God's Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam

PATRICIA CRONE & MA RTIN HINDS

Religious authority in the rust centuries of Islam

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University of Cambridge Oriental Publicato i ns

God'$ caliph

C;.pvrlghted material

God's Caliph Religious authority in the first centuries of Islam

P A T R I C I A CRONE Univenity L..ecturer in blamk HiSiory and Fellow or Jesul Colleac. Quoro

and MARTIN HINDS Univcnity Fellow or Trinity Hall, Cambridsc

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Bihliogfllphy: p. loclllll..-s iJl\k.\. I . Caliphate. 2. Islamic Empire-Politics and gOI·mullen!. 3. IsI�rn Dnd stute I.Wnds. Mortin II, Titlo: Ill. Series IlI'l66.9.C76

1986

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CJPYnghied ma�nal

CONTENTS

I Introduction

I

2

The title

3

The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

24

4

Caliphallaw

43

�

From caliphal to Prophetic sunna

58

The Umayyads

59

The 'Abbiisids

80

Epilogue

97

6

khalifat Alliih

4

Appendix I On the date and origin of the caliphate

III

Appendix 2 The letters of ai-Wand II and Yazid I I I

116

Appendix 3 Abu l;Iarnza's comments on the caliphs

129

Appendix 4 al-Ma'miln's letter of designation of 'Ali al-Ri"a as his successor

133

Workscited

140

lnder

J53

v

alenal

Copyrighted material

1 Introduction

What was the nature of the early caliphate? Islamicists generally believe it to have been a purely political institution. According to Nallino, no caliph ever enjoyed religious authority;l according to other IslamicislS, some caliphs did lay claim to such authority, but only by way of secondary development and only with limited success'. In what follows we shall challenge this belief. It is of course true that religious authority was the prerogative of scholan rather than of caliphs in classical Islam, but we shall argue that this is not how things began. The early caliphate was concei� along lines very different authority being concentrated in it; it was the caliph who was charged with the definition of Islamic law, the very core of the religion, and without allegiance to a caliph no Muslim could achieve salvation. In short, we shall argue that the early caliphate was conceived along the lines familiar from Shi'ite Islam. The conventional Islamicist view of the caliphate is that enshrined in the bulk of our sources. Practically all the literature informs us that though the Prophet was God's representative on earth in both political and religious matters, there ceased to be a single represen· tative in religious matters on the Prophet's death. Political power passed to the new head of state, the caliph: but religious authority f rently remained with the Prophet himself or, dife 1 C. A. Nallino, Appunti lutla natufa dcl "Caliratto" in JCnCre c Jul praunto "Califattoottomano"', in hil Rocco/tadi Krilli f'ditit i",.ditl, "01. III. Rome 1941; compare also T. W, Arnold, TM Caliphate', London 1965, p. 14. 2 Thus T. Nagel, R«lIlf,.i/Wlg WId XaJi/at, Bonn 1975; D. Sourdcl, 'L'aUlorile cati6t-nnc dans Ie monde lunnitc' in G, Makdisi, D. Sourdcland J. Sourdct· Thomine (cds.), Latlotiort d'mlt(Nil�au lftO)'f'tI figf',' hfam, BYZDII('f', O«iIk"" P.ris 1982, pp. 105f; G. Rotter, Dif' Umayyodnr wuIdrr zM'f'ilf' 8iirrf'rkr� (680-692), Wiesbadcn 1982. pp. 3-4, 52, 248ft'. •

