu 'alayhi wa-sallama nahd 'an saumi rajabin); aI-Shaukiini, Nayl, IV, 210; comp, about the interdiction of fasting of the whole month of Rajab: Ahmad b. l;Ianbal, I, 231, No. 181; al-Turtushi, p. 130; ai-Khatib al-Baghdiidi, II, 227; K. Wagtendonk, p. 121 (and note 4). 87 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- 'ajab, p. 33; al-Dhahabl, Miziin al-i'tiddl, II, 104, No. 3015. 88 See on him Ibn l;Iajar, Tahdhib, III, 193, No, 370; al-Dhahabi, Mizdn, II, 12, No. 2631. 89 See on him Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, III, 417, No. 764. 90 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- 'ajab, p. 31 inf.-32 sup.; and see al-Shaukani, Nayl, IV, 210, line 8 from bottom. 91 Tabaqdt al-Shdfi'iyya al-kubrii, ed. al-Hilw, al-Tanahl (Cairo 1966), IV, 12-13. 205 M.J. Kister as sound. As the interdiction of fasting of the whole month of Rajab is not a sound one - it has to be considered, states al-Subki, as mustahabb, desirable (wa-idha lam yakun al-nahyu 'an takmili saumihi $abiban baqiya 'ala asl! l-istihbiib); the utterance of al-Shafi'I indicates that fasting the whole month of Rajab is good (hadha l-nassu lladhi rawiihu l-Bayhaqiyyu 'an alShaji'iyyi fihi daliilatun bayyinatun 'ala anna sauma rajabin bi-kamdlihi hasanuny. This, al-Subkl states, confirms the opinion of 'Izz al-Dln b. 'Abd al-SaHim92 that he who forbids to fast in Rajab is ignorant of the principles of the Law (man nahii 'an saumi rajabin fa-huwa jdhilun bi-ma'khadhi ahkdmi l-shar'Ii. Al-Shaukanl (d. 1250 AH) discusses the problem of fasting in Rajab in connection with fasting the whole month of Sha 'ban and concludes that the traditions enjoining fasting during the holy months (al-ashhur al-burum) include the recommendation of fasting of the month in Rajab. There are no traditions stating that fasting in Rajab is reprehensible (makruh).93 Al-Qastallani discusses the contradictory traditions about fasting during the whole month of Sha 'ban.94 The reference to fasting on Sha 'ban is indicated in the hadith reported on the authority of Usama b. Zayd in which the Prophet said: "That (i.e. Sha'ban) is a month neglected by the people, (a month) between Rajab and Ramadan, It is a month in which the deeds are brought before the Lord of the Worlds, and I want therefore that my deeds be brought before Him when I am fasting."95 Al-Qastallani remarks that many people think that fasting in Rajab is preferable to fasting in Sha 'ban, because Rajab is one of the holy months (al-ashhur al-hurumy; but it is not so (i.e. fasting of Rajab is not preferable to the fasting of Sha 'ban). Al-Zurqani supports the opinion of al-Qastallani, quoting the hadith reported on the authority of 'A'isha, that when people fasting Rajab were mentioned to the Prophet, he said: "How (poor are) they (in their reward compared to those fasting in) Sha 'ban."96 Nevertheless al-Qastallanl admits that some of the Shafi'tyya considered fasting of Rajab as more meritorious than fasting of other months. Fasting in Rajab is recommended as Rajab is one of the holy months; the fast of these months is indicated in the tradition recorded by AbU Da'ud. 'Abdallah b. See below, p. 207. Al-Shaukanl, Nayl, IV, 209-210. 94 Al-Zurqanl, VIII, 124-125. 95 Ibid., VIII, 126; and see al-Shaukanl, Nayl, IV, 210 sup.; al-Haythaml, Majma' alzawa'id, III, 192. 96 Al-Zurqanl, VIII, 126; this tradition is recorded by Ibn Hajar, Tabyfn al- 'ajab, p. 33 with the following story: "A woman entered the home of 'A'isha and mentioned that she fasted Rajab. 'A'isha said: fast Sha'ban, as the merit is in (fasting) Sha'ban." She then quoted the utterance of the Prophet. 92 93 206 "Raiab is the Month of God ... " 'Umar stated that the Prophet used to fast in Rajab and honoured this month. Although the hadith of Ibn Majah forbidding the fast of the whole month of Rajab is a weak one - the Hanbalis considered it as valid. They concluded on the basis of this tradition, says al-Zurqani, that it was reprehensible to single out the month of Rajab as a month of fasting (yukrahu ifrdduhu bi-l~aumi).97 A significant passage quoted from a book of al-Damlri (d. 808 AH) by 'Ali b. Ahmad al-'Azizi (d. 1070 AH)98 records the favourable opinion of two scholars of the seventh century of the Hijra towards fasting in Rajab. Abu 'Amr b. al-Sala1;t99was asked whether fasting the whole month of Rajab was a sin or whether it was a rewarded practice. He answered that there was no sin in it at all. None of the Muslim scholars, argued Abu 'Amr b. alSalah, considered it as sin. It is true that some scholars of hadith stated that there were no sound hadiths about the merits of fasting Rajab; that does not however imply any sin in fast; traditions about fasting in general and about fasting in the holy months in particular indicate that this fasting (i.e. in Rajab) is meritorious. The tradition of Ibn Dihya claiming that the fire of Hell is kindled every year for the people fasting Rajab is not sound and its transmission is unlawful.100 Tzz al-Dln b. 