Umayyads
HarithEI.pdf al-ḤÄrith b. Suraydj (or ÉUmayr) b. YazÄ«d b. SawÄ (or SawwÄr) b. Ward b. Murra b. SufyÄn b. MudjÄshiÉ, AbÅ« ḤÄtim, leader of a rebellious movement in
KhurÄsÄn against the Umayyad administration. His father, Suraydj, had his abode in the quarter of the BanÅ« MudjÄshiÉ in Baá¹£ra and received a yearly Ê¿aá¹Äʾ of 700 dirham. ḤÄrith is mentioned as one of the courageous warriors in the battle against the forces of the KhÄḳÄn at Paykand in 111/729. He was flogged on the order of the governor of KhurÄsÄn, al-Djunayd b. ÉAbd al-RaḥmÄn al-MurrÄ«, having opposed the latter's injustice. The verse referring to this event says that âhe refused to be a djanÄ«ba (i.e., a horse driven alongside) of the Murra when they went astray and their imÄm committed iniquitiesâ. He rebelled in 116/734. Aided by the native forces of DjÅ«zdjÄn, FÄryÄb and ṬalḳÄn, ḤÄrith captured Balkh and marched at the head of a force, which grew to the figure of 60,000, against Marw, defended by the new governor, ÉÄá¹£im b. ÉAbd AllÄh alHilÄlÄ«. The defeat of ḤÄrith at Marw reduced the number of his followers to 3000. The news that he was being dismissed by the Caliph, HishÄm, and replaced by Asad b. ÉAbd AllÄh al-ḲasrÄ« drove ÉÄá¹£im to negotiate with ḤÄrith. The basis of their agreement was to be their common call to HishÄm to put a stop to iniquity; if he refused, ḤÄrith and ÉÄá¹£im would revolt against his rule. After his arrival the new governor, Asad b. ÉAbd AllÄh al-ḲasrÄ«, succeeded by vigorous action in recapturing Balkh and compelled ḤÄrith to cross the Oxus. ḤÄrith, aided by the forces of the local leaders, laid siege to Tirmidh, but failed to conquer the city and was compelled to retreat to the fortress of TabÅ«shkÄn in ṬukhÄristÄn. A force sent by Asad under the command of DjudayÉ al-KirmÄnÄ« besieged the fortress; the adherents of ḤÄrith insisted on leaving and surrendered to the besieging force. Some of them were decapitated; the women were sold as slaves (118/736).
ḤÄrith with his force joined the KhÄḳÄn of the Türgesh. He fought valiantly on the KhÄḳÄn's side in the encounter of KharÄ«stÄn and defended his retreat when his army was defeated (119/737). ḤÄrith assisted the KhÄḳÄn in the preparations for a new expedition and received from the KhÄḳÄn 5000 horses. The KhÄḳÄn was, however, murdered and the power of the Türgesh collapsed. Asad died in 120/738. The new governor, Naá¹£r b. SayyÄr, marched in 122/740 with an army against ShÄsh, which served as a base for the forces of ḤÄrith. There was an encounter between the troops of Naá¹£r and ḤÄrith but the battle between the forces of ShÄsh and the army of Naá¹£r was prevented by an agreement between them, by which the ruler of ShÄsh would deport ḤÄrith to FÄrÄb. The assumption of H. A. R. Gibb that the object of the expedition against ShÄsh was the expulsion of ḤÄrith is plausible. Naá¹£r apprehended that the dangerous rebel might incite the Turkish rulers to lead a new expedition against him. These fears would seem to be reasonable in view of the instability of the central government after the death of HishÄm, the tensions between the Mu arÄ«s and the YemenÄ«s in KhurÄsÄn, as well as the dissatisfaction of the native rulers with the policy of Naá¹£r in Transoxania. This explains why Naá¹£r pleaded with the Caliph, YazÄ«d b. al-WalÄ«d, to pardon ḤÄrith. The letter of safe-conduct granted to ḤÄrith by the Caliph promised to return the confiscated property of the adherents of ḤÄrith and to act according to the ordinances of âThe Book and the Sunnaâ. When ḤÄrith came back to Marw in 127/745 he reiterated the demand to act in accordance with the ordinances of âThe Book and the Sunnaâ. He justified his struggle against the administration and his secession from the community by the statement that âthe few who obey God are many and the many who disobey God are fewâ. He was welcomed by Naá¹£r and the people of Marw; his son Muḥammad and his daughter alAlÅ«f, who were detained, were released. Naá¹£r offered to appoint him as governor of a
district, but he refused. He divided the gifts given to him by Naá¹£r among his adherents. He demanded of Naá¹£r that he should appoint as officials only decent and righteous people. Shortly after his arrival, ḤÄrith was joined by 3000 TamÄ«mÄ«s who gave him the oath of allegiance. He encamped outside Marw, and instructed Djahm b. á¹¢afwÄn to read his âsÄ«raâ, setting himself up against Naá¹£r. DjudayÉ al-KirmÄnÄ« joined ḤÄrith for a short time. However, they fell out, their forces clashed and ḤÄrith was killed in 128/746. ḤÄrith is mentioned as a MurdjiÉÄ«. His secretary was Djahm b. á¹¢afwÄn. In his political activity he followed in the steps of Abu Él-á¹¢aydÄÉ, who fought for the rights of the mawÄlÄ«; some of the companions of Abu Él-á¹¢aydÄÉ fought on the side of ḤÄrith. ḤÄrith and his followers are the only group in early Islam which seceded from the community and aided the unbelievers against their brethren with the aim of establishing a government acting according to the ordinances of the ḲurÉÄn and the Sunna. In the force of ḤÄrith are mentioned âahl al-baá¹£Äʾirâ, people of a religious conviction, whom ḤÄrith used to consult. When ḤÄrith returned, he came back with his ḳÄá¸Ä«. The black flags raised by ḤÄrith seem to have been an imitation of the sunna of the Prophet. A special feature of this peculiar group was the habit of appealing to the enemy during the battle to join them by using moral and religious arguments. ḤÄrith seems to have had a feeling of mission. He apparently lived an ascetic life and wanted to establish a just government resembling that of the Prophet and the first Caliphs. He demanded that the principle of election of the ShÅ«rÄ should be followed. A satirical verse recited after his death claims that he hoped to be a Caliph: âThe son of a saddle (Ibn Sardj) hopes to be a Caliph: How remote are the means of the Caliphate from a saddleâ. (M. J. Kister)
Bibliography H. A. R. Gibb, Arab conquests in Central Asia, London 1923, 69-94 F. Gabrieli, Il Califfato di HishÄm, Alexandria 1935, 44-70 Barthold, Turkestan, 190-3 J. Wellhausen, Das arabische Reich und sein Sturz, Berlin 1902, 288-306 (English trans. 459-498) G. van Vloten, Recherches sur la domination arabe, Amsterdam 1894, 24-32 ṬabarÄ«, index Ibn al-KalbÄ«, Djamhara, Ms. Br. Mus., f. 66b al-BalÄdhurÄ«, AnsÄb al-ashrÄf, Ms. f. 295b, 982b Ibn ÉAsÄkir, TaʾrÄ«kh, ii, 460; v, 36 Ibn KathÄ«r, al-BidÄya, ix, 313, 322; x, 26 Arabskiy Anonym XI Veka, ed. P. A. GryazneviÄ, Moskow 1960, f. 258b al-DhahabÄ«, TaʾrÄ«kh al-IslÄm, iv, 228, 229; v, 35, 56 Ḥasan Ibr. Ḥasan, TaʾrÄ«kh al-IslÄm al-siyÄsÄ«, i, Cairo 1935, 538, n. 4. [Print Version: Volume III, page 223, column 2] Citation:
Kister, M. J. "al-ḤÄrith b. Suraydj (or ÉUmayr) b. YazÄ«d b. SawÄ (or SawwÄr) b. Ward b. Murra b. SufyÄn b. MudjÄshiÉ, AbÅ« ḤÄtim." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C. E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; and W. P. Heinrichs.
la taqrau.pdf La taqra'u l-qur'ana `ala l-mushafiyyin wa-la tahmilu l-`ilma `ani l-sahafiyyin ... Some Notes on the Transmission of If adith M.J. Kister
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
In memory of my brother Dr. Isaac Kister.
The question of whether it is permissible to record, in writing, the utterances of the Prophet, caused a heated debate already in the early period of Islam. The reports concerning the subject are divergent and even contradictory. A scrutiny of these reports may shed some light on the development of social perceptions, in so far as the transmission of hadith is concerned. Several traditions state that the Prophet permitted some of his Companions to write down his utterances. `Abdallah b. 'Umar says that he was in the court of the Prophet with a group of Companions; he was the youngest among them. The Prophet said: "Whoever tells lies about me, let him be placed in his abode in Hell."l
1 See, e.g., different versions of this tradition: Nur al-DIn al-HaythamI, Kashfu l-astar 'an zawa'idi l-bazzar, ed. Habibu l-Rahman al-A`zami (Beirut, 1399/1979), I, 112-17, nos. 204-17. AI-QuQa'I, Musnad al-shihiib, ed.HamdI'Abd al-MajId al-Silaff (Beirut, 1407/1986), I, 324-31, nos. 547-66, and see the references of the editor. AI-TabaranI, Musnad al-shiimiyyfn, ed. HamdI 'Abd aI-MajId al-Silan (Beirut, 1409/1989), I, 137, nos. 218, 142, no. 227; see the references of the editor. And see al-Haytham b. KuIayb al-SMshI, al-Musnad, ed. Mahfiiz al-Ra.l].manZayn (al-Madlna al-munawwara, 1410), I, 96-101, nos. 33-42; 245, no. 206; 249-50, nos. 215-16; 320-23, nos. 283-89; II, 80, no. 598; 116-18, nos. 642-47j and see ibid. the references of the editorj al-MunawI, Faylju l-qadfr, shar~u l-jami'i l-~aghfr (Beirut, 1391/ 1972), VI, 214-15, no. 8993, and see the references of the editor, ibid. AI-QaQI'IYaQ al-Yal).l;!ubI,ai-lima' ila ma'ri/ati u~Uli l-riwaya wa-taqyfdi l-sama', ed. al-Sayyid A~mad ~aqr (Cairo, 1389/1970), 11, 12; Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, Fat~u I-ban, sharI} Ifa~fl} al-bukhiin (Cairo, 1300, repr. Beirut), I, 178-81j and see al-DhahabI, Tadhkirat al-~uJJa~ (Hyderabad, 1375/1955), I, 3-4. And see I. Goldziher, Muslim Studies, trans!. C.R. Barber and S.M. Stern, ed. S.M. Stern (London, 1971), II, 127. AI-SuyutI, Jam'u l-jawami' (Cairo, 1978), II, 53j 'All b. al-Ja'd al-JauharI, Musnad al-Ja'df, ed. '.A.mir A~mad Haydar (Beirut, 1410/1990), nos. 140, 337, 541, 560,817, 1428, 2045, 2067. And see the different versions of the ~adith: man kadhaba 'ala7lya muta'ammidan /a·I-71atabawwa' maq'adahu mina l-nar in Mu~ammad Murtac;la al-HusaynI l-ZabidI's Laqtu I-la' alf l-mutanathira If l-a~adithi l-mutawatira, ed. Mu~ammad 'Abd al-Qadir 'A~a (Beirut, 1405/1985), 261-82, no. 61. And see this utterance thoroughly analysed by M. Muranyi in his article: "Man ~ala/a 'ala minban athiman," Die Welt des Orients (1987): 92, 131. And see Abu l-Qasim Sulayman b. A~mad al-Tabarani, Turuq ~adfth man kadhaba 'alaY7la muta'ammidan, ed. 'All Hasan 'All 'Abd al-Hamld and Hisham b. Isma'ii al-Saqqa ('Amman, 1410/1990).
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Later, Ibn 'Umar asked the people how they transmitted traditions about the Prophet and how they made efforts to report the Prophet's utterances after they heard his words. They laughed and said: "0 son of our brother, everything we heard from the Prophet is already recorded with us in writing."2 A similar tradition is reported by Rafi' b. Khadijr' he asked the Prophet whether he would be permitted to write down the utterances heard from him. The Prophet gave his permission and remarked: "There is nothing bad in it," uktubuhii wa-lii lJ,araj.4 Abu Hurayra is said to have abstained from recording the utterances of the Prophet. This can be deduced from his statement that there was nobody (scil. from among the Companions of the Prophet -k) who surpassed him in the knowledge of lJ,adith except 'Abdallah b. 'Amr,5 for the latter used to write down the traditions while Abu Hurayra did not.6 It is significant that the first tradition permitted by the Prophet to be written in the !!alJ,fja!!ii.diqa of 'Abdallah b. 'Amr is said to have been an official letter addressed by the Prophet to the people of Mecca,"
2 Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil /'f gu'afa'i I-rijal, al-muqaddima, ed. Subht l-Badrf l-Samarra'T (Baghdad, n.d.), 48; al-Ramhurmuzr, al-Mu1}addith al·fa~il, 378, no. 361. 3 On him, see Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, ol-Isiiba /'f tamyfzi l-sohiibo, ed. 'All Muhammad al-Bijawi (Cairo, 1392/1972), II, 436-37, no. 2528 4 Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, al-muqaddima, 48. And see another version of the story in Ibn al-Hajj, al-Madkhal (Beirut, 1972), IV, 288; quoted from Abu Dawud's Sunan. 'Umar b. Ahmad b. 'Uthman b. Shahtn, Nasikhu 1-1}adfthi wa-mansukhuhu, ed. Samlr b. AmIn al-Zuhrr (al-Zarqa', al-Urdunn, 1408/1988), 470, no. 626; and see the references of the editor. 5 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'As 6 'Abdallah b.'AdI, al-Kamii, muqaddima, 48; Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalanr, ol-Istiba /'f tamyfzi I-~al,laba, IV, 194, no. 4850; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'ab /'f ma'rifati l-a~1}ab, ed. 'All al-Bijawf (Cairo, 1380/1960), III, 957, no. 1618; al-Tal).awT,Sharl,l ma'anf I-iithar, IV, 318-19; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, I, 106; al-Dhahabt, Mfzan al-i'tidal, ed. 'All Muhammad al-Bijawl (Cairo, 1382/1963), II, 567, no. 4879; Ibn Hajar al'AsqalanI,Fatl,lu I-barf, I, 184-85; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami'bayan al·'ilm wa-faglihi (al-MadIna al-munawwara, n.d.), I, 70; and see ibid., I, 72 sup., 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'A.!;l ays that two things stimulate him in his desire for life: the scroll dictated s to him by the Prophet, al-~al,lffa al-~adiqa, and the estate of Wah]. See this report: al-Ramhurmuzt, al-Mul,laddith al-falfil bayna I-rawf wa-I-wa'f, ed. Muhammad 'Ajjaj al-Khattb (Beirut, 1391/1971), 365-67, nos. 319-24; and see the references of the editor. And see Abu Bakr al-BayhaqI: al-Madkhal ila I-sunani I-kubra, ed. Muhammad Diya'u l-Rahman al-A'aamr (Kuwayt, 1405/1984), 412-13, nos. 748-51, and see the references of the editor; Shams al-Dtn Muhammad b. Ahmad al-DhahabI, Siyar a'lami I-nubala', ed. As'ad Talas (Cairo, 1962), III, 58 and vol. II, ed. Ibrahtm al-Abyart, p. 432. A peculiar statement of Ka'b (al-Ahbar) says that Abu Hurayra knew more about the Torah than any man who did not read the Torah; al-Dhahabl, Siyar, II, 432. 7Ibn AbI 'A.!i\im al-Shaybant, Kitab al·awa'il, ed. Muhammad b. N~ir al-'AjamT (al-Kuwayt, n.d.), 98, no. 140. Al Hasan b. 'Arafa mentions in his Juz", MS Chester Beatty 4433, fol. 141a, from the I!al,lffa al-I/adiqa a supplication which the Prophet advised Abu Bakr to utter in the morning and evening.
Iii taqra'i:
l-qur'iina
'alii l-mu~lJ,afiyyfn
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The letters of the Prophet seem to have been especially appreciated. This is emphasized in the utterance of Muhammad b. SIrln:8 "Had I decided to write [these things) down [in) a book, I would record in writing the letters of the Prophet." The letters of the Prophet addressed to kings, rulers, governors and tribal chiefs are the earliest documents reflecting the problems of the nascent Muslim community, the policy of the Prophet towards his supporters and foes, his tactics and his military resolutions. Mujahid (d. 104 H) one day visited 'Abdallah b.'Amr and noticed a scroll under his head. 'Abdallah refused to allow him to peruse the scroll, tamanna' a 'alayya, asserting that it was the ~alJ,ffasiidiqa which the Prophet had dictated to him when they were alone." The servant of the Prophet, Anas b. Malik, is said to have been in possession of scrolls which contained the utterances dictated to him by the Prophet. lO There is a report recorded on the authority of AbU Juhayfa which mentions a ~alJ,ffa of 'All b. AbI Talib, 'All is said to have asserted that the ~alJ,fja contained only the prescriptions concerning the payment of the bloodwit, the freeing of prisoners, and the order not to kill a Muslim for (the crime of) killing an unbeliever. 11
Sa'd, al- Tabaqat al-kubra, VII, 194 Siyar a'lam al-nubala', III, 58, inf. Al-Suyntt, Jam'u l-jawami', II, 525 sup.; al-FliBI, al-'Iqd al-thamin Ii ta'n'khi 1baladi l-amin, ed. Fu'ad Sayyid (Cairo, 1385/1966), V, 225. 10 Al-Ramhurmust, al-Mul}addith al-fal/il, 367, no. 325; and see the references of the editor. And see the tradition iii BayhaqI's al-Madkhal ila l-sunani l-kubra, 415, no. 757 with the important correction of majall instead of mikhlat; and see the references of the editor. 11 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 71. And see al-Tabart, Tafstr = Jiimi' al-bayan 'an ta'wil ayi l-qur'an, ed. Mahmtld and Ahmad Shakir (Cairo, 1958), XIII, 135-36, no. 15150, containing the tal}nm al-madina .... See also Abi1Ya'Ia al-Mausilr, Musnad, ed. Husayn SalIm Asad (Beirut-Damascus, 1404/1984), I, 228-29, no. 263; and see the references of the editor and his comments. Al-Suytrtr, Jam'u l-jawami', II, 56, 60, 63. It is evident that this statement is attributed to 'AlI in order to refute the belief held by some of his adherents that the I/al}ifa contained God's decree about the inheritance of the caliphate by 'All and his descendants. 'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak al-MarwazI, al-Juz' al-thalith min musnad abi 'abel al-ral}man 'abdallah b. al-mubarak ... , MS aI-~ahiriyya 18, majmi1'a, fol. 121b: ... fa-qala: ma 'ahida ilayna rasulu llahi, I/alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, shay' an lam ya' hadhu ila I-nasi kaJJatan. It is not rare to find in a collection of traditions a refutation of a claim put by opponents into the mouth of the claimant; see I. Goldziher, Muslim Studies, 11,114-15. 'All is said to have allowed Abtl l-Shah to copy from this I/al}ifa the injunctions concerning the payment of bloodwit, the payment of charity, I/adaqa, and other religious obligations; see al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lami l-nubala', III, 58; and see the discussion on this subject: Ibn Hajar aI-'AsqalanI, Fatl}u I-ban, I, 182-83. Another case of a piece of writing, a I/al}ifa, sent by 'All to 'Uthman is recorded in Ibn Haem's al-Il}kam Ii ul/uli l-al}kam, ed. Muhammad Ahmad 'Abd aI-'AzTz (Cairo, 1398/1978), I, 396. 'All stated that a certain spot to which 'Uthman sent his tax
9 Al-Dhahabt, 8 Ibn
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Another l!alJ,zfa is said to have been kept in the sheath ofthe Prophet's sword. It contained a curse on people who steal the land of their neighbours by changing the boundary markings and a curse on those who deny the favours granted them by forging their genealogy and by attaching themselves falsely to tribal factions.P Sulayman al-Yashkuri, when staying in Mecca, wrote a l!alJ,zfa dictated by the Companion of the Prophet Jabir b.'Abdallah. The l!alJ,zfa remained after his death in the house of his mother in Basra, She was asked by the people of Basra to lend it to them, but she refused. She only allowed some people to read the l!al],Zfa. Among those who came and read the l!alJ,ifa was the famous Qur'anic commentator, Qatada.13 AbU l-Nadr stated that he memorized this l!alJ,zfa of Jabir b.'Abdallah with greater concentration than the Silrat al-Baqara.J! The commentator of the Qur'an, Mujahid, is said also to have transmitted traditions from the l!alJ,zfa of the Companion of the Prophet Jabir b. 'Abdallah.P Ibn Jurayj is said to have brought a l!alJ,zfa to Hisham b. 'Urwa and asked him for permission to transmit, on his authority, the traditions heard from him and written down in the l!alJ,zfa. Hisham b.'Urwa granted him the permission.l" Abu Hurayra seems, at some stage, to have been given the permission to write down the utterances of the Prophet. One day he approached the Prophet and complained that he was forgetting the numerous utterances. The Prophet advised him: "Get help by your right hand," ista'in biyamznika, i.e., write down the utterances with your right hand.l"
collectors, su'at, is a ~adaqa of the Prophet. This statement, of course, made it necessary for 'Uthman to recall the tax collectors. 12 Ibn 'Abd ai-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 71, inf. Cf. the tradition recorded by Abu Ya'la al-Mausill, Musnad, VIII, 197, no. 4757: ... wajadtu Ii qa'imi sayfi rasiili llahi (i!) kitaban ... ; and see ibid. I, 424, no. 562. 13 AI-FasawI, al-Ma'rifa wa-l-ta'n""kh, II, 279. 14 AI-FiUlawI,al-Ma'rifa wa-l-ta'rfkh, II, 278, inf. 15 See al-FasawI, Kitab al-ma'rifa wa-l-ta'rfkh, ed. Akram Qiya' al-'UmarI (Beirut, 1401/1981), III, 11. 16 Al-Fasawt, Al-ma'rifa wa-l-ta'n""kh, II, 824; and see the references of the editor. 17 Ibn Shahtn, Nasikhu l-I}adfth, 469, no. 625; and see the references of the editor. 'Abdallah b.'AdI, op. cit., muqaddima, 49, and see the references of the editor; on other cases of the Prophet's permission to write his utterances, see Ibn 'Abd alBarr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 72-75. And see the report saying that Sa'Id b. alMusayyab permitted 'Abd al-Rahman b. Harmala to note I}adfth in writing because of his weak memory: YaJ:!.yab. Ma'In, Ta'n""kh, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Nnr Sayf (Makka al-mukarrama, 1399/1979), II, 346, no. 950; al-Dhahabt, Mfzan al-i'tidal, II, 556, no. 4848. And see I. Goldziher, Muslim Studies II, 183, 184. As for the injunction qayyidii l-'ilma bi-l-kitab see: al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, I, 106, reported on the authority of the Prophet and transmitted by Anas b. Malik. Ibn Shahtn, Nasikhu l-I}adfth, 466, no. 624, and see the references of the editor.
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A book of traditions transmitted by Abu Hurayra is mentioned in a report of 'Ali b. al-Madtni. The book was in the possession of yaJ:tya b. Sirin.18 It was written on old vellum, kitab /f raqqin 'cuq, and preceded by the sentence: hadha ma lJ,addathana abii. hurayra, qala abii. l-qiisim .... Every lJ,adfth ended with the sentence hiidhii lJ,adfth abf hurayra and was separated by a line which was followed by a sentence qala abu hurayra .... Every line of separation was marked by the word 'iishiratun, surrounded by dots.l" The servant of the Prophet, Anas b. Malik, used to transmit the traditions of the Prophet. When the listeners swarmed around him, he used to bring forth some scrolls and handed them over to the Iisteners.P? He said that he had heard the traditions from the Prophet, had written them down, and had read them aloud in front of the Prophet, 'orada 'alayhi, and the Prophet had given his approval to transmit them.21 Ibrahim al-Nakha'i admitted that the traditions transmitted by Salim b. Abi l-Ja'd were more accurate because he used to record them, while he (i.e., Ibrahim al-Nakha'I) merely memorised them.22 A tradition recorded by Ahmad b. Hanbal says that the Prophet permitted to write down his injunctions concerning the sacred area, the lJ,aram of Mecca, which he issued on his conquest of the city.23 The traditions about the recording of lJ,adfth at the time of the Prophet vary as to whether the Prophet permitted or prohibited to do that.24 The Companions of the Prophet were in the habit of circulating the utterances of the Prophet among themselves. Some of them used to write them down, like 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'A.S.25 After the death of the Prophet, some of the Companions recorded the traditions, others did not. Ibn Rajab provides us with important in18 Because Muhammad b. STrin did not like to keep a book of lJadiths in his abode; see al-FasawI, Al-ma'rifa wa-l-ta'rfkh, II, 54, 59. 19 AI-FasawI, Al-ma'rifa wa-l-ta'n"kh, II, 54-55. 20 See above note 10 concerning the emendation by Muhammad I;>iya'u l-Rahrnan, who reads majall; this emendation should be applied to this text as well, and the word to be read thus instead of mujalis. 21 'Abdallah b.'AdI, op, cit., Muqaddima, 49. 22 'Abdallah b. 'AdI, op. cit., Muqaddima, 50. 23 Ahmad b. Hanbal, al-Musnad, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Cairo, 1373/ 1953), XII, 232-35, no. 7241, and see ibid., the abundant references and notes to this lJadfth; Ibn 'Abd ai-Barr, Jami' bayan, I, 70; al-Ramhurmuzt, al-MulJaddith al-fal!il, 363, no. 314, and see the references of the editor; Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalli.nI, alIsiiba, VII, 202, no. 1090; al-BayhaqI, al·Madkhal ila l-sunani l-kubra, 411, no. 745; and see the references of the editor. 24 The different reports are mentioned in Ibn Rajab's (d. 795 H) SharlJ 'ilali 1tirmidhf, ed. Subhi l-Samarra'I (Beirut, 1405/1985), 49-50. 25 See above, note 6.
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formation about the first collections of lJadfth. In the initial period after the death of the Prophet, at the time of the Companions and the generation following the Companions, namely the tiibi'ii.n, the collections were not divided into chapters according to subject; the purpose of those collections was merely to preserve, in script, the traditions of the Prophet. In the following generation, that of the tiibi'ii. l-tiibi'fn, the collections were arranged according to subject, ~unnifat al-ta~iinff; some scholars recorded the utterances of the Prophet, others collected the sayings of the Companions.P'' Ibn 'Abd al-Barr gives an interesting exposition on the evolution of ideas concerning the writing down of the traditions and utterances of the Prophet. The natural disposition of the Arabs, he says, was revealed by the fact that they preserved the sayings of the Prophet in their memory .... They were granted this disposition and were equipped with the gift of an unusual memory; they would not forget what they heard. The men who were endowed with this rare capacity of memory were Arabs, among whom were people like al-Zuhri, al-Sha'bt and Ibn 'Abbas. Times have changed, however, and people nowadays do not possess this. faculty of memory. Had the utterances of the Prophet not been written down, many traditions would have been lost. The Prophet gave permission to write down the knowledge of the traditions, 'ilm, and a group from among the Companions did SO.27 The injunction of the Prophet concerning the recording of lJadfth was formulated in a brief sentence: "Do not write anything on my authority except the Qur'an; whoever has written anything else on my authority should erase it.,,28 'All is said to have enjoined people who were in the possession of pieces of writing to erase them. "People perished," he said, "because
26Ibn Rajab, op. cit., 50. 27Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 69-70. 28See the different versions in al-Khatlb al-Baghdadt's, Taqyfd al-'ilm, ed. Yusuf al'Ishsh (Dar i~ya'i I-sunnati I-nabawiyya, 1974), 29-35. Ibn Shahin, Nasikhu I-I}adfth, 471, no. 629j and see the references of the editor and his notes. See I. Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II, 184. And see Ibn Abi Shayba, al-MulJannaJ, ed. 'Abd al-Khaliq Khan al-Afghant (Hyderabad, 1386/1966), I, 293: ... Ja-qala abu sa'fd: kunna la naktubu shay'an ilia I-qur'ana wa-I-tashahhudaj and see ibid., 294: 'an ibni mas'udin qala: mii kunna naktubu Ii 'ahdi rasuli lIahi lJalla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam min alal}adfthi ilia I-istikharata wa-I·tashahhudaj and see the report of Tawiis ibn Abr Khaythama Zuhayr b. Harb al-Nasa't's Kitab al-'ilm, ed. Muhammad N~ir al-Dtn al-Albant (Beiriit, 1403/1983), 11, no. 27: ... 'an tawus qala: in kana I-rajulu yaktubu ila bni 'abbasin yas'aluhu 'ani I-amri, Ja-yaqUlu li-l-rajuli lIadhija'a bi-I-kitab: akhbir lJal}ibaka bi-anna I-amra kadha wa-kadha, Ja-inna la naktubu Ii 1·lJul}ufiilia I-rasa'ila wa-I-qur'anaj "rasa'il" is rendered by the editor: ya'nf lIatf kana rasulu llahi (IJ) kataba biha ila ba'4i l-ashkhalJi wa-I-qaba'ili. And see Ibn al-Jauzt, Akhbar ahli 1rusukh Ii I-fiqhi wa-I-tal}dfth bi-miqdari I·mansukh mina I-I}adfth, ed. Taha 'Abd al-Ra'uf Sa'd (Cairo, n.d.), 13-14, no. 8.