I

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2

God's Caliph

those men who remembered what he had said. These men, the Companions, transmitted their recollection of his words and deeds to the next generation, who passed it on to the ne)tt, and so forth, and whoever learnt what the Prophet had said and done acquired religious authority thereby. In short, while political power continued to be concentrated in one man, religious authority was now dispersed among those people who, owing their authority entirely to their learning, came to be known as simply the 'ulama', the scholars. As it happened. however, the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman) were themselves Companions, so that in practice religious and political authority continued to be united, ir no longer concen­ trated, in the head of state, and during this period the caliphs could and did issue authoritative rulings on law. But though the fourth caliph ('Ali) was also a Companion and moreover a kinsman of the Prophet, he failed to be generally accepted, and on his death the caliphate passed to men who had converted late and unwillingly (the Umayyads), so that the happy union of religion and politics now came to an end. Caliphs and 'ulamii' went their separate ways, to be briefly reunited only under the pious 'Umar II. Most Shrites disagree with this view. According to the Imimis and related-sects. the legitimate head of state ('Ali) inherited not only the political, but also the religious authority of the Prophet. In practice, of course, the legitimate head of state after 'Ali was deprived of his political power by his Sunni rivals, so that he could only function as a purely religious leader of his Shrite following; but in principle he was both head of state and ultimate authority on questions of law and doctrine in Islam. Modem Islamicists however generally regard the Shi'ites as deviant. Some take them to have started off as adherents of a political leader who was not, at first, very dife f rent who was gradually transfonned into a religious figurehead.' Others believe them to have elevated their leader into a religious figurehead from the start, but to have done so under the influence of foreign ideas, their model being the supposedly charismatic leadership or pre-Islamic south Arabia.t Either way, it is the Shi'ites, not the Sunnls. who are seen as having diverged from the common pattern. It certainly makes sense to assume that Sunnls and Shi'ites started J Thus ror«.mple 8. Lewis. 1M Arabs jn His/ory. London 1966. p. 71. 4 Thus W. M. Wilt. IJ/QIPI tw1 t� hllt"o/IOII 0/ Sodtty. London 1961. pp. 105r.; �ted by Witt in numerous otherpubliC:ltons: aoc:epled by Natel. Rtf'htltl/llftg, pp. 45r.

CJPYnghted malenal

Introduction

J

with a common conception of the caliphal office; and given that we owe practically all our sources to those who were in due course to become the Sunni majority, it is not surprising that we automatically assume this conception to have been of the Sunni rather than the Shi'ite type. There is, however, much evidence to suggest that this is a mistake.

CJPYnghted malenal

2 The title

khalifat Alliih

We take as our starting point the well known fact that the Umayyads made use of the title khalifat Allah,! an expression which we along with many others understand to mean 'deputy of Goo', This translation is scarcely in need of much defence. A

khalifa is

somebody who stands in the place of another, that is a deputy or a successor depending on whether the other is absent or dead; since the Muslims assumed God to be alive, khalifal AJliih cannot mean 'God's successor'. However, in order to accomodate the conventional view that the caliphate is succession to Mul:lammad rather than deputyship on behalf of God, Goldziher construed it as meaning successor(ofthe prophet approved) by God',I and this interpretation has found favour with some. It might now be defended with reference to Paret's conclusion that Qur'anically kholifo means successor.' Two Qur'inic verses were customarily invoked by those who called themselves khofijo( Alliih, that is 2 : 28, in which God announces that •

'( am placing a khofijo on earth' with reference to Adam, and

38:2S,

I a. 1 . Ooldziher. M/4flm Slwirs, London 1967-71, vol. II, p. 61of the oriJinal palinllion : /d., 'Du sens propre des expressions Ombn: de Dieu, Kh,life de Dieu pour dCsiper In chefs dans J'lslam', hf:w. , Hi"oirt.s hl/6/ON l5 (1897); D. S. Mu,oliouth, 'The Smse of lhe Tille KllanfDll' in A VoIumt of Orwntal Slll(/i" PrtunlHlo E. G. 8ro..·,." Cambridge 1922; E. TYln,/nslllullomtN droll publlcmllSlll_, 'lot t (Lt fuJi/at). Plris 19S4, pp. 202, 4l9ft": H. Rinuren, 'Some RdiJious Aspects of the Caliphate'. Sludits In Iitt History of RtI/6iOlls (suppitn'lfmuto N_n). IV: � '(if,al Jc.irqJllip,lo ",alitd SQtTa, Lridm 1959; W. M. Witt• • God's Clliph: Qur'inic Interpretations and Umlyyad alims' in /rQlf aM IJ/QIf1, ed. C. E. Boswonh, Edinbursh 1971; R. Paret. 'ijlfifll Allih­ Vicari us Dei: tin difl"ertnzitrender thri/I A. AbrI). Lcidm 1974. II is with somt surprise thlt one nota; Hitti'sdaim that 'such e.travapnt lillts IS /cllaRjal AlfiJil . . . weee evidently first bestowed on II·Mullwaldr.iI' (P. K. Hitti, History of Iitt A,abJ'. London 1961. p. lI7). 2 Goldziher, 'Ou sens proprt', p. ll1. 1 R. Partl, 'Sipilkation coranique de lJolrfa et d'lu\rtl derives de I, radne IJQ/afo', Studio IIIQIf1leo II (1970). '