'Abd al-Salamlv! was asked about the opinion of scholars who denounce the fast of Rajab and its observance and whether fasting the whole month as a vow was lawful. 'Izz al-Dln gave permission to vow fasting the whole month arguing that none of the scholars of Islam included Rajab among the reprehensible periods of fasting (fima yukrahu saumuhuy; on the contrary: it is a pious deed (qurba) as indicated by sound traditions and it is recommended. He who honours Rajab in a different way than the people of the Jahiliyya, the argument says, does not imitate them. Besides, not everything practised by the people of the Jahiliyya is forbidden to follow (in Islam), unless it is interdicted by the Law (wa-laysa kullu md fa'alathu l-jdhiliyyatu manhiyyan 'an muldbasatihi illii idhii nahat al-shari'atu 'anhu wadallat...). Truth should not be abandoned on the ground that people of falsehood practised it, says 'Izz al-Dln. Furthermore, he gives his statement about the ignorant scholar who forbids fasting on Rajab as quoted above from Subki's Tabaqat. Al-Damirl sums up the two fatwds in a poem of ten verses, concluding that Al-Zurqanl, VIII, 127. Al-Sirii] al-munir, II, 391-392. 99 See on him al-Dhahabl, Tadhkirat a/-l;lUffa?, IV, 1430, No. 1141. 100 See this fatwd in Fatdwd Ibn a/-Sa/ab (Cairo 1348 AH), p. 21. 101 See on him al-Kutubl, Fawat al-wafayat, ed. Muh. Muhyl I-Din 'Abd al-Hamtd (Cairo 1951), I, 594, No. 234. 97 98 207 M.J. Kister fasting the whole month of Rajab is recommended. A vow of fasting in the month is binding (wa-bi-l-nadhri yajib). In the opinion of Ahmad (b. Hanbal) singling out the month for fasting is reprehensible, but the opinion that forbids it should be rejected. The prohibition of fasting was reported by Ibn Majah, but the badith. proved to be weak because of its (weak) isndd. The shaykh 'Izz al-Din stated that he who forbade fasting in any case is heedless. He strongly rejected the opinion of scholars who forbade fasting, and stated that they should not be consulted for fatwii. The transmitters of the Shart'a did not reprehend fasting the whole (month). The recommendation of fasting (in this month) is included in the recommendation of fasting in general and there is no sin upon the fasting (person). Ibn al-Salah stated that the haditb about punishment for fasting in Rajab was not a sound one, and it was not permissible to attribute it to the Prophet. The merits of fasting in general, as stated in (valid) texts, indicate that it is even desirable (mustahabbi in particular - this is how al-Damirl concludes his poem. Ibn 'Asakir (AbUI l-Qasim 'Ali b. al-I;Iasan)102 devoted a special chapter in his Amiili to the merits of Rajab. He composed some verses in which the river Rajab in Paradise is mentioned: a drink from Rajab in Paradise, If you desire it - fast for God in Rajab And pray the prayer of the longing103 and fast Because everyone who exerts himself in (deeds of) obedience will not be disappointed. 104 Orthodox scholars denied any merit to fasting in Rajab, basing their argument on the tradition reported on the authority of Sa'id b. Jubayr.l05 When Sa'Id b. Jubayr was asked about the merits of fasting in Rajab, he said: "I was told by Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet used to fast (to an extent) that we thought that he would never break his fast, and he used to break his fast (so often) that we thought that he would not (start again to) fast." 106 Al-Qastallani remarks rightly that this tradition indicates that fasting in Rajab is neither forbidden nor recommended (wa-l-zdhiru anna murdda Sa'idin - i.e. Sa'Id b. Jubayr bi-hiidhii l-istidldlu 'alii annahu Iii nahya 'anhu wa-lii nadbafihi, bal lahu hukmu biiqi l-shuhftri).107 The opponents of fasting in Rajab argue that this tradition See on him C. Brockelmann, GAL, SI, 566. "Saldt al-riighibtna": the ~aliit al-raghii'ib is here, of course, alluded to. 104 AbU Shiima, pp. 55-57. 105 See on him Ibn Khallikan, Wafayiit al- a'yiin, ed. Ahmad Fartd Rifii'i (Cairo n.d.) VI, 127-136. 