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they followed the traditions of their scholars and abandoned the Book of their God.,,29 'Alqama and al-Aswad brought a written piece to Ibn Mas'ud, asserting that it contains a "good tradition," 1}adfth hasan. But Ibn Mas'Iid ordered it be erased and said: "The hearts are vessels; keep them for the Qur'an only."3o One tradition couples the prohibition against recording the Prophet's utterances with the permission to transmit the stories of the Banil Isra'il: Abu Hurayra was sitting in the courtyard of the Prophet with some other Companions and was writing down the utterances of the Prophet when the Prophet came and, looking at their work, forbade them to do that. He gave them, however, permission to tell the traditions of the Banu Isra'i1.31 Abu Sa'Id al-KhudrI is said to have been asked to write down the traditions transmitted by him; he refused and said that 1}adfths should not be set down in ma~ii1}if; the Prophet issued his utterances and the Companions kept them in their memory. The people of 1}adfth should merely keep in memory what the transmitters tell them.32 The aversion to write down the 1}adfth went together with the aversion to the reading of the Qur'an from a written book without keeping the words in memory. A saying of the people of the 1}adfth which won wide circulation was as follows:
Iii taqra'ii l-qu.r'iina 'alii l-mu.~1}afiyyfnwa-lii ta1}milii l-iilm« 'ani 1-~a1}afiyyfn,"Do not read the Qur'an to people who rely on Qur'an codices, and do not carry further the 1}adfth
knowledge which you obtain from people who use scrolls.,,33
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' ballan al-'ilm, I, 64, sup. 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' ballanal-'ilm, I, 66, inf.; and see ibid.: Abu 'Ubayd explains that Ibn Mas'nd assumed that the written piece was taken from the People of the Book, ahlu l·kitab, and did not like to see it. 31 Al-Dhahabt, Mfzan al·i'tidal, II, 265, no. 4868. And see the utterance of the Prophet forbidding writing anything on his authority except the Qur'li.n and demanding that 1}adfths already committed to writing be erased, at the same time encouraging people to transmit the traditions of the BanU IsrA'l1. The same utterance warns against transmitting deceitful traditions, which would be punished with torture in Hell. See NUr al-Dtn al-Haythamt, Kash/u l-astar 'an zawa'idi l-bazziir, I, 108-109, no. 194. And see ibid., 1,.109, no. 195, AbU Burda was requested to bring to his father written down traditions, which he had heard from him. The father ordered to erase the written traditions saying: "You have to memorize the traditions as we did when we heard them from the mouth of the Prophet." Also see the story concerning the traditions written down by AbU Burda and erased by his father: al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lami l-nubala', II, 280, 287. 32 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' ballan al·'ilm, I, 64. 33 I.e., people who read the scrolls, or dictated from the scrolls, without mastering the knowledge of the traditions by heart -k. See al-Ramhurrnuzr, al-Mu1}addith alla~il, 211, no. 101; and see the references of the editor; the opinion ofYaJ:!ya (b. Adam)
29 30 Ibn
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Malik b. Anas gave an opinion concerning a trustworthy transmitter, who presented a book of traditions which he had heard, but was unable to keep them in memory. Students of l)adfth, according to Malik b. Anas, should disregard this transmitter. 34 Ibn al-JauzI reports on the authority of Ibn Qutayba a significant explanation for the change in the Prophet's prohibition to write down the l)adfth. The Prophet initially forbade to write his utterances, but when the sun an increased in number and exceeded the quantity that could be kept in memory, the Prophet allowed to write them down.35 The high honour accorded to the memorization of ~adfth goes hand in hand with the low standing of written l)adfth. AI-Auza'I formulated it in the following saying: "This knowledge, 'ilm, was an honourable thing when it came from the mouths of men who collected and carried it in memory together with others; when it got written down in books, it lost its light, dhahaba nii.ruhu, and became the possession of unworthy people." 36 Hushaym (d. 183 H) gave a succinct definition of the proper people of ~adfth: he who does not know the l)adfth by heart cannot be counted as among the people of l)adfth; such a man comes (to attend the assembly of lJ,adfth people -k) with a large book that looks like a document of manumission. 37 It is evident that "a scholar with a large book" is one who dictates lJ,adfth to students because he does not know the traditions by heart. The main argument against recording the utterances of the Prophet was the desire to avoid creating another book, a book of prophetic l)adfth, for fear that it might be considered equal to the Qur'an. One of the Companions of the Prophet, Abu Sa'Id al-Khudrl, was asked by Abu Nadra to dictate a tradition of the Prophet transmitted by him. He refused, however, arguing that he was not going to transform the dictated utterances into a QUr'an.38 As mentioned above, orthodox men avoided writing down the collected utterances of the Prophet. Abu Bakr is said to have collected five hundred utterances; after consideration he ordered
is indeed of some interest: kamj YUlJa"i/Una ma yujadu Ii l-kutub, "people treated the traditions recorded in books as weak," Ibid., 212 sup. And see Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, al-muqaddima,246. And see this advise in aI-FasawI's al-Ma'ri/a wa-l-ta'n1.:h, II, 412. 34AI-Kha~Ib al-Baghdadt, al-Ki/aya Ii'ilmi l-riwaya (Hyderabad, 1357), 227; and see ibid., 227-29 other stories of I}adfth scholars who transmitted from books. 35Ibn aI-JauzI, Akhbar ahli l-rusukh, 14. 36Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 68 sup.; aI-BayhaqI, al-Madkhal ila l-sunani l-kubra, 410, no. 741, and see the references of the editor. 37Al-Khattb al-Baghdadt, al-Ki/aya, 228; Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, al-muqaddima, 154. 38'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak, al-Musnad, 142, no. 232, and see the references of the editor; Abu Bakr aI-BayhaqI, al-Madkhal ila l-sunan al-kubra, 405-406, nos. 725, 727, and see the references of the editor.
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the collection to be burned.P'' 'Umar is said to have intended to write down the traditions of the Prophet; however, he changed his mind fearing that it would bring forth a book in addition to the book of God.40 One report says that 'Umar wrote to the garrison cities (al-am~ar) enjoining them to erase the records of the traditions written down by some people.V 'Umar, who is said to have tried to restrict the number of the traditions reported on the authority of the Prophet, threatened that he would banish Abu Hurayra to the territory of Daus if the latter did not refrain from transmitting a great number of l],adzth utterances.V While transmitting prophetic traditions after 'Umar's death, Abu Hurayra admitted that 'Umar would have severed his head if he transmitted these traditions during his lifetime.43 'Umar is said to have enjoined the transmitters of l],adfth to confine themselves to traditions which have to do with the observance of ritual duties, aqillu l-riwayata 'an rasuli llahi ~alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam ilia fima yu'malu bihi. Here Abu Hurayra recalls the angry reaction of 'Umar against the transmission of l],adzths of the kind narrated by him after the caliph's death.v' 'Umar's inclination to limit the transmission of l],adfth was submitted to harsh criticism by Ibn Hazm. In a series of arguments based on quotations culled from early collections of l],adzth and fiqh, Ibn Hazm refutes 'Umar's utterances against the transmission of l],adzth. He also refutes similar utterances of Malik b. Anas, mentioning the fact that Malik himself collected a large number of traditions. In some of his arguments, Ibn Hazm goes as far as stating that such restrictions on the transmission of sound l],adzth are tantamount to kU/r.45 Early transmitters of l],adfth were divided as to their opinion concerning the reliability of utterances transmitted by Abu Hurayra. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar states that he did not reject any tradition transmitted by Abu Hurayra; "he was courageous, [ijtara'a]," he said, "we were faint hearted
Tadhkirat al-l}uJJa~,I, 5. See Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bagan al-'ilm, I, 64; Abii Bakr al-Bayhaqt, alMadkhal ila I-sunani I-kubra, 407, no. 731, and see the references of the editor; alKhattb al-Baghdadt, Taqyfdu I-'ilm, 49-51; 'Abd al-Raasaq, al-Muljannaf, XI, 257-58, no. 20484. 41 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 65. 42 AI-DhahabY, Siyar a'lami I-nubala', II, 433. Cf. Ibn Rajab al-l;IanbalY,Fa41u 'ilmi I-salaf 'ala I-khalaf (Cairo, n.d.), Maktabat al-kulliyyat al-azhariyya, 23 the opinions of al-Auza'I and Ahmad b. Hanbal: qala al-auza'f: al-'ilmu ma ja'a bihi aljl}abu mul}ammadin Ijalla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, fa-ma kana ghayra dhalika fa-Iaysa bi'ilmin. wa-kadha qala I-imamu al}mad, wa-qala /f l-tabi'fna anta mukhayyarun, ya'nf mukhayyaran [sic] /f kitabatihi wa-tarkihi; wa-qad kana al-zuhri yaktubu dhalika, wakhalafahu Ijalil}u bnu kaysan, thumma nadima 'ala tarkihi kalama I-tabi'fn. (On the differences between the opinions of al-Zuhrf and 1?lUi~ Kaysan see below, note 50). b. 43 Al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', II, 433. 44 'Abd al-Razaaq, al-Muljannaf, XI, 262, no. 20496. 45 Ibn Hazm, al-Il}kam /f uljuli I-al}kam, I, 311-23.
40 39 Al-Dhahabt,
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[jabunna].,,46 Another report says that people used to transmit from the traditions recorded by Abu Hurayra only utterances concerning Paradise and Hell.47 It is significant that the soundest traditions of Abu Hurayra were transmitted by al-ZuhrI.48 It was, again, 'Umar who enjoined people who went out to Iraq to reduce the number of traditions which they transmitted.t'' The scope which traditions should cover was not defined. $alil:l b. Kaysan and al-ZuhrI worked together collecting traditions on sunan; they collected the sunan of the Prophet. They were not, however, in agreement as to the sunan of the Companions. $alil:l b. Kaysan did not consider it appropriate to transmit the sunan of the Companions, as this was not a sunna in his opinion. AI-ZuhrI, however, wrote down both the sunan of the Prophet and of the Companions. "He won the day," says $aJ.il:l,"and I lost [{layya' tu]." 50 There was a need to draw a line between the Qur'an and the I}adith. Abu Sa'Id al-KhudrI warns the transmitters from turning the collected I}adiths into a "book," a kind of Qur'an; "learn by heart what we transmit as we did with the Prophet," he said.51 Stories about other peoples who collected the sayings and utterances of their prophets, sages, and saints were used as warnings for the believers. 'Umar asked the Prophet to grant him permission to write down the stories circulated by Jews and Christians, inn a nasan min a l-yahud wa-lna~ara yul}addithUna bi-al}aditha, a-Ia-la naktubu ba'{laha. The Prophet refused to give his permission and explained that Jews and Christians had become too deeply involved in writing: "I brought you a faith white and pure; were Moses alive he would have to follow me.,,52
46See al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lam, II, 437. 47Ibid., II, 438. 48See ibid., II, 438. 49'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak, al-Musnad, 139-40; al-Dhahabl, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', 11,433. 50'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Mu~annaf, XI, 258, no. 2487; and see this report: Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rfkh, tahdhw, VI, 281; Ibn Kathtr, al-Bidaya wa-l-nihiiya (Beirut-al-Riyad, 1966), IX, 344; Ibn 'Abd ai-Barr, Bayan farf,l al-'ilm, II, 187; Ibn Khalfun al-Andalust, Asma'u shuyukhi I-imam malik b. anas, ed. Muhammad Zaynham Muhammad 'Azb (Cairo, n.d.), 154; Abu Nu'aym, Ifilyat al-auliya', III, 360 inf.-361 sup. al-Suyutt, Jam'u l-jawami', II, 813. 51Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 64; and compare the report of Abu Burda about his father who erased the traditions transmitted by him, arguing that traditions should be transmitted orally and learnt by heart as he and his generation had done: al-DhahabI, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', ed. Ibrahtm al-Abyl!.ri (Cairo, 1957), II, 280, 287 ult.; Ibn 'Abd ai-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 65-66. 52 Nasr b. Muhammad aI-Samarqandi, Bustan al-'ari/fn (Cairo, 1348),4, ult.-5 sup. And cf. Abu Bakr b. Abi 'Af.limal-Shaybanr, Kitab al-sunna, ed. Muhammad Nasir alDin al-Albant (Beirut, 1400/1980), I, 26-27, nos. 47-50. Cf. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jiimi' bayan al-'ilm, I, 65: The Banil Isra'tl went astray because of the written scriptures which they inherited from their fathers. And cf. above, no. 29.
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Knowledge of I],adfth should be kept in memory. Al-Khalil b. Ahmad said in a verse: "Knowledge is not what is contained in a book case, knowledge is only that which is contained in the heart."53 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr explains the reasons which brought about the dislike of writing down I],adfth. A collection of I],adfth should not be like a Qur'an, for a collected volume impedes the way of oral transmission. People would then rely on the book and neglect to learn by heart the transmitted knowledge.54 A I],adfth attributed to 'AlI b. AbI Talib says that 'All was told that people engaged in I],adfth and abandoned the Qur'an. Then, the angel Jibrtl descended to the Prophet and predicted that his community would fall in temptation after his death55 and would leave the Qur'an. When asked about the way of escape, the angel answered: "The revealed Qur'an": he repeated this three times.56 A similar prediction is recorded on the authority of al-Dahhak: "Time will come," he said, "when the I],adfths will increase until the book of the Qur'an will be abandoned, covered with dust, with nobody looking at it.,,57 This warning is given in the traditions attributed to AbU Sa'Id alKhudrI and other Companions of the Prophet, recorded in al-Khatib's
Kitiib taqyfd al-'ilm.58
It was Shu'ba, a scholar with deep insight and a committed searcher of truth in this field,59who spoke out against the activities of the transmitters of I],adfth: "It is better to sit in the company of Jews and Christians than to sit with you," he said addressing these transmitters. He accused them of departing from the recollection of God, dhikru lliih, and from prayer, and called upon them to desist from their activities.P?
bayan al·'ilm, I, 68: laysa bi-'ilmin ma I}awa l-qimatru: illa ma I}awahu l-~adru. And see Abu Talib al-Makkt, Qii.t al-qulii.b (Cairo, 1351/1932), II, 17 sup.; al-Bayhaqt, al-Madkhal ila l-sunani l-kubrii, 410. 54Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 68; and see ibid., the saying of a scholar of I}adfth: la taktubii. fa-tattakilii., 55Scil. by being engaged in learning I}adfth -k. 56Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rfkh dimashq, (Tahdhw), VII, 348. 57Ahmad b. Hanbal, Kitabu l-zuhd (Beirut, 1398/1978), 213. 58Taqyld, 36-40; and see Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rfkh dimashq, VI, 14: ... turfdii.na an taj'alii.hii malfal}ifa .... And see the warning of Shu'ba (d. 160 H) stating that I}adfth distracts the believers from recalling the name of Allah, dhikru llah, and the obligatory prayers. Shu'ba asks the believers to refrain from busying themselves with I}adfth: Yahya b. Ma'tn, al-Ta'rfkh, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Nnr Sayf (Makka al-mukarrama, 1399/1979), II, 255, no. 4276; al-Fasawt, al-Ma'rifa wa-I-ta'rfkh, II, 284; Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahant, lfilyatu l-auliya', VII, 156. 59See al-Shiblt, Mal}asin al-wasa'il, 330: ... awwal man takallama /f l-rijali shu'ba; ma l·'ilmu
53 Ibn
'Abd al-Barr, Jiimi'
and see ibid., the reports concerning the permissibility of examination of the validity of the traditions and the truthfulness of the transmitters, 331 60Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, muqaddima, 125. And see al-Khatrb al-Baghdadi, Mukhta~ar na~fl}ati ahli I-I}adfth, 31, inf.: ... malik b. anas qala li-bnay akhlhi abl bakrin wa-
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Some scholars, however, pointed out the utility of dissemination of for a better understanding of the Qur'an and of the ritual practices. 'Imran b. Husayn justifies the study and the transmission of lJ,adfth by saying that lJ,adfth may serve as a tool to explain many ritual practices not included in the Qur'an.61 The opinions of the scholars of lJ,adfth as to the importance of tradition for the understanding of the Qur'an and for establishing the prescribed ritual practices are clearly reflected in the report of Abu Nadra. It is true, said 'Imran b. Husayn, that the prescribed prayers were mentioned in the Qur'an, but the number of rak' as in every prayer was only specified in the lJ,adfth.62 It was because of the importance of lJ,adfth that the believers should be careful not to transmit traditions of dubious transmitters. The famous scholar of lJ,adfth, Shu'ba, said that one should only record well-known traditions related by well-known scholars, uktubii 1mashhiir 'ani l-mashhiir.63
The Prophet is said to have told the believers to pay attention as to the persons with whom they talked and from whom they derived their faith, un~urii man tujalisiina wa-'an man ta'khudhiina dfnakum. At the end of time, Satans will appear in the garb of people of lJ,adfth, using the formulae lJ,addathana and akhbarana; people should, therefore, be cautious and inquire about the names of those persons and their Iathers.P"
isma'ila bnay aM uwaysin: arakuma tul}ibbiini hadha l-sha'na wa-tatlubiinihi. qala: na'am. qala: in al}babtuma an tantafi'a bihi wa-yan/a'a llahu bikuma/a-aqilla minhu wa-ta/aqqaha. 61 'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak, Musnad, 143, no. 233; and see references of the editor. 62 'Abd al-Raszaq, al-Muljanna/, XI, 255, no. 20474. 63'Umar b. Ahmad b. Shahln, Ta'n1r.h asma'i l-thiqat mimman nuqila 'anhumu l-'ilm, ed. Athar al-Mubarakpnrt (Bombay, 1406/1986), 78. 64 Al-Nasilr, Ma/za' al-khala'iq, 15; Shirawayh b. Shahridar al-DaylamI, Firdausu 1akhbar, ed. Fawwaz Ahmad al-ZimirlI and Muhammad al-Mu'tasim bi-llah l-Baghdadt (Beirut, 1407/1987), I, 144, no. 358; and see the references ofthe editors. And see Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqiit al-kubra (Beirut, 1377/1958), VII, 194: ... Ibn SIrln: inna hadha l-'ilma dfnun /a-n~urii. 'an man ta'khuclhunahu. Cf. Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, Muqaddima, 227-29: "My people will perish for three vices-the 'aljabiyya, the qadariyya and the transmission of l}adfth on the authority of an unreliable transmitter," said the Prophet. And cf. al-Suyutt, Jam'u l-jawami' = al-Jami' al-kabfr (Cairo, 1978), I, 904, sup.: lii taqumu l-sa'atu l}atta yamshr iblfsu If l·turuqi wa-l-aswaqi yatashabbahu bi-l'ulama'i yaqUlu l}addathanf /ulanu bnu fulanin 'an rasuli llahi Ijalla llahu 'alayhi wasallam bi-kadha wa-kadha. And see al-Suyutt, Jam'u l-jawami', I, 1012: ... yakunu If akhiri I-zaman dajjalUna kadhdhabuna ya'tunakum mina l-al}adfthi bima lam tasma'u antum wa-la abii'ukum, /a-iyyakum wa-iyyahum la YUlJillunakum wa-la yaftinunakum.
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The prediction about forgers and Satans walking in the streets and markets, claiming false knowledge, quoting the isnads of "reliable" scholars and transmitting forged traditions, reflects, truly, the situation during the period of decline when forgers of isnads did not hesitate to appear in the market place and disseminate invented traditions. The flood of traditions circulating in the Muslim community in the early period is said to have aroused the concern of 'Umar, who tried to curb the activity of these transmitters. According to a report, 'Umar ordered to detain in Medina three Companions of the Prophet because of their efforts to disseminate the numerous IJ,adiths of the Prophet. The detained persons were Abu Darda', Ibn Mas'ud, and Abu Dharr.P'' Ibn Hazm refutes this report with great vigour.66 'Umar, as mentioned above, is said to have enjoined limiting the number of IJ,adiths transmitted by the Companlons.f" An utterance attributed to the Prophet recommends reducing the number of transmitted traditions: "It is sinful enough to transmit everything which a man has heard," said the Prophet.P'' In an interesting passage al-Dhahabi draws a line between the old times of the righteous 'Umar and his own time. In 'Umar's time, transmitters were prevented from circulating large amounts of traditions, even though they were people of truth and righteousness, and the IJ,adith itself was reliable. Now people transmit strange traditions and unknown stories, riwayat al-ghara'ib wa-l-manakir, provided with long chains of isnad, containing many groundless opinions and mistakes. Some of these people transmit forged traditions, groundless stories, abiitll, and untenable doctrines concerning the essentials and ramifications of religious law, al-mustalJ,ll Ii l-UfiUl wa-l-furii,', stories of asceticism and atrocious and bloody civil wars, malalJ,im.69 An early development, connected with the social standing of the scholars of IJ,adith and their ambitious striving to gain recognition and respect in the Muslim community, brought about the appearance of a special branch which originated on the margin of IJ,adith literature: treatises and books examining the reliability of the transmitters of IJ,adith, which contain praises for the righteous and reliable transmitters of traditions.
65 AI-DhahabI, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', II, 249; al-Dhahabt, Tadhkirat al-I}uffa~, I, 7; the list of the detained includes three names: Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Darda' and Abu Mas'nd al-Ansart, Al-Khatrb al-Baghdadr, Shara] a~l}ab al-I}adith, 87, no. 190. 66 Ibn Hazm, al-Il}kam Ii u~uli l-al}kam, I, 316 67 Al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lami l-nubala', II, 433. 68 Al-Hakim al-Naysabart, al-Mustadrak, I, 112; 'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak, 01Musnad, 10, no. 19, and see the references of the editor; al-Munawt, Fay4u l-qadlr, IV, 551, no. 6236; and see the version in al-QayrawanI, al-Jami', 149 of a similar utterance attributed to Malik: laysa yaslamu rajulun I}addatha bi-kulli mii sami'a wa-la yakunu imaman abadan. 69 AI-DhahabI, Siyar a'lami l-nubala', II, 433.
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Compilations dealing with faults, vices and deficiences of scholars of lJ,adfth also came into being. The beginning of this branch of lJ,adfth scholarship is traced back to the very early period of Islam.?" 'All b. al-Madini (d. 234 H) interpreted the utterance of the Prophet: "there will remain a steadfast group of people who will fight for the cause of truth ... " as referring to the people of hadith; they care for the implementation of the Prophet's customs and protect the knowledge, 'ilm, i.e., the knowledge of I],adfth. Were it not for their activity, one would not be able to find any trace of the sunan of the prophets in the books of the Mu'tazila, the Jahmiyya, the Rafida, (i.e., the ShI'a -k), and the schismatic ahl al-ra'y.71 Muhammad b. al-Munkadir states that the word riiwiya was used exclusively to denote the transmitters of poetry; the transmitter of lJ,adfth was named 'iilim. 72 A significant tradition reported on the authority of the Prophet says that the Prophet named the people of lJ,adfth "Caliphs," successors of the Prophet. "They transmit my I],adfths and my sunna and teach them to the people," the Prophet said.73 Knowledge of lJ,adfth endowed the scholar a high position in society. The lJ,adfth scholar al-A'mash explained his success in society in unequivocal terms: "Were it not for the [knowledge]of Qur'an and lJ,adfth, I would have been a greengrocer in Kufa, selling onions.,,74 Reading the traditions of the Prophet was considered a kind of worship. According to one tradition the reader of lJ,adfth will be granted forgiveness of sins as if he were a reader of the Qur'an.75 A gifted and able scholar who memorised 100,000 lJ,adfths, including their isniids, gained the honorific title al-I],iifi~. 76 According to the Prophet, he who trans70See al-ShiblI, Mal}asinu I-wasa'il fi ma'riJati I-awa'il, ed. Muhammad al-Tunjf (Beirut, 1412/1992), 330-31: ... awwalu man Jattasha 'an amri l·mul}addithrn wajanaba 1-tf,u'aJa'a wa-I-matrtlkfn shu'batu bnu I-I}ajjaj .... Some scholars traced back the history of testing the reliability of the transmitters to the Prophet himself; see ibid., 330 inf. 71Ibn 'Adr, al-Kamil, muqaddima, 195. And see the different versions of this interpretation in al-Khatlb al-Baghdadt's SharaJ a~l}ab al-I}adlth, 26-27, nos. 46-51. Cf. al-Qagl 'Iyad, al-Ilma', 26. 72 Al-Ramhurmuzt, al-Mul}addith al-Ja~il, 180, no. 34. 73 Al-Ramhurrnuzt, al-Mul}addith al-Ja~il, 163, no. 2; al-Khatfb al-Baghdadt, SharaJ a~l}abi I-I}adrth, 30-32, nos. 58-59; al-Zurqant, Sharl) al-mawahib al-Iadunniyya (Cairo, 1328), V, 304; al-QagI 'Iyag al- Yahsubt, aI-lIma', 17. Nizam al Mulk, Abu 'AlI l-Hasan b. 'All, Juz' fihi majlisani min amalr l-~al}ib, ed. Abu Ishaq al-Huwaynr l-Atharf (Cairo, 1413/1993), 53, no. 22. And see ibid., 41, no. 11: '" sami'tu alshaft'r ratf,iya lliihs: 'anhu yaqiilu: "ldha ra'aytu rajulan min a~l}abi I-I}adfth [a-kaannr ra'aytu rasiila llahi §alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam." 74Cf. al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, SharaJ a~l}ab al-I}adfth, 135, no. 320; Ibn 'AdI, alKamil, al-muqaddima, 112. 75Al-Diyarbakrt, Ta'n"khu I-khamfs (Cairo, 1283), I, 219, inf.; it is noteworthy that some distinguished scholars got the honourable title amfru I-mu'minfna fi I-I}adfth;
see ibid. 76 Al-Zurqant,
al-Mawahib
al-Iadunniyya,
V, 304.
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mits forty traditions concerning the sunna, will stand among a chosen group of scholars and fuqahii' on the Day of the Resurrection. 77 According to some traditions, the reading of lJ,adfth is not inferior to the reading of a Qur'anic sura.78 We can even find a tradition which states, outright, that the words of the Prophet, in matters of faith, are on the same level as revelation.P Another tradition formulated the standing of the lJ,adfth, in relation to the Qur'an, as a revelation granted to the Prophet by God, being, like the Qur'an, the Word of God.8o One tradition says that the reading of a lJ,adfth has a reward superior to voluntary prayer"! and voluntary fasting.82 The transmitters of lJ,adfth should be scrupulous of their ritual purity when communicating traditions. They should act with dignity during transmission and refrain from reporting traditions while walking or standing on a road.83 Malik b. Anas and Layth b. Sa'd never touched books of lJ,adfth except after attending to their ritual purity. 84 The initiation of a young scholar in order to join the circle of lJ,adfth was a serious event. The mother of Malik b. Anas dressed him in especially nice clothes before sending him off to attend his first lJ,adfth lecture.f" The atmosphere of lJ,adfth lectures was solemn and' serious. The lecture was sometimes accompanied by marks of awe such as sweating and trembling on the part of the transmitter. Being emotionally affected, the transmitter of lJ,adfth was often unable to quote the exact words of a tradition, and could only state that the wording is similar, but not
al-QaQi 'Iyad , ol-Itmn'; 12-13. Al-Khatlb al-Baghdadt, Sharaf a~l}abi I-I}adath, 83, no. 180; al-Ramhurmuzt, alMul}addith al-fa~il, 178, no. 29. 79 See 'Alr b.Hazm, al-ll}kamfiu~uli I-al}kam, ed. Muhammad Ahmad 'Abd al-'Aziz (Cairo, 1398/1978), I, 135; and see ibid., 136: ... wa-I-dhikru ismun waqi'un 'ala kul/i ma anzala l/ahu 'ala nabiyyihi min qur'anin au min sunnatin wal}yun yubayyinu biha I-qur' ana .... 80 See Jalal al-DIn al-Suyutt, al-lfawali-I-fatawl, ed. Muhammad Muhyt l-Dtn 'Abd al-Harntd (Cairo, 1378/1959), 1,471: ... wa-amma hal yajuzu an yuqala "al-al}adlthu kalamu llahi" fa-na'am, bi-ma'na annaha min 'indi llahi ... ; and see ibid., 472, sup.: ... wa-qala I}assan b. 'atiyya: "kana jibn1 yanzilu 'ala I-nabiyyi, ~al/a llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, bi-I-sunnati kama yanzilu bi-I-qur' ani. " 81 Al-Khatlb al-Baghdadt, Sharaf, 84-85, nos. 182-85. 82 Al-Khatlb al-Baghdadt, Sharaf, 85-86, nos. 186-88. 83 Al-Zurqanf, SharI} al mawahib, V, 304; and see al-Qa<;li'IYaQ al-Yahsubl, al-Ilmii", 50. 84 AI-QaQI 'IYaQ al- Yahsubr, Tartabu I-madarik wa-taqrfbu I-masalik li-ma'rifati a'iam madhhab malik, ed. Ahmad Bakir Mahmild (Beirut, 1387/1967), I, 161; and see ibid., I, 155: .,. kana miilik: idha jalasa li-I-I}adfth tawarjrja'a wa-jalasa 'ala ~adri firashihi wa-sarral}a lil}yatahu wa-tamakkana fi julusihi bi-waqarin wa-hayba. Thumma baddatn«, fa-qua lahu fi dhalika, [a-qiil«: ul}ibbu an u'a-Hima I}adatha rasuli l/ahi ... ; and see ibid., 179. 85 Al-Ramhurmuzt, al-Mul}addith al-fa~il, 201, no. 80.
