A Muslim Theologian in the Sectarian Milieu : ʿAbd al-Jabbār and the Critique of Christian Origins /
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In 385 AH/AD 995 the Qāḍī 'Abd al-Jabbār, well known for his Mu'tazilī theological writings, wrote the Confirmation of the Proofs of Prophecy , a work that includes a creative polemic against Christianity. 'Abd al-Jabbār reinterprets the Bible, Church history (especially the lives of Paul and Constantine) and Christian practice to argue that Christians changed the Islamic religion of Jesus. The present work begins with an examination of the controversial theory that this polemic was borrowed from an unkown Judaeo-Christian group. The author argues that 'Abd al-Jabbār's polemic is better understood as a response to his particular milieu and the on-going inter-religious debates of the medieval Islamic world. By examining the life and thought of 'Abd al-Jabbār, along with the Islamic, Christian and Jewish antecedants to his polemic, the author uncovers the intimate relationship between sectarian controversy and the development of an Islamic doctrine on Christianity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047405825
9789004139619
The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq 334H./945 to 403H./1012 : Shaping Institutions for the Future /
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A study of the development of political and social institutions in Baghdad, center of the Abbasid Caliphate, in that neglected period between Abbasid collapse and the coming of the Seljuk Turks. Three brothers, Daylemite mercenaries from the southern Caspian succeeded in establishing a dynasty that lasted nearly a century, controlling Iraq, a good part of Iran and the Gulf. The period has been labled the "Iranian intermezzo" but careful examination shows that the dynasty shaped the basic institutions to which the Seljuks would fall heir: the chief amirate, the system of army fiefs and the bureaucracy. It was a period of profound change and dislocation which fostered an open and creative cultural atmosphere. The Caliphate, bereft of power, was re-established as the center of authority and legitimation.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004492363
9789004128606
The Exoteric Aḥmad Ibn Idrīs : A Sufi's Critique on the Madhāhib and the Wahhābīs /
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The Moroccan mystic and theologian Aḥmad b. Idrīs (1749-1837) was one of the most dynamic personalities in the Islamic world of the 19th century. Through his teachings and the activity of his students important Sufi orders were founded which exerted wide-ranging social and political influence, orders such as the Sanūsiyya in Libya and the Khatmiyya in the Sudan. To date, publications dealing with him have especially focused on his biography and particular aspects of his mystical doctrines. In the present work an Arabic edition and translation with commentary of two texts are made available which throw light on Ibn Idrīs' attitude towards the religious-dogmatic questions of his day and age. The first text, Risālat al-Radd 'alā ahl al-ra'y , provides information about Ibn Idrīs' relation to the Islamic schools of jurisprudence, in particular his position regarding the ijtihād-taqlīd debate which was so significant in the 18th and 19th centuries. Like many similarly minded scholars of his time, Aḥmad b. Idrīs categorically rejects the authority of the established schools of jurisprudence and favors instead the application of personal methods in deriving a legal judgement. The second text presented here is a vivid report by one of his students describing a debate which Ibn Idrīs, at an advanced age, entered into with a Wahhābī theologian in the Yemenite city of sabyā in 1832. The text makes clear with regard to which points Ibn Idrīs hoped to establish agreement with the Wahhābīs, and where it was not possible to reach any mutual understanding. The introduction of the present book examines the tumultuous political circumstances in which both Arabic texts were composed and sketches the larger cultural and intellectual context which shaped Ibn Idrīs' world of ideas.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004492004
9789004113756
Patronate and Patronage in Early and Classical Islam /
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This book deals with patronate and patronage ( walā' ) of early and classical Islam. Though Webster's Third has the term "mawla," the concept remains very difficult to come to grips with. Fourteen contributions by renowned scholars analyze the social and cultural phenomenon of walā' from various angles. As a whole, the book conveys what we presently know about patronate and patronage during the first four centuries of Islam. Inasmuch as the contributors have used different methods - from a close rereading of primary sources to the application of social theory and quantitative analysis - the book additionally offers an overview of methodologies current in the field of Islamic Studies.