106 Al-Turtiishl, p. 128; Ibn l;Iajar, Tabyin al-tajab, p. 32. 107 Al-Zurqanl, VIII, 127; and see al- 'Azizi, II, 392, line 23 (the opinion of aI-Nawawi). 102 103 o he who wants 208 "Raiab is the Month of God ... " points clearly to the fact that the Prophet used to fast during different months of the year. It is accordingly evident that the Prophet did not single out any month for fasting, and therefore no special merit can be attached to the fasting of Rajab; the only meritorious month of fasting is Ramadan, There is a version of the tradition of Sa'Id b. Jubayr quoted above, reported on the authority of 'A'isha. "The Prophet used to fast (to an extent) that we thought... etc." This hadith has however a significant addition: "And I did not see the Prophet, states 'A'isha, completing the fast of any month at all except Ramadan, and I did not see him fasting more (in any month - K) than in Sha'ban."108 Two points in this tradition are noteworthy: the one stressing that the Prophet did not complete fasting in any month except Rama<;lan. his implies that it is not permitted to fast a whole month except in RamaT <;lan. he other point emphasizes that he used to fast in Sha 'ban more than in any T other month. One may not be surprised to find a contradictory tradition, reported on the authority of 'A'isha, stating that the Prophet used to fast the whole month of Sha'ban (kii.na yasianu sha'biina kullahu).109 Another tradition, reported on the authority of Abu Hurayra, gives a different version: "The Prophet did not complete the fast of any month besides Ramadan except for Rajab and Sha'ban "(anna rasiila lldhi ~alla lldhu "alayhi wa-sallama lam yutimma sauma shahrin ba'da ramaddna illd rajaba wa-sha'biina).110 Ibn Hajar classifies the tradition as "munkar",l11 because of the transmitter Yusuf b. 'Atiyya,112 who is considered as "very weak".113 It is not surprising, however, that the hadith on which opponents of fasting in Rajab based their argument is also reported on the authority of 'A'isha: "The Prophet did not single out any month of the year for fasting" (inna l-nabiyya sallii lldhu "alayhi wa-sallama mii kana yakhussu shahran min al-sanati bi-saumin ).114 Opponents of fasting in Rajab attempted to prove that the Companions, like the Prophet, disapproved of fasting Rajab, did not attach any sanctity to the month and considered fasting during Rajab as adherence to Jahiliyya observ- 9949), II, 77 ult., No. 711. 108 Muh, Fu'iid 'Abd al-Baql, al-Lu'lu' wa-l-marjdn fimd ttafaqa "alayhi l-shaykhdn (Cairo 1949), II, 22 ult., No. 711; Ibn Haiar, Bulugh al-mariim, ed. Muh, I;Iiimid al-Fiqql (Cairo 1933), p. 137, No. 701. 109 Al-Haythaml, Majma' al-zawii'id (Cairo 1352 AH), III, 192; and see ibid.: kiina yasiimu sha'bana wa-ramaddna yasiluhumd. 110 Al-Haythaml, III, 191 penult.; Ibn Hajar, Tabyln al-tajab, p. 9 info .111 See about the definition of "munkar" Muh, 'Abd aI-I;Iayy al-LuknawI, al-Raf" wa-l-takmil, ed. 'Abd al-Fattah AbU Ghudda (I;Ialab, n.d.), pp. 92-99. 112 See on him al-Dhahabt, Miziin al-i'tidal, IV, 488, No. 9877. 113 Ibn I;Iajar, Tabyin al-' ajab, p, 10, line 1. 114 A1-TurtiishI, p. 128. 209 M.l. Kister ances. 'Umar, says the tradition, used to beat the hands of people fasting in Rajab when they lifted them from (dishes of) food and compelled them to put them into it. He used to say: "Eat because Rajab was merely adored by the people of the Jahiliyya."llS In another version of this tradition, 'Umar used to flog people who fasted the whole month of Rajab.116 Another tradition states that Ibn 'Umar disliked to see people prepare for fasting Rajab. He told them: "Fast (some days) of it (i.e. of the month) and break the fasting; it is merely a month which the people of the Jahiliyya revered" .117 According to these traditions fasting on some days of Rajab, just as fasting some days of other months, is not forbidden; but fasting for the whole month and attaching sanctity to the month itself are not lawful. The adoration of Rajab might endanger the position of Ramadan, This is reflected in a story about Abu Bakr. When he saw his people prepare for fasting Rajab he said: "Do you make (i.e. observe) Rajab like Ramadan 7" (a-ja'altum rajaban ka-ramat/ana).1l8 Ibn 'Abbas insisted that Rajab be not established as an obligatory feast ("id) like Ramadan, Al-Turtushi concludes that these traditions indicate that "the honouring of Rajab by some people is a vestige of the bonds of the Jahiliyya" (dallat hddhihi l-dthiiru 