78 77 See
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exact. 86 The inability to transmit exactly the traditions was a wellknown phenomenon. It is not surprising, then, that the Prophet is said to have given permission to transmit the meaning of the tradition, even if the transmitter added or omitted some expression. One should only be careful not to prohibit a permissible deed or allow a prohibited deed.87 The high opinion accorded to 1}adfth made it necessary to use special measures in order to eliminate unreliable transmitters, tendentious scholars and even forgers of 1}adfth. The most commonly adopted measure was the isniid, the chain of transmitters. The transmitters, or musnidun, had to be noble, sincere, just and truthful people. During the first period of Islam, before the fitna, transmitters of 1}adfth were not concerned about isniid; people were decent and truthful and did not transmit untrue traditions. In the early period of Islam, the respect for a noble and righteous transmitter was so high that a student of 1}adfth did not dare ask the master from whom he had received the tradition.f" At a later time, people started to inquire about isniids in order to ensure that those suspected of bid' a did not infiltrate into the ranks of mu1}addithUn and did not include innovations in their transmission.P'' Ibn al-Mubarak
86 See 'Abdallah b. al-Mubarak, al-Musnad, 140, nos. 227-28, and see the references of the editor. Cf. the interesting argumentation of Wathila b. al-Asqa' as to the permissibility of the transmission of the tradition bi-I-ma'na, comparing it with the transmission of the Qur'an in al-Tabaranf's Musnad al-shamiyyrn, ed. Hamdt 'Abd al-Majld al-Salafi (Beirut, 1409/1989), II, 368, no. 1510; and see the references of the editor. Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, I, 111; al-FasawI, al-Ma'rila wa-I-ta'rfkh, I, 817; al-Tabarant, al-Mu'jam al-kabrr (n.p., 1400/1980), IX, 129-33, nos. 8612-27; al-Shasht, al-Musnad, I, 394, II, 194, no. 762; Khaythama b. Sulayman al-Atrabulst, Min I}adrth khaythama ... , ed. 'Umar 'Abd al-Salam al-Tadmurl (Beirut, 1400/1980), 167. See also the tradition related about the Companion of the Prophet, 'Abdallah b. Mas'ad, in al-QaQr 'Iy~ 's ai-lima', 177: Ibn Mas'ud sometimes refrained for a whole year from mentioning the expression qiila rasulu lliihi ~allii lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallama. When he uttered this formula he would tremble and transmit the tradition saying: so or so, or a similar wording, aw hiikadhii aw nal}wahu aw shibhahu; and see the copious references of the editor. 87 AI-NazilI, Malza' al-khalii'iq, 13, ult.: '" qiilu: yii rasula lliihi, innii nasma'u minka I-I}adrtha wa-lii naqdiru 'ala ta'diyatihi. Fa-qala: Iii ba'sa bihi in zidtum au naqostum idhii lam tul}illu I}ariiman wa-Iam tul}ammu I}aliilan wa-a~abtumu I-ma'na. And cf. al-FasawI, al-Ma'rila wa-I-ta'n'kh, II, 19: 'Amr b. DInar used to transmit the prophetic tradition 'alii I-ma'nii, while Ibrahtm b. Maysara used to transmit according to what he heard; this way.of transmission is called 'alii I-Ial:f; and see the references of the editor. 88 See, e.g., al-FasawI, al-Ma'rila wa-I-ta'n'kh, 11,18: qiila qatiida: wa-lliihi in kunnii la-nahiibuhum an nas'alahum mimman sami'ta. 89 See, e.g., al-Ramhurmust, al-Mul}addith al-Ialfil, 208 inf.-209 sup.; Ibn 'AdI, alKiimil, al-muqaddima, 194. There were, however, some reservations as to the measures taken with regard to checking the reliability of those constituting an isnlid: alShafi'l states that the evidence of people with sectarian leanings, ahl al-ahwii', may be accepted; but the evidence of people of the ShI'I khaHiibiyya should be rejected, because they approve of false evidence, al-shahadatu bi-I-zur, given by their adherents. See Ibn ~alal], al-Muqaddima, 228-29; but see ibid., the contradictory opinions
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stated that were it not for isniid, anyone could say what he wanted.P? The 1].adfth should not deal with injunctions touching upon Islamic law. God, therefore, prevented the mu1].addithii.n from finding a report based with an isniid on the authority of the Prophet or his Companions concerning such mattera.P! AI-Zuhri used severe language to reprimand the mu1].addith Ibn Abi Farwa, who reported traditions without isniids.92 The increase in the number of isniids, and in particular artificial and forged isniids which were made to show the veracity or reliability of a 1].adfth, undermined people's confidence in the voluminous collections of 1].adfth. Y~ya (b. Ma'in -k) is said to have invoked against the scholars who quoted complicated traditions with elaborate isniids: "May God punish these people who take care of the isniid traditions because they have made the people lie.,,93 The political struggles within the Muslim community, which began a short time after the death of the Prophet, the clashes between the different ideological factions like the Shi'a and the Khawari], the rise of the madhiihib, the struggle between the mawiilf, and the Arab population all these factors brought about the development of a rich 1J.adfth literature in the very early period of Islam. The events which took place during the life of the Prophet, and in the stormy period after his death, were duly recorded in the books of the sfra, the maghiizf, the ridda and the books of ta'n"kh. These books were usually arranged in the form of 1].adfth collections and the different reports were usually furnished with
of other scholars who refuse the evidence of a bad innovator, a mubtadi'. And cf. 'Abdallah b. AbI Zayd al-QayrawH.nI, Kiiiibu I-jiimi', ed. Muhammad Abii l-Ajtan and 'Uthrnan Bi~~Ikh (Beirut-Tunis, 1402/1982), 147: qiila ma'n b. 'rsii: sami'tu miilikan yaqiilu: Iii yu'khadhu I-'ilmu 'an arba'atin wa-yu'khadhu 'amman siwiihum: Iii yu'khadhu min mubtadi'in yad'u ilii bid'atihi, wa-lii 'an sajfhin mu'linin bi-Isa/ahi, wa-lii 'an man yakdhibu If al}iidrthi I-niisi wa-in kiina yafduqu If al}iidrthi I·nabiyyi fallii lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallam wa-lii 'an man Iii ya'ri/u hiidhii I-sha'n; and see another version of the utterance of Malik, provided by the editors, ibid. 90 Al-RAmhurmuzI, al-Mul}addith al-/iil/il, 209, no. 96. Ibn al-Mubarak is even more outspoken: The isniid is a part of faith, al-isniid mina I-drn; were it not for the isniid anyone could say whatever he wanted; see Ibn 'AdI, al-Kiimil, al-muqaddima, 194-95; and see Ibn al-!;;allil}.,Muqaddimatu bni I-I/aliil} wa-mal}iisinu I-il!tiliil}, ed. 'A'isha 'Abd al-Rehman, (=Bint al-Shli~i') {Cairo, 1396/1976),378. 91 Ibn 'AdI, al-Kiimil, muqaddima, 195: wa-qiila ghayruhu: (in the text: ghayr -k) abii lliihu. an yaj'ala sunnatan au shanrlrejected was the permission to pray anywhere on Earth; every place on Earth would be considered a masjid, a place of prayer and prostration.P"
See al-Tabart, Ta/sfr=Jami'u I-bayiin 'an ta'wl/i ayi I-qur'iin, XIII, 123-25, nos. 15132-33; cf. the sentence: .,. wa-kana man qablahum yaqro'una kitabahum na"aron, ~atta idha ro/a'uha lam yaMa"u shay'an wa-Iam ya'rifUhu ... ; and see ibid., 123, no. 15131: the wrath of Moses was caused by the fact that he found in the Tablets the virtues of another people, not of Bann Isra'Il. Al-Mawardt, Ta/sfr=al-Nukat wa-I.'uyun, ed. Khadir Muhammad Khadir (Kuwayt, 1402/1982), II, 62. Ibn Kathtr, Ta/sfru I-qur'ani I-'a"fm (Beirut, 1385/1966), III, 225-26. Idem, Shamii'ilu I-rosul, ed. MUI1~afa.Abd al-Wahid (Cairo, 1386/1967), ' 114-15. AI-Suyu~I, al-Durr al-manthUr (Cairo, 1314), III, 129. Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh dimashq, tahdhrb, ed. 'Abd al-Qli.dir Badran (Beirut, 1399/1979), V, 264-65. Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Bada'i' al-/awa'id (Beirut, n.d.), repr., IV, 78. cr. Ibn Qayyirn al-Jauziyya, Hidayat al-~ayara /f ajwibati l-yahUd wa-I-na~ara (Beirut, n.d.), 127-28. AI-MajlisI, Bi~ar al-anwar, LVII, 317-18. See a fragment of the Munajat musa, recorded by Ma'mar on the authority of alZuhrI: Abil Nu'aym, lfilyat al-auliyii', III, 375--76 and see the note of Abil Nu'aym: hadha ~adrthun ghano min ~adfthi I-zuhriyyi, lam naktubhu ilia min 1}adrthi roba1}i bni ma'mar, wa-robah wa-man /auqahu 'udulun, wa-I-jababiri /f 1}adrthihi Ifnun wa·nakarotun; cf. this version on the authority of al-Zuhrf in Ibn AbI 'Al!im alShaybant, Kitabu I-sunna, ed. Muhammad N~ir al-Dtn al-Alban! (Beirut, 1400/ 1980), I, 305-306, and see the notes of the editor. And see the 1}adrth quoted from the Sunna of Ibn AbI 'A~im in al-Dhahabt's Mfzan al-i'tidal, II, 159--160, no. 3280, s.v., Sa'Id b. Musa al-Azdt. 146 Al-Husayn b. Mas'nd al-Baghawt, ai-Anwar /f shama'ili I-nabiyyi I-mukhtiir, ed. Ibrahtm al-Ya'qnbr (Beirut, 1409/1989), I, 8-9, nos. 7-9, and see the copious references of the editor. Al-Suyu~I, al-Khafa'i~ al·kubra, ed. Muhammad Khaltl Harras (Cairo, 1386/1967), III, 154, 186. Ibn Babnyah al-QummI, al-Khi~al, ed. 'All Akbar al-Ohaffarr, (Tehran, 1389), I, 201, no. 14. Ibn Khuzayma al-Naysabnrt, $a1}r1}, ed. Muhammad MUI!~afa.al-A'aamt (Beirut, 1391/1971), II, 6-7, nos. 788-91. AIMunawt, Fay~u I-qadlr (Beirut, 1391/1972), IV, 438-39, nos. 5880-83: (a) fu~~iltu 'ala I-anbiya' bi-sittin ... (b) fu~~iltu 'alii I-anbiyii' bi-khamsin ... (c) fu~~iltu biarba'in ... (d) fu~~iltu bi-arba'in bi-arba'fna. Idem, I, 566-68, no. 1174: ... u'tftu khamsan lam yu'tahunna a~adun wa-ju'ilat II al-ar~u masjidan wa-tahuron, [aayyuma rojulin min ummatf adrokathu I-faliitu /a-I-yufalli ... j and see the comments of al-Munawt: '" masjidan, ma1}alla sujudin wa-Iau bi-ghayri masjidin wuqi/a li·lfalati, /a-lii yakhtaHu bi-ma1}allin, bi-khilafi I-umami I-sabiqati, /a·inna I-falata la ta~iMu minhum iIIii /f mawii~i'a makhfu~atin, min na1}wi bay'atin au kanlsatin, /aubr1}at al-~alatu lana bi-ayyi ma1}allin kana .... Najm al-Dtn 'Umar b. Muhammad al-Nasaft, al-Qand /f dhikri 'ulama'i samarqand, ed. Muhammad al-FariyabI, alMarba' (Su'udiyya, 1412/1991), 368, no. 667: ... ju'ilat II al-ar~u masjidan ... And seeal-Suyntr, Jam'u I-jawami', I, 392, II, 522. Cf. Muwaifaq al-Dln Ibn Qudllma al-Maqdist, Dhammu I-muwaswisln, ed. Abu l-Ashbal aI-ZuhayrI Hasan b. Amtn Al Manduh (Cairo, Jlza, 1407), 33: ... wa-qala 'alayhi I-faliitu wa-I-salam: ju'ilat II al-ar~u kulluha masjidan wa-tahuron /a-~ay1}tuma adrokatka I-falatu /a-~al/i. Muhammad b. Ibrahtm b. aI-Mundhir al-Naysaburt, al-Ausat, ed. Abu Hammad Saghtr Ahmad b. Muhammad Hantf (Riya.Q., 1405/1985), II, 11-12, nos. 505-507. See no. 505:fu~~ilnii 'ala I-nasi bi-thaliithin: ju'ilati I-ar~u kulluha lana masjidan wa-ju'ilat turbatuhii lanii tahuron ... and see no. 507: ... wa-ju'ilat If kullu ar~in tayyibatin masjidan wa-tahflronj and see the note of the author: "qiila abu bakrin: wa-/f hadha I-~adrthi dall/un 'ala anna lIadhr yajuzu an yutayammama bihi mina I-ar~i al-tayyibu duna mii huwa minha najisun."
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The idea that the "whole earth is a place of prayer and prostration," a masjid, for the believer seems to have survived in the Muslim community. It remained similar to the concept of pure faith, free from dependence on sumptuous mosque buildings, erected by kings and rich donors.lf? The idea that a mosque should be a modest building, not put up for profit or for parading luxury, or in order to vie with sanctuaries of other religions, was expressed in a seminar in Cairo in 1989, following the presentation of the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture. A famous builder and architect, Abdel Wahed al-Wakil was accused of trying to transplant Western and Judaeo-Christian ideas about "sacred art" into Islam. The point made by his critic, the Moroccan Professor Mahdi al-Mandjara, as summarized by Neal Ascherson.P" was that Islamic architecture was not sacred: the mosque was just a place of praying and teaching. "Islam came to desacralise the material world and to make the immaterial sacred instead." Further, he stated that "politics and reactionary movements were behind the attempt to give the mosque a significance it should not have." The discussion in this seminar is instructive for seeing how the idea that the "whole earth is a masjid," a place of prayer and prostration for the Muslim believer, has lived on to the present day. The end of the first century of Islam was a period of profound change in the transmission of lJadfth. The Umayyad rulers did their best in order to gather around them scholars of lJadfth who would support their ideas concerning authority and government control, basing themselves on traditions attributed to the Prophet, whether authentic or forged. The rulers did not refrain from using various stratagems in order to have the lJadzths of the Companions of the Prophet recorded.P'' Those who
The I}adfth mentioned above in the version: u'tftu khamsan lam yu'tahunna al}adun qablr. .. , recorded by Ibn l,Iazm, is preceded by a note of the author, who writes: ''we are not permitted to follow a religious law, sharra, which existed before the Prophet." Ibn Hasm argues that the prophets preceding Muhammad were sent to their peoples and their prescriptions of the religious law, the ahara' i', were incumbent merely on the peoples to whom tliey were sent. See Ibn Hazm, al-Mul}alla, ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Cairo, n.d.), I, 65, no. 102. Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Hidayatu 1-l}ayara If ajwibati l-yahUd wa·l-na~ara (Beirut, n.d.) 77, ll. 2-3, 84. Al-Suyutl, al-Durr al-manthur, III, 125, ll. 4-5. l47See M.J. Kister, " 'A Booth Like the Booth of Moses': A Study of an Early Hadlth," BSOAS 25(1962): 150-55; repro "Variorum," Studies in Jahiliyya and Early Islam (London, 1980), no. VIII. 148"Islamic Visions, Ancient and Modern," Observer, Sunday, 22 October 1989. 149Cf. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 63: When Zayd b. Thabit visited the court of Mu'lI.wiya, he was asked about a tradition of the Prophet; Mu'awiya ordered a man of his court to write down his reply. Zayd b. Thabit reminded Mu'awiya of the Prophet's prohibition to write down his utterances and Mu'awiya ordered the tradition be erased. Al-Dhahabt, Siyar a'lami l-nubala', II, 431: Marwli.n ordered a scribe to sit behind a curtain and write down clandestinely the traditions transmitted by Abu Hurayra,
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kept company with governors were sharply condemned by pious scholars of lJ,adfth, who stated that a scholar of lJ,adfth loses part of his faith when he enters the court of a ruler. There was only one exception: the rule of the pious 'Umar b.'Abd al-'Azlz; the orthodox scholars of lJ,adfth gladly cooperated with the righteous Caliph. AI-ZuhrI says, probably with some satisfaction, that 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Azlz ordered to write down the sun an of the Prophet; he and others wrote them down, [akatabniihii, and the written documents, the daJiitir, were dispatched to the provinces, each province getting a da/tar.150 At the same time, the Abbasids developed their claims for the caliphate.P! It was natural that new elements from among the population were called to take part in the discussion concerning the rights of the different candidates for the rule and control of the Muslim Empire. There were some changes in the way the reliability of different groups of people was evaluated. Orthodox scholars warned that one should be cautious concerning the traditions of poor mulJ,addithii.n. Shu'ba was the scholar who expressed this in plain words: "Do not record the traditions reported by the poor, because they lie to you." A note attached to the utterance mentions that Shu'ba himself was at that time poorer than a dog.152 It is noteworthy that the critical attitude towards the Bedouins changed entirely. In contrast to the former assertions as to the bad character of the Bedouins, Shu'ba states that the Bedouins do not lie in questions of lJ,adfth.153 The Prophet predicted that there would be violent civil wars after his death; the best people in these wars would be the Muslims of the desert, muslimu ahli l-bawiidf, who had no blood on their hands and did not touch forbidden property. 1M It is evident that an essential change took place in the opinions of the scholars of lJ,adfth towards the Bedouins. They are the righteous people, untainted by spilled blood or wealth. They, of course,
Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh dimashq, tahdhib, VI, 59 inf.: Marwan ordered one of his mawalr, Slilim b. al-Zu'ayzi'a, to write down the utterances of the Prophet transmitted by Abu Hurayra, who was seated behind the throne of Marwan; Slilim carried out the order of Marwan, After a year, Marwan invited Abu Hurayra to his court and asked him about the traditions which he transmitted a year ago; he repeated them exactly. Marwan attempted to test him and sent him a hundred dInars. Later, he sent him a messenger and asked Abu Hurayra to give the hundred dInars back, claiming that he had intended to send them to another person. Abu Hurayra apologized, saying that he had already spent the money, but asked to detract the sum from his payment of 'ata'. 150 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan, I, 76. 151 See, e.g., 'All Khan al-MadanI al-Shlrli.zI, al-Darajatu I-ra/i'a, 132-39. 152 Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, al-muqaddima, 247j Abu Nu'aym, Iftlyatu I·auliya', VII, 147, mentions that he was sustained by his nephew and his son in law. 153 See Ibn 'AdI, al-Kamil, al-muqaddima, 250. 154 Al-Tabaranr, Musnad al-shamiyyrn, II, 394, no. 1562: sa-yakunu ba'dr fitanun shidadun, khayru I-nasi fiha muslimu ahli I-bawadr lladhfna la yatanaddauna min dima'i I-nasi wa-amwalihim shay'an.
Iii taqra'u l-qur'iina 'alii l-mu§~afiyyfn
157
need to obtain the required knowledge of l}adfth. It is not surprising that al-ZuhrI is said to have gone many times to visit the dwellings of the Bedouins to teach them ~adfth.155 The strong injunction against teaching knowledge of Muslim law to ruffians and people of the lowest classes, formulated in the saying of Makhul: "tafaqquhu l-ra'ii'i fasiidu l-dfn wa-tafaqquhu l-siflati fasiidu l-dunYii," 156 totally lost its importance. The new trend found its expression in the well known saying of alZuhrI: qad akrahanii hii'ulii'i l-umarii' .... This saying was given several contradictory interpretations.P? It may, however, be remarked that an expression resembling to some extent that of al-Zuhri, can be traced to an earlier authority. In a story reported by Shahr b. l,Iaushab158 about his journey to Syria at the time of Yazld b. Mu'awiya, he mentioned that he met Nauf (obviously al-Bikalt) and 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'AS. When Nauf noticed 'Abdallah b.'Amr b. al-'AS, he cut short the transmission of a l}adfth in which he was engaged. 'Abdallah encouraged him to continue, but Nauf refused, saying 'Abdallah was a Companion of the Prophet and it was more appropriate that he should transmit traditions. 'Abdallah said that: "These umarii' prevented us from transmitting ~adfth," inna hii'ulii'i qad mana'unii 'ani l-~adfth-ya'nf l-umarii', When Nauf beseeched him, he agreed to tell those present a l}adfth about the apocalyptic events preceding the advent of the Dajjiil.159 We have here a phrase reminiscent of al-ZuhrI's expression. The difference in time between the two phrases is interesting: 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'AI? died ca. 70 H. Muhammad b. Muslim al-ZuhrI died in 124 H. 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. al-'AI? was prevented from transmitting traditions, al-ZuhrI had an aversion to writing them down, but was compelled to do it. In both cases we have an interference on the part of the Umayyad umarii'. The formulation of al-Zuhrf's statement deserves notice: kunnii nakrahu kitiiba l-'ilmi ~attii akrahanii 'alayhi hii'ulii'i 1umarii'u, fa-ra'aynii an Iii namna'ahu al}adan min a I-muslimfna.16o The logical construction of the statement of al-Zuhri is incoherent: the fact
KathTr, al-Bidaya wa-l-nihiiya (Beirut-Riyad, 1966), IX, 345. 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 160 inf.; al-Tartusht, al-Ifawadith wal-bida', 72. 157 See T. Ivanyi, On the Linguistic Methods of I. Goldziher, Jubilee Volume 0/ the Oriental Collection: 1951-1976 (Budapest, 1978), 109-110. Sezgin's attempt in GAS I, 74 and 281, to correct Goldziher's reading and translation is far fetched. I would like to thank Dr. Miklos Muranyi for drawing my attention to this article and providing me with an offprint. 158 See on him Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'n"kh·tahdMb, VI, 345-46; Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanT, TahdMbu l-tahdMb, IV, 369-72, no. 625. 159 'Abd al-Raazaq, al-Mul/anna/, XI, 377, no. 20790. Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, (Hyderabad, reprint al-Riyaq, n.d.}, IV, 486-87. 160 Abu Bakr al-BayhaqT, al-Madkhal ila l-sunani l-kubra, 409, no. 739.
156 Ibn 155 Ibn
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that the umarii' compelled him to write down the 1J,adfth does not imply that he had to dictate the 1J,adfth to others.161 It would be too simple to suppose that al-Zuhri was angry at the fact that he had to gather traditions for the Caliph. He used to visit the court of the Caliph and received marks of respect and attention at the court. He was highly esteemed as a colleague and the mere mention of a scholar by him was considered a recommendation of that scholar to the Caliph.162 The large number of traditions left by al-ZuhrI after his death and found in his home and the numerous traditions of al-Zuhri found in the library of Malik b. Anas,163bear evidence to the fact that al-Zuhrl wrote down 1J,adfth, and not in negligible numbers. The great number of students that he had, and the books of 1J,adfth to which he often granted his consent, even without reading the text, imply that alZuhrI did not refrain from writing and dictating 1J,adlth. The construction of the sentence: ... akrahana 'alayhi hii'ulii'i I-umarii'u, fa-ra'aynii an Iii namna'ahu al)adan mina I-muslimln ... , "We had an aversion to the recording of knowledge, i.e., the I)adlth, until these amlrs compelled us to it, and we then considered it right not to prevent anyone of the Muslims to write down I)adlth" - is rather vague. It is not absolutely clear what the phrase "fa-ra' aynii ... " implies. A rare case of this kind is probably the following I)adlth of the Prophet: "kuntu nahaytukum 'an ziyiirati
l-qubur, fa-zuril l-qubiira, fa-innahii tuzahhidu
fi
I-dunyii wa-tudhakkiru
161 See al-Khattb al-Baghdadt, Taqyidu I-'ilm, 107; and see the copious references of the editor. And see Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan, I, 77:... istaktabani l-mulUku fa-aktabtuhum, fa-stal}yaytu llaha idh katabahii l-mulUku alia uktibahii li-ghayrihim. And see ibid., I, 76:... kunna nakrahu kitaba I-'ilmi I}atta akrahana 'alayhi hii'ula'i I-umara'u, fa-ra'ayna an la namna'ahu al}adan mina I·muslimina. And see this version: 'Abd al-Razzliq, al-Muflannaf, XI, 258, no. 20486. A similar version is recorded in Abu Nu'aym's lfilyatu I-auliya', III, 363: kunna nakrahu I-katb I}attii akrahana 'alayhi I-sul~iin, fa-karihnii an namna'ahu I-nasa. And ibid., 363: Abu l-Mulayh: kunna Iii na~ma'u an naktuba 'inda I-zuhri I}atta akraha hishamun alzuhriyya [a-kataba li-banihi, fa-kataba I-nasu I-I}adith. Another tradition, ibid., 361, says that Hishim sent al-ZuhrI two scribes who wrote down traditions dictated by him for his son during the course of a year. 162 See Ibn KathIr, al-Bidiiya, IX, 345, inf.: AI-ZuhrI was asked at the court about Sa'Id b. al-Musayyab and gave a favourable opinion about him; when ZuhrI came to Medina and greeted Ibn Musayyab, he did not reply. When asked about his uncouth behaviour he answered: "You mentioned me to the Bann Marwin." The reaction of Ibn al-Musayyab indicates that al-ZuhrI was highly esteemed at the court of the Caliph and that the pious Ibn al-Musayyab was vexed about it, fearing that he might be invited to the court. See the comprehensive article of M. Lecker on the political and cultural activities of al-ZuhrI, in his "Biographical Notes on Ibn Shihab al-Zuhrl," Sixth International Colloquium: From Jiihiliyya to Islam (Jerusalem, 1993). 163 See Abu Nu'aym, lfilyatu I-auliya', III, 361 and al-QiQI 'IyiQ, Tartibu I·madiirik wa-taqnou I-masiilik li-ma'rifati a'liim madhhab malik, ed. Ahmad Bakrr Mahmild (Beirut, 1387/1967), I, 149. And see Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqatu I·kubrii, al-qismu 1mutammim, ed. Ziyad Muhammad Mansur (al-MadIna al-munawwara, 1408/1987), 170; and see the copious references of the editor.
Iii taqra'u l-qur'iina l_iikhira.164
'alii l-mu~l}afiyyfn
159
The fa in fa-zurU denotes a reversal of the prohibition to visit graves into a positive injunction to visit them. In our case, the order to write l}adfth, which the speaker deplores, is followed by the fa of fa-ra' aynii, which may be explained: "and as a result of the ruler's command and of the fact that we were compelled to write l}adfth, we came to the conclusion that we shall not prevent any Muslim from writing of the 1],adfth." The only assumption which may be put forward is that the 1],adfths which ZuhrI was bidden to write down for the sons of the Caliph were of an official character. They may have touched upon events which affected peoples' opinions, such as those connected with the role of some Qurashi enemies of the Prophet who later embraced Islam and became virtuous believers.P" Other 1],adfths which may fall into this category are those that contain unknown injunctions of the Prophet concerning the women and children of enemies put to death,166 or the Prophet's injunction against killing hypocrites who pray and utter the shahiida, 167 or the behaviour of tax collectors in cases of attempted bribery,168 or the rules of jizya levied from the Zoroastrians.P? These kinds of traditions seem to be the reason why al-Zuhrf was vexed and decided to change his manner of transmission, permitting every Muslim to write down l}adfth. A puzzling case of such a tradition is recorded in Ibn Hazm's alI1J,kiim If u~uli l-al}kiim.170 AI-ZuhrI records a document of the Prophet concerning the ~adaqa. It begins with the phrase: "hiidhihi nuskhatu kitiibi rasuli lliihi M lladhf kataba If l-sadaqa" The document was in the possession of the family of 'Umar b. al-Khattab. AI-ZuhrI provides additional details: The document was read to him by Salim b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar and he learnt it by heart. This document was copied by 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'AzIz from the text of 'Abdallah b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar and Salim b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar when he was the amir of Medina; he then ordered his officials to act according to this document. The later Caliphs continued to order the implementation of the document until Hisham b. Muhammad b. HanI ordered to copy the document and to send it to all of his governors and ordered them to act according to the document.F! Ibn Hazm criticizes sharply the fact that this document was granted legal authority. The document is, in fact, a sheet, ~al}f/a, not provided with proper isniids. Besides, only eighty years after the death of the
164Al-Munawt, Fa1l4U l-qadrr (Cairo, 1391/1972), V, 55, no. 6430. 165See, e.g., the story of !;lafwll.n Umayya and his wife, the daughter of aI-Waiid b. b. al-Mughtra, and their conversion to Islam: Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Tajrfdu l-tamhrd, 152-53, nos. 482-83, and see ibid., 152, no. 478. 166See, e.g., Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Tajrfdu l-tamhrd, 147, no. 468. 1611bn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Tajrfd, 144, no. 458. 168Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Tajrfd, 138-39, no. 438. 169See, e.g., Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Tajrfdu l-tamhrd, 154, no. 487. 1101,289-90 111This is probably a mistake; read: until Hisham ordered Muhammad b. HlI.nI....