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Texts are contributions to an international conference held in Berg en Dal, the Netherlands. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047416524
9789004144804
The Development of Early Sunnite ḥadīth Criticism : The Taqdima of Ibn Abī ḥātim al-Rāzī (240/854-327/938) /
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ḥadīth are the documents recording the words and actions of the Prophet Muḥammad. Originally an enormous and amorphous corpus, Muslim scholars of the third/ninth century separated the ḥadīth they regarded as true from those they held to be forgeries, producing collection of ḥadīth which still command the respect of Muslims today. Ibn Abī ḥātim al-Rāzī (240/854-327/938) was one of the most prominent exponents and practitioners of ḥadīth criticism. He left a copious written legacy, including his famous Taqdima , a biographical dictionary of the early ḥadīth critics. The Taqdima reveals Ibn Abī ḥātims's vision of the critic and gives insight into the mechanism of ḥadīth criticism. It also provides a platform for the examination of the basic intellectual orientation of the ḥadīth critics and their conflicts with their opponents.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004453241
9789004118058
Commerce, Culture, and Community in a Red Sea Port in the Thirteenth Century : The Arabic Documents from Quseir /
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This book is the first comprehensive study of the Arabic documents uncovered in Quseir, Upper Egypt, during the 1980s. The hundreds of paper fragments shed light on activities and operations of a family shipping business on the Red Sea shore in the thirteenth century. Part One is an introductory essay on historical and cultural context of these documents. The three chapters deal with, respectively, the "Sheikh's house," where the documents were found, the Red Sea commerce as reflected in the trade activities around the house, and aspects of popular culture as revealed through the texts. Part Two comprises a critical edition of eighty-four Arabic texts, the majority of which have never been published before, with translation and commentary.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047404972
9789004137479
The Companions of the Prophet : A Study of Geographical Distribution and Political Alignments /
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This book deals with the settlement of te Companions outside Medina, and their involvement in the battle of siffīn, the battle that tore the early Muslim community apart. Based on five major biographical dictionaries written by the traditionists ( ahl al-ḥadīth ) of the 9th - 12th centuries, two lists are made: that of the Companions who settled in Iraq, Syria and Egypt, and that of those who were involved in the battle. Comparing the background of these two groups of Companions, the volume analyzes dividing line between the two camps. The use of a quantitative approach, and the use of the traditionists' works as the main source in the historical study of classical Islam is an important contribution to the book.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047401889
9789004129238
The Revolution which toppled the Umayyads : Neither Arab nor Ἁbbāsid /
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This book re-examines the so-called Ἁbbāsid revolution, the ethnic character of whose effective constituency has been contested for over eight decades. It also brings to question the authenticity of the Ἁbbāsid dynastic claim. To establish its two theses (neither Arab nor Ἁbbāsid) this book employs, in its three parts, three distinct methodological approaches. To reconstruct the secret history of the clandestine Organization, Part One elicits a narrative through a rigorous application of the historical-critical method. Part Two subjects to close textual analysis some prime-grade literary specimen. In Part Three, a purely quantitative approach is adopted to study the demographic character of the formal structures of leadership within the Organization. History, historiography, heresiography, literature, the narrative, the textual analysis, and the quantitative approach, cannot be less inseparable.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047402084
9789004129948
The Great Mosque of Damascus : Studies on the Makings of an Umayyad Visual Culture /
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The celebrated Great Mosque of Damascus was built in the early eighth century by the Umayyad caliph al-Walīd b. 'Abd al-Malik. This book provides a detailed study of this Mosque. Using textual, visual, and archaeological evidence, the author attempts to reconstruct some of the basic formal and decorative features of the Umayyad mosque, to locate it within its broader urban context, and to consider its role within al-Walīd's unprecedented programme of architectural patronage. The work explores the intracultural and intercultural functions of religious architecture within an official visual discourse intended to project a distinctive Muslim identity in a manner determined by Umayyad political aspirations. It will be of particular interest to those concerned with the relationship between the Umayyad caliphate and Byzantium.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004491618