'alii anna lladhi fi aydi l-niisi min ta'~imihi innamii hiya ghabariitun min baqdyii "uqiidi l-jiihi/iyyati).119 In summary al-Turtushi states that fasting in Rajab is not obligatory, it is not a sunna of the Prophet and is not meritorious; it is reprehensible.120 A special treatise against fasting in and veneration of Rajab, named Adii'u mii wajab min bayiini wad'i l-waddd'Ina fi rajab, was compiled by Ibn Di1;tya,121 From this treatise the following hadith is with all probability quoted: "The Prophet said: 'Hell is kindled from year to year for the people fasting in Rajab'. "122 One of the main arguments of the opponents of the Rajab fast was the tenet us Al-Shaukant, Nayl, IV, 210 (here the tradition is quoted from Ibn AbI Shayba's al-Musannaf. The remark of Wagtendonk, p. 121, note 3 that "these are late traditions" can hardly be accepted.); al-Turtusht, p. 129; Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al-tajab, p. 32; al-Haythaml, Majma' al-zawii'id, III, 191; Jamal al-Dln al-Qasiml, I#ab al-masdjid min al bida'i wa-I'awa'id (Cairo 1341 AH), pp. 76-77; al-Muttaql ai-Hindi, VIII, 409, No. 2966; AbU Shama, p. 38; al-Manbijl, Kit. al-samii'i wa-l-raqs in Majmu'at al-rasii'il al-kubrd It-Ibn Taymiyya (Cairo 1323 AH), II, 360 inf, 116 Al-Turtusht, p. 129. 117 Ibid., p. 129. 118 Ibid., p. 129; al-Qasimi, p, 77; AbU Shama, p. 38. 119 Al-Turtnsht, p. 129 ult.-130 sup. 120 Ibid., pp. 130-131; Ibn Hajar, Tabyin al- 'ajab, pp. 34-35; al-Qasiml, pp. 77-78; AbU Shama p. 38 (all quoting al-Turtusht). 121 See on him al-Dhahabl Tadhkirat al-buifa? (Hyderabad 1958) IV 1420 No. 1136. 122 Al-'Azizi, II, 391, line 6 from bottom; and see abovep. 207. 210 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " that the believer is not entitled to establish days or months of religious practices to which particular merits may be attached; this privilege is exclusively reserved for the Lawgiver (fa-l-/:zii~i/u anna l-mukallafa laysa lahu mansibu l-takhsisi bal dhiilika i/o. l-shari'i).123 As the tradition reported by Sa'Id b. Jubayr (stating that the Prophet used to fast through the whole year) refutes the traditions about fasting in Rajab, as the Companions repremanded this fasting, as the traditions about fasting in Rajab are weak and untrustworthy - the view that the Rajab fast may be included into the category of good deeds has to be rejected. Good deeds necessitate the approval of the Prophet, which the fasting of Rajab did not get. As the traditions about fasting in Rajab are lies, the fast is, of course, unlawful (fa-in qila- a-laysa hddhii huwa isti'mdla khayrin? qila lahu: isti'miilu khayrin yanbaghi an yakima mashrii'an min al-nabiyyi salld lldhu "alayhi wa-sallama; fa-idhii "alimnd annahu kadhibun kharaja min almashru'iyyati).124 Opponents of Rajab tried to show the weakness or the forgery of the proRajab traditions, revealing the weakness of the isndd. AbU Shama (d. 665 AH), who devoted a good deal of his Bii'ith to the rebuttal of pro-Rajab hadiths, and Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) in his Tabyin al-lajab, a treatise with the same aim, both used the same method of scrutinizing isniids. The tradition about the Rajab river in Paradise was rejected by AbU Shama125 on the ground that Musa al-Tawil126 was a liar. The hadith: "Rajab is the month of God, Sha'ban is my month etc." was discarded because the transmitter was al-Naqqash al-Mausilt.t-? a famous liar and forger of hadith. The hadith: "kana rasiilu lliihi salla lliihu "alayhi wa-sallama idhd dakhala rajabun qdla lldhumma biirik lana Ii rajabin wa-sha'biina ... etc."128 was rejected on the ground that Ziyad b. Maymun129 was considered as "discarded" (literally: "abandoned", "matriik"). Ma'mun b. Ahmad al-Sulamlrw and Ahmad b. 'Abdallah al-Juwaybari,l3l transmitters of pro-Rajab hadiths, were known as notorious liars; 132Ibn al-Jauzi counts both Ma'mun b. Ahmad and Ahmad Abu Shama, p. 37. Ibid., p. 38. 125 Ibid., p. 55 penult. 126 See on him al-Dhahabl, Mizdn al-i'tidiil, IV, 209, No. 8888. 127 See on him al-Dhahabl, Miziin al-i'tiddl, III, 520, No. 7404. 128 See Ibn al-Sunnl, 'Amal al-yaum wa-l-layla (Hyderabad 1358 AH), p. 178; al-Suyutt, al-Jiimi' al-saghir, II, 105; ai-Khatib al-Baghdadl, Miir!i/:l auluim, II, 473; al-Jarraht, I, 186, No. 554; 'Ali al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 65a, inf.; al-Majlisl, Bibtir, XX, 338 (lithogr. edition). 129 See on him al-Dhahabl, Mizdn al-i'tiddl, II, 94, No. 2967. 130 See on him al-Dhahabl, Mizdn al-i'tiddl, III, 429, No. 7036. 