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Prophet did people begin to act according to this ~alJ,ffa. The governors of 'Uthman followed another document. The governors of 'All, of Ibn al-Zubayr and Abu Bakr as well did not act according to this document. The Medinan family of Hazm, al hazm, was in the possession of another ~alJ,ffa. Thus, one wonders what caused the practice of the iniquitous Waltd and the caliphs who succeeded him, whose practices are not to be taken into consideration, mimman la yu'taddu bihi, (except 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'AzIz), to be regarded as preferable to the practice of Ibn al-Zubayr, of 'All, of 'Uthman and of AbU Bakr al-Siddlq, This difference of opinions must be resolved according to the injunctions of the Qur'an and the practice of the Prophet as proved by traditions with sound asanfd.172 The criticism of Ibn Hazm is an example of strict, unbiased and uncompromising evaluation of a legal practice according to the validity of recorded traditions. The transition into a new period of lJ,adfth transmission is highlighted by a statement of Malik b. Anas, the student and friend of al-Zuhrl. "If knowledge is barred from common people because of the chosen group, the kha~~a, the chosen group will not get any good from it, lam tantafi' bihi l-kha~~a," said Malik.l73 The idea that lJ,adfth should be spread and transmitted even by men who know less than those to whom the traditions are transmitted gained wide expression in books of lJ,adfth, compendia of ta~awwuf, collections of adab and books of ta'n"kh. A tradition of this kind which was in wide circulation in the second part of the second century is: naq.q.aralla;hu imra'an.174
172 Ibn Hazrn, al-Il}kam If u~uli I·al}kam, I, 289-93; see also the discussion concerning the legality of the practices of the governors in the different provinces of the Muslim Empire. And see, e.g., the information about the various documents concerning the ~adaqa in al-Haklm's al-Mustadrak, I, 390-97. 173 AI-Qii.Q.I 'IYaQ, Tartrbu I-madarik, I, 160: Ja·qala malik: inna I-'ilma idha muni'a mina I·'iimmati li-ajli I-khii~~ati lam tantafi' bihi I-khiiffatu. And see ibid., 188: ittaqu lliiha If hiidhii I·'ilmi wa-lii tanzilu bihi dara magi"atin wa-baththiihu wa-Ia taktumiihu. And see 189: ittaqii llaha wa-nshurU hadha I-'ilma wa·'allimiihu wa-/{i taktumiihu. 174 See Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasirn b. Sallam, al-Khutab wa-I-mawa'i~, ed. Ramadan 'Abd al-Tawwab (Cairo, 1406/1986), no. 140,205-207: (the first part of the combined tradition), ... Zayd b. Thabit-the Prophet: ... nar!-gara llahu imra'an sami'a minna I}adfthan Ja-I}amalahu I}atta yuballighahu ghayrahu, Ja-rubba I}amili fiqhin li-aJqaha minhu, wa-rubba I}amili fiqhin laysa bi-Jaqrhin. "... may God illuminate the man who heard from us a I}adrth and carried it until he forwarded it to another person, because it often happens that a man carries knowledge of the law to a man who is more familiar with the law than himself, and it often happens that a man who carries knowledge of the law is himself not a man of the law, laysa bi·Jaqrhin"; and see the references of the editor. Other versions of this tradition: Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jami' bayan al-'ilm, I, 38-43; II, 27. Ibn Taymiyya, al-Jawab al-I/al}rl} Ii-man baddala dina l-masi1.l, ed. 'All alSayyid Subh al-MadanI (Cairo, 1381/1962), III, 132; and see the arguments of Ibn Taymiyya concerning the understanding of the transmitter of the tradition. And see
lii taqra'ij l-qur'iina 'alii l-mu~l],afiyy'n
161
Ibn Taymiyya, al-lfasanatu wa-l-sayyi'atu, ed. Hanan bint 'AIIb. f.Iafi~(Cairo, 1408/ 1988), 65; and see the references of the editor. AI-Qaq.I'Iyad al-Yahsubl, al-Ilmii", 13, 15, li-yuballigha l-shahidu l-gha'iba [a-inna I-shahida 'asa an yuballigha man huwa aw'a lahu minhu; and see the references ofthe editor Ahmad Saqr. Al-Munawt, Faytju l-qadir, IV, 29, no. 4443: ... ml,lima llahu imm'an sami'a minna l,Iadfthan fa-wa'ahu, thumma ballaghahu man huwa auw'a minhu; see the explication of al-Munawt, Al-Khattb al-Baghdadr, al-Faqfh wa-lmutafaqqih, ed. Isma'tl al-Ansarr (Beirut, 1400/1980), II, 71. Ibn al-'Arabi, Al,lkamu I-qur'an, ed. 'All Muhammad al-Bijawt (Cairo, 1387/1967), I, 49-50; and see the discussion concerning the duty of forwarding the l,Iadfth to another person. Ibn Kathir, 1'u/.lfatu l-talib bi-ma'rifati al,ladfthi mukhta~ari bni l,Iajib, ed. 'Abd al-Ghani b. Humayd b. Mahmnd al-Kubaysi (Makka al-mukarrama, 1406), 212-13, no. 102; and see the references of the editor and his evaluation of the l,Iadlth. Al-Tabarant, al-Mu'jam al-kablr, ed. Hamdr 'Abd al-Majtd al-Silaff (n.p., n.d.), XVII, 49, no. 106. And see the version in Abii Talib al-Makki's Qutu l·qulUb, II, 16 and his notes. AlMuttaqi l-Hindl, Kanzu l-'ummal (Hyderabad, 1382/1962), X, 127-28, nos. 1082-85, 131-32, nos. 1112-20, 154, no. 1394. Al-Shafi'I, al-Risala (Cairo, n.d.), 126. AlTa~awi, Mushkilu l-athiir (Hyderabad, 1333), II, 231 inf.-233; the word jiqh rendered by fahm. Al-Qastallant, Sharl,l al-mawahib al-Iadunniyya (Cairo, 1328), V, 304 inf. Khalifa b. Khayyat, Musnad, ed. Akram Qiya' al-'Umari (al-Madina al-munawwara, 1405/1985), 47-48, no. 46; and see the references of the editor, Abii Bakr Ahmad b. al-Husayn al-Bayhaql, al-Arba'una al-~ughra, ed. Abii Ishaq al-Huwaynr al-Athari (Beirut, 1408/1988), 11-18, no. 1; and see the copious references of the editor. AlRamhurmuzt, al·Mul,laddithu l-fa~il, 164-69, nos. 3-11; and see the notes and references of the editor. AI-Kha~Ib al-Baghdadt, Shamfu I-l,Iadlth, 17-19, no. 24-26. AI-Wa.qidi, al-Maghazf, ed. MarsdenJones (Oxford, 1966), 111,1103. Ibn Babtiyah al-Qummi, al-Khi~al, ed. 'Ali Akbar al-GhafIarI (Tehran, 1389), I, 149, no. 182. Abii Yiisuf, Kitabu l-kharaj (Cairo, 1382), 9 inf.-p. 10 sup. Malik b. Anas, Risalatu I-imam malik /f l-sunan wa-I-mawa'i~ wa-I-adab, ed. 'Abdallah Ahmad Abii Zaynab (Cairo, 1403/1983), 24. AI-Haytham b. Kulayb al-Shasht, Musnad, ed. Ma~fii~ al-Rahrnan Zaynullah (al-Madtna al-munawwara, 1410), I, 314-16, nos. 275-78; al-MundhirI, alTarghlb wa-I-tarhlb, ed. Muhammad Muhyi l-DIn 'Abd al-Hamtd (Cairo, 1379/1960), 1,85-86, nos. 150-53; Abu 'Abdallah al-Surt, Jus'; MS Leiden Or. 2465, fol. 2a, sup.; al-Snrt, al-Fawa'id al-muntaqat 'ani I-shuyukhi l-kujiyyfn, ed. 'Umar 'Abd al-Salarn TadmurI (Beirut, 1407/1987), 39, no. 2, and see references; al-Hakim, al-Mustadmk (Riyad, n.d.), repr. of the Hyderabad edition, I, 77; Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'nkh dimashq al-kablr, ed. 'Abd al-Qadir Badran (Beirut, 1399/1979), III, 264; al-Nasillt, Maf~a' al-khala'iq manba' al·l,laqa'iq (Cairo, 1293), 13; al-Suyutr, Jam'u l-jawami' (Cairo, 1978), I, 853, II, 513; 'Abd al-Hakam al-Ishbili, al-Al,lkam al-kubrii, MS Br. Mus. Add. 27, 253, fol. 5b; al-HaytamI, al-Zawajir 'an iqtiraji l-kaba'ir (Cairo, 1390/1970), I, 97; al-Shafi't, al-Risala (Cairo, al-Maktaba al-tijariyya, n.d.), 106; al-Shiblt, Mal,lasin al-wasa'il ila ma'rifati I-awa'il, ed. Muhammad al-Tiinji (Beirut, 1412/1992), 37, penult.; al-Suhrawardt, 'Awarif al-ma'arif (Beirut, 1966), 19; Abii Nu'aym, lfilyatu I-auliya' (Beirut, 1387/1967), IX, 308; al-Subkr, Tabaqat al-shaji'iyya, ed. Mahmud Muhammad al-Tana~i and 'Abd al-Fattah Muhammad al-Hulw (Cairo, 1383/1964), I, 319-21, and see the discussion; al-Kultnt, al-Ka/f, ed. Najm al-Dln al-Amili and 'All Akbar al-Ghaflari (Tehran, 1386), I, 332-33, nos. 1-2; al-Haythamt, Majma' al-zawa'id (Beirut, 1967), I, 137-40; al-Bayhaqr, Ma'rifatu I-sunan wa-I-athar, ed. Ahmad Saqr (Cairo, 1969), I, 43, and see references; Muhammad b. Hibban al-Bustt, Kitab al-majrul,lfn, ed. Mahrnud Ibrahim Zayid (Beirut, n.d.), I, 5, and see note I; al-Majlisr, Bil,laru I-anwar (Tehran, 1384), XXI, 138. Shirawayhi b. Shahridar al-Daylamt, Firdausu I-akhbar, ed. Fawwas Ahmad al-Zimirli and Muhammad alMu'tasim bi-Ilahi al-Baghdadi (al-Ramla al-bayda', 1407/1987), V, 30, no. 7081; and see the references of the editors; 'Ali b. al-Hasan al-Khila't, al-Fawa'id al-muntaqat
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It is evident that this J:&adlthwas well known in the middle of the second century. This is proven by the fact that AbU Yusuf (d. 182 H) and Malik b. Anas (d. 179 H) recorded it in their books. One of transmitters of the 1}adlth, as recorded by AbU Yusuf, is Ibn Shihab al-ZuhrI. This is not surprising. The Banu Isra'Il, as already mentioned, heedlessly and stubbornly refused to accept the grace of God to read the Torah by heart; the Torah would then be read by a man, a woman, a free-man, a slave, a boy or an old man.175 It is startling how the idea that 'ilm may be transmitted by all classes of people was embraced by Muslim scholars. The old idea that 1}adlth should be transmitted only by ashraf was discarded. The new idea extolled the transmission of 1}adlth by every person in Muslim society, young or old, rich or poor, and is very reminiscent of the grace of God, which was to be granted to Banu Isra'tl. A 1}adfth recorded on the authority of Ibn 'Umar says: "The Prophet [I?] said: Write down this knowledge from every rich and poor man, from every young or old man. He who abandons knowledge because the man of knowledge is poor or younger than he, let him take his seat in Hell."176 The traditions quoted above bear witness to the fact that the idea of 1}adlth being transmitted only by the ashraf and that its transmission should be controlled by rigorous scholars and honourable transmitters, was gradually abandoned from the beginning of the second century onwards. The transmission of J:&adfths,edifying stories, stories of prophets and saints, was widely disseminated by the new generations of scholars, among whom the mawall probably formed the majority.
al-~isan, MS Museum al-Aqllli., no. 91, fol. 35b. Muhammad b. Ja'far al-Kattant, Na~m al-mutanathir mina l-~adrth al-mutawatir (Cairo, n.d.), 33-34, no. 3. 175.,. wa-aj'alukum taqro'iina l-taurata 'an ~ahri qulUbikum, yaqro'uha l-rojulu minkum wa-l-mar'atu wa-l-~urru wa-l·'abdu wa·l-~aghfru wa-kabfru. See al-Qur~ubI, Ta/sfr, VII, 297. 176 Al-Samarqandi, Bustan al-'arifin, 6.: '" 'an nafi'in 'an ibn 'umaro rotjiya llahu 'anhum qala, qala rosiilu llahi ~alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam: "uktubii hadha l-'ilma min kulli ghaniyyin wa-/aqrrin wa-min kulli ~aghfrin wa-kabrrin. wa-man taroka 1'ilma min aj/i anna ~a~iba l-'ilmi /aqrrun au a~gharu minhu sinnan /a-l-yatabawwa' maq'adahu mina l-nari."
crowns.pdf "THE CROWNS OF THIS COMMUNITy" ... SOME NOTES oN THE TURBAN IN THE MUSLIM TRADITION M.J. Kister
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
I The tradition recorded in Nabia Abbot's Studies in Arabic Papyri III was only conjecturally read by the author: balaghana anna rasula llahi salla llahu `alayhi wa-sallama qala: tijanu hadhihi l-ummati l-`amalu [] yaquluha fi l-`idayni wa-yauma I-jum`ati. Professor Abbot described the papyrus as a document written in the late second century of the hijra; she assumed that the author- of the· papyrus was Qutayba b. Sa`ld al-Balkhi (d. 240/854).2 This partly deciphered statement, attributed to the Prophet and transmitted in various versions in the compendia of hadith, is often coupled with two or three additional statements ascribed to the Prophet. The first phrase of the combined statement, often quoted separately, and provided with explanations and comments, was transmitted in a concise form: al-`ama'imu tijanu I-`arabi, "The turbans are the crowns of the Arabs."3 This seems to be with all probability the correct reading of
1 Qur'anic Commentary and Tradition, The University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 76, 11, 1967, Document 3, verso, 11.15-16. 2 Ibid., pp. 143-145. 3See e.g., Ibn Hajar al-`AsqalanI, Fada'ilu l-qur'ani l-karim, al-Sayyid al-Jamili, ed. (Beirut, 1986), p. 144: wa-huwa ka-qawihim: al-'ama'imu tfjanu l-'arabi li-kauniha taqllmu maqama l·tfjani; and see `Abd ai-Malik b. Mul]ammad alTha`aIibI, Thimaru l-quillb /f l-mudaJ wa-l-manfllb, MUl}ammadAbu I-Fa4I IbrahIm, ed. (Cairo, 1384/1965), p. 159 (see the references of the editor). MUQammad DarwIsh ai-Hut, Ama I-matalib /f a/}aduha mukhtaliJati I-maratib, Khalil ai-Mays, ed. (Beirut, 1403/1983), p; 208, no. 942 stresses the weak character of the tradition: turuquhu kulluha da`fjatun, Wa-!lunua min kalami l-zuhri kama dhakarahu l-ba!lhaqi. Mul]ammad b. Al]mad b. Jiira11iihal-~afadr I-YamanI, al-Nawajilu I-`atira /f l-a/}oduhi I-mu.htahira, Mul]ammad `Abd al-Qadir `A~ii,ed. (Beirut, 1412/1992), 207, no. 1130 (see also the references of the editor); Mul}ammad b. `Abd al-Ralpnan al-SakhiiwI, al·Maqofidu l./}a.ana ji-ba!lani kathfrin min al·a/}aduhi l·mu.htahira `ala l-al,ina, `Abdallah MUl}ammad al-~q and 'Abd al-Wahhiib `Abd al-La~if, eds. (Beirut, 1399/1979),291, no. 717; (see the various versions and the references). Abu Sa'd 'Abd ai-Malik b. Mul]ammad al-Wii`i~ al-KhargiishI, al-Bi,hara wa-l-nidhara /f ta`biri l-ru'!la wa-l-muraqaba, MS. Br. Mus., Or. 6262, fo!' 127a: wa-aula l-ki.wati bi-taqdfmi I-dhikri al·'amo'imu Ja-innaha tfjanu I-'arabi ... ; al-Raghib al-¥ahanI, Mu/}adaratu I·udabii' (Beirut, 1961), vo!' 4, p. 371; Abu Bakr Al]mad b. `Abdallah al-
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the short phrase of the tradition, as given in the papyrus: tZjiinu hiidhihi l-ummati l-camii'imu, "The crowns of this people are the turbans." This statement is attributed in several early sources to 'Umar b. alKhattab." It is recorded in Mughultay's al-Zahr al-biisim and is attributed to cAll b. AbI Talib, though Mughultay mentions that it was attributed to the Prophet as well.5 This notion of equating turbans with crowns was rooted in the society of the Arab peninsula in the period of the Jahiliyya. Wearing a turban implied strength and honour, symbolized the authority of a clan or tribal group and reflected high military position and leadership. MuCammam or muiassab, "dressed in a turban," referred to a man appointed as chief of his people. It corresponds to the expressions tuwwija, "he was crowned," or suwwida, "he was granted the control of a tribal group," which are used regarding the non-Arabs." The expression almu' ammam also entailed the responsibility ofthe appointed chief: every offense committed by a member of the tribe was figuratively fastened to his turban; he was responsible for the evil deeds of the members of his clan or tribe." Before the advent ofIslam, only the Arabs (i.e., the tribal society of the Arab peninsula-k) wore turbans, the crowns of the Arabs.8 The Bedouin provenance of the above statement - "The Crowns of the Arabs" is clearly reflected in CAlIb. Ahmad al-cAzlzI's explanation of the tradition: "The turbans are like the crowns for the kings of the Arabs, because the majority of the Arabs (i.e., the Bedouins-k] are bareheaded and turbans are scarce among them."?
Kindt al-Samdf al-NazwI, al-Mufannaf, 'Abd al-Mun'im 'Amir and Jadallah Ahmad, eds.(Cairo, 1979), 12, p. 70; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, A~kam ahli I-dhimma, Subhl l-Salih, ed. (Damascus, 1381/1961), vol. 2, p. 739. 4 AI-Ja\:li~, al-Bayan wa-l-ta~yfn, 'Abd al-Salam Muhammad Harlin, ed., n.p., n.d. (probably Beirut, fourth edition), vol. 3, p. 100 and vol. 2, p. 88; al-Raghib al-Isfahanr, Mu~at/arilt al-udaba', vo\. 3-4, p. 371. 5 Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim, MS. Leiden, Or. 370, fo\' 219b. And see Ibn alDayba', Taysfr al-wuful ila jami' I-Uful min ~adfthi l-rasiil (Cairo, 1390/1970), vo\. 4, p. 186. 6 See L'A, s.v. 'mm: ('ammama) wa-'ummima l-rajul, suwwida, Ii-anna tfjana l-'arabi l-'ama'imu, [a-kullamii qua if l-'ajami tuwwija, tpia if l-'arabi 'ummima. And see Hamza al-~fahanI, al-Durra al-fakhira if l-amthiili l-sa'ira, 'Abd al-Majjd Qa~amish, ed. (Cairo, 1971), vo\. 1, p. 123, no. 115: fa-ka-anna 'ummima bi-iza'i ma yuqalu if l-'ajami tuwwija. 7l;Iamza al-Isfahanf', al-Durra al-fakhira, vo\. 1, p. 123; and see al-Raghib al-Isfahant, Mu~at/arat al-udaba', vo\. 3-4, p. 371: wa-qau/uhum "sayyidun mu'ammamun, mu'aHabun" ifhi ta'Wfiani a~aduhuma huuia l-muta'aHabu bijara'iri qaumihi uia-l-iikh aru bi-ma'na I-sharafi. 8 Ibn N~ir al-Dm, Jami' al-iiihiir , MS., Cambridge Or. 913, fo\' 204a: amma fa~ibu l-taj, [a-qiila abu I-fat/I 'iyat/ [a-l-muriid bihi l-'imama, lam takun ~fna'idhin ilia li-l-i arabi ; and see al-MajJisI, Bi~aru 1-IJnwar, vo\. 16, p. 131, Jawad al-'AlawI and Muhammad al-AkhundI, eds.(Tehran, 1379): wa-amma I-taju [a-l-murnd bihi l-'imamatu, wa-lam yakun ~fna'idhin ilia li-I-'arabi. 9 'Alf b. Ahmad al-'AzIzI, al-Siraj al-munfr, shar~ 'ala I-jami' I-lJaghfr if a~adfthi
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According to tradition, several' eminent persons in Mecca, such as the leaders of tribal clans, attained a conspicuous privilege: when the leader wore a turban of a certain colour, no one else in Mecca had the right to wear one of the same colour. For instance, in the late period of the Jjihiliyya, SacId b. al_c.A~ Umayya who received the sobriquet dhii b. l-cimiima was granted such a privilege.l? According to a verse recorded in Hamsa al-Isfahani's ol-Durra al fiikhira, a poet praised Sa'Id b. al-c.A~, saying: "When Abii-cUl].ayl].a,(i.e., Sa'Id b. al-'.A~-k), puts the turban on his head (in his characteristic way -k}, any man who imitates him will be beaten, even if he is a man of wealth and [has a] large number" (scil. of relatives and allies). 11 A tradition recorded by al-.AbI12provides a vivid description of the rivalry between Sa'Id b. al-c.A~and the renowned warrior who distinguished himself in the battle of al-Fijar, al-Zubayr b. cAbd al-Muttalib. AI-Zubayr was the leader of the Hashimi branch of Quraysh in the war of Fijar. He initiated the confederation of the ~ilf al-fu¢.iil, and was appointed by his father as his heir and trustee and became a mediator in the complicated problems of conflicts and peace making. He was the uncle of the Prophet and was highly respected in Mecca.P According
I-bashir l-nadlur li-Jaliili i.ot« I-Suy11tf (Cairo, 1377/1957), vol. 2, p. 474: al'amii'imu tfjiinu I·' arabi, ay hiya lahum bi-manzilati I.tfjiini li-l-mulUki, li-annahu aktharu mii yakununa bi-I-bawiidf, ru'usuhum makshuJatun, wa-I-'amii'imu fihim qalilatun; cr. al-Kinanf', al-Di'iima li-ma'riJati a/]kiimi sunnati I-'imiima (Damascus, 1342), p. 6, ll. 1-3. 10 See Abu 'Ubayda Ma'mar b. al-Muthanna, Kitiib al-dibiij, 'Abdallah b. Sulayrnan al-Jarbu' and 'Abd al-Rahman b. Sulayman al-'Uthaymin, eds. (Cairo, 1411/1991), p.130. ll.l:lamza al-Isfahant, al-Durra al-Jiikhira, vol. 1, p, 122: Abu U/]ay/]ata man ya'tammu 'immatahu ywjrab, wa-in kiina dhii miilin wa-dhii 'adadi. See also the reference of the editor. For more on Sa'Id b. al-'A~, nicknamed dhu I-'imiimati, see Muhammad b. Hablb, al-Mu/]abbar, lise Lichtenstaedter, ed. (Hyderabad, 1361/1942), p. 165; and see Muhammad b. 'Abdallah al-Shiblt, Ma/]iisin al-wasii'il :If ma'riJati I-awii'il, Muhammad al-TunjI, ed. (Beirut, 1412/1992), 241; al-Jahis, al-Bayiin wa-I-tabyfn, 'Abd al-Salam Mul}ammad Harun, ed., vol. 3, p. 97; al-Jahis, al- Tiij:lf akhliiqi I-muluki, Al}madZakI Pasha, ed. (Cairo, 1732/1914), pp. 47, p. 196. Ibn Hajar al~'AsqalanI, al-Ifiiba :If tamyfzi I-fa/]iiba, 'All Muhammad al-Bijawr, ed. (Cairo, 1970), vol. 3, p. 289 inf., no. 3768; al-BaladhurI, Ansiib al-ashriiJ vol. 1, Muhammad Hamtdullah, ed. (Cairo, 1959), index; Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, alMariisil, 'Abd al-'AzIz 'Izzu l-Drn al-Sayrawan, ed. (Beirut, 1406/1986), 241, no. 98, 3; Abu Bakr passed by the grave of Sa'td b. al-'A, and cursed him because he opposed God (kiina mU/]iiddan li-lliihi) and His apostle. A son of Sa'Id b. al-'A~ replied by cursing Abu Bakr's father. The Prophet then prohibited the cursing of individual unbelievers, as this may enrage the living (descendants or relatives -k). However, he permitted the cursing of unbelievers as a group. See also Ahmad b. 'All al-QashanI b. Babah, Ra'su miili I-nadfmi :If tawiin'khi a'yiini ahli I-isliim, Suhayl Zakkar, ed., Beirut, 1418/1997, p. 111. 12 Mansur b. al-Husayn al-AbI, Nathr al-durr, Muhammad 'All Qarna and 'All Muhammad al-Bijawl, eds.(Cairo, 1380), vol. 1, p. 395-6. 13 For more on him, see: Abu Hilal al-Hasan b. 'Abdallah al-'AskarI, al-Awii'il
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to the story recorded by al-AbI, al-Zubayr b. cAbd al-Muttalib returned from a journey in Syria and went to. his dwelling. When he lay down, putting his head on the bosom of his maid-servant who combed his hair, he was surprised by her question: "Are you not frightened by the story?" She told him that Sa'Id b. al-cAI!!orbade any distinguished QurashI (alf abta~i -k) to wear a turban (similar to his own -k) on the same day that he wore it. AI-Zubayr, shocked by the news, seized the lock of his hair from the hand of the servant, ordered her to bring him his turban ("the long one"), jumped hastily on the saddled horse and hurriedly traversed the wadI in order to apprehend Sa'Id b. al_cA~. When Sa'Id received the news concerning al-Zubayr b. "Abd al-Muttalib, he fled in haste to al-Ta'if. Since the imiima was a symbol of strength and power, apostles, saints and prophets are said to have been granted the privilege of wearing the Cimiima among their insignia. "I was ordered to wear the cimiima, the sandals, and the seal," said the Prophet.l" According to a tradition recorded by al-Zurqani, one of the titles of the Prophet mentioned in the Gospel (inju) was ~ii~ibu l-tiij, which is glossed by the author ~iihibu
C
l_cimiima.15
In the traditions concerning the imiima, there is an evident tendency to praise the value of Bedouin dress, customs and weapons. The story of the appointment of CAllas the head of the expedition against some Arab tribes, reported by Abu 'Ubayda al-Hima, contains a peculiar passage concerning the Prophet's attitude towards the Bedouins. The Prophet dtessed CAllb. Abi TaIib in a black Cimiimaj he put the (fringes -k) of the cimiima on his back (or on his shoulder -k) and said: "You should use the Arab spears [i.e., the Bedouin ones -k) and Arab bows (al-qisiyy al-Cambiyya). By the means of these (weapons -k) God will grant victory to your faith (yan~uru lliihu di7U.Ikum) and will aid you in conquering the lands (wa-yafta~u lakumu l-biliida) .16
(Beirut, 1"407/1987), 37-38: .â¢. wa-qala l-zubayru, wa-kana fa~iba hadha 1-~iljL .. ; Ibn Sa'd, al- Tabaqat al-kubra (Beirut, 1380/1960), vol. 1, p. 85 inC.: ... wa-qala 'Abdu I-Muttalibi jf dhalika: sa-u§f Zubayran in tawaJat maniyyatf: bi-imsaki ma baynl wa·bayna banI 'amri wa·an ya~Jafi 1-~iIJa lladhf sanna shaykhuhu: wa-lti yu/~idan jfhi bi-fu/min wa·la ghadri qiila: Ja·au~ii 'Abdu I-Muttalibi ilii 'bnihi I·Zubayri bni 'Abdi I·Muffa/ibi, wa-au§a I-Zubayru ilii Abf Talibin, wa-aufii Abu rsuu« ilii 1·'Abbasi bni l-Muttalibi. 14 AI-NazwI, al-Mu~annaJ, h, 70. Cf. Al}mad b. Mul}ammad al-MaghribI, Fat~ almuta'iil jf mad~i I-ni'iil (Hyderabad, 1334), p. 101: wa-fihi annahu fii~ibu I-mi¢ra'ati wa-I-'imiimati wa-hiya I-tiiju, wa-I-hariiwati, wa-hiya I-qa¢lbu. And see the statement of Malik (b. Anas) in al-'AynI's' Umdat al-qiirf, shar~ fa~i1}i I·Bukhtirf (Beirut, 1348), vol. 21, p. 307:' al-'immatu wa-I-i~tibii'u wa·l-inti'iil min 'amali I-'arabi. 15 AI-Zurqaru, Shar~ 'alii I-mawiihibi I-Iaduniyya li-I-Qastalliinf (Cairo, 1326), vol. 3, p. 135, I. 4. 16 Ibn ~ajar al-'Asqalaru, al-Ifoba jf tamyfzi I-fa~iiba, 'All Muhammad al-BijawI,
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Tradition
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The debate over the quality of Arab weapons is repeated some seven centuries after the death of the Prophet. According to this report, the people of Khurasan claimed that it is useless to fight with the Arab bow; the most useful and efficientweapon being the Persian bow. People in.the border areas of the Muslim empire found the Persian bow incomparable to any other weapon because of its fine quality. A I],adfth of the Prophet was quoted in order to refute the erroneous opinion as to the preference of the Persian bow; it is, in fact, the I],adfth quoted in the preceding story with some minor changes.!" The importance of caring for the Bedouins' welfare is emphasized in the will of 'Umar, who named the Bedouins "the root of the Arabs and their mainstay." 18 In another letter of 'Umar, which he sent to the Muslim warriors in Adharbayjan, he summoned them to follow the ways of their ancestor Isma'Il, to wear the iziir, the ridii' and the sandals,
ed. (Cairo, 1971), vol. 4, p. 25; and see another version, ibid.: The Prophet dressed 'AlI in an 'imama on the day of GhadIr Khumm. See also al-Maqrfzr, Imta'u 1aama' bi-ma li-l-raauli mina l-anba'i wa-l-amwali wa-l-I}afadati wa-l-mata', Mahmud Muhammad Shakir, ed. (Cairo, 1941), vol. 1, p. 502: The Prophet sent 'All at the head of a troop to Yemen; he took a turban ('imama), rolled it two or four times, placed it on a spear and handed it over to 'All as a flag. He then dressed 'All in a .black turban, and wound it three times around his head, letting (the fringe of the imama -k) hang one .cubit in front of him and a certain distance (shibr) from behind him. The Prophet then said: "This is the proper way of winding the 'imama" (hakadha l-'imamatu). And see the version recorded in Dhahabr's Mfzan al-i'tidal, 'All Muhammad al-Bijawl, ed. (Cairo, 1382/1963), vol. 2, pp. 396-7. The Prophet stated that the angels sent by God to aid him on the day of Hunayn and on the day of Badr were clad in turbans wound in this fashion. He further remarked that the turbans distinguish between the Muslims and the unbelievers, Glancing at the attending people, the Prophet noticed a man with an Arab bow, and another with a Persian bow. The Prophet recommended the Arab bow and the Arab spears; by these God will aid the believers on Earth. See another version of the story of 'All who was sent by the Prophet on the day of Bi'r Khumm (the correct name of the place is evidently "Ghadlr Khumm" -k) with a group of warriors. The Prophet noticed a man with a Persian bow and another with an Arab bow among the warriors. The Prophet addressed the man with the Persian bow saying: "Throwaway this bow, as it is a cursed bow and cursed is the man who carries it. You have to carry the Arab bow." The Prophet enjoined the use of Arab bows and Arab spears; by these weapons God will strengthen the faith (of Islam -k) and make your grip on the land firm (wa-biha yumakkinu llahu jf l-bilad), in Abu Dawnd Sulayman b. al-Ash'ath alSijistani, al-Marasil, 'Abd al-'Azlz 'Izzu l-Din al-Sayrawan, ed. (Beirut, 1406/1986), p. 182, no. 28; and see Ibn Abll;!atim, 'Ilal al-I}adfth (Cairo, 1343), vol. 1, p. 486, no. 1457. l7lbn Taymiyya, Iqtitja'u l-firati l-mustaqfm mukhalafatu afl}abi l-jal}fm, Muhammad I;!a:mid al-Fiqt, ed. (Cairo, 1369/1950), p. 140. Note the expression, rimal} ol-qan« in this version; and see the interesting remark of the editor concerning the need to improve the weapons of the Muslims. Cf. the tradition in al-Bayhaqr's al-Sunan al-kubrii (Hyderabad, 1355), vol. 10, p, 14-15. 18 See 'Umar b. Shabba, Ta'n"kh al-madfna al-munawwara, Fahrm Muhammad Shalttlt, ed. (Makka al-mukarrama, 1399/1979), vol. 3, p, 937: ... wa-u§ikum bi-l-
a'rabi, facinnahum
aflukum wa-maddatukum
....
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to throwaway the trousers (al-sariiwiliit) and the boots (al-khifiif), to enjoy (the warmth of) the sun as that of a bath, and to stay away from alien fashions (ziyy al-Cajam) and luxuries (tanaCum). He advised them to live frugally, to gallop on horses and to engage in target practice with arrows. 19 The pious among the Umayyad governors demanded justice for the Bedouins. The famous ascetic, cA~a.)b. Abi Rabal}., a black slave in Mecca, was one of the great scholars widely respected for his knowledge of lJaduh and fiqh as well as his integrity. According to a report recorded in the Tadhkira of Ibn Hamdiin, cA~a.)entered the court of Sulayman b. cAbd al-Malik; when asked about his wishes, he bade the ruler to act according to the will of the Prophet. He asked to give the sons of the Muhii.jirun and the sons of the Anlllar their pay, and to care for the welfare of the desert dwellers (al-biidiya), since they are the mainstay (miiddatun) of the Arabs. He also requested that Sulayman alleviate the khariij tax levied on the dhimmis, since they help defend the ruler from the Muslim community's enemies as well as their own. In addition, he asked to extend help to the people of the frontiers (ahl al-thughiir), because they serve by defending the community (fa-innahu yudfaCu bihini
an hiidhihi l-umma).2o
The Prophet is said to have predicted that after his death there will ensue vehement civil wars (fitan) in which the dwellers of the deserts (ahlu l-bawiidi) will not be wet by the blood of the people nor by the seizing of their possessions. 21 _ The "imiima remained a symbol of strength, power, dignity, and honour. ''The turban denotes the dignity of the believer and the strength of the Arabs; if they remove their turbans, they will lose their strength." 22
19 Al-BayhaqI, al-Sunan al·kubra, vol.. 10, p. 14inf.j and see the explanation of some of the expressions in the letter of 'Umar: aI-Sar-arInI, Ghidha'u l-albab li-8har~i man~umati l-adab (Cairo, 1325), vol, 2, pp. 280-82; and see another version of this letter in Ibn al-JauzI, Manaqib amiri l-mu'minina 'umara bni l-khattabi, Zaynab Ibrahtm aI-Qiiriit, ed. (Beirut, 1402/1982), 127 inf.-128 sup. 20 Muhammad b. aI-ijasan (Ibn Hamdan), al· Tadhkira al·~amduniyya, Il;tsan 'Abbas, ed. (Beirut-Tripoli [Tunis], 1984), vol. 2, p. 92j cf. aI-FasI, al-'/qd althamin fi ta'n'khi l-baladi I-amin (Cairo, 1386/1966), vol. 6, p. 92; and see Abii Yiisuf, Wafiyyat Abi YU8UJ/i-Hanin al·Ra,hid, Mul;tammad b. ibrahIm al-Banna, ed. (Cairo, 1971), p. 25, no. 31. 21 Sulaymiin b. Al;tmad aI-TabaranI, Mu.nad al-.hamiyyin, ijamdr 'Abd aI·MajId aI-Silall, ed. (Beirut, 1409/1989), vol. 2, p. 394, no. 1562. 22 See aI-Mawardi, al-Amthal wa-l-~ikam, Fu'iid 'Abd aI-Mun'im Al;tmad, ed. (aIDauhe, 1403/1983), p, 133, no. 554 (191): i'tammu tazdadu ~ilman. And see Anonymous, Mal]allin al-ma,a'ifi manaqib al-Auza'i p. 54. (The saying is attributed to aIAuza'I). Cf. al-Raghib aI-~ahiinI; Mu~a4arat al-udaba', vol. 3-4, p, 371 (attributed to the Prophet); al-NazwI, al-MufannaJ, /2, p. 10 (attributed to the Prophet; another version, 'ilman is also recorded). This tradition was considered as "a weak one" by al-Bukharr, but was considered sound by aI-ijakim; see the discussion in ZurqiinI's Shar~ al-mawahib, vol. 5, p. 14 11.8-9. The tradition which claims that believers who
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Tradition
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The Bedouin customs were considered worthy of imitation. The Prophet himself is said to have approved of them. Al-Sharif al-Hadi quotes the prophetic statements concerning the crowns of the Arabs, coupled with the saying about the fashion of sitting peculiar to the Arabs (scil. the Bedouins -k): al-i/.ltiba' /.latan al-carab. In this style of sitting, the Bedouin places the palms of his hands, or a part of his garment which is fastened to his shoulders, under his thighs while sitting on his heels. This manner of sitting, called i/.ltiba', corresponds to the way the sedentary people sit, leaning their backs against a wall.23 A tradition recorded in al-Tirmidhi's Au~af al-nabi says that the Prophet used to sit in the mosque in the i/.ltibii' manner. 24 A widely circulated saying describes the carab in the following way: "God distinguished the Bedouins by four (favourable -k) features: the turbans are their crowns, their customary way of sitting (i/.ltibii') does not require walls, their swords are their clothing (sijanuha), and poetry is their dawan.,,25 The meaning ofthe statement al-suyiifu sajanuha can be gauged from a response given by one of the Shri imams: if a man has no garment (thaub), but is in the possessionof a sword, he is permitted to gird himself with the sword and pray.26 The same meaning is indicated in a statement of CAll . Abi Talib: "The sword has the status of a cloth; b the prayer of the believer is permitted if he is (merely -k) girded with a sword, except if he finds blood on it.,,27 The word "imiima implies the idea of nobility and dignity, corresponding to the idea of crowns (tijan) of the non-Arab kings. The Arabs therefore say: "Never did an cimama-wearing man lose his mind" (ma
remove their turbans will lose their strength is recorded in al-Daylami, Firdaus, MS. Chester Beatty 4139, fol. 36b: i'tammu tazdadu Qilman wa-waqaran, fa-idha tarakat ummatf l-a'immata tarakat 'izzaha wa-waqaraha; al-Munawt, Faytju l-qadir vol. 4, p. 392: al-'ama'imu tfjanu I-'arabi, fa-idha watja'u I-'ama'ima watja'u 'izzahum; alTha'alibt, Thimiiru I-qulub, Muhammed Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim, ed. (Cairo, 1384/1965), p. 159, no. 222; ja'a jf I-khabar: inna I-'ama'ima tfjanu I-'arabi fa-idha watja'uha
al-Majazat al-nabawiyya, Mahmud Mu~~aIa, ed. (Cairo, 1356/1937), pp. 152-3, no. 156; and see Ibn Qutayba, 'Uyunu l-akhbiir (Cairo, 1964), vol. 1, p. 300; and see the detailed explanation of this manner of sitting in Lane's Dictionary, s.v. Qbw. 24 Al- Tirmidhl, Au~af ai-nab! (I?), Samih 'Abbas, ed. (Beirut-Cairo, 1405/1985), p. 128, no. 122; and see the description of the iQtiba' manner of sitting supplied by the editor. 25 Al-Zamakhsharr, Rabi'u l-abriir , MS. Br. Mus. 6511, fol. 106b; on sfjan see Abu 'Umar Yusuf al-Qurtubi, Bahjat al-majalis wa-unsu l-rnujiilis , Muhammad Mursi al-Khulf and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Qi~~, ed. (Cairo, 1969), vol. 2, pp. 59-60; and see a slightly different version: "People used to say: the Arabs were singled out from among the other peoples by four features: the turbans are their crowns, the coats of mail (ai-duro') are their walls, the swords are their clothing (al-suyufu sfjanuha) and the poetry is their dfwan," in al- Tha'alibi, Tbimiir ol-quliib, p. 159, no. 222. 26 AI-MajlisI, BiQaru I-anwar, vol. 83, p. 191. 27 AI-MajlisI, BiQaru I-anwar, vol. 83, p. 189.
wada'a lliihu 'izzahum. 23 AI-Sharif al-Radi,
224
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M.J. Kister
qattu). In accordance with this perception, al-Sharif al-Radl explains the versElof al-Farasdaq: idhii miilikun alqii l-ciiniimata /(j-~dharfj: bawiidira kaffay miilikin ~fna yaghf!,abu
"When Malik discards the 'imiima, beware of the fits of passion of his hands when he becomes angry." AI-Sharifal-Ra4i explains convincingly that when the man is dressed in a turban his behaviour is quiet, without any fits of violence. In the same way he explains the famous verse:
anii bnu jalii wa-talliicu l-thaniiya: mata af!,aci l-cimamata tacri/iinf.