9789004116382
Religious and Intellectual Diversity in the Islamicate World and Beyond Volume II : Essays in Honor of Sarah Stroumsa /
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Religious and Intellectual Diversity in the Islamicate World and Beyond is a collection of essays in honor of Sarah Stroumsa, an eminent scholar who through the years has embodied and advanced the possibility of collaboration across borders. The volume is presented to her by scholars working on the study of the intellectual history of the Middle Ages, the intercultural contact and migration of knowledge in the Islamic world, and many other topics. Contributors: Binyamin Abrahamov, Camilla Adang, Anna Ayse Akasoy, Aleida Assmann, Jan Assmann, Meir M. Bar-Asher, José Bellver, Menachem Ben-Sasson, Haggai Ben-Shammai, Glen W. Bowersock, Rémi Brague, Godefroid de Callataÿ, Jonathan Decter, Michael Ebstein, Hussein Fancy, Carlos Fraenkel, Gil Gambash, Robert Gleave, Miriam Goldstein, Frank Griffel, Jaakko HämeenAnttila, Steven Harvey, Warren Zev Harvey, Meir Hatina, Geoffrey Khan, Gudrun Krämer, Ehud Krinis, Y. Tzvi Langermann, Daniel J. Lasker, Reimund Leicht, Gideon Libson, Menachem Lorberbaum, Maria Mavroudi, Jon McGinnis, Omer Michaelis, Yonatan Moss, David Nirenberg, Sari Nusseibeh, Olaf Pluta, Meira Polliack, James T. Robinson, Marina Rustow, Sabine Schmidtke, Gregor Schwarb, Ahmed El Shamsy, Mark Silk, Uriel Simonsohn, Daniel De Smet, Josef Stern, Guy G. Stroumsa, Sara Sviri, Alexander Treiger, Roy Vilozny, Ronny Vollandt, Elvira Wakelnig, Paul E. Walker, David J. Wasserstein, Tanja Werthmann, Dong Xiuyuan, Arye Zoref.
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1 online resource (792 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004686946
Food and foodways of medieval Cairenes : aspects of life in an Islamic metropolis of the eastern Mediterranean /
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This is a pioneering study which analyzes the food cultures of medieval Cairenes on the basis of a large corpus of historical texts in Arabic. Individual chapters discuss what, why, and how the inhabitants of medieval Cairo ate what they did, and in which ways food shaped their everyday lives. Given the complex nature of "food" and "foodways" as areas of research, the book covers such diverse subjects as the genesis of the culinary culture of Egypt's capital and various practices related to food and eating. This monograph also considers several relevant social, political and economic circumstances in medieval Cairo, studying food culture in its broader context.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004206465 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The 'Abbasid and Carolingian Empires : comparative studies in civilizational formation /
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Circa AD 750, both the Islamic world and western Europe underwent political revolutions; these raised to power, respectively, the ʿAbbasid and Carolingian dynasties. The eras thus inaugurated were similar not only in their chronology, but also in the foundational role each played in its respective civilization, forming and shaping enduring religious, cultural, and societal institutions. The ʿAbbāsid and Carolingian Empires: Studies in Civilizational Formation , is the first collected volume ever dedicated specifically to comparative Carolingian-ʿAbbasid history. In it, editor D.G. Tor brings together essays from some of the leading historians in order to elucidate some of the parallel developments in each of these civilizations, many of which persisted not only throughout the Middle Ages, but to the present day. Contributors are: Michael Cook, Jennifer R. Davis, Robert Gleave, Eric J. Goldberg, Minoru Inaba, Jürgen Paul, Walter Pohl, D.G. Tor and Ian Wood.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004353046 :
1929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan
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This publication offers a wide-ranging account of the Mongols in western and eastern Asia in the aftermath of Genghis Khan's disruptive invasions of the early thirteenth century, focusing on the significant cultural, social, religious and political changes that followed in their wake. The issues considered concern art, governance, diplomacy, commerce, court life, and urban culture in the Mongol world empire as originally presented at a 2003 symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and now distilled in this volume. This collection of 23 papers by many of the main authorities in the field demonstrates both the scope and the depth of the current state of Mongol-related studies and will undoubtedly inspire and provoke further research. The text is profusely illustrated by 30 color and 112 black-and-white illustrations. Contributors are: Sheila S. Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom, Devin DeWeese, Teresa Fitzherbert, Bert G. Fragner, Robert Hillenbrand, Dietrich Huff, Ralph Kauz, Linda Komaroff, Dickran Kouymjian, Mark Kramarovsky, Donald P. Little, Charles Melville, David Morgan, Bernard O'Kane, Judith Pfeiffer, George Saliba, Noriyuki Shiraishi, Marianna Shreve Simpson, Eleanor Sims, John Masson Smith Jr., Abolala Soudavar, Oliver Watson and Elaine Wright.