131 See on him al-Dhahabl, Mizdn al-i'tiddl, I, 106, No. 421. 132 AbU Shama, p, 55. 123 124 211 M. I. Kister b. "Abdallah in the list of "big liars" .133Both are accused of the transmission of the forged hadith, in which the Prophet foretold: "Among my people will be a man called Muhammad b. Idris; he will be more harming for my people than Iblis"; one of them invented the badith.134 By Muhammad b. Idris, the imam al-Shafi'I is meant. It is quite plausible that al-Shafi'I's assessment of the personality of Ma'mun b. Ahmad was concise: Ma'miin ghayru ma'mun.135 The hadith: "He who fasts the twenty seventh day of Rajab, God will write for him a reward of sixty months; it is the first day when the angel Gabriel brought the Prophet the Message" is marked by AbU Khattab (i.e. Ibn Dihya) as a spurious tradition. The tradition that the date of the Isrii' was the twenty seventh day of Rajab is marked as "the essence of lie". 136One of the transmitters of the tradition: "He who fasts three days of Rajab - God will count for him (the reward of) fasting of a month ... etc." was Aban (b. abl 'Ayyash).137 Ibn al-Jauzl rejects the tradition as unsound because of Aban, He quotes negative opinions of scholars about Aban, and records the saying of Shu 'ba138 that he prefers adultery to transmission of the traditions reported by Aban.139 The scholars opposing the fasting of Rajab faced the hostile attitude of the common people who practised fasting and special devotions in some nights of Rajab. They faced the pressure of the rulers as well. A peculiar case of this kind is reported in connection with the activities of Tzz al-Djn b. 'Abd alSalam, whose favourable opinion about Rajab fasting was mentioned above. In the year 637 AH 'Izz al-Dln acted as preacher and imam of the mosque of Damascus; he was a very learned and pious man, strictly following the sunna. Just before the beginning of Rajab, he preached in the mosque on Friday, and stressed that the $aliit al-raghd'ib was a bid'a and that the badtth. enjoining the practice of this prayer was a lie. 'Izz al-Din compiled a treatise in which he expounded his view and warned the people against the practice of this bid'a; he named it "al-tarhib 'an saldti l-raghii'ib". He was however compelled by the common people and the sultan to change his mind and to compile a treatise which contradicted his former treatise. In his second treatise he issued a favourable judgment about the $aliit al-raghii'ib.140 The orthodox permission of the popular Rajab fast in the tenth century of the Hijra is fairly exposed in the treatise of the HanafI scholar "Ali al-Qari' 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 Al-Shaukanl, al-Fawd'id, p. 426. Ibid, p. 420; see al-Dhahabl, Miziin, III, 430; al-Suyutl, al-La'iilt, I, 457. Abu Shiima, p. 55, line 5 from bottom. Ibid., p. 56 sup. See on him al-Dhahabl, Miziin I, 10-15, No. 15. See on him al-Dhahabt, Tadhkirat al-/.Iuffiiz, I, 193, No. 187. Ibn al-Jauzl, al-Maur!u'iit, II, 206. And see his assessment of isndds, ibid., pp. 207-28 AbU Shiima, pp. 32-33. 212 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " "al- Adab fi rajab". Although he follows strictly the path of orthodox assessment of the hadith concerning fasting Rajab, he nevertheless gives his consent to fasting Rajab and regards it rewardable. The interdiction of fasting Rajab in the hadith of Ibn Majah - argues 'Ali al-Qari' - has to be considered as an interdiction of its obligatory character, as it was in the period of the Jahiliyya (wa-ammii md rawiihu Ibn Miijah. annahu 'alayhi l-saliimu nahd 'an siyiimi rajabin fa-mahmidun 'ala "tiqiidi wujiibihi kama kdna fi l-jahiliyyati).141 Except that (i.e. this reason for the reprehensibility of fasting) none of the scholars said that fasting in Rajab was reprehensible (wa-illii fa-lam yaqui ahadun min al- 'ulamd' bi-kariihati ~aumihi).142 The opinion that every hadith about fasting Rajab and prayers in some nights of Rajab is a forged one deserves to be re-examined. It is true that there are some forged traditions, but traditions about fasting in Rajab are numerous and they, although weak, strengthen each other.143 Scholars agree, argues al-Qari', that it is permissible to perform pious deeds having recourse to "weak" traditions (wa-ajma'a 1- 'ulamd'u bijawiizi l- 'amali bi-l-abddithi l-da'ifati l-wdridati fi farjii'ili l-a'mdli). The interdiction of fasting Rajab by some scholars and considering it a bid'a is therefore not plausible (wa-lii ma'nii li-nahyi...). What is required from the believers is worship and obedience according to their ability. Rajab, as can be deduced from tradition, is a month surpassing other months in merits.144 Radical and uncompromising scholars rejected all the traditions about the virtues of Rajab and the merits of its fast. Ibn Taymiyya states that all the traditions about fasting in Rajab, fasting on the first Friday of Rajab and other merits are lies according to the consensus of the scholars. The best hadith on this subject is, of course, the hadith recorded by Ibn Majah, stating that the Prophet forbade the fast of Rajab.14S IV Among the distinctive features of Rajab are the special prayers and supplications connected, of course, with the fasting. These special prayers, devotions and supplications were the subject of fervent discussions and were strongly reproved by orthodox scholars. Rajab is a month of repentance, of refraining from sin and of doing pious 'Ali al-Qari', al-Adab, fol. 65b. 'Ali al-Qari', al-Al;uidith al-maudu'a, fol. 61a. 143 Ibid., fol. 61a. 144 Idem, al-A dab, fol. 65b. 145 Al-Manbijl, II, 306; Ibn al-Jauzl, al-Maudii'iit, II, 208 (mii ~aMa ft fadli rajabin wa-ft #yiimihi 'an rasidi lliihi ~allii lldhu 'alayhi wa-sallama shay'un); al-Jarrahl, II, 421. 141 142 213 M.l. Kister deeds. This idea of Rajab is expounded in a tradition attributed to the Prophet. In a speech delivered a week before Rajab, the Prophet stated that the rewards for good deeds in this month were doubled, supplications responded to by God and distress relieved by Him. The Prophet bade the believers to fast the days of Rajab and to keep vigilance in its nights. He who prays during some days of Rajab fifty prayers, reciting in every rak'a passages from the Qur'an - God will grant him rewards for his good deeds as much as the number of his hairs. He who fasts one day - God will reward him with the reward of fasting of a year. He who keeps his tongue (from bad speech)God will tutor him in arguments of his defence when the two angels Munkir and Nakir would come to question him (in his grave). He who would give some alms - God will save his neck from the fire of Hell. He who does good deeds to his people - God will treat him kindly in this world and in his life to come, and will help him against his enemies during his lifetime. He who visits a sick person - God will order the noble of His angels to visit him and greet him. He who prays in a funeral ceremony during this month, is as one who revives a buried girl-child. He who gives food to a believer - God will lodge him on the Day of Resurrection at a table where Ibrahim and Muhammad will be sitting. He who clothes a believer during this month - God will put on him a thousand of the suits of Paradise. He who bestows a favour upon an orphan and strokes his head - God will forgive him as many of his sins as the number of the hairs (scil. on the head of the orphan) upon which his hand passed. God will grant forgiveness to the believer who asks it. He who praises God once - will be counted in God's presence among the people mentioning God many times. He who completes in this month the reading of the Qur'anGod will crown him and his parents with crowns inlaid with pearls and he will be assured not to be inflicted with the horrors of the Day of Resurrection. 146 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr is said to have stated: "He who comforts a believer in his hardship during the month of Rajab, 'the Deaf', the month of God God will grant him a palace in Paradise as big as his gaze can reach. Therefore, urges the tradition, venerate Rajab and God will bestow upon you a thousand graces."147 He who gives alms once in Rajab - says a hadith attributed to the Prophet - God will keep him away from the fire of Hell, at a distance equivalent to that which a crow flies during its lifetime (literally flight of a crow since flying as a chick until its death in decrepitude - a crow lives five hundred years).148 A hadith reported on the authority of Salman al-Farisi records the following utterance of the Prophet: 146 Ibn Hajar, Tabyin, pp. 25-26; al-Shaukanl, al-Fawd'id, p. 439, lines 9-12 (the beginning of the tradition). 147 'Abd al-Qadir ai-JUan!, I, 200. 148 Ibid., I, 200. 