The verse implies a threat of violence when the man removes the
cimiima.28
II
A substantial change in the significance of the "imiima took place with the advent ofIslam. When the Prophet brought the clothes ofthe sadoqo and divided them among the Companions, he ordered them to wear the camii'im, in order to distinguish themselves from the people who preceded them.29 This prophetic injunction clearly implies that the "imiima is the headgear of the believers: the unbelievers of old did not wear
camii'im.
Another tradition with an obvious Muslim tendency contains the dictum about the camii'im as crowns of the Arabs and the statement about the il}tibii'; the third phrase of the tradition says: the sitting of the believer in the mosque is his ribat (i.e., his military station in which he expects to receive the order to fight the unbelievers _k).3o This segment of the tradition is indeed innovative and surprising. The ancient
28 AI-Shari1'al-RaQ1, al·Majazat al-nabawiyya, pp. 152-153, no. 156; see the editor's critical remark claiming that in this verse "mata alja'i l-imama" means: "when I put on the 'imama," and not "when I remove the 'imama." In the preceding verse I read "yaghljabu," following the edition of the Diwan of al-Farazdaq by 'Abdallah Isma'Il al-$&wI (Cairo, 1354/1936), p. 31, penult. instead of tU'fabu, as read by aI-Sharif al·RaQi. On Ibn Jala, see L'A, vol. 14, pp. 152-3, s.v. jala. 29, All b. Mul}.ammad b. 'Ariiq al-KinanI, TanzIh al-.han ...⢠al-marfii' a 'ani l-akMan a I-.hani'ati I·maulju'a, 'Abd al-Wahhab 'Abd al-La~if and 'Abdallah Mul}.ammad al-Slddrq, ed. (Beirut, 1399/1979), vol. 2, p. 272: ... i'tammu khalifii l·umama qablakum .... sOShIrawayh b. Shahridar, Firdaull al-akhbar, Fawwiiz al-Zimirli and Muhammad al-Mu't~im bi-llah (Beirut, 1407/1987), ed., vol. 3, p. 117, no. 4110; al-MunawI, Faylju I.qadir, vol. 4, p, 392, no. 5723; el-Shauksnr, al-Fawa'idu l-majmu'a fi 1al}adfthi l-maulju'a, 'Abd al-RaI].miin b. YaI}.ya1- Mu'allamII-YamanI, ed. (Beirut, 1393), p. 187, no. 538; al-'AjlUnI al-JarraJ:ir, Kashf al·khafa', vol. 2, p. 72, no. 1783: ... wa·l-iljtija'u fi 1- ma,iijidi ribiitu l-mu'min. 'All al-QarI, Ri.ala I}awiya li-masa'ila mu.htamilatin 'ala l·'imama wa-l· 'adhaba kammiyyatan wa·kayfiyyatan, MS. Hebrew University, Yahuda Ar., 990, 8, fol. 20 b, II. 3-4.
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customs of Bedouin society are mentioned in this tradition jointly with a Muslim virtue. A tradition recorded by al- Tirmidhi states that the 'imiima forms a sign which separates the Muslims from the unbelievers; Muslims wear turbans, unbelievers do not.31 A more detailed tradition says that what marks the difference between the believers and the unbelievers are the turbans placed on the caps of the believers.V Since turbans are exclusively worn by believers, the privilege of wearing them should not be granted to the unbelievers. This is exemplified by the treatment meted out by 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Azlz to the delegation of the Christian Banii Taghlib. They entered the court of 'Umar wearing turbans like those of the (Muslim -k) Arabs. They asked the Caliph to attach them to the heads of the Arabs (al~iqnii bi-l- 'ambi). The Caliph asked: "So who are you?" They answered: "Weare the Banii Taghlib." Then 'Umar inquired: "Are you not from among the noble Arabs?" (a-wa-Iastum min awiisiti l-'ambi?) They replied suecintly: "We are Christians." Then 'Umar ordered to bring him shears (al-jalam); he cut a part of their forelocks, removed their turbans and cut a part (shibr) of their dress (ridii'). He enjoined them to refrain from riding on saddles (al"suriij), and ordered them to put both their legs on one side of the riding beast.33
31 Al-Kinani, al-Di'Bma, 6 inf.: ... al- 'imama I}ajizatun bayna l-kufri wa-I-fmani, bayna I-muslimfna uia-l-mushrikin . Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, al-Matiilibu I-'iiliya bizawii'idi I-masiinfdi I-thamiiniya, Yusuf 'Abdal-Hahman al-Mar'ashi, ed. (Beirut, 1407/1987), vol. 2, p. 257, nos. 2158-59; Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI,Fatl}u t-ss«, sharI} ~al}fl}i l-Bukhiiri, Bulaq, 1301 (repr. Beirut) vol. 10, p. 232; al-'AynI, 'Umdatu I-qiirf, sh arb. ~al}fI}iI-Bukhiirf, vol. 21, p. 308 ... anna rasiila lliihi da'ii 'Alf b.Abf '!'iilib (r) yauma Ghadtri KhummJa-'ammamahu wa-arkhii 'adhabata l-'imiimati min khalfihi, thumma qiila: hiikadha la-i'tammu, [a-inna I-'ama'ima sfma'u I-islami wa-hiya 1I}ajizu bayna I-muslimfna uia-l-mushrikina, 32 Al-Kinanr, al-Di'Bma, 6-7; Ibn al-Dayba', Taysfru al-wu~iil ila jami'i l-usiil min I}adfthi l-rasiil (Cairo, 1390), vol. 4, p. 186; Ibn Qayyim a1-Jauziyya, Al}kiimahli I-dhimma, vol. 2, .p, 739 (and see the references of the editor); al-Munawl, FaytJu 1qadtr (Beirut, 1391/1972), vol. 4, p. 392, no. 5725 (and see the comments of Munawi;
al-Munawt, Sharl}u I-shama'ili li-I-tirmidhf ('alii .hamishi jam'i I-wasii'il If sharl}i 1shama'il li·l-tirmidhf li-'alf I-qarf) Cairo, 1318 (repr. Beirut), p. 165; al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-kobir , Harndf 'Abd al-Majld al-Silafi, ed. (n.p., 1405/1984), vol. 5, p.
71, no. 4614. 33 Ibn Taymiyya,
and see ibid. 429, no. 5849, and see the important explication of al-Munawt, ibid.); al-Dhahabi, Mfziin al-i'tidal, 'AlI Muhammad al-Bijawf, ed. (Cairo, 1382/1963), vol. 3, p. 546, no. 7522; al-Suyu~I, al-fliiwf li-I-Iatiiwf, Muhammad MUQyI I-Din 'Abd al-Hamrd, ed. (Cairo, 1378/1959), vol, 1, p. 111; 'All b. Burhan al-Din al-Halabr, al-Sira al-I}alabiyya (Insan al-'uyUn jf sfrati I-amfnil-ma'mun) (Cairo, 1382/1962), vol. 3, p. 379; Ibn Hajar aJ-'AsqalanI, al-Iljaba jf tamyfzi I-Ijal}aba, 'All Muhammad al-Bijawl, ed .. (Cairo, 1971), vol. 6, p. 336; CC. al-Daylamr, Musnad al-firdaus, MS. Chester Beatty no. 3037, fol. 190 b: lii tazalu ummatf 'ala I-fitrati mii labisu I-'ama'ima 'ala l-qaliinisi; Ibn 'Araq, Tanzilui I-shari'a, vol. 2, p. 272; 'Abd al-Ra'ijf
lqtitja'u
I-lJiriiti I-mustaqfm,
Muhammad
l;Iamid al-FaqqI,
ed.
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M.J. Kister
The change in the significance of the turban and its practical benefits, usually related in the books of adab,34 is evident in a tradition transmitted by Malik b. Anas. Malik recommends that the believers wear the turban and the striped garment (like that worn by the Prophet -k) on the two feasts (Ii l-efdayn) and on Friday, because the Prophet used to wear such clothes on these days. Malik quotes the saying of the Prophet: "God strengthened Islam by the turbans and the flags.,,35 He himself urged the people to wear turbans; he began to wear the eimama when he was very young and he did not have even one hair on his face. He reported on the authority of cAbd al-eAzlzb. al-Mu~~alib36 that he had been severely admonished by his father when he entered the mosque without an eimama.37 Malik relates that in the court of Rabi'a b. eAbd al-RaIpna.n38 he saw more than thirty people wearing t.urbans.39 In the mosque of the Prophet (in Medina -k), he met seventy men wearing turbans fastened under their chins (sabefna mu~annakan). All were righteous people: if one of them were to be put in charge of the treasury, he would be trustworthy (amfn). Malik did not begin to issue /atwas before he was granted the permission (ijaza) of forty men wearing turbans fastened under their chins.4o He reiterated his support for the fastening of the turban under the chin when he was asked about a believer who failed to fasten his turban in this manner. He disapproved of this act, stating that this is the fashion of the Nabatheans
(Cairo, 1369), p. 123; and see Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, A~kiim ahli I-dhimma, Subl}I l-~alil}, ed. (Damascus 1381/1961), vol. 2, pp. 742-44. 34 See e.g., Ibn Qutayba, 'Uyiinu l·akhbiir (Cairo, 1383/1963), I, 300: A Bedouin was asked why he frequently (tukthiru) wears the turban; he answered: a bone containing (the organs of-k) hearing and seeing indeed deserveti to be guarded from heat and cold. When the turban was mentioned in Abu I-Aswad al-Du'alI's presence, he stated: "The turban is a form of protection in war. It insulates both in cases of heat and cold, it raises one's stature (ziyiidatun ji.l-qiima) and is indeed a habit of the Arabs (' iidatun min 'iidiiti 1-'arab). 35 Malik b. Anas, Ri,ala j11·,unan wa-l-mawii'if wa-l.iidab, 'Abdallah Al}mad Abu ZIna, ed. (Cairo, 1983). inf: in i,ta~a'ta allii ta4a'a l·'imiimata wa-l-burda j11-'fdayni wa-l.jumu'atiJa-f'al; balaghanf 'ani I-nabiyyi (~alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam) annahu kiina yalba,u l·'imiimata wa-l-burda j11-'fdayni wa-l-jumu'ati wa-qiila: inna llaha ta'ala a'azza l-i.liima bi-l-'amii'imi wa-l-alwiyati. 36See on him: Ibn l;Iajar al-'AsqaliinI, Tahdhibu l·tahdhib (Hyderabad, 1326), vol. 6, p. 357, no. 682; and see Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqiit al-kubrii, al·qi,mu I-mutammim li-tiibi'f ahli I-madfna, Ziyad Mui}ammad M~ur, ed. (al-MadIna al-munawwara, 1408/1987),460, no. 392 (and see the references of the editor). 37Waki', Akhbiiru l-qu4iit, 'Abd al-'AzIz Mu,~ al-Maragru, ed. (Cairo, 1366/1947), vol. 1, p. 202. 3S See on him Ibn Sa'd, al- Taooqiit al-kubra, al-qillm al-mutammim, p. 320 (and see the abundant references of the editor). 39Waki', Akhbiiru l-qu4at vol. 1, p. 202; and see Ibn Sa'd, al- Tabaqiit, al-qiam al·mutammim, p, 321. 40 AI-ShaukanI, Naylu I-aufar, .har~ muntaqii I·akhbarmin a~iidfthi l-akhyar (Cairo, 1372/1953), vol. 2, pp. 121-22.
The Turban in the Muslim
Tradition
227
and not the fashion of the people (i.e., the believers -k). Only when the turban is a small one, and its fringes do. not reach the chin, or in the case of illness, is the believer permitted to refrain from fastening them under his chin and to remain at home. When Malik was asked about letting down the fringes of the "imiima behind the back of the believer, he stated that he knew only one man from among his contemporaries (mimman adraktuhu), who wore the turban in this way, namely cAmir b. "Abdallah b. al-Zubayr.t! "This fashion of wearing the turban is not forbidden (laysa dhiilika bi-I}ariim), but (it is preferable -k) to let the fringes down on the front (bayna yadayhi).42 Shici tradition asserts that a prayer recited by a believer wearing a turban not fastened under his chin is disliked.P The Shl'I imiims urged their followers to observe the custom of fastening the turban under their chin. The Prophet is said to have stated: "The distinction between the Muslims and the unbelievers is the fastening of the turbans under their chin.,,44 Another tradition attributed to the Prophet says that he enjoined the fastening of the turban under the chin and prohibited the wearing of the turban otherwise (wa-qad nuqila anhu (~aICam) annahu amara bi-l-talal}l}i wa-nahii cani l-iqtiCiit) .45 A very early statement transmitted by "Abd al-Hazzaq on the authority of Ma'mar-Layth- Tawus says that a believer who does not fasten the turban under his chin wears it in a satanic fashion (hiidhihi "immatu l-shaytiin).46 There is indeed a description of Satan fitting the description given in the utterance of Tawiis: when Iblis Was sent down from Heaven, he wore a turban not fastened under his chin, he was one eyed (aCwar), and wore a sandal (na I) on one of his legs.47 A turban worn by a believer who did not fasten it under his chin is called al-i imiima al-muqaCCata (or muqtaCita). This manner of wearing the turban is said to have been common among the people of Liit and
C C
41 See on him: Al-Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah b. al-Mus'ab, al-ZubayrI, Nasab quraysh, E. Levi Provencal, ed. (Cairo, 1953), p. 243, 1. 12; and see Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, Toh dhibu I-tahdhib, vol. 5, p. 74, no. 117. 42 Al-'AynI, 'Umdat al-qan, vol. 21, p. 307; and see Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, Fatly ai-barf, sharI} ~al}il}i l-Bukhiiri; vol. 10, p. 232,1. 10. 43 Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. 'All al-TusI, al-Nihaya if mujarradi I-fiqhi wa-IJatiiwa, Beirut, p. 98: wa-yukrahu li-I-insani an yu~alliya Jf'imamatin Iii lyunuko lahii. 44 Al-Majlisf, Bil}aru l-anwar, vol. 83, p. 194: ... wa-qala I-nabiyyu sollii llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam: al-Jarqu bayna I-muslimina uia-i-mushrikina al-talal}l}f bi-I'ama'imi. 45 Al-Majlist, Bil}aru I-anwiir, vol. 83, p. 194; al-Jauharf identifies the verbal noun al-talal}l}f with al-tal}annuk. 46 'Abd al-Razzaq b. Hammam al-San'anr, al-Mul/annaJ, Habrbu l-Rahman alA'!?amI, ed. (Beirut, 1392/1972), vol. 11, p. 80, no. 19978; and see Ibn Qutayba, Ta'wil mukhtalifi I-I}adfthi, p. 422. 47 Al-Tha'Iabi, 'Ara'is al-majalis, (Qillal! al-anbiya'), n.p., n.d., p. 50 ult.
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was forbidden by the Prophet.48 A Shi"I statement, recorded on the authority of the imam al-Sadiq says: "He who wore the "imiittu: and did not fasten it under his chin, let him not blame anyone except himself if he is inflicted with a pain for which there is no remedy."49 The opinions of the scholars who urged the fastening of the "imiima under the chin are contradicted by ShaficI scholars who did not consider the fastening of the Cimama under the chin as sunna.50 Some reservations concerning the fastening of the cimama's fringe under the chin can be discerned in the formulation of the ~adfth attributed to the Prophet, which states that the fastening of the fringe of the cimama under the chin marks the difference between the believers and the unbelievers. 51 The peculiar additional phrase in this ~adfth indicates the possibility of change in the future: "This ~adfth was uttered at the beginning of Islam and in its first period."52 It is this phrase which becomes problematic for the scholars of ~adfth, since they are confronted by traditions urging believers to wear the cimiima with the ends hanging loose on their backs or on their chests. 53 The ta~annuk is "nowadays" practiced only by the descendants of al-Husayn in Bahrayn; it is a practice inherited from their ancestors. 54 The superiority of Islam over other religious communities, and the injunctions which claim that the Muslims differ in their lifestyle from others, was the main reason for the restrictions imposed on the ahl aldhimma in their dress, including the wearing of the 'imiima. The utterance according to which "contempt and humiliation became the lot of those who disobey my order" is said to refer to ahl al-dhimmaj they surpass other people in their disobedience of God's orders and in their insubordination. Therefore they ought to be singled out by a humiliating sign in their dress (al-ghiyar). On the other hand, God singled out the believers by dress which emphasizes their obedience to God and to His messenger. In accordance with the statement of the Prophet: "He who
48 AI-TurtushI, Kitiib al·~awiidith wa-I-bida', Mul}ammad aI-TiilibI, ed., Tunis, 1959, pp. 65-66. 49 Yusu{ aI-Bal,triinI, al.lfadii'iqu l-niitJira, Muhammad T~ aI-AyrawiinI, ed. (NajaC, 1379), vol. 7, p, 126; aI-MajlIsI, Bi~iir al-anwiir, vol. 83, p. 194. 50 AI-Sayyid al-Bakrf, ['iinat al·tiilibin 'alii ~alli al/ii:;/at~i l-mu'in, n.d., vol. 2, p. 82 inC: ... 1Oa-liiYU6annu ta~niku l·'imiimati 'inda 1-6hiiJi'iyyati .... 51 See above, note 47. 52 AI-Bal;IrinI, al-Ifadii'iqu l-niitJira, vol. 7, p, 126, I. 15: .â¢. lOa-dhiilika fi alO1Oali I·ialiimi wa-btidii'ihi. 53See e.g., al-Bal,triinI, al·lfadii'iqu l-niitJira, vol. 7, p. 127: ... aqulu: wa-'indi;lf mii dhakariihu hunii min i8ti~biibi l.ta~annuk dii'iman i,hkiilun Ii-anna dhiilika lOa-in kiina huwa :;iihiru l·akhbiiri l-mutaqaddimati illii anna hunii jumlatan mina l-akhbiiri Â¥iihirati l-munii/iiti li-dhiilika, ~aythu anna Â¥iihirahii anna l-mu.ta~abb li-I-mu'tammi dii'iman innamii huwa l-i.diilu duna l-ta~annuki. And see the discussion on this topic in al-Sayyid al-Bakrr'e ['iinat al-tiilibin, vol. 2, p. 83 seq. 54 AI-Bal;IriinI, al-I]adii'iq al·niitJira, vol. 7, p. 129, II. 6-7.
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Tradition
229
assimilates himself to a people becomes one of them" (man tashabbaha biqaumin fa-huwa minhum) ;55believers ought to dress like believers, and the disobedient ahl al-dhimma must also dress in a distinctive fashion.56 According to some traditions, the Prophet stated: "Disagree with the Jews and do not wear turbans that are not fastened under the chin, or with their fringes not let down (on their backs -k), as this fashion of wearing the turban (ta~mim) is the fashion of the Jews."57 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya forbade the ahl al-dhimma to wear the turbans in the fashion of the Prophet and the Companions. His prohibition is based on historical facts: the turbans were the crowns of the Arabs and their glory (Cizzuha). By wearing them they surpassed other peoples. The Prophet and the Companions wore this headdress; the turbans were thus the dress of the Arabs in the "old time" (qadiman) and became the headdress of the Muslims. Turbans were not worn by Banu Isra'Il, they Werethe headdress of the Arabs. Ibn Qayyim quotes the opinion of Abu l-Qasim al-Tabarani, who stated that a dhimmf is not allowed to wear the turban because he has no honour (La cizza Lahtt) in the abode of Islam, and this headdress is not (a part -k) of his dress.58 Ibn Qayyim further traces the opinions of later scholars who were prepared to allow the ahl al-dhimma to wear turbans on the condition that they be marked by special pieces of cloth, clearly indicating that they are not Muslims.P? If ahl al-dhimma are allowed to wear the turban, they are forbidden to fasten it under their chin (al-tala~~i), or to let its fringes hang loosely behind their backs (La yursiliina atrafa l-'imamati khalfa ~uhiirihim).60 A particular version offashion restrictions imposed on ahl al-dhimma
55 See e.g., al-Munawt, Fayt/u l-qadfr, vol. 6, p. 104, no. 8593 and the thorough explanation of the statement by Munawf; Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, A~kam ahli 1dhimma vol. 2, p. 736; M. J. Kister, "Do Not Assimilate Yourselves ... " JSAI 12 (1989): 321-353. 56 See e.g., Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, A~kam ahli l-dhimma, Subhr al-Salih, ed. (Damascus, 1381/1961), vol. 2, pp. 737-739. 57 Al-Safarrnr, Ghidha'u l-nlbiib li-sharryi man~iimati l-adab (Cairo, 1325), vol. 2, p. 207, penult.: khaliJii l-yahiid wa-Ia tu~ammimii [a-inno ta~mfma !-'amii'imi min ziyyi ahli I-kitiib; and another tradition: a'iidhu bi-lliihi min 'imiimatin §ammii'; 'All al-Qarr, al-A sriir ol-rnarjii" a If 1-akhbari l-maut/ii' a, Muhammad al-Sabbagh, ed. (Beirut, 1391/1971), p. 190, no. 184: a'iidhu bi-llahi min 'imiimatin §ammii', ibid. p. 100, no. 47 (and see the explanation of the word §amma', glossed on page 190, note 4: al-'imama al-§ammii' hiya al- 'imiima lIatf la 'adhabata laha). 58 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, A~kiim ahli-I-dhimma, 739-40. 59 Ibn Qayyim, A{ikiim ahli I-dhimma, 740-45. 60 Ibn Qayyim, A~kam ahli I-dhimma, 745-46. And see the thorough discussion on the subject of fastening the fringes of the 'imama under the chin, or letting them down on the believer's back. It is noteworthy that there is another way of combining the fastening of the fringes of the 'imama under the chin, while letting the other end hang down on the back, which was a perfectly acceptable way of wearing the 'imama. However, this manner of wearing the 'imama became obsolete and is disapproved of by the religious scholars. Ibn al-Hajj, al-Madkhal (Beirut, 1972), vol, 1, pp. 134-37.
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is concerned with the cap (al-qalansuwa). They took upon themselves to refrain from wearing caps similar to those worn by the Prophet and his Companions. In later times the cap was worn by distinguished scholars, judges, lawyers (Juqahii'), nobles (al-ashriif) and preachers. This fashion of wearing the cap was continued until the end of Salah al-Din's dynasty.P! The difference between the appearance of the believers and the unbelievers is the shape of the turbans worn over their caps.62 It was thus essential to order the ahl al-dhimma to change the fashion or the colour of their caps. 63 The first person who wore the turbanwas Adam after he was expelled from Paradise and descended to dwell on Earth. Jibril descended from Heaven and dressed him in an cimiima.64 Likewise Dhii l-Qarnayn wore an "imiima; he was compelled to wear it in an attempt to conceal the horns on his head.65 According to a traditionofthe Prophet, transmitted by cA'isha, the majority of the angels whom the Prophet saw in Paradise also wore turbans.P'' The traditions concerning the colour of the turbans worn by the angels sent by God to support the Muslim forces on the day of Badr are not unanimous. Some of the early scholars reported that the angels wore white turbans; the fringe of their turbans hung down on their backs (qad arsaliihii fi ~uhiirihim); others reported that on the day of Hunayn the angels wore red turbans.67 The tradition of the white turbans conforms to the widely circulated statement of the Prophet, in which he recommended the living wear white clothes and to bury the dead in white.68 A peculiar tradition says that Jibril descended on the day of Badr wearing a yellow turban; this headdress was in the style of
61 Ibn Qayyim, A~kam ahli I-dhimma, pp. 737-8. 62 See al-Shaukani, al-Fauui'Ldu I-majmii' a fi-I-a~adfthi I-maul/ii' a, 'Abd alRahman b. Ya~ya l-Mu'allimt l-Yamanf, ed. (Judda, 1380), p. 188, no. 540; and see the references of the editor. Cf. Ibn Qayyim, A~kiim, pp. 738-39. 63 See e.g., Ibrahim b. 'Arr b. Yusuf al-FayriizabadI al-Shafi'I, al-Muhadhdhab jf fiqhi l-Imiimi l-Shafi'f, Beirut, 1379/1959 (repr.) vol. 2, p. 355 sup., where some special features of dress which should be imposed on ahl al-dhimma are suggested. 64 Al-Kinanr, al-Di'amajf al}kami sunnati I-'imama, 5 sup.; in Paradise Adam wore a crown on his head. 65 Al-Kinani, op. cit., p. 5. 66 Al-Suytiti, Jam'u I-jawami' (Cairo, 1978), vol. 1, p. 531. 67 Al-Suyutr, al-Durr al-manthiir jf l-tajsfri bi-I-ma'thiir, Cairo, 1314, [repr. Tehran), vol. 2, p. 70 sup.: wa-akhraja ibn Isl}aq wa-l- Tabarani 'ani bni 'Abbiisin qiila: kiinat sfma I-mala'ikati yauma badrin 'ama'ima btl/an, qad arsaliihij. jf fuhiirihim, wa-yauma ~unaynin 'ama'ima l}umran ... ; and see the early Tajsfr of Muqatil b. Sulayrnan, 'Abdallah Mahmud Shahatah, ed. (Cairo, 1979), I, 299: '" musawwimiina: ya'nf mu'allamiima bi-l-~iifi l-abyal/i jf nawa~f l-khayli wa-adhnabiha, 'alayha I-bayal/u, mu'tammiina bi-I-bayal/i wa-qad arkhau atriija 1'ama'imi bayna aktiifihim. ... ; and see Ibn Kathir, Tajstra l-qur'ani l-'affm (Beirut, 1385/1966), vol. 2, p. 108. 68 Al- Tabarani, Musnad al-shamiyyfn, Hamdi 'Abd al-Majid al-Silafi, ed. (Beirut, 1409/1989), vol. 2, p. 332, no. 1439: ... Ii-yalbasi I-bayal/a al}yii'ukum wa-yukaffinii
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al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam, who wore a yellow turban on this day.69 According to another tradition, all the angels who were ordered to attend the battle of Badr wore yellow turbans following the fashion of al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam. It is not surprising that the tradition was transmitted by 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr."? A harmonizing tradition, traced back to 'Abbad b. 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr, claims that the angels attending the battle of Badr descended as white birds, wearing yellow turbans, like that of Abu 'Abdallah. The Prophet affirmed the tradition. On the day of Badr he himself wore a yellow turban."! Yellow seems to have implied beauty and emphasized the high position of the person who wore it.72 In some cases it symbolized the believer's hope that his prayers would be fulfilled. This notion is implied in the tradition attributed to Ibn 'Abbas: "He who wears a yellow sandal (na'l), his prayer will be granted and his needs will be fulfilled." The author of the tafsir hesitates as to the validJfhii mautiihum; Muhammad N~ir al-Din al-Albani, Mukhta~ar al-shamii'il almul]ammadiyya li-t-imnm aba 'fsii mul]ammadi bni saurata I-tirmidhf ('Amman-alRiyad, 1406), p. 50, nos. 54, 55: ... 'alaykum bi-l-bayii4i mina I-thiyiibi, li-yalbas-hii al]yii'ukum wa-kaffinu ./Ihii mautiikum, Ja-innahii min khayri thiyiibikum and: ilbasu l-bayii4a, Ja-innahii atharu wa-atyabu wa-kaffinu ./Ihii mautiikum; cf., Ibn KathIr, Tajsir al-qur'iin al-'a:ffm (Beirut, 1385/1966), vol. 3, p. 161 sup.; al-Dimyati, Kitab mukht as ar Jf strati I-nabiyyi ~allii lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallam, MS. Chester Beatty no. 3332, fol. 55a, inf. 556; BIbI bint 'Abd al-Samad al-Harawiyya al-Harthamiyya, Juz', 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Abd al-Jabbar al-Fartwa'I, ed. (Kuwayt, 1406/1986), p. 51, no. 47: 'All b. Balaban al-Farisf, al-Il]siin bi-tartfbi ~al]fl]i bni I]ibbiin, Kamal Yusuf al-I;Iut, ed. (Beirut, 1407/1987), vol. 7, p. 393, no. 5399; al-MundhirI, al- Targhfb wal-Larhib mina I-I]adfthi l-sharfJ, Muhammad Muhyt I-DIn 'Abd al-Harnrd, ed. (Cairo, 1380/1961), vol. 4, p. 157, nos. 2947-8; Ibn al-Jauzt, Kitiib al-I]adii'iq ./I 'ilmi 1I]adfthi wa-I-zuhdiyyiit, Mu~tafa l-Sabkr, ed. (Beirut, 1408/1988), vol. 3, p. 24; al-Shaukani, Naylu I-autiir bi sharl]i muntaqii l-akhbiir min al]iidfthi I-akhyiir (Cairo, 1372/1953), vol. 2, pp. 110-111; Ibn Sa'd, al-Tobaqiit al-kubrii (Beirut, 1380/1960), vol. 1, pp. 449-50; al-DhahabI, Mfziin al-i'tidiil, vol. 4, p. 346, no. 9400; Nur al-Dtn al-Haytharni, Mawiirid al-:fam'iin ilii zawii'idi bni I]ibbiin, Muhammad 'Abd al-Razzaq Hamza, ed. (Cairo, n.d.), p. 348, no. 1339; Ibn I;Iajaral-HaytamI, alFatiiwa al-I]adfthiyya (Cairo, 1390/1970), p. 172; al-Katakant, al-Burhiin ./I taJsfri I-qur'iin, Mahmud b. Ja'far al-Musawi al-Zarandl, ed. (Tehran, 1375), vol. 1, p. 312. Muhammad b. 'Abdallah b. Ibrahim al-Shafi'r, Kitiib al-Jawii'id, al-shahir bil-ghuiiniyyiit, Hilmf Karnil As'ad 'Abd al-Hadt, ed. (al-Riyad, 1417/1997), vol. 1, p. 133, no. 89: ... Mul]ammad b. Hiliil: ra'aytu 'Air b. al-IJusayn (r) ya'tammu bi'jmiima bay4ii'a yurkhf'imiimatahu min warii'i :fahrihi; and see on white dress and white turbans: al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam ol-kabir , vol. 7, nos. 6759-62 and nos. 697577; al-Munawi, Fay4u l-qadir , vol. 2, pp. 155-56, no. 1583, vol. 4, p. 337, no. 5517; al-Suyuti, al-Hawi, vol. 2, p. 116 imp., 117 sup. 69 Al-Tabarant, al-Mu'jam ol-kabir , vol. 1, p. 120, no. 230. 70 Al-Suyutl, al-Durr al-manthur, vol. 2, p. 70; cf. al-Hasan b. Muhammad b. alHusayn al-QummI al-Naysaburi, Gharii'ibu I-qur'iin wa-raghii'ibu l-furqiin; Ibrahrm 'Atwa 'Awad, ed. (Cairo, 1381/1962), vol. 4, p. 60; al- Tabarf, Tafsir (Jiimi' al-bayiin 'an ta'wui iiyi I"qur'iin), Mahmnd and Ahmad Shakir, ed. (Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, n.d.) vol. 2, pp, 188-9, nos. 7786-90. 71 Al-Suyutr, al-Durrol-mantbur, vol. 2, p. 70; al-Zamakhshari, Rabi'u I-abriir, Salim al-Nu'aymI, ed. (Baghdad, 1982), vol. 4, p. 38. 72 See e.g., the article "zbrq" in L,'A.