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"Originally presented at a 2003 symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art"--P. [4] of cover. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [439]-502) and index. :
9789047418573 :
0929-2403 ;
Al-Suyūṭī, a polymath of the Mamlūk period : proceedings of the themed day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca' Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014) /...
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This volume is a collection of several papers devoted to Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505), presented on the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (held at Ca' Foscari University,Venice, from June 23 to June 25, 2014). It aims to contribute to a reassessment of the scholarly profile of the controversial but fascinating polymath and intellectual, and, more generally, to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political and academic life of the last period of the Mamlūk empire. Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's bibliography ranges from law to theology, and from linguistics to history. It includes medicine and geography. This polymath felt that his mission was to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the past, and knowledge in general, from widespread ignorance and decline. Considered for a long time to be an author devoid of any originality and a "simple" compiler, he was in fact an excellent teacher and a rigorous scholar who had a meticulous and accurate working method. With contributions by: Christopher D. Bahl; Mustafa Banister; Joel Blecher; S. R. Burge; Daniela Rodica Firanescu; Éric Geoffroy; Antonella Ghersetti; Francesco Grande; Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila; Takao Ito; Judith Kindinger; Christian Mauder; Aaron Spevack.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource (240 pages) :
9789004334526 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Mongols' Middle East : continuity and transformation in Ilkhanid Iran /
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The Mongols' Middle East: Continuity and Transformation in Ilkhanid Iran offers a collection of academic articles that investigate different aspects of Mongol rule in 13th- and 14th-century Iran. Sometimes treated only as part of the larger Mongol Empire, the volume focuses on the Ilkhanate (1258-1335) with particular reference to its relations with its immediate neighbours. It is divided into four parts, looking at the establishment, the internal and external dynamics of the realm, and its end. The different chapters, covering several topics that have received little attention before, aim to contribute to a better understanding of Mongol rule in the Middle East and its role in the broader medieval Eurasian world and its links with China. With contributions by: Reuven Amitai, Michal Biran, Bayarsaikhan Dashdondog, Bruno De Nicola, Florence Hodous, Boris James, Aptin Khanbaghi, Judith Kolbas, George Lane, Timothy May, Charles Melville, Esther Ravalde, Karin Rührdanz
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004314726 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
New perspectives on Ibn ʻAsakir in Islamic historiography /
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This volume contains six articles on Ibn ʿAsākir and his Taʾrīkh madīnat Dimashq illustrating a variety of perspectives and approaches to the material. It includes a seventh article that discusses the process by which the now standard Dār al-fikr edition was compiled. The contributions address both the geographical and biographical sections of the Taʾrīkh madīnat Dimashq . Some of the authors examine Ibn ʿAsākir's sources, while others describe how Ibn ʿAsākir's works were used by later generations of scholars and how he influenced multiple genres of later writings. The volume also contains analyses of individual biographies and discussions of Ibn ʿAsākir's treatment of larger classes of people, including the first analysis of his biographies of women. In sum, it illustrates both the wide range of topics that the Taʾrīkh madīnat Dimashq covers and the latest techniques for analyzing Ibn ʿAsākir and his work. Contributors: Zayde Antrim, Steven Judd, Nancy Khalek, James Lindsay, Suleiman Mourad, Dana Sajdi, Jens Scheiner, Monika Winet.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004345201 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Roads to paradise : eschatology and concepts of the hereafter in Islam /