214 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " "He who fasts one day of Rajab is (considered) as if he had fasted a thousand years. He who grants alms (once) is (considered) as if he would give alms of a thousand dinars and God will credit him for every good deed with a number of rewards equal to the number of his hairs. God will raise him a thousand steps, erase a thousand of his sins and credit him for every donation of alms with (the reward of) a thousand pilgrimages and of a thousand 'umras and build for him in Paradise a thousand courts and a thousand palaces and a thousand apartments; in every apartment there will be a thousand enclosures, in every enclosure a thousand /:zUris, who are a thousand times more beautiful than the sun.149 According to a Shi'i tradition, an angel called al-Da'I proclaims every night of Rajab from the seventh Heaven on the order of God: "Blessed are those who remember (Me), blessed are the obedient." God the Exalted says: I am the Companion of (the believer) who would sit by Me, I obey him who obeys Me, I forgive (the believer) who asks My forgiveness; the month is Mine, the servant is Mine, the mercy is Mine; he who would call Me - I shall respond to him; he who supplicates Me - I shall give to him, he who will ask my guidance - I shall guide him. I made this month a rope between Me and My servants; he who will hold fast by it will reach Me.1so Al-Shaukani points out as a reprehensible innovation in Rajab and Sha 'ban, that people use to exert themselves in acts of obedience and adhere to religious prescriptions during these months, but neglect these actions during the rest of the year.1S1 Of interest is an Isma'ili exhortation stressing the sanctity of Rajab (called al-asamm, al-fard, al-asabb) and summoning the faithful to practise fasting, repentance and submission to God. The rewards of good deeds in this month are multiplied.tss The main point in the fervent discussion about Rajab devotions is the topic of sald: al-raghd'ib, a prayer performed on the eve of the first Friday of Rajab.1S3 To this saldt al-raghd'ib the Prophet referred in a /:ladith reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik. The Prophet, when asked why the month of Rajab was nicknamed "the. month of God", answered: "It is because it is singled out (makh$u$) with (the quality of) forgiveness. In this month bloodIbid., I, 201. Al-Majlisl, XX, 338 (lithogr. ed.). 151 Al-Fawd'id, p. 440. 152 Al-Majdlis al-mustansiriyya, ed. MuI.).. Kamil Husayn (Cairo, n.d.), p. 112. 153 But saldt al-raghd'ib was formerly called the prayer of the midst of Sha'biin; see Abu Shama, p. 29, line 8 from bottom. 149 150 215 M. J. Kister shed is prevented. God forgave his prophets in this month and rescued his saints (au/iya') from the pains of punishment." The Prophet further counted the rewards of fasting in Rajab and recommended to an old man, who had complained that he would not be able to fast the whole month, that he restrict his fasting to the first day of Rajab, to the middle day of Rajab and to its last day. "Do not be heedless - continued the Prophet - about the eve of the first Friday of Rajab; it is a night called by the angels al-rahgii'ib, "the large (desirable) gifts"." This (is so) because after passing of the first third of this night no angel on Earth or in Heaven remains who does not gather in the Ka'ba or around it. God the Exalted has a look (at them) and says: "My angels, ask Me whatever you want", and they answer: "Our need is that Thou mayest forgive the people fasting Rajab". Then God the Exalted says: "I have done it already". The Prophet enjoined the believers to fast the day of the first Thursday of Rajab and to pray in the first third of this night (i.e. the eve of Friday) twelve rak'as reciting in every rak'a the fali/;la once, the sura "innii anzalndhu fi laylati l-qadri" three times, the sura "qui huwa lldhu ahadun" twelve times; between every rak'a a taslima has to be recited. After this prayer the believer has to recite seventy times "lliihumma salli 'ala l-nabiyyi l-ummiyyi wa-'ala iilihi". Then he has to perform a prostration during which he has to say seventy times "sabiihun, quddiisun, rabbu l-mald'ikati wa-l-riihi", Then he would raise his head and say seventy times "rabbi ghfir wa-rham wa-tajdwaz "ammd ta'lamu, innaka anta t:'azizu l-a'samu", Then he should prostrate a second time repeating the supplication quoted above (in the first sajda). Then he pleads for his needs and his plea will be responded to by God. Every servant of God with no exception - says the tradition - praying this prayer, God will forgive him all his sins even if they were (as much) as the foam of the sea and numbering the number of leaves of the trees, and