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ity of this statement, but mentions the opinion of some commentators, who claim that God satisfied the needs of the Banii Isra'Il because of the commandment of the yellow cow ala baqaratin ~afra'). The angels clad in yellow turbans let their fringes hang down between their shoulders. 73 Waqidi records an anonymous tradition claiming that on the day of Badr, the fighters' turbans were green, yellow (~ufr) and red.?" A single tradition, transmitted on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, says that on the day of Uhud the angels wore red turbans; on the day of Badr they wore black turbans.f" Wearing black garments carried pejorative connotations. AI-SafarInI records the opinion of Ahmad b. Hanbal, who states that black was the colour of the people of the sultan and of the wrong-doers (~alama). Some scholars. were of the opinion that the black clothes of the deceased had to be burnt after the burial. Black clothes were worn fOTthe first time in the period of the Abbasids; the first person who wore them was 'Abdallah b. 'All b. 'Abdallah b. 'Abbas. Black was worn as a sign of mourning, as a symbol of grief and disaster. The Abbasids began to wear black after the murder of the Abbasid imam Ibrahlm.76 It may be mentioned that on the day of 'Uthmau's murder the Companions delivered their eulogies wearing black turbans."? Although 'All b. AbI Talib wore black on that day, he generally advised to refrain from wearing black clothes, because they are the dress of Fir'aun.18 But Jibril, who participated in the drowning of Fir'aun, was also dad in a black 'imama on that day. 79 A rare tradition concerning the fate of the Abbasid dynasty was transmitted by a rather unreliable muf:iaddith, Shah b. ShIT Mamiyan.80 Jibril came to the Prophet clad in a black gown with full sleeves (alqaba')' and informed him about the descendants of 'Abbas: they will be leaders of the people and will be followed by the people of Khurasan. They will rule the world (yamlik~ unildu l-'abbasi al-wabar wa-l-madar
r
73 Abu Bakr Muhammad b. 'Abdallah, known as Ibn al-'ArabI A~kiimu I-qur'iin, 'All Muhammad al-Bijawr, ed. (Cairo, 1387/1967), vol. 1, p. 297. 74 AI-WaqidI, Kitiib al-maghiizf, Marsden Johns, ed. (Oxford, 1966), vol. 1, p. 75. 75 Al-Suyu~I, al-Durr al-manthur, vol. 7, p. 70, 1. 1; Ibn Kathrr, Tajsfr, vol. 2,
p.108.
Al-SafarInI, Ghidhii'u l-albiib, vol. 2, pp. 146-7. Al-Munawt, Shar~ 'alii jam'j I-wasii'il if shar~i l-shamii'il (Cairo, 1318), vol. 1, p. 165; al-Suytitr, al-Jfawf li-I-jatiiwf, Muhyr I-DIn 'Abd al-Hamld, ed. (Cairo, 1378/1959), vol. 1, p. 119: on the day of 'Utbman's murder 'All wore a black 'imiima. 78 Al-Bahranr, al-Jfiidii'iqu l-nodira, vol. 7, p. 116: Iii talbosa l-sawiida ja-innahu libiisu fir' auna. ' 79 Al-Suyutf, al-Jfawf, vol. 1, p. 121; Roberto Tottoli, "11 Faraone nella traditioni Islamiche: Akuna note in margine alla questione della sua conversione," Quaderni di Studi Arabi 14 (1996): p. 21; Burhan al-Dtn al-Halabr, Insiin al-'uyun jf siraii I-amfni l-ma'mun (al-Sfra al-~alabiyya) (Cairo, 1391/1971), vol. 3, p. 379. 80 See on him al-Dhahabr, Mfziin al-i'tidiil if naqdi l-rijii]; 'All Muhammad alBijawr, ed. (Cairo, 1382/1963), vol. 2, p. 260, no. 3650 (Shah b. Shir Bamiyan),
76 77
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233
wa-l-sanr wa-l.minbar) until the day of resurrection/" A version of this tradition recorded by (All al-QarI contains a passage which emphasizes its pro-Abbasid tendency. When the Prophet asked Jibril about his unusual dress, JibrIl answered that it is the dress of the descendants of cAbbas, the kings.82 The Prophet inquired whether they would be righteous and JibrIl affirmed that they would. The Prophet then asked to forgive them theirsins.83 According to reports of some Abbasid caliphs (the sons of al-Mu'tasim] the Prophet granted al-cAbbas an (imama and this is indeed the (imama with which the chosen caliphs were crowned. This "imiima is currently in possession of the caliphs' descendants in Egypt.S4 The tradition of the black cimama, which the Prophet put on the head of CAlIwhen he sent him with the mission of conquering Khaybar,85 and other reports on the black 'imama of (All, caused a new series of stories concerning Shns wearing black turbans. Shn scholars also permitted praying in black turbans and in black boots.86 A noteworthy tradition concerning the details of the turban is recorded.on the authority of the Companion of the Prophet, Abu Umama: The Prophet did not appoint a governor (kana ta yuwaUiwiiliyan) without dressing him in an cimama, letting down its fringes, the "adhaba, on the back of the appointed governor on his right side in the direction.of his (right) ear (wa-yurkM laha cadhabatan min al-janibi l-ayman nalJ.wal_udhun).81 The tradition implies that the Prophet invested the appointed governor (or the military leader) with authority by dressing him in the turban, letting down its fringe (or fringes), the "odhaba. The custom of dressing an appointed governor in a turban, practiced by the Prophet, is in fact a continuation of the customs of the Persian rulers, who invested their provincial governors with authority in this way in the Arab peninsula. The (imama was a headdress of the aristocratic leaders
81 Ibn I:Iajar aI-'AsqaIiini, Li,iin al-mfziin, Hyderabad, 1330, (second edition Beirut, 1390/1971), veil. 3, p. 136, no. 472. 82 See this prediction in Abil Nu'aym al-Isfahanf, Ifilyat al-auliyii' (Beirut, 1387/1967), vol. 1, p. 316 sup. 83 'AlI al-QarI, Jam'u I-wasii'il/f sharl}i I-shamii'il, Cairo, 1318, (repr. Beirut) vol. 1, p. 167. 84 'All al-QiirI, Jam'u l-wasii'il, vol. 1, p. 166. 85 Al-Suyutr, al.lfiiwr, vol. 1, p. 118 inC.; al-Shaukanf, Naylu l-autar bi-sharl}i muntaqii l-akhbiir min al}iidrthi sayyidi l-akhYiir (Cairo, 1312/1953), vol. 2, p. 121 (the end of the 'imiima hung down behind his back, or on his left shoulder); and see ibid.: a maula of 'AlI reporting that he saw 'AlI wearing a black 'imiima, and he let the ends hang down in front of him (i.e., on his chest -k] and on his back. 86 Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. aI-I;iasan aI-TilsI, al-Nihiiya jr mujarradi l-jiqhi waI-fatiiwii, Agha Buzurg al-Tahrant, ed. (Beirut, 1390/1970), 97; Ibn BabuyahalQummI, Kitiibu l·khifiil, 'AlI Akbar aI-Ghaflan, ed. (Tehran, 1389), 148, no. 179; aI-Ba.I:}riinI, al·lfadii'iqu l-niieJira,vol. 7, p. 116; al-Sar--anru,Ghidhii'u I·albiib, vol. 2, p. 146; al-MajlisI; Bil}iiru l-anwiir, vol. 83, p.249. 87 AI-SafiirInI, Ghidhii'u l-albiib', vol. 2, p. 205; aI-'AynI, 'Umdat al-qiirf, vol. 21, pp. 307-8; Nilr al-Dtn aI-HaythamI, Majma' al-zawa'id, vol. 5, p. 120, penult.
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of the Meccan community, and later of the commanders of the troops sent by the Prophet to raid the forces of the rebellious tribes and to conquer enemy territory. During the following generations, the cimama became the dress of the pious successors (tabictln), the distinguished scholars of the Muslim community, the judges, scribes and clerks in the offices of the rulers and governors. The scholars and judges wore fringes of the Cimama let down between the shoulders on their backs, or on their chests (bayna yadayhi wa-min khalfihi).88 The letting down of the cadhaba was included in the injunction of the Prophet concerning the wearing of the "imiima: "You shall wear the turbans, as they are the characteristic features (sIma) of the angels, and let down their ends on your backs."89 The Prophet is said to have referred to the graces granted to him by Allah, and mentioned among them the cadhaba of the cimama.9o The letting down of the cadhaba became a part of the prophetic sunna.91 AI-Suyii~i marks the cadhaba as one of the exclusive features (kha§a'z§) granted the Prophet (and his community -k): this is in fact one of the features (of the dress -k) of the angels.92 According to a tradition recorded by Ibn Taymiyya, the Prophet saw God in his dream. God asked him: "0 Muhammad, what is the subject debated by the angels in Heaven?" (if ma yakhta§imu l-mala'» l-aCla?). When the Prophet responded that he does not know the answer, Allah put His hand between the shoulders of the Prophet and apprised him of everything between heaven and earth. On that day the Prophet adopted the dress of the cadhaba (in the text: the shu'aba -k) hanging down between his
88 Al-Suyu~, al-Jfii.wf, vol. 1, pp. 117-19; al-SaIannf, Ghidhii.'u l-albii.b, vol. 2, pp.204·5. 89 Al-Salarinf, Ghidhii.'u l-albii.b, vol. 2, pp. ·204-5sup.: "'alaykun bi-l-'amii.'imi, Jainnahii. ,amii.'u l-malii.'ikati, fa-arkhuhii. khalfa tfuhurikum; Nnr ai-Din al-l;Ia.ythami, Majma' al·zawii.'id wa-manba' al-Jawii.'id (Beirut, 1967), vol. 5, p. 120; and see the story of al-I;lajjiij who wore the 'imii.ma letting down the 'adhaba behind his back, and entered the mosque in this fashion: al-FasawI, al-Ma'riJa wa·l-ta'n1ch, Akram Qiya' al-'Umari, ed. (Baghdad, 1401/1981), vol. 2, p. 481 sup.: Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'n1ch, vol. 4, p. 55; al-Shibli, Ma~ii.,in al-wasii.'il, p. 203; Ibn Sa'd, al- Tabaqii.t al-kubrii., vol. 6, pp. 282-83: ra'aytu ibrii.hfma (al-Nakha'a-k) ya'tammu wa yurkhf dhanabahii. (perhaps: dhu'ii.batahii.? -k) khalfahu. 90 'Ali b. Burhiin al-DIn al-l;lalabI, Insii.nu I-'uyun jf ,arati l-aman al-ma'mun (alSara al.i}alabiyya), (Cairo, 1382/1962), vol. 3, p. 343: ... wa-u'tftu I-cadhabata jf l-cimii.ma ... , 91 See the description in 'Ali al-Qiiri Jam'u I-wasii.'il jf shari}i I-shamii.'il, Cairo, 1318, (repr. Beirutvn.d.}, vol. 1, p, 167, on margin (the notes of al-Munawt]: ... wakii.na bnu' Umara yaralu dhii.lika, ya'na annahu sunnatun mu'akkadatun mai}fii.lFatun lam yartja l·~ulai}ii.'u tarkahii. .... 92 Al-Suyu~i, al-I(hafii.'ifu l-kubrii. =KiJii.yatu I·tillibi 1·labib jf khafii.'ifi I-i}abib, Muhammad Khalil Haras, ed.,(Cairo, 1386/1967), vol. 3, p. 199, I. 1: ... bii.bu ikhtifii.fihi ,alcam bi- 1- 'adhabati jf I-'imii.ma; and see ibid.: 'alaykum bi-l·camii.'imi wa-arkhiihii. khalfa 'fuhiirikum, Ja-innahii. samii.'u l-malii.'ikati.
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235
shoulders.P'' The prophetic injunction on letting down the fringes of the 'imiima seems to have been considered by some scholars only as a recommendation: it was up to the believer to observe this practice or to refrain from it. Neither was considered a bid' a. (wa-laysa tarku l-'adhabati bid'atan, ballahu fi'luhu wa-tarkuhu).94 A case of investing a military leader with authority by granting him a turban can be seen in the story of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf. He was a faithful Companion and was ordered to march against Dumat al-Janda1. According to the plan of the raid, 'Abd al-Rahman was instructed to leave Medina at night with a force of some 700 warriors. He put a black "imiima made of cotton on his head (wa-qad i'tiimma bi-'imiimatin min kariibis) and intended to set out in the direction of Dumat al-Jandal. When he came to see the Prophet the next morning, he explained that he had ordered his force to set out and wait for him in al-Juruf.95 He came to say farewell to the Prophet dressed in military attire. The Prophet removed the turban from his head and dressed him in a black (or, according to another version, in a white -k) turban, the fringes of which he let hang down between his shoulders. "That is the way to wear the 'imiima," remarked the Prophet.P" The investiture of 'Abd al93 Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zad al-ma'ad jf hadyi khayri I·'ibad (Beirut, repr., n.d.], vol. 1, pp. 34-35; this dream was transmitted by al- TirmidhI; see also the story in 'All al-QarI, Jam'u I-wasa'il jf sharM I-shama'il, vol. 1, pp. 167-68 (and see al-Munawt's notes on the story on the margin. Some scholars denounced the story as forged because of its anthropomorphic implications); see also the same story in al-Zurqanr's Shari}u I-mawahibi I-Iaduniyya li-I-Qastallanf (Cairo, 1326), vol. 5, p. 11 inf.-12. 94 AI-NawawI, al-Manthurat, ed. 'Abd al-Qadir Ahmad 'A~a, ed., p. 44, no. 70. 95 See on Juruf: al-Bakrt, Mu'jam ma 'ista'jama min asma'i I-biladi wa-I-mawatji', MU!1~afal-Saqqa, ed. (Cairo, 1364/1945), vol. 2, p. 377; and see the important note:
wa-hunaka kana I-muslimuna
96
yu'askiriina
idha aradu I-ghazwa.
Muhammad b. 'Umar al- WaqidI, K itab al-maghazf, Marsden Johns, ed. (Oxford, 1966), vol. 2, pp. 560-62; cf. al-ZamakhsharI, Rabi'u I-abrar, vol. 4, p. 39; al-WazIr al-Maghribl, al-Sira al-nabawiyya li-bni Hishiim, shari}uha, Suhayl Zakkar, ed. (Beirut, 1412/1992), vol. 2, pp. 1047-48; and see al- Taberant, Musnad alshamiyyfn, Muhammad 'Abd ai-Majid al-Silaff, ed. (Beirut, 1409/1989), vol. 2, p, 391, no. 1558; cf. al-Suyfi~I, al-IJawf li-I-fatawf, vol. 1, p. 469-70; Ibrahlm b. .Muhammad b. Harnsa al-Husaynf, al-Bayan wa-I-ta'nf jf asbabi wuriidi l-hadith; l-shcri] (Beirut, 1400/1980), vol. 2, p. 304-6, no. 982; Ibn AbI Hatirn, 'llal al-Eadith; vol. 1, p. 487, no. 1458; Nur al-Dtn al-HaythamI, Majma' al-zawa'id, vol. 5, p. 120; 'All al-QarI, Risala i}awiya li-masa'il mujtami'a 'ala I-'imama wa-I-'adhaba, MS. Yahuda Ar. 990, fol. 23a inf.-23b sup. (quotes the tradition from al- Tabaranr's alAusat and comments on the expression: fa-innahu a'rab wa-a~san: wa-jfhi ish'arun
bi-anna I-'imamata ma'a I-'adhabati ai}sanu, fa-yadullu 'ala i}usni I-'imamati biduni I-'adhabati; fa·yakunu jfhi raddun 'ala man qala bi-l-karahati ... ); Muhammad b. 'Abdallah al-Shibll, Mai}asin al-wasa'il jf-ma' rifati I-awa'il, Muhammad al- Ttinjr, ed. (Beirut, 1412/1992), 189-91 sup.; Ibn al-Dayba', Taysfru I-wu~ul ila jami'i 1u~ul min i}adfthi l-rasiil (~), vol. 4, p. 186: .. , 'Abdu I-Rai}man b. 'Auf: 'ammamanf rasulu llah bi-'imamatin fa-sadalaha bayna yadayya wa-min khaljf a~abi' a ... ; 'Amru bnu lfuraythin: ra'aytu rasula llahi (~) wa-'alayhi 'imamatun sauda'u qad arkha tarafayha bayna mankibayhi. See on 'Amr b. Hurayth: Ibn Hajar al-'AsqalanI, al-
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M.J. Kister
Rahman b. (Auf was an impressive ceremony: the Prophet performed the prayer standing behind (Abd al-Rahman b. (Auf and solemnly said: "A Prophet never died without praying behind a righteous believer." 97 This statement clearly indicates the high position granted to (Abd al-Hahman b. (Auf by the Prophet. 'Abd al-Hahman was urged by the Prophet to fight the unbelievers for the cause of Islam, while observing the rules enunciated by Islam. The Prophet also told him to marry the daughter of the ruler of Diimat alJandal; the Prophet meant al-Asbagh b. 'Amr al-Kalbi, (Abd al-Rahman indeed succeeded to convince the Christian chief of Dumat al-Jandal, alAsbagh b. 'Amrel-Kelbi, to embrace Islam; and al-Aebagh consented to give him his daughter, Turnadir bint al-Asbagh in marriage.98 She bore (Abd al-Rehman b. cAuf several of his children;99 It was Tumadir who advised 'Uthman to marry one of her relatives, Na'ila bint al-Furafisa. It was a happy marriage. Na'ila remained faithful to the memory of 'Uthman; following his death, she refused to marry Mu'awiya.1oo The black turban became a popular headdress as early as the first Islamic century. The I)adfth describes some Companions of the Prophet as wearing black turbans.lO! The Prophet himself is said to stand on the
Ifiiba if tamyfzi I-fa~iiba, vol. 4, p. 619, no. 5812; al-BaghawI, al-Anwiir if shamii'ili l-nabiyyi l-mukhiiir , IbriihIm el-Ya'qnbt, ed. (Beirut, 1409/1989), vol. 2, p. 534, no. 730; and see the references of the editor. 'Abdallah b. Muhammed al-Isfahanf, known as Abu I-Shaykh, Akhliiqu I-nabiyyi wa-iidiibuhu, I~amu I-Din Sayyid alSabiibItI, ed, (Cairo, 1411/1991), 122, no. 303. 97 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiit, vol. 3, p. 129: '" mii qubi~a nabiyyun ~attii YUfalliya khalfa rajulin fiili~in min ummatihi. 98 AI-Wiiqidr, op: cit., vol. 2, pp. 511-12; Ibn al-Athtr, Usd al-ghiiba if ma'rifati l-fa~iiba, al-Matba'a al-wahbiyya, 1286, (repr. Tehran), vol. 3, pp. 313-14; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'iib if ma'rifati l-af~iib, 'All Muhammad al-BijawI, ed. (Cairo), vol. 2, p. 844, no. 1447; al-Balsdhurt, Ansiib al-ashriif , Muhammad I:Iamidu\lah, ed. (Cairo, 1959), vol. I, p. 378; al-Tibrizi, Mi8hkiit al-mafiibl~, p.374, penult.; Nnr al-Dtn alHaythami, Majma' al-zawii'id, vol. 5, p. 120. 99 See e.g., Khalifa b. Khayya~, Kitiib al-tabaqiit, Akram I/iya' al-'Umari, ed. (Baghdad, 1387/1967),242; and cf. M.J. Kister, "The Wife of the Goldsmith from Fadak and her Progeny," Le Museon 92 (1979): 321-30(repr. Variorum Series, Society and Religion from Jiihiliyya to Islam, no. V); and see Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim b. Salliim, Kitiib al-nasab, Mariam Mul}ammad Khayru I-Dir', ed. (Beirut, 1411/1989), p. 363; Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqiit al-kubrii, vol. 3, pp. 127-38, vol. 8, pp. 298-300; Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Al}mad b. I:Iadida al-An~ri, al-Mifbii~ al-mu~" if kuttiib al-nabiyyi warU8ulihi ilii muliiki l-ar4i min 'arabiyyin wa-'ajamiyyfn, Muhammad 'A~imu l-Dln, ed. (Beirut, 1405/1985), vol. 2, pp. 224-5: ... wa-hiya ukhtu l-Nu'miini bni 1Mundhiri li-ummihi. 100 Al}mad b. Muhammadb. 'Abd Rabbihi, al-'Iqd al-fand, Al}mad Amin, Ibrahim al-Abyari 'Abd al-Saliim Harlin, ed. (Cairo, 1368/1949), vol. 6, p. 91. 101 See al-Taberanr, al-Mu'jam al-kabfr vol. I, p. 240 no. 665 (ra'aytu Anasa bna Miilik ... wa-'imiimatuhu saudii'u lahii dhu'iibatun min khalfihi ... ); Ibn Sa'd, alTabaqiit al-kubrii, vol. 7, p. 208 Abu Nadra wore a black 'imiima; vol. 6, p. 210 (worn by Abu 'Ubayda b. 'Abdallah b. Mas'ud), vol. 7, p. 179 (worn by al-Hasan b. Abi l-Hasan]: vol. 7, p. 23; Anas b. Miilik wore an 'imiima of silk; it was a black
The Turban in the Muslim Tradition
237
IRinbar clad in a black cimiima, with its two fringes hanging down between his shoulders.l02 Jibril descended to the Prophet wearing a black cimiima.103 The most instructive report concerning the black "imiima is recorded in Abu Ytisuf''s Kitiib al-iithiir: it is transmitted by Abu Hanifa on the authority of one of his Companions and states that Jibril, dressed in a black cimiima, came to the Prophet. He dressed the Prophet in a black "imiima and let its fringes hang down behind his back.l04 The date of Abu Yiisuf''s death (182 A. H.), indicates that the l}adith is a very early one. It also implies that Jibril accomplished his mission to dress the Prophet in a black "imiima, The black "itniima was thus a symbol of prophetic authority granted to Muhammad by God. The Caliphs followed the path of the Prophet and used to dress their governors and officials in black turbans. Some pious believers seem to have been used to wearing black turbans. The black 'imama indicated piety and sincerity of belief. This can be deduced from the harsh words with which 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'AzIz rebuked 'Adl b. Ar~at: you deceived me by your black 'imiima, Jour keeping company with the qurrii', your letting down the fringe of the 'imiima on your back .... " 105 Some $ufi believers disliked wearing black turbans. lOG In some ShI'I leading circles black clothing was considered the dress of the Shl'a's enemies.l''? As the black turbans beCC â¢â¢â¢
"imama; p. 24: he let down the end of the 'imama on his back ( ... arkhaha min ~alfihi); Abu Nu'aym 81- I~ahanI, /filyat al-auliya', vol. 9, p. 134: [Mu'awiya on his death bed, clad in a black 'imama); al-FasawI, al-Ma'riJa wa-I-ta'rIkh, vol. 2, p. 110 and p. 226 [al-Hasan al-Basrt wore a black 'imiima); Ibn AbI l;Iatim, 'Ilal al-!}adith (Cairo, 1343),' vol. 1, p. 482, no. 1444: Sa'Id b. al-Musayyab wore a black "imama, letting the end hang on his back. 102 See e.g., al-Suytitl, al-/fawi, vol. 1, p. 118: ... 'an Jabir qiila: kiina li-I-nabiyyi (f) 'imamatun sauda'u yalbasuha fr I-'idayin wa-yurkhiha khalJahu: Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyya, Zadu I-ma'ad fr hadyi khayri I-'ibiid (Beirut, n.d.), vol. 1, p.34 inf.: â¢.. 'Amr b. /furayth qala: ra'aytu rasula llahi (f) 'ala I-minbar wa-'alayhi 'imamatun aaudii'u qad arkha faraJayha bayna katiJayhi; al-Shaukani, Nayl al-awtiir, vol. 2, p. 120: ... wa-'alayhi 'imamatun saudii'u qad arkhii taraJahii bayna katiJayhi, the verb sadala is glossed by arkha in some of the quoted !}adIths. 103 Nur al-Dtn al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawii'id, vol. 5, p. 120; al-Shaukani, Nayl al-autiir, vol. 2, p. 121; al-Suyutr, al-/fiiw., vol. 1, p. 118.
104 Abu Yusuf Ya'qub b. Ibrahim al-Ansarr, Kitab al-iithiir , Abu I-Wala, ed. (Cairo, 1355), p. 128, no. 588. 105 'Abd al-Raszaq, al-MufannaJ, Habibu l-Rahman aI-A'~mI, ed. (Johannesburg, 1390/1970.) 106 See, 'Ala'u I-DIn 'AlI b. Balaban, al-I!}8an bi-tartibi fa!}i!}i'bni /fibbiin, Kamal Yiisuf al-Hut , ed. (Beirut, 1407/1986), vol. 7, p. 393: '.' dhikru ibii!}ati lubsi l-mar'j
l-
Shura of Umar ibn al-Khattab.pdf NOTES ON AN ACCOUNT OF THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
By M. J. KISTER.
Document no. 6 in Professor Nabia Abbott's Studies in Arabic Papyri,'1 dealing with the assassination of 'Umax and the appointment of the Shura (i.e. the council destined to settle the succession to the caliphate), is an important piece of early Islamic historiography. The papyrus has been admirably edited by Professor Abbott, who proves that it is a leaf from Ibn Ishaq's Ta'rtkb alKbulafd'. She has also added a translation and a valuable commentary and discusses in full the document's date, provenance, and significance. It seems, however, that a few passages were not correctly read, and since their accurate interpretation is of relevance for the understanding and evaluation of the historical events related in the text, they deserve to be examined in detail.