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Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam offers a multi-disciplinary study of Muslim thinking about paradise, death, apocalypse, and the hereafter. It focuses on eschatological concepts in the Quran and its exegesis, Sunni and Shi'i traditions, Islamic theology, philosophy, mysticism, and other scholarly disciplines reflecting Islamicate pluralism and cosmopolitanism. Gathering material from all parts of the Muslim world, ranging from Islamic Spain to Indonesia, and the entirety of Islamic history, this publication in two volumes also integrates research from comparative religion, art history, sociology, anthropology and literary studies. Unparalleled and unprecedented in its scope and comprehensiveness, Roads to Paradise promises to become the definitive reference work on Islamic eschatology for the years to come.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004333154 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Accusations of unbelief in Islam : a diachronic perspective on takfir /
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The present volume-the first of its kind-deals with takfīr : accusing one´s opponents of unbelief ( kufr ). Originating in the first decades of Islam, this practice has been applied intermittently ever since. The nineteen studies included here deal with cases, covering different periods and parts of the Muslim world, of individuals or groups that used the instrument of takfīr to brand their opponents-either persons, groups or even institutions-as unbelievers who should be condemned, anathematized or even persecuted. Each case presented is placed in its sociopolitical and religious context. Together the contributions show the multifariousness that has always characterized Islam and the various ways in which Muslims either sought to suppress or to come to terms with this diversity. With contributions by: Roswitha Badry, Sonja Brentjes, Brian J. Didier, Michael Ebstein, Simeon Evstatiev, Ersilia Francesca, Robert Gleave, Steven Judd, István T. Kristó-Nagy, Göran Larsson, Amalia Levanoni, Orkhan Mir-Kasimov, Hossein Modarressi, Justyna Nedza, Intisar A. Rabb, Sajjad Rizvi, Daniel de Smet, Zoltan Szombathy, Joas Wagemakers.
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1 online resource. :
9789004307834 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Book in Mamluk Egypt and Syria (1250-1517), Scribes, Libraries and Market.
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This book is the first to date to be dedicated to the circulation of the book as a commodity in the Mamluk sultanate. It discusses the impact of princely patronage on the production of books, the formation and management of libraries in religious institutions, their size and their physical setting. It documents the significance of private collections and their interaction with institutional libraries and the role of charitable endowments ( waqf ) in the life of libraries. The market as a venue of intellectual and commercial exchanges and a production centre is explored with references to prices and fees. The social and professional background of scribes and calligraphers occupies a major place in this study, which also documents the chain of master-calligraphers over the entire Mamluk period. For her study the author relies on biographical dictionaries, chronicles, waqf documents and manuscripts.
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1 online resource. :
9789004387058
The Epistle of the eloquent clarification concerning the refutation of Ibn Qutayba /
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This is an edition of an early Shiite/Fatimid Arabic epistle that includes a controversy pertaining to several issues on Islamic law. Al-Qadi al-Nu'man (d. 363/974), the most famoust jurist of the early Fatimid period refutes the illustious Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/889). In his book Adab al-Katib, Ibn Qutayba claimed that it was enough for civil servants (kuttab) to memorize a few legal formulas in order to be able to effectively do their work without the need of long dissertations on law from jurists. In the introduction to his epistle, al-Nu'man claims that without these dissertations the civil servants would not be able to apply the law correctly. Following this, al-Nu'man launches lengthy dissertations on each one of the succinct formulas listed by Ibn Qutayba. The main argument of al-Nu'man is that the only lawgivers in Islam are the prophet Muhammad and the Imams descendents of Ali (until the seventh Imam).
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1 online resource (22, 175 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004216662 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.