he will intercede for seven hundred of his people at the Day of Resurrection. At the first day of his stay in his grave, he will be visited by the Reward of this prayer. The Reward will greet him with a bright countenance and tell him: "0 my beloved, rejoice because you were delivered from every woe". He will then ask: "Who are you, as 1have not seen a face finer than yours and 1 have not smelled a smell more fragrant than yours". Then Reward will reply: "0 my beloved, 1 am the Reward of the prayer, which you prayed that night of that and that month; 1came this night to you in order to fulfil the obligation towards you and to cheer you up in your loneliness. When the Horn will be blown, 1 shall be the shade above your head. Rejoice, because you will receive bounty from your Lord."154 154 Ibn l:Iajar, Tabyin, pp. 19-21; AbU Shama, pp. 29-32; 'Abd al-Qadir al-mani, I, 204205; al-Suyutt, al-La'ali, II, 55-56; al-Shaukant, al-Fawa'id, pp. 47 inf.-50; al-Majlisi, XX, 344 (lithogr. ed.); Ibn al-Jauzt, al-Mau4u'at, II, 124--125. 216 "Rajab is the Month of God ... " Al-Nawawi classifies the saldt al-raghii'ib as a shameful bid'a (hiya bid'atun qabihatun munkaratun), which has to be abandoned, reprehended and prevented. In his fatwd he points out that although many people observe this prayer and that the hadith about the merits of the prayer was recorded in AbU Talib al-Makkt's Qut al-quliib and in al-Ghazall's Il;zya'155- it is nevertheless a futile bid'a tbid'atun biitilatun).156 Ibn Hajar classifies this hadith as forged. 'Ali b. 'Abdallah b. Jahdam is accused of the forgery of this l;zadith,157Al-Turtusht mentions as the $alat alraghii'ib the prayer of fifteenth Sha'ban158 and Rajab. The prayer of Rajab was introduced for the first time in Jerusalem: it happened after 480 AH,159 AI- "Abdari refutes in a special chapter, 160the opinion that the $alat al-raghd'ib is meritorious or even lawful. He records the fatwd of 'Abd al-Aziz b. 'Abd al-Salam161 strongly condemning this prayer. It is evident that this fatvii is the firstjatwa of 'Izz al-Dln mentioned by AbU Shama. 'Izz al-Din was compelled, as quoted above, to compile a fatwd with a contradictory opinion about this prayer. Beside the detailed refutation of the lawfulness of this prayer in the special chapter - al-'Abdarl stresses the reprehensible features of the performance of the prayer: men and women mix together in the mosque during the $alat al-raghii'ib. If somebody claims that there exists a I;zadith recommending this prayer quoted by al-Ghazall - then the prayer has to be performed by the believer privately (fi khiissati najsihi), not as a common prayer in the mosque. Further it is reprehensible to tum it into a continuous and obligatory sunna (sunna da'ima Iii budda minjrliM). The traditions about "merits of actions" (faqa'il al-a'mdl) have weak isndds - argues al-" Adbart; although Muslim scholars permitted believers to act according to these hadiths, they allowed it on the condition that the practice would not be a continuous one. Thus if the believer acts according to such a tradition even once in his life, he would be considered as obeying the (recommendation of) 155 I/;Iya' (Cairo 1289 AH), I, 182 (al-Ghazall remarks that the people of Jerusalem are eager to perform this prayer). 156 Al-Nawawi, Fatiiwd al-imdm al-Nawawi (al-masii'il al-manthiira), ed. 'Ala l-Dln b. al-'Attar (Cairo 1352 AH), p. 28; aI-'AbdarI, IV, 259. 157 See AbU Shama, pp. 30-31; al-Shaukani, al-Fawii'id, p. 49, n. 1; al-Suyiltl, La'ali II, S6inf.,aI-Dhal;labi,Miziin al-i'tidiil,III,142,No. 5879; Jamal ai-Din al-Qasiml, pp. 105-106; al-Pattanl, pp. 43 ult.-44; 'Ali al-Qari', al-A/;Iiidith al-mauda'a, fol. 61 a. Ibn Jahdam is said to have confessed to the forgery of this tradition before his death; cf. Sibt Ibn al-Jauzl, Mir'at al-zamdn, Ms. Karacelebi 284, fols. 272b-273b. 158 See above, note 153. 159 Al-Turtusht, pp. 121-122; and see ibid., note 4 of the editor, M. Taibi. 160 Al-Mudkhal IV, 248-282. 161 Ibid., pp. 277-282 (he is, however, mentioned as Abii Muhammad b. 'Abd aI-'Aziz 'Abd al-Salam b. Abi Qasim al-Sulami al-Shafi't). 217 M. J. Kister tradition - if it is indeed a sound one; if, however, the tradition has an isniid which is dubious and open to dispute (wa-in yakun al-hadithu fi sanadihi mat'anun yaqdahu fihi) - his action (performed according to this !)adfth) would not harm (him) as he performed a good deed (li-annahu fa'ala khayran) and did not turn it into a publicly performed rite (sha'iratun ?