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A sentence from the speech addressed, according to Ibn Ishaq, by the dying 'Umar t o ' Amr b. al-' As and remonstrating with him for trying to enter the Shura (second half of verso, line i ; p. 81, transl. p. 82) is read and translated by Abbott as follows: L V>J.» jJJ» lt_J- ~ » L, JJJU^ CMA> "and had you not coveted it for A Mu'awiyah it would not have been coveted by anyone who was set free [after the victory of Mecca]". She comments:2
So far no direct early parallel text has come to light in support of thia teamwork between 'Amr b. al-'As. and Mu'awiyah b. Abl Sufyan in reference to the caliphate at this early date. But confirmation of 'Umar's concern about Mu'awiyah's ambitions as well as about those of 'Abdallah b. Abl Rabfah are reflected in Ifdbab, n, 74 j in a passage that gives no indication of its earlier sources. Mu'awiyah's caliphal ambitions, according to Mu'awiyah himself, are said to date back to a conversation between him and Muhammad, whom he quotes as saying: "Should you be in command, fear God and render justice" using, it should be noted, some of the very terms that TJmar used in addressing 'All and TJthmin. Cf. 'Iqd, n, 229; Navawi, p. 565; Ifdbab, m, 887. 1 1 VoL 1, Historical Texts (Chicago, 1957). P. 85, verso 1 1-2. L
320
. THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
For the crucial word read by Abbott fami'ta Dietrich proposes in his corrections satia'ta;1 this would not affect Professor Abbott's proposition about the "team-work between 'Amr b. al-'As and Mu'awiyah". The correct reading is, however, sana'tu: what I did for Mu'awiyah, not one of the tulaqd'2 would have coveted it [i.e. the caliphate]." The passage recto 1. 17 to verso 1. 2 consists of two statements by "Umax. The first is a pronouncement that he would not have as Caliph anyone who had carried arms against the Prophet. This statement has its parallel in al-Baladhuri's Ansdb, v, 17 (as quoted by Abbott) and in Ansdb, MS. 860 £; in both cases it is reported on the authority of al-Waqidl.3 The second statement, with which we are now dealing, is elucidated by al-Baladhuri in a significant report in Ansdb, MS. 86o£:
AJJI JU* ^ J
jjli. \J
jJ. t, JJJU^ c**+ U Vjij; which means: "were it not for
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^dkJI ^
JUJ
& j - i T frt. tfOil^JI
Muh. b. Sa'd>al W5qidi'>KathIr b. Zaid*>al MufiaUb b. 'Abdallah.* 'Umar said: "This affair [i.e. the Caliphate] is notfitfor the fulaqd' nor the sons of the ptlaqd'. Had I foreseen [the course of] my affair as I do now that I see the consequences of it, Yazld b. Abl Sufyfin and Mu'awiyah b. Abl Sufyan would not have coveted to be appointed as governors of Syria." According to this tradition TJmar on his death-bed regrets that he appointed Mu'awiyah as governor of Syria: and that is exactly the idea expressed in our text in verso 1. 1. On the point of death hejsees the consequences of appointing to high posts pdaqa' of thi type of Mu'awiyah and 'Abdallah b. Abl RabVah: they are dangerous for orthodox Islam; they have grown so
Der Islam (1959), p. 205. UA. s.v. flq gives two opinions about the mining of the word; cf. also Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, d-httiqi', p. 50. 1 I could not find die undd "traced back again to 'Amr b. Maimun" (Abbott, op. tit. p. 8j, L 1) in the work of al-BaladhurL 4 See Tabdtib al-Tabdtib, vra, 414; he was the transmitter of al-Muftalib b. 'Abdallah b. al-Hantab. ! 1 See IfSbab, no. 4627 (s.v. 'Abdallah b. al-Hantab) and no. 8021 (s.v. alMuftalib b. al-Hantab); and see UA. s.v. frnfb; Tabdtib, x, 178; DH&1 alq, p. 92, ed. al-SawL
1 1
321
THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
powerful that in the event of disagreement among the men of the Shura they are in a position to intervene and even seize power. The passage qtioted by Abbott in her comment on verso 1-2 (mentioned above) and in her comment on verso 3-4 (p. 85), from the Isabab, n, 745 (the biographical notice of 'AbdaJlah b. Abl Rabfah; in ed. Cairo 1907âvol. rv, 64 inf., no. 4662) also contains a warning by IJmar. The passage in question reads:
fl£J1
And it is said that TJmar told the men of the ShurS: "Do.not disagree among yourselves, for if you disagree Mu'iwiyah will enter upon you from Syria, and 'Abdallah b. Abl Rabfah from the Yemen. They will not respect the fact that you were the first to accept Islam"..., etc Abbott remarks (comments on verso 1-2, 3-4) that the source of this report is not specified. Fortunately, however, it can be discovered. Ibn 'Asakir quotes this very report in the article "Mu'awiyah", 1 f. 125 a,under the following isndd: Ibn Sa'd>Muh. b. IJmar (Le. al-WaqidI)>Kathlr b. Zaid>'Abdallah b. al-Hantab> IJmar. This is exactly the same isndd as given by al-Baladhuri for 'Umar's warning quoted above (p. 3 21) from the Ansdb, MS. 860 b. Another such warning is included in the report of Sufyan b. IJyayna2 told on the authority of Abu Harun (Le. Mas'ud b. alHakam -al-MadanI).3 Here 'Umar warns the men of the Shura not to disagree among themselves lest Mu'awiyah seize power [i.e.
the Caliphate] for himself (yastabiddubd dunaJb/m).*
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In a remarkable tradition told on the authority of Hablb b. Abl Thabit (see below, p. 326, n. 1) 'AH is said to have stated that he accepted the Caliphate only for fear that a billy-goat from among the Banu Umayya might leap at it and play with the book of Allah.5 All these reports are clearly anti-Umayyad. The same tendency is clearly reflected in a peculiar conversation between al-Aswadt. Yazld6 and 'A'isha. He asked 'A'isha: "Do you not wonder how a rnan from among the pdaq&'~ass. contend for the Caliphate against the Companions of the Prophet?" 'A'isha answered: " Why do you wonder at it? It is the power (sultan) of Allah, He
1 This article was copied for die late Dr Schloessinger from die Damascus MS. * See al-Khatlb's TSrIkbBag/)ddd, tx, 174. » See TabtUab aJ-Tabdtib, x, 116. * Ibn 'Asikir, op. fit. ⬠114b. 6 s, ^i-BaUdhnd, Aniab, MS. 1584. IfSbab, 1, 108.
322
THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
grants it to the pious and the wicked; Fir'aun ruled Egypt for 400 years."1 Abbot remarks that "Mu'awiyah's caliphal amb'itions, according to Mu'awiyah himself, are said to date back to a conversation between him and Muhammad" (see above, p. 320). This tradition cannot serve, however, to establish the date at which Mu'awiyah actually began planning to win the Caliphate, since traditions about the Prophet foretelling the rule of Mu'awiyah, exhortations of the Prophet on behalf of Mu'awiyah, and the enumeration of his virtues by the Prophet, are fabrications of Umayyad propaganda. Traditions of this kind are found in al-BalldhurTs Ansdb1 and in Ibn 'Asakir's Tctrikh.3 There is a curious tradition, breathing the spirit of the Jahiliyya, in which the Prophet is said to have given Mu'awiyah an arrow with which he would meet him in Paradise.* Another specimen of transparent Umayyad fabrication is given in al-Baladhurfs Ansdb, MS. 374<*, on the authority of Abu Hurayra: Gabriel told the Prophet: "God entrusted the revelation to me, to you and to Mu'awiyah."* In conclusion it may be said that, if correctly interpreted, the papyrus contains no evidence of collaboration between Mu'awiyah and 'Amr b. al-'As. The passage discussed stresses the background of the pdaqcT and purports to prove that TJmar considered their regime as a menace to Islam; it shows, as has already been pointed out by Sir Hamilton Gibb in bis review of Abbott's book,6 an anti-Umayyad tendency.7
Ibn 'Asikir, op. eit. f. 1300; the tradition about the fubufd' mentioned by Abbott, op. eit. p. 85, L 23, is told by Ibn Abzi (sit, not Ibn Aim)ânee Tabdtib al-Tabdtib, vi, 132 note 2 inf.; some anti-Umayyad traditions are recorded in al-Suyutfs aJ-Dttrr al-mMtbSr, rv, 191. 1 See Levi della Vida-Pinto: HCaBffo Mu'dwiyab, 1, nos. 319, 322, 321, 323 and 316 n.; and see Pellat: "Le cnlte de Mu'awiyah au Hie siede", Studia Islamiea, vi, 5 3-66 (esp. pp. 56-7). 1 Op. eit. chapter "Mu'awiyah". 4 Ibn 'Asikir, op. eit. p. 118; and see Fracnkel, "Das Schutzrecht der Araber", Or. Stud. NSldeke, 1, 294. 5 6 Levi della Vida-Pinto, op. eit. no. 320. J.N.ES. xvn, 222-4. 7 It may be pointed out that 'Abdallah b. Abl Rabfah was governor, not of Najd (p. 8 j , L 20), but of Janad in Yemen; c£ Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isfl'db, no. 1515; al-Baladhud, Ansib, MS. 8040. Verso L 4: read djxi^^i instead of djjj^-i. Verso L 5 is readout UU 1 3 » and translated: "They asked: 'What ^1 is it you wish [to say]'"; Dietrich tookfa-amma to be a slip of the scribe and proposed fa-mi (Dtr Islam, 1959, p. 205). The correct reading is, however, £*,:.*. U J i \ji\i : "They said: 'Say what you wish [to say]'."
1
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THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
II Professor Abbott transcribes verso II. I O - I I , a passage of 'Uthm5n's speech in which he defends himself from al-Miqdad's attacks, as follows: This is translated: "So the Messenger of Godâmay God bless him and give him peaceâtook the oath for me by grasping his (own) left hand (furthermore) the Messenger of God specified bounty to come to me." Dietrich accepts this reading, adding only J before *JJI JJ-J in 1. u . 1 The correct reading of the passage is, however, as follows: " So the Messenger of Allahâmay Allah bless him and give him peaceâtook the oath for me by grasping his [own] left hand, and the left hand of the Messenger of Allah is better [than]2 my right hand." This indeed is the expression which occurs in 'Uthmin's answer to 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf as reported by al-Zurqanl in
his Sbarfr al-Mao/dbib1
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Commenting on this passage containing al-Miqdad's attack on 'Uthman, Abbott remarks that "the direct attack of al-Miqdad on IJthman and the bitter's speech in defence of himself are nowhere reported in this setting, though the substance of the passage is frequently met with in the sources in various other settings and versions ". 4 Abbott suggests that the passage may be traced to the lost work of 'Awana on the Umayyad dynasty, and repeats that "Miqdad is nowhere else in the sources associated directly with the passage. Neither does the passage itself appear in any of the sources in connexion with 'Uthman at the time of the elective council".5 These remarks are correct as far as Sunn! sources are concerned. This account, however, seems to be of ShTite character, and is in fact found in the Amdti of al-Shaykh al-Mufld (died 413 A.H.) 6
1
(1959), p. 205. min was dropped; other such omissions are discussed by Abbott, p. 83
inf. ' VoL n, 208; for various other versions see: Ibn Katbir, Tafdr, iv, 186; also al-Suyuft Ta'rikb ai-Kbulafd, p. 152. ⢠Op. fit. p. 86 (comments on verso 7-1 j). * Ibid. p. 96. « Ed-Najaf 1367A.H., p. 66.
3*4
THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB
and copied in the Bihar aJ-Anwar.1 The report in the AmaG reads as follows:
J l i i *JJI JL-^âJ ^JL53I jj_J$ll ^ 1 ^J! JUJ . ij,u .^ ^
ilJOJI . 1 * tfj^DJ JIJJI p i l > * jj U ; tfx* J) ou
UJ
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I â¢** J i - * » =
. . .Habib b. Abl Thibit said: When the people assembled in the court to attend the ShurS, al-Miqdad b. al-Aswad al-Kindl raiti^ and said: "Take me in, for I have some advice to give for the sake of God and your own good!" They refused. Then he said: "Let me put my head [in the door] and listen to me." They refused. Then he said: " Since you have refused I recommend [at least that you] do not swear allegiance to a man who was not present at Badr, did not swear the Ridwin oath of allegiance, who was put to flight at the battle of Uhud and at the battle when the two arming met." Whereupon IJthman said: "Should I become ruler [Le. caliph] I will return you to your first master."1 When death came upon al-MiqdSd he said: "Triform TJthmin that I am going to be returned to my first and last Master." When TJthman was informed of his death he ram*^ stood at his grave and said: "God grant you His mercy, you were [sciL excellent], you were [excellent]"âextolling him thus. Al-Zubayr recited to him [TJthman]: I know that you will bewail me after my death But in my lifetime you did not provide me with provision. VoL vm, 352. The verse is attributed to 'Abld b. al-Abras (see Divan, ed. Husayn Na$sit, p. 48). J He was a poJlfof the Band Zuhta; see Ifdbob, no. 8179.
1 1
3*5
THE SHURA APPOINTED BY 'UMAR B. AL-KHATTAB 'Uthmin then said: " O Zubayr, do you think that I would want such a. Companion of Muhammadâmay Allah bless him and give him peaceâ to die while wrodi with me?"
The setting in the Am&K of al-Mufld and the role played by alMiqdad are the same as in the papyrus text of Ibn Ishaq; in the account of the Amali, however, 'Uthman resorts to threats instead of defending himsf.lfThere is no doubt that the account in Ibn Ishlq's work is of ShTite character. It is enough to note that one of the transmitters of the account, TJbayd Allah b. Musa al-'Abs! was a notorious inventor of ShTite traditions.1 Gibb rightly classifies Ibn Ishaq's account as Shfite Dicbtmg.2 It may be mentioned that alJahi? denies the authenticity of all the traditions transmitted on the authority of al-Miqdad which support the rights of 'All to the caliphate or deny those of Abu Bakr. Al-Jahi? stresses that alMiqdad bore a grudge against 'All because 'AH tried to prevent the marriage of al-Miqdad with al-Duba'ah bint al-Zubayr b. 'Abd al-Muttalib.3 All in all it is difficult to share Abbott's opinion that the account in the papyrus "gives no inkling of partiality for either of these two major candidates and hence calls into question the accusation that Ibn Ishaq favoured the Shi'ite religio-political party". 4 On the contrary, the text preserved in the papyrus clearly shows bis ShTite inclinations.5
See TabdUb al-Tabdtib, v n , 50-3. J.N.RS. x v n , 2*4. J Al-'Utbm&ujya (ed. 'Abd al-Sal4m Hlrttn), pp. 180-1. 4 Op. fit. p. 97. 5 In 1L 11-12 of the verso the correct reading is neither t&kinaUm nor s&kitatan as suggested by Abbott, nor tHsdkintdm as suggested by Dietrich, but sbdkiyatm; in fact the other sources have maridattn, or vql'atm (in al-B&ihaql, al-Swum al-Kxbrd, vi, 293), which are synonyms of sbdktyattm.
1 1
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326
harra_battle.pdf THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
Some Socio- Economic Aspects
The numerous reports of the revolt against Yazid b. Mu'awiya b. abi Sufyan in Medina and the bloody battle of the Harra (27 Dhii l-Hijja, 63 AH = 26 August, AD 683) contain many details on the preparations for the battle, letters sent by the Caliph to the Ieaders of the rebels, speeches of the Ieaders and the battle itself, as well as about rebels killed on the battlefield or executed at the order of Muslim b. 'Uqba, the commander of the army sent by Yazid to quell the rebellion.! The various accounts, some
1 See Khalifa b. Khayyat, Ta'rikh (ed. Diya' al-Dln aI-'UmarI) (Baghdad, 1386/ 1967) I, 224-225; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqdt (Beirut, 1377/1957) v, 38-39, 144-147, 170-172, 177, 215, 225-226, 255-256, 259-260, 263-267, 270, 274-275, 277-280, 295-296, 298; al-Baladhuri, Ansdb al-ashriif (ed. M. Schloessinger) (Jerusalem, 1938) rvb, 19·-46;
al-Ya'qubi, Ta'rikh (al-Najaf, 1384/1964) II, 237-238; al-Dlnawari, al-Akhbdr al-tiwdl (ed. 'Abd al-Mun'im 'Amir Jamal al-Din al-Shayyal) (Cairo, 1960), 264-267; al-Fakihi, Ta'rikh Makka, Ms. Leiden Or. 463, fol. 400a; Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah alZubayri, Nasab Quraysh (ed. Levi-Provencal) (Cairo, 1953), 133, 215, 222, 228, 256, 282, 361, 371, 384; al-Tabarl, Ta'rtkb (Cairo, 1358/1939) IV, 366--381; Ibn Qutayba, 'Uyiin al-akhbiir (Cairo, 1343/1924) I, 202; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, al-Tqd al-farid (ed. Ahmad Amln, Ahmad al-Zayn, Ibrahim al-Abyarl) (Cairo, 1381/1962) IV, 387-390; al-Mas'fidl, Murii] al-dhahab (ed. Muhammad Muhyl l-Din 'Abd al-Hamid) (Cairo, 1357/1938) III, 17-18; idem, al-Tanbih wa-l-ishrdf (ed. de Goeje) (Leiden, 1894), 304306; Ibn Qutayba, al-Madrif (ed. al-Sawl) (Cairo, 1390/1970; reprint), 153, 172; Ps. Ibn Qutayba, al-Imdma wa-l-siydsa (Cairo, 1331) I, 168-190; Abu l-Faraj, al-Aghdni (Cairo, 1285) I, 12-16; Ibn Ra's Ghanama, Maniiqil al-durar fi maniibit al-zahar, Ms. Chester Beatty 4254, fols. 73b-81a; Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh (tahdhib) (ed. Ibn Badran) (Damascus, 1351) VII, 372-374, 407-413; Sibt Ibn al-Jauzi, Tadhkirat al-khawtiss (alNajaf, 1383/1964), 287-292; al-Dhahabi, Ta'rtkb at-Islam (Cairo, 1368) II, 354-359; idem, Siyar a'liim al-nubald' (ed. As'ad Talas) (Cairo, 1962) III, 217-220; Ibn Kathir, al-Biddya wa-l-nihiiya (Beirut - al-Riyad, 1966) VI, 233-235; VIII, 211-212, 215-224; al-Qurtubi, al-Tadhkira (ed. Ahmad Muhammad Mursi) (Cairo, n.d.), 605-606; alDamiri, Haytit al-hayawdn (Cairo, 1383/1963) I, 60-61; al-Bayhaql, al-Mahdsin wa-Imasdwl (ed. Muhammad Abu I·FaQI Ibrahim) (Cairo, 1380/1961) I, 99-104; Mutahhar b. Tahir al-Maqdisi, ai-Bad' wa-l-tdrikb (ed. C. Huart) (paris, 1919) VII, 13-14; alSuyut], Ta'rikh al-khulafd' (ed. Muhammad Muhyl l-Dln 'Abd al-Hamid) (Cairo.
of which contain divergent details or contradictions, help us nevertheless to gain an insight into the consecutive stages of the conflict, the attitudes of different tribal groups and their leaders and the particulars of the military operation. The reports on the factors of the conflict between the Caliph and the people of Medina and the causes of the revolt are, however, meagre and give almost unanimous emphasis to the religious motives of the clash. Some scattered details, occurring in fragmentary accounts outside the generally known sources, may shed new light on the roots of the conflict and the factors which were responsible for the battle of the Barra. I Some details of the relations between Yazid and Medina may be surveyed in the following lines. In the short period beginning with the investiture of Yazid as Caliph and ending with the battle of the Barra, there were frequent changes of governors in Medina. The governor appointed by Mu'awiya, al-Walid b. 'Utba, was deposed shortly after Yazid ascended the throne because he failed to prevent the escape of the two Qurashi Ieaders, al-Husayn and 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr.? His successor, 'Amr b. Sa'Id al-Ashdaq.! also failed to get an oath of allegiance from 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr or to seize him. He was then ordered by the Caliph to send against him a troop levied from among the people listed in the paymentroll.s A supplementary passage records the composition of the force sent by 'Amr b. Sa'Id: four hundred soidiers, groups of the mawiili bani umayya and groups not listed in the payment Iist.> The people enrolled in the diwiin were reluctant to set out for Mecca in order to fight 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr.s Abu Mikhnaf stresses in his report that the majority of
1371/1952), 209-210; al-Diyarbakri, Ta'rikh al-khamis (Cairo, 1283) II, 302-303; alSamhudi, Wafd" al-wafd bi-akhbdr dar al-Mustafd (ed. Muhammad Muhyi l-Din 'Abd al-Hamid) (Cairo, 1374/1955) I, 125-138; Ibn al-'Imiid, Shadhardt al-dhabab (Beirut, n.d.; reprint) I, 71; Khalil b. Aybak al-Safadi, Tamdm al-mutiin Ii sharh risdlat Ibn Zaydiin (ed. Muhammad Abu l-Fadl Ibrahim) (Cairo, 1389/1969),208-212; al-Tsami, Simt al-nujiim al-iawdli (Cairo, 1380) III, 88-94; and see £[2, s. v. al-Harra (L. Veccia Vaglieri).
2 3
4
J. Wellhausen, Das arabische Reich und sein Sturz (Berlin, 1902; reprint), 92. Al-Baladhuri, op. cit. rvb, 23, lines 9-10. See al-Baladhurl, op. cit. tvb, 23, lines 18-19: ... kataba i/a "amri bni sa'tdin
al-ashdaqi ya'muruhu an yuwajjiha i/a 'abdi lldhi bni I-zubayri jayshan min ah/i I-'ala'i wa-l-diwdni ... (al-Baladhuri records it from the report of al-Waqidi). 5 Al-Baladhuri, op. cit. rvb, 25, lines 15-21. 6 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 184: ... fa-daraba 'alii ah/i l-diwiini l-ba'tha i/a makkata wa-hum kdrihilna li-l-khurilji,
34
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
the recruited force preferred not to join the force and sent instead hired men, who ought to fight in their place. Most of the force sympathized with 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr. 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr sent against them troops recruited from among the people of al-Hijaz who were imbued with a fighting spirit and religious zeal and convinced that they were fighting for a just cause." It was no wonder that the force sent by the governor of Medina under the command of 'Amr b. aI-Zubayr (the brother of 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr) was defeated; 'Amr b. al-Zubayr was captured and treacherously and cruelly executed. The sympathy of wide circles of the Muslim community was indeed with 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr. There were some doubts about the stability and duration of the Umayyad rule and an apprehension that 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr may succeed in grasping the power from the Umayyads. This feeling of uncertainty was rife even among some Umayyad officials. The governor of Medina, 'Amr b. Sa'id, according to one tradition, sent a messenger to 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. aI-'A.~ (who stayed in Egypt) inquiring about it. 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b. aI-'A.~, well known for his knowledge, piety and his ability to foretell future events because he was acquainted with the "Book of Daniel", answered that the rule would continue to be in the hands of the Umayyad Caliph and that 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr would not succeed in his effort to seize authority in the Muslim Empire. This led 'Amr b. Sa'Id to take several measures so as to get hold of 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr by stratagem and deceit.f 'Abdallah b. al-lAbbas proved to have had a sound evaluation of the situation after the death of Mu'awiya: He assured the people in his presence that the Umayyad rule would endure and summoned them to give the oath of allegiance to Yazid.? These stories may be spurious, but they help us to gauge the trends in some influential circles of the Muslim community. 'Amr b. Sa'id failed to seize 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr, or to compel him to give the oath of allegiance to Yazid. He was deposed (in Dhii l-Hijja, 61 AH) and explained to the Caliph the causes of his failure: He did not have at his disposal regular troops by which he could have subcued 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr. Yazid rightly reprimanded him, asking why
7
See al-Baladhurl,
op. cit. rvb, 24, lines 14--16: ...
wa-kdna
aktharu
l-jayshi
budalii'a min al-'atii'i wa-jufluhum yah wauna bna l-zubayri "abda ttat«. fa-siirii hattii ntahau itii makkata, fa-akhraja ilayhim "abdu lliihi bnu l-zubayri rijdlan min ahli l-bijiizi, dhawi dinin wa-fadlin wa-ra'yin wa-thabdtin wa-basti'ira ... ; cf. Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 184 inf. 8 Al-Tabari, op. cit. IV, 365-366; Ibn Ra's Ghanama, op, cit., fol. 72b. 9 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 166 inf.-167 sup.
35
he did not ask for a military force to be despatched from Syria.tv AIWalid b. 'Utba was reinstated as governor of Medina in 61 AH and was the official leader of the Qajj in that year.U 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr feigning loyalty to Yazid, and hinting that he would be ready to undertake some acts of reconciliation, complained to the Caliph of the rudeness ofal-Walid b. "Utba and asked to replace him by a milder governor. Yazid responded, deposed al-Walid b. 'Utba and appointed 'Uthman b. Muhammad b. abi Sufyan, The pilgrimage ceremony was still officially led by al-Walid b. 'Utba in 62 AH.12 'Uthman b. Muhammad, an inexperienced and lenient young man, remained in the office of the governor only eight months.U He tried to start a new policy of appeasement with the malcontent Medinans, who openly manifested their sympathy for 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr. He despatched, at the Caliph's order, a representative deputation of the nobles (ashriif) of the city to Damascus, the capital of the Empire. They were welcomed by the Caliph and granted munificent gifts. However, when they returned to Medina they circulated shocking stories about the Iicentious behaviour of the profligate and corrupt Caliph, stirred the people against him and threw off his allegiance.l+ The Ieaders of the rebellion, 'Abdallah b. Hanzala.i> 'Abdallah b. al-Mutr,16 Ma'qil b. Sinan 17 and others, were heedless to the warnings and advice of the
Cf. al-Tabarl, op. cit. IV, 367; al-Baladhurl, op. cit. rvb, 29, lines 12-18. Khalifa, op. cit. I, 225 penult.-226, ll. 2-5; al- Tabarl, op. cit. IV, 366. 12 Al-Baladhuri, op. cit. rvb, 29 penult.-30 sup. (and see p. 19, lines 15-16); al- Tabari, op. cit. IV, 368 sup., 369, line 3 from bottom; according to Khalifa, op. cit. I, 227, line 7 the hajj was led in 62 AH by 'Uthman b. Muhammad b. abi Sufyan, 13 Waki', Akhbdr al-quddt (ed. 'Abd al-'Azjz Mustafa al-Maraghi) (Cairo, i366/
10 11
1947)
14
I,
123. See Khalifa,
op. cit.
I,
227-228;
Ibn Ra's Ghanama,
op. cit., fol. 74a (quoted
from Khalifa); al-Tabari, op. cit. IV, 368; al-Baladhurl, op. cit. rvb, 31; Ibn 'Asakir, op. cit. VII, 372; Ibn Hajar, al-Isdba (Cairo, 1328) II, 299, No. 4637 (quoted from Khalifa); Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, op. cit. IV, 387 inf.-388; al-Dhahabi, Ta'rikh II, 354. 15 See on him E[2, s.v. 'Abd Allah b. Hanzala (Zettersteen-Pellat). 16 See on him E[2, s.v. 'Abd Allah b. Muti' (Zettersteen-Pellat); and see al-Fasl, al-t lqd al-thamin (ed. Fu'ad Sayyid) (Cario, 1385/1966) v, 287/288 (and see the references given by the editor). 17 See on him Ibn Qutayba, al-Ma'iirif, 129; Ibrl 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'iib (ed. 'Ali
Muhammad al-Bijawl) (Cairo, 1380/1960), 1431, No. 2460 (and see the list of the Qurashites killed when in bonds on the order of Muslim b. 'Uqba after the defeat at al-Harra; the list is given according to the accounts of Ibn Ishaq, al-Wiiqidi and Wathim a); Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba III, 446, No. 8136.
36
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
messengers sent to Medina or friendly persons writing to them from Damascus.is They tried to dissuade them from getting involved in a clash with the force which the Caliph prepared against them. But the Medinan malcontents felt that they were united in their resistance to the licentious Caliph and that his messengers merely attempted to undermine this unity.t? It may be pointed out that this so-called unity was not totaI: The 'Alids remained neutral and did not join the rebels.2o 'Abdallah b. 'Umar stressed the legitimacy of the oath of allegiance to Yazid.t! Persons like 'Abdallah b. al-'Abbas, Abu Barza, and 'Abdallah b. 'Umar denied that the struggle between 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr and the Umayyads was for the cause of God: Both parties fought, in their opinion, to gain their lot in this world.22 When 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr asked the wife of 'Abdallah b. 'Umar to prevail upon her husband that he should join him and grant him the oath of allegiance, he argued that his decision to come out in revolt against the impious Mu'awiya, his son and his family was due to the fact that the latter appropriated for themselves the revenues (fay', belonging, of course, by right to the believers - K.); he did it for the cause of God, His Prophet, the Muhajiriin and the Ansar. When the wife brought 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr's message to Ibn 'Umar, the latter remarked that 'Abdallah b. aI-Zubayr desired no more than the grey mules on which Mu'awiya performed his pilgrimage.23 There was almost no Sahiibt who took an active part in the revolt of Medina.s+ The opinions of the pious about the two parties struggling in order to gain authority, power and a share of this world is in full agreement with Wellhausen's conclusion that the religious formulation given to the rebels' arguments against the Umayyads was used as a cover for their
18
Of special interest
is the role played
by 'Abdallah
b. Ja'far,
who interceded
with Yazid for the Medinans (see e.g. Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit., 169 inf.-170; these details were omitted in Zettersteen's entry on 'Abdallah b. Ja'far in EI2). 19 See e.g. al-Baladhurl, op. cit. rvb, 32: ... ya nu'manu qad ji'tana bi-amrin turidu bihi tafriqa jamd'atind wa-ifsdda rna aslaha lldhu min amrind ... ; Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. v, 145; al-Tabarl, op. cit. IV, 369; Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 170. 20 Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. V, 215; cf. Ibn Kathir, op. cit. VIII, 218.
21 Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. V, 144; al-Dhahabi, Ta'rikb II, 355, sup.; Ibn Ra's Ghanama, op. cit., fol. 72a; al- 'Isamr, op. cit. III, 90 inf. 22 Al-Fakihi, op. cit., fol. 402a, inf.-402 sup.; cf. al-Baladhuri, op. cit. v, 195196 (ed. S.D. Goitein); Ibn Ra's Ghanama, op. cit., fol. 72a; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak (Hyderabad, 1342) IV, 470. 23 Abu I-Faraj, op. cit. I, 12. 24 See al-Tsami, op. cit. III, 91: ... wa-lam yuwdfiq ahla l-madinati 'ala hiidhti l-khal'i ahadun min akdbiri ashdbi rasali lliihi(~).
37
desire to gain political authority and power.2S There seems, however, to have been a considerable difference in aims and objectives between the rebels of Medina and those who resisted the Umayyad authority and prepared their rebellion under the leadership of 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr in Mecca. II The widely current report, as recorded in the sources, is that the cause of the revolt in Medina was the fact that the Medinan Ieaders were reluctant to give the oath of allegiance to Yazid after they had seen his licentious behaviour when they paid a visit to his court. A quite different account of the causes of the revolt in Medina is given in al-Ya'qiibi's (d. 292 AH) Ta'rikh,26 where it is related that Yazid appointed 'Uthman b. Muhammad b. Abi Sufyan as governor over Medina. Ibn Mina, who was in charge of the estates of Mu'awiya (~awiifi mu'iiwiyata), came to 'Uthman and informed him that the people of Medina did not Iet him collect the crops of wheat and dates and carry them (scil. to the Caliph - K.) as he had been in the habit of doing every year. The governor, 'Uthman b. Muhammad, summoned a group of people from Medina and rebuked them harshly for their deed. They rose in revolt against him and against the Banii Umayya in Medina and expelled them from the city; on their way out the expelled Umayyads had stones thrown at them. A similar report is recorded by al-Samhiidi (d. 911 AH) in his Wafii' al-wafii.s" It is, as al-Samhiidi remarks, a summary (mulakhkhas) of an account of al-Waqidi, as given in his "Kitiib al-lfarra". Ibn Mina in this report carries the title "'iimi/'alii sawcft l-madtna", "the official in charge of the estates of al-Madina". "There were at that time many sawaft in Medina," the report says. Mu'awiya yielded from the estates of Medina and its environs (a'riirjuhii) crops amounting to a hundred fifty thousand wasq of dates and a hundred thousand wasq wheat. After the appointment of 'Uthman b. Muhammad by Yazid, Ibn Mina came with a party (of labourers - K.) from the Barra, betaking himself to the lands (amwiil) of Mu'awiya. He led the party unhindered until he reached the area of the Balharith b. al-Khazraj and proceeded to till (naqaba) the fields in their territory. The Balharith came out and had an argument with Ibn
2S
Wellhausen,
op, cit., 102-103.
Ed. Muhammad 27 I, 127-128.
26
Sadiq Bahr al-'uliim (al-Najaf,
1384/1964)
II, 237.
38
THE BATILE OF THE HARRA
Mina, stating that he had no right to carry out his work and that his action was an unlawful innovation (/:ladath) and (constituted - K.) an injury (¢arar) for them. The governor, having been informed by Ibn Mina about the conflict, asked three men of the Balharith to grant Ibn Mimi a permit to pass their territory. They gave their consent, but when he came with his party to work, the Balharith barred him from the estates. When he complained to the governor, the latter ordered him to "gather those he could" against them (i.e. against the Balharith - K.) and attached to this troop some of (his) soldiers (ba'¢a jundin). He ordered him to cross their lands "even if they had to do it on their bellies" (wa-lau 'alii butiinihim; sci1. on the bellies of the Balharith - K.), as the wording of the account puts it. When Ibn Mina proceeded next day with his party to the estates of Mu'awiya, he was confronted by a party of Ansar who came aided by a group of Qurashites and prevented him from carrying out his work. The situation became serious and Ibn Mina returned to the governor, reporting the events. The governor communicated with the Caliph and urged him to take steps against the people of Medina. The Caliph decided to dispatch a military force against Medina. Al-Waqidi's brief report, as given by al-Samhiidi at the end of the ninth century (AH) can be supplemented by additional details from a combined account recorded by Abu l-'Arab (d. 333 AH) at the end of the third century and based mainly on the authority of al-Waqidi.P' The first sentences of the account are almost identicak-? the account differs, however, on some important particulars of the story. The clashes of Ibn Mina and his labourers with the Balharith, says the account, continued for a month. They sometimes allowed him to carry out some work; sometimes they gathered against him and no work could be done at alPo After Ibn Mina complained to the governor, the latter summoned three men from the Balharith: Muhammad b. 'Abdallah b. Zayd, Zuhayr b. abi Mas'Iid and Muhammad b. al-Nu'man b. al-Bashir. They gave their consent and Ibn Mina came with his labourers and did some work. A group of people of Medina: al-Miswar b. Makhrama.U 'Abd al-Rahman
28 Abu l-IArab, Kitdb al-mihan, Ms. Cambridge Qq. 235, fols. 5Ia-65a; see on the author: Sezgin, GAS I, 356-357. 29 The difference in the quantities of the crops recorded here (51,000 wasq dates and 100,000 wasq wheat) may probably be traced back to a clerical error. 30 See al-Mihan, fol. 51b: ... wa-dararun "alaynd, fa-makathii 'ala dhdlika shahran, yaghdii bnu mind wa-yariihu bi-tummdlihi fa-marratan ya'bauna "alayhi ... 31 See on him Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., 262-263; Anonymous, al-Ta'rikh al-muhkam, Ms.Br.Mus., Or. 8653, fol. l1lb; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba III, 419, No. 7993;
39
b. 'Abd al-Qari,32 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Aswad b. 'Abd Yaghuth,33 'Abdallah b. Muti' and 'Abdallah b. abi Rabi'a.s+ went to "these people" (apparently the Balharith who gave their consent to resume the work of Ibn Mina - K.), incited them35 and asked them not to permit Ibn Mina to till in their estatesss except by their consent and willingness. The rest of the story agrees with al-Samhudi.s? The force of Ibn Mina, aided by soidiers supplied by the governor, was barred from work by a QurashiAnsarl troop. Some divergence can be noticed in an additional passage recorded by Abu I-'Arab, on the authority of al-Waqidi.s'' A delegation composed of ten Qurashites and a group of Ansar called on the governor, 'Uthman b. Muhammad, and complained about the actions of Ibn Mina and the fact that he had gathered a force against them. They were disappointed to find that the governor himself was behind Ibn Mina and his actions. The conversation between the governor and the delegation became harsh and the governor decided to write to the Caliph on the hostile attitude of the Medinans towards the Caliph. The Caliph despatched to the Medinans a sharp letter warning them of the consequences of their actions and threatening that he would use force against them. The account recorded by Abu I-Arab gives us a better insight into the attitudes of the land-owners in Medina, and the contacts between the Ansar and the Qurashites in Medina in order to make a common cause against what they regarded as the unlawful claims of the Umayyad ruler and his unjust appropriation of their estates.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'iib, 1399, No. 2405; al-Baladhurl, Ansdb al-ashrtif Iva (ed. M. Schloessinger),index. 32 See on him Ibn Hajar, al-Isdba III, 71, No. 6223; Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, op. cit., 839, No. 1433. 33 See on him at-Fast, op. cit. v, 342, No. 1712; Ibn Hajar, op. cit. II, 390, No. 5081; Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., 262. 34 See on him Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., 318.
35 In text r-" P.r---; I could not find a suitable interpretation of this word in this context. 36 The term in this passage is: ... wa-qdlii ld tada' iihu yanqub fi haqqikum iIla
bi-tibi nafsin minkum
37
...
It may be remarked that here, in this version, the phrase "and gather against them whom you can" has an additional word: "min mawdlikum" "from among your mawalt", 38 Fol. 52a, line 6: qdla l-wdqidi: fa-haddathani usdma bnu zaydin al-laythi 'an
muhammadi bni qaysin ...
40
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
III Some of the words or terms recorded in the account of al-Waqidi are obscure and vague. An attempt should be made to elucidate the meanings of these words in order to enable a more accurate understanding of the text. The account says that Ibn Mina was in charge of the sawaft of Medina and adds that there were at that time many ~awiifiin Medina. The word sawiift usually denotes "a public land", "state domains",39 Saleh A. elAli, referring to the passage discussed here, remarks that al-Waqidi "probably included in these ~awiifithe public lands and the seven endowments which had belonged to the Prophet. Nevertheless they did not exploit them for their own personal purposes, otherwise they would have aroused opposition and the sources would have mentioned that the Prophet granted several Muslims some of the uncultivated lands either for dwelling, or for cultivation, or for other purposes."40 But sawaf; in this account, and generally in this period, does not only denote state domains or public land. I~!afii implies in fact confiscation of land and property+t The confiscated property could be transferred or given as gift. So, for instance, 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr confiscated the property of Mu'awiya in Mecca; one of the courts confiscated was given by him as a gift to his son Hamza.sz It is implausible to assume that there were "state domains" in Mecca and Medina, as Medina was not conquered by force, and the Iand of Medina was divided by the Prophet himself and alotted to the people of the ~ahaba. The clue for the understanding ofthe term is given by al-Ya'qiibi. Mu'awiya, al-Ya'qtibi reports,
39
See Lekkegaard,
Islamic Taxation in the Classical Period (Copenhagen,
1950),
49-51.
40 Saleh A. eI-Ali, Muslim Estates in Hidjaz in the First Century AH., JESHO 2 (1959), 251. The explanation of Muhammad Muhyl l-Din 'Abd al-Harnid, the editor of al-Samhudl's Wafd' al-wafd, of the word "~awdfi" as palm trees (I, 127, n. 1) is erroneous and it is useless to discuss it. H. Lammens (Le Califat de Yazid ler [Beirut, 1921],219) translates sawdf]: "domaines de Mo'awia", 41 See al-Tabarl, op, cit., Glossarium, s.v. ~afd: sdfiyatun id quod confiscatum est, al-sawdfi = praedia confiscata. 42 Al-Azraqi. Akhbdr Makka (ed. F. Wiistenfeld) (Leipzig, 1858; reprint), 460: â¢.. i~!afdlld fi amwdli mu'iiwiyata fa-wahabahd li-bnihi hamzata; and see ibid., 452. Sawiifl as recorded by al-Azraqi and al-Samhudi denote lands and property belonging to and administered by the Caliph. The term usually refers to the property of the Umayyads confiscated by the 'Abbasids. See e.g. al-Azraql, op. cit., 461 penult.: ... hattd ustufiyat hina kharajat al-khildfatu min bani marwdna ... ; 467: ... istafdhu amiru l-mu'minina abii ja'far, wa-kdna fihi haqqun qad kana badu bani umayyata shtardhu fa-stufiya minhum ... ; and see 453: ... fa-lam tazal fi l-sawdfi hattd raddahd
41
confiscated the property of people and appropriated it for himself.43 The true character of Mu'awiya's sawiift in Medina is explicitly exposed in another passage of al-Ya'qiibi. Stressing the appropriation of stateestates in the conquered territories by Mu'awiya, al-Ya'qiibi says: "He was the first to own ~awiifi in the whole world, even in Mecca and Medina and an amount (of crops - K.) of dates and wheat was carried to him every year."44 The sawaft were thus identical with the amwdl mu'iiwiya, the private possessions of Mu'awiya in Medina. Ps. Ibn Qutayba in his al-Imiima says that Ibn Minii.4S came with a party46 of men from the Harra proceeding towards the estates of Mu'awiya tyurtdu l-amwiila llau kiinat li-mu'iiwiyatat. The true character of these sawaft, or amwiil, is indicated in an explanatory sentence added by the author: "These were estates acquired by Mu'awiya and orchards of date-palms, which yielded hundred sixty thousand wasqs."47 It is indeed the way of acquisition (iktisiib) which brought about the conflict between the Medinans and the Caliph. The reports about Mu'awiya's sawiift are corroborated by numerous reports concerning his purchase of courts, palaces.sf estates and lands
l-mut asimu bi-ildhi ... ; and see 449, 460, 463, 464, 467: .. .fa-hiya I-yauma fi 1sawdfi, Comp. al-Samhudl, op. cit. II, 699, lines 11-12: fa-sdrat badu fi l-sawdfi, wa-kdnat al-dawdwinu flhii wa-baytu l-mdli ... ; ibid. II, 721: ... anna ddra marwdna sarat fi l-sawdfi, ay li-bayti l-mdli ... ; and see ibid. II, 729-730. About the "~awafi daulati bani umayya" in Egypt see al-Muhasibi, A'rndl al-quliib wa-l-jawdrib (ed. 'Abd al-Qadir Ahmad 'Ata) (Cairo, 1969),230-231. 43 AI-Ya'qiibi, op. cit. II, 221, lines 1-2: ... wa-stasfd amwdla l-ndsi fa-akhadhahd Ii-nafsihi; comp. ibid., lines 18-20: ... ba'da an akhraja mu' dwiyatu min kulli baladin md kdnat muliiku fdrisa tastasfihi li-anfusihd min al-diyti'i I-'amirati wa-ja'alahu sdfiyatan li-nafsihi fa-aqta'ohu jamd' atan min ahli baytihi. And see about an attempt at confiscation of the property of 'Abdallah b. 'A.mir b. Kurayz: Mus'ab b. 'Abdallah, op. cit., 148 inf.; al-Fasi, op. cit. v, 189. 44 Al-Ya'qubi, op. cit. II, 222, lines 9-13: ... wa-fa'ala mu'dwiyatu bi-l-shami wa-l-jazirati wa-I-yamani mithla md fa'ala bi-L'lrdqi min istisfti'i md kana Ii-I-muliiki min al-diyti'i wa-tasyirihd Ii-nafsihi khiilisatan wa-aqtaahd ahla baytihi wa-khassatahu; wa-ktina awwala man ktinat lahu l-sawdf] fi jami'i l-dunyd hatui bi-makkata wa-Imadinati, fa-innahu kana fihimd shay'un yuhmalu fi kulli sanatin min ausdqi I-tamri wa-l-hintati; and see D.C. Dennet Jr., Conversion and the Poll Tax in Early Islam (trans!. by Fauzi Fahurn Jadallah; revised by Ihsan 'Abbas) (Beirut, 1960), 65, No. 76 (and see the note of the editor, ibid.). 45 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 169 (in text: Ibn Mithd, a clerical error). 46 In text erroneously: bi-sirdhin. 47 I, 169: ... wa-kdnat amwdlan iktasabaha mu'iiwiyatu wa-nakhilan minhii mi' ata alfi wasqin wa-sittina alfan. 48 See al-Samhiidl, op. cit. III, 962: ... wa-amma qasr bani jadilata
yajuddu mu-
fa-inna
42
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
in Medina+ and his activities of cultivation and irrigation. 50 Mu'awiya's business transactions were carefully planned and thoughtfully worked
out.>!
*
*
*
"dwiyata bna abi sufydna bandhu li-yakiina hisnan, wa-lahu bdbiini: bdbun shdri'un 'ala khatti bani jadilata ... we-kana Iladhi waliya bind'ahu li-muiiwiyata l-tufaylu bnu abi ka'bin l-ansiiriyyu wa-fi wasatihi bi'r /:!a' .... See the story about the purchase of a part of the orchard of Bi'r l:Ia' by Mu'awiya, ibid. III, 962, sup., 963 inf. And see ibid. II, 741: ... wa-ktinat hddhihi l-ddru (i.e, dar al-rabi", named dar hafsa - K.) qati'atan min rasiili l/ahi ~alla lldhu "alahyi wa-sallam li-t uthmdna bni abi I-'a$i 1thaqafiyyi fa-btii'ahd min wuldihi mu'dwiyatu bnu abi sufydna .... (See on 'Uthman b. abl l-'A~: Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. VII, 40; I, 313; VIII, 51). Sa'Id b. al-'A~ enjoins his son 'Amr to sell only his palace in al-Arsa after his death to Mu'awiya, arguing that it is merely a leisure resort, not an agricultural farm (Abii l-Faraj, op. cit. I, 17: ... innamd ttakhadhtuhu nuzhatan wa-laysa bi-mdliny; and see the story of the acquisition of Arsa by Mu'awiya: al-Samhudl, op. cit. III, 1056-1057; Yaqut, Mu'jam al-bulddn, s.v. Arsa (see the report about the building of the palace by Sa'Id b. al-'A~, the digging of a well, the planting of orchards and the qualities of these orchards). And see about the building of the fortress Oasr Khall by Mu'awiya: al-Samhudi, op. cit. IV, 1289-90; and see ibid. II, 699 (cf. ibid., 701) about the purchase of the court of 'Umar (or the court of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf) by Mu'awiya, About a court of Mu'awiya in Medina see Ibn 'Asakir, op. cit., Ms. Zahiriyya, op. cit. IX, fol. 109b (... wa-Iahu ddrun bi-l-madinati tashra'u 'alii baldti l-fdkihati ... ). About two courts, dar alnuqsdn and dar al-qatirdn, built by Mu'awiya see al-Samhiidi, op. cit. II, 750. About the purchase of the court of Sufyan b. al-Harith b. 'Abd al-Muttalib by Mu'awiya see al-Samhudi, op. cit. II, 758 (he attached it to the musalld of the Prophet); comp. al-Fakihi, op. cit., fol. 458a (Mu'awiya proposes Khalid b. al-'A~ to sell him his property. The answer of Khalid is significant: "Do you think that a man would sell the place where his father is buried?"). 49 See about the purchase of the lands of al-Zubayr as recorded in al-Fasawl's alMa'rifa wa-l-ta'rikh, Ms. Esad Ef, 2391, fol. 129a; and see about an estate bought by Mu'awiya from Qays b. Sa'd b. 'Ubada: al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'ldm al-nubaki' III, 70 (ba'a qaysu bnu sadin mdlan min mu'dwiyata bi-tis'tna aljan). About the purchase of Thaniyat al-Sharld see al-Samhudl, op. cit., 1066-1067; cf. Saleh A. el-Ali, op. cit., 256. About the purchase of Bughaybigha see: al-Samhiidi, op. cit. IV, 1150-1152. so See al-Samhiidi, op. cit. III, 937-938; ibid., IV, 1232 (saddu mu'awiya); III, 985, 987 ('aynu l-azraq); and see Majd al-Din al-Fayruzabadl, al-Maghdnim al-mutdba fi mo'dlim Tdba (ed. Hamad al-Jasir) (al-Riyad, 1389/1969), 295-296. About the irrigation of raudat bani umayya and amwdl bani umayya see al-Samhiidi, op. cit. III, 1075. It may be stressed that Mu'awiya employed a special agent in charge of his estates; in this passage the estates are called "al-diyd" (al-Samhiidi, op. cit. IV, 1276 sup.: qdla mu'iiwiyatu bnu abi sufytina Ii-tabdi l-rahmdni bni abi ahmada bni jahshin, wa-kiina wakilahu bi-diyd'ihl bi-l-madinati, ya'n: audiyatan shtardhd wa-ltamalahd ... ); cf. al-Baladhurl, op. cit. Iva, 110 inf.-111 sup. (ed. M. Schloessinger) (Jerusalem, 1971). 51 See al-Jahshiyari, Kitdb al-wuzarii' wa-l-kutttib (ed. al-Saqa, al-Abyarl, alShalabi (Cairo, 1357/1938), 26: ... ittakhidh Ii fjiya'an wa-la takun bi-l-ddriim
43
It is evident that these palaces, fortresses, courts and estates needed manpower for maintenance and cultivation. This was provided by captives taken in the wars of conquest and by siaves.52 Groups of skilled Iabourers were brought from the conquered provinces to Mecca and Medina.O Mu'awiya is said to have been the first Caliph to use forced labour. 54 The mawiilt were entrusted with various duties and carried out different kinds of work, as imposed on them by their patrons. Consequently the mawiilt society was not based on egalitarian principles; among a group of mawiill, attached to a certain family or clan, there were great differences of rank and position. They were considered Ioyal and reliable. When Mu'awiya complained to Ziyad of the attitude of his relatives, Ziyad advised him to rely upon mawiili, because they were more apt to provide aid, more prone to forgive and more grateful (than others - K.).55 Possessing a multitude of mawiilt was considered a sign of strength; families and clans vied among themselves in acquiring mawiili. Some of these mawiilt were absorbed into the clans who strived to gain a firm and strong position.56 Referring to the contest between the Sufyanids and the Merwanids, each attempting to outnumber the other, 'Abd al-Rahman b. al-Hakam argues against Mu'awiya: "If you found none but negroes, you would strive to outnumber us by (adopting and attaching - K.) them" (scil. to your clan - K.).57 In the battle of the Harra the mawiilt fought as a special military formation under the command of Yazid b. Hurmuz,58 under their own banal-mijddb, wa-ld bi-qaysariyyata l-mighrdq, wa-ttakhidhhii bi-majdri l-sahdbi fa-ttakhadha lahu l-butndn min kilrati "asqaldn .... As for his policy of purchasing property in Mecca see JESHO 15 (1972), 84-85; and see Ibn Hajar, al-Isiiba II, 291, No. 4597. Cf. for Syria: al-Baladhuri, op. cit. Iva, 50, lines 5-7; 52, lines 7-12. 52 See Saleh A. el-Ali, op. cit., 252; and see JESHO 3 (1960) 334. About "the black and the red" ial-humriin wa-l-siidiint servants (ghilman) of Mu'awiya working in his estates see: al-Baladhurl, op. cit. rva, 42 inf.-43 sup.
53 See about labourers who made baked bricks for the houses of Mu'awiya in Mecca: al-Azraqi, op. cit., 496 ult.-497, lines 1-2; al-Fakihl, op. cit., fo1. 503a: kana ya'malu fihti nabatun baatha bihim mu'tiwiyatu bnu abi sufydna (r) ya'maliina I-ajurra
Ii-diirihi bi-makkata
54
... ahadun qablahu.
See al-Ya'qubl, op. cit. II, 221, line 1: ... wa-banii wa-shayyada l-bina'o wal-ndsa fi bina'ihi wa-lam yusakhkhir
sakhkhara
55
56 man ta' ashshaba i/ayhim li-yata'azzaz u bihi. 57 Al-Baladhurl, op. cit. Iva, 53, lines 12-13: ... [au [am tajid illd l-zanja la-
Al-Baladhuri, op. cit. Iva, 23, lines 17-18. See e.g. al-Baladhurl, op. cit. v, 163, lines 7-8: ... wa-hum yadummiina
takaththarta
58
bihim "alaynii.
See on him Khalifa b. Khayyat, Tabaqdt (ed. Akram 1;>iya' l·'Umari) (Baghdad, a
44
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
ner;59 they were entrusted with the defence of the section of the ditch, dug by the Medinans against the approaching Syrian army, stretching from Ratij60 until the quarter of the Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal.st Their force was divided into squadrons (kariidis) positioned behind each other.62 They were assaulted by a unit of the Syrian army and called upon to surrender; the commander, Yazid b. Hurmuz, refused and decided to continue the fight.63 It is remarkable that the mawiilt fought in such a steadfast and courageous manner, while the Bami Haritha, who were freemen, forsook their quarter and opened it treacherously, permitting the Syrians to attack their brethren in Medina.s+ Some commentators of the Qur'an stated indeed that verse 14 of Siirat al-ahziib: "If the enemy had entered from all sides and they had been exhorted to treachery, they would have committed it, and would have hesitated thereupon but little," referred to the shameful deed of the Banu Haritha.o> The number of the Umayyad mawdli, the mawiili bani umayya, or mawiilt mu'iiwiya, seems to have been considerable. This can be gauged from a unique report recorded by Ibn Ra's Ghanama. The direct cause of the expulsion of the Umayyads from Medina and the throwing off of the allegiance of Yazid, says the report, was a clash between the people of Medina and the mawiili mu'iiwiya. A powerful flow of water poured one day into Medina and the people hurried to direct the water into their fields (itii amwiilihim). The mawdli mu'iiwiya went out (apparently in order to divert the water into the estates of Mu'awiya - K.) and the people started to fight them (apparently preventing them from carrying out their work - K.) and a clash ensued between them (wa-kharaja mawiili mu'iiwiyata fa-qiitalahum ahlu l-madtnativ. The event took place at the time when Yazid was denigrated (by the opposition - K.) and Ibn aI-Zubayr already had thrown off his allegiance to him, the report remarks. The people of the market hoisted a banner (ja-'aqada ahlu
1387/1967), 249 (... kana ra'sa l-mawdli yauma l-harra ... ), 255; al-Baladhurl, op, cit. rvb, 35, line 5. 59 Abul-'Arab, op. cit., fo1. 53a, ult. 60 See about Ratij: al-Samhudi, op. cit. IV, 1215. 61 See Abu I-'Arab, op. cit., fo1. 53a (from Dhubab until Mirbad al-Na'am, the market of the cattle); al-Samhudi, op. cit. I, 129; IV, 1206, line 1. 62 Abu I-'Arab, op. cit., 53a ult.-53b, line 1: ... qad saffa ashdbahu karddisa, badahum khalfa badtn, i/ti ro'si l-thaniyyati ... 63 Abu l..'Arab, op. cit., fo1. 53b. 64 Al-Samhudi, op. cit. I, 130, penult; Abu l-fArab, op. cit., fol. 53b, inf. 65 Al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-manthiir (Cairo, 1314) V, 188,; al-Samhudi, op. cit. I, 131; al-Dlnawarl, op. cit., 265.
45
l-siiqi riiyatan), fought the mawiilt mu'iiwiya and killed (probably some of - K.) them. This caused an upsurge among the people of Medina and they expelled the governor.66 Whatever the historical value of this report, it helps us to gain an insight into the character and the duties of a special group established by the ruler, the mawdli mu'iiwiya. Some of these rnawdli muiiwiya took part in the expedition against 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr, as mentioned above. The Umayyads expelled from Medina Ieft the city accompanied by their mawdli. Important details about the formation of. some groups of mawdli can be deduced from the story about the dismissal of the governor of Medina, 'Amr b. Sa'id. When al-Walid b. 'Utba was reinstalled as governor of Medina (in 62 AH) he arrested some three hundred mawiilt and servants (ghilmiin) of the deposed governor. 'Amr secretly sent a messenger to those arrested, and promised to provide them with camels which would halt in the market of Medina; on a given sign the arrested would break the door of the jail, mount the camels and join him in Syria. The plan was indeed carried out successfully.o? These mawiilt thus had personal Ioyalty and attachment; they were not the official guard of the governor, they were the personal property of 'Amr b. Sa'id. The opinion of the new governor, al-Walid b. 'Utba, seems to have been different: He considered them as property of the state, which had consequently to be transferred to the successive governor. For 'Amr b. Sa'Id had fraudulently appropriated to himself the payments sent by the Caliph to the people of Medina and had used these sums for the acquisition of servants and slaves. This was one of the causes for the fact that relations between the people of Medina and the rulers deteriorated and that they felt bitterly about their governor.68 Further instances of Umayyad mawiili, who identified themselves with their masters and fought bravely for their cause, are recorded. A maulii of 'Utba b. abi Sufyan fortified himself with a group of fifty men in
Ibn Ra's Ghanama, Al-Tabari, op. cit. op. cit., fol. 74b. 366-367; Ibn Ra's Ghanarna,
66 67
IV,
op. cit., fol. 72b. There is
however a remarkable report recorded by Ibn Junghul, in his Ta'rtkb (Ms. BM Or 5912, I, I 62b) , according to which the rebelling Medinans under the command of 'Abdallah b. Hanzala arrested the slaves ('abid) of 'Amr b. Sa'Id and got hold of property, possessions and produce in Medina after the return of the deputation from Damascus in 62 AH. The 300 slaves managed to escape according 'Amr b. Sa'Id and succeeded in joining him. 68 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 189, lines 17-18. to a plan devised by
46
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
al-Ta'if; he later surrendered and was executed by 'Abdallah b. aI-Zubayr in Mecca.s? The role of the mawiili in the struggle between 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr and the Umayyads can be deduced from the story of al-Miswar b. Makhrama. He transferred weapons and coats of mail from Medina to Mecca and distributed them among his trained and steadfast mawdli in order to fight the Syrian troops sent by Yazid, They surrounded him during the fight, trying to defend him; later they abandoned him, but they succeeded in killing several Syrian soldiers.t? The reports quoted above help us to elucidate to some extent the meaning of the two key expressions: "sawdft mu'iiwiya" and "mawdlt mu'iiwiya", The battle of the Harra with its sad result is closely linked to the sawiif] and the mawiili of the Umayyads. IV The Medinans, Ansaris and Qurashites, barring Ibn Mina from access to the estates of Mu'awiya (i.e. the estates of Yazid - K.), argued that his action constitutes hadath and darar. This would indicate that in their opinion the rights of Mu'awiya to these estates were unfounded and his ownership caused damage to their rights. This argument was explicitly formulated in the talk of the deputation of Ansaris and Qurashites who called on the governor of Medina. "You know, they said, that all these estates belong to us and that Mu'awiya preferred others in the granting of payments and did not give us even a dirhem, let alone more.70a This was so until the time when we were pressed by hard time and oppressed by hunger, that Mu'awiya (by exploiting our distress - K.) bought it (i.e. our Iand - K.) by a hundredth of its (realK.) value"."! It is evident that the former landowners considered the acquisition of their property in such a way as an iniquitous transaction by which they were afflicted; they referred to it by the expressions "hadath" and "darar" and considered it void. In their opinion Mu'awiya's ownership was not Iawful and they apparently demanded the restitution of their rights. In a talk with 'Abdallah b. Ja'far, who interceded for the people of Medina, Yazid responded partly to the demands of the Medinans by promising to grant them as an exceptional favour two payments every
69 Al-Baladhurl, op. cit. tvb, 30, lines 12-15. 70 Al-Dhahabl, Siyar a'liim at-nubata'nn, 263. 70a On the delay of payments to the Ansar, Ibn Hajar, al-Isdba I, 194, No. 902. 71 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 169.
see Ibn 'Asakir,
op, cit. III, 369;
47
year (in summer and in winter) and to fix the price of wheat in Medina at a rate equal to that in Syria.72 Yazid also undertook to repay fully the amounts withheld by Mu'awiya.T' In a slightly different version, in which the terms of Muslim b. 'Uqba were formulated, the two former promises, that of making the price of wheat the same as in Syria and that of giving them two payments a year, are supplemented by a promise to repay the amounts dishonestly taken by 'Amr b. Sa'id.74 The Medinans rejected the terms of the Caliph as conveyed by Muslim b. 'Uqba, The rebelling Medinans had, however, no political programme, nor a plan of action. 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr claimed sagaciously and shrewdly that he demanded only to adhere to the idea of the shurii.75 It is remarkable that it was a courageous mauld, Abu Hurra, who dared accuse 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr of striving to declare himself caliph, not caring to act according to the principle of shiirii which he advocated; he consequently parted company with Ibn al-Zubayr.?» The Medinans, in contradistinction, proclaimed that they would not swear the oath of allegiance to Yazid, as reported in the current sources."? They were overconfident of their victory. They thought that if Syrian troops faced them even for a month they would kill not even one of the Medinans.78 They exerted themselves in imitating the Prophet in their military tactics and strategy and dug ditches in Medina, basing their defence on this device.t? as did the Prophet in the Battle of the Ditch. They were asked by their leaders to swear the oath of fighting until death.s? as did the Companions of the Prophet at al-Hudaybiyya. They heedlessly let the Umayyads and their mawiilt leave Medina, credulously convinced that
72 Lammens, op. cit., p. 242 reads according Mahdsin wa-l-masdwi (I, 101) ¥I and translates:
to the version of al-Bayhaqi's al"Le calife s'engage a faire vendre
chez vous le froment, au prix du fourrage." The text in Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 170: an aj'ala l-hintata 'indahum ka-si'ri l-hintati "indand; wa-I-hintatu "indahum ... and I, 189: an aj'ala si'ra l-hintati 'indakum ka-si'ri l-bintatt 'indana ... seems to be preferable. 73 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 170. 74 Ibid. I, 189.
75 See al-Baladhurl, op. cit. rvb, 16, line 9; 17, line 6; comp, ibid., 29, line 15; 27, lines 11-12; and see ibid. v, 195, lines 9-13; Ibn Ra's Ghanama, op. cit., fol. 73a. 76 Al-Baladhuri, op. cit. rvb, 27; v, 188. 77 See Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. v, 144, line 18; al-Tabarl, op. cit. IV, 370. 78 Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. v, 146: kunnd naqiilu : lau aqdmii shahran md qatalii minnd shay'an. 79 Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op, cit. I, 173; Abu I-'Arab, op. cit., fol. 53a; al-Samhudi,
op. cit. IV, 1205. 80 Ps. Ibn Qutayba,
op. cit. I, 173; Abu 1·'Arab, op, cit., fol. 53a.
48
THE BATTLE OF THE HARRA
they would fulfil their solemn oath not to help the Syrian force if it proceeded against Medina, and that they would even try to persuade the Syrian force not to attack Medina.s! They could have successfully used the Umayyads as hostages when they faced the attack of the Syrian force against Medina, as Marwiin himself rightly estimated.sThe Medinan leaders who succeeded in escaping the massacre of the Harra were deeply shocked, disappointed and embittered. They compared their defeat after a short battle, lasting less than a day, with the resistance of 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr which lasted six months; the fighting force in Medina numbered two thousand zealous fighters, while 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr fought with a small force and a troop of Khawarij.O It was again Marwan who soundly assessed the fighting forces in his talk with Muslim b. "Uqba, He explained that the common people in Medina had no fighting spirit and that only few of them would fight with resolution and conviction; they also lacked weapons and riding beasts, he remarked.s+ The battle of the Harra is thus seen to be the result of a conflict between the owners of estates and property in Medina and the unjust Umayyad rulers who robbed them of their property.
81
82
83 84
See al-Tabarl, op. cit. IV, 373, lines 5-6; Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 171. Ibid. See Ibn Sa'd, op. cit. V, 146, inf.; Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 1711, 181. Ps. Ibn Qutayba, op. cit. I, 172.
49