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The title Khalifat Allah

5

in which He tells David that 'we have made you a khalifa on earth ';4 ifParet is right that khalifa invariably means successor in the Qur'an, and if the title

khalifat Allah was actually coined with reference to

these verses, then the title ought indeed to mean 'God's suocessor' in the sense of ' successor appointed by Him' as Goldziher suggested. But plainly it did not. Leaving aside the fact that there were exegetes who disagreed with Paret& and that the provenance of the title is unknown, the texts leave no doubt that khalifat Allah as applied to the head of state was understood to mean 'deputy of God'. As Watt notes, there are passages in both poetry and prose which militate against Goldziher's interpretation;' paraphrastic titles such as am,n

Allah, 'trustee of God', ra', Allah, 'shepherd of God', sultan Allah, 'the authority of God ' or na'ib Allah, 'lieutenant of God ' also make it unlikely that khalifat Allah meant anything but 'deputy of God';1 and so does the general tenor of the sources, as will be seen. Moreover, since 'Uthmiin, the first caliph for whom the title khalifat Alliih is securely attested, was also known as amin Allah, there is no reason to assume that kharifat Allah only acquired its exalted meaning in the course of its evolution;' we may take it that it meant 'deputy of God' from the start. Now 'deputy of God' is a title which implies a strong claim to religious authority. This is why we are interested in it, and we wish to begin by establishing three basic points, First, it is attested not 4 IrkJuUifa means suca:ssor here, Adlm was I sua:csso r to angels orjilin Ind David to lOme previous king, S cr, Watt, 'God's Caliph', p. S66, where some uegetic:al views Ire cited. AI-Bay�iwi allO accepts thlt khalr/a means deputy, adding that evny prophet was I depUly or God (An ..·.Jr o/-tantR wa-Q.Srdr o/-ta'It,n, Istanbul n.d., vol. I, p. 64, ad2: 28), and the same inte-rpretation is implied in the Slories in which 'Umn I and 'Umlr II .eject the title or kha/ifar Allifh on the ground thlt it men exclusively to prophets such as David (cr. the exegetes exercised great ingenuity to I'loid the interpretltion of kMrifa IS 'oepuly' tor political fUsons, optin, ror far-fetched inte-rpretations such IS that or' posterity' or'suo.nor' instead (W. M . Wilt, 1M FormDt� Ptriadoflslamit. Thought, Edinburgh 1973, p. 84; the rar-retched interpretation is that adopted by Paret). But what bothered Inuep:te sudt IS Il-Tabari wlS clearly not politics. but rather the incompatibility or 2:21 with the doctrine or prophetk '4fM: how could I deputy orGod, viz. I prophet, be said to ' act corruptly and shed blood'1 (cr. id. 'God's CaJiph', p. 566). 6 Wall, 'God's Caliph', p. S71; Id. FarfMtipt P"iod, p. 84. In what roiloWi we shall transllte klIoITfat Allifh as 'deputy of God' or leave the expression untranslated; the reader mayjudge ror himselrhow mlny times '51)((8ISm of the Prophet approved by God' would be a felicitous rendition. 7 cr. the index. 8 cr. Walt, Farmotipt Period, p. 84, where this possibility is left open. For 'Uthmin IS ami" Allifh see below, note as. .

.

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6

God's

Caliph

just for some Umayyad caliphs, but for all of them, or more precisely for all of those who lived to rule for more than a year; secondly, it was an official designation of the Umayyad head of state, not just a term ofnattery; and thirdly, it was well known to be what the title of khali/a stood for when used on its own. t

Atttstations per caliph

Note: tn order not to clutter the text we give only short references

here; full bibliographical details are given in the list of works cited. We should like to acknowledge our debt to Tyan, whose Cali/at provided us with many of our attestations.

(I) 'Ulhmon (a) 'I am the servant of God and His deputy' (Aghani, vol. xvi, p. 326: '/qd, vol. iv. p. 301'). (b) I beseech you by God and remind you of His right and the right of His khali/a' (Aghan;, vol. xvi, p. 325). (c) Perhaps you will see the kholifa of God among you as he was, one day in a place of joy' (l;Iassin b. Thiibit. no. 20: 10; cr. 'Arafat. 'Background', pp. 276ff.). (d) 'The deputy of God, he gave them and granted them what there was of gold, vessels and silver' (Layla al·Akhyaliyya. no. 27: 2). (e) 'They were brought something which cancels the duty to avenge a deputy of God's (khalifalill 1;'lIoh, Na�r b. Muzil)im, Waq'ar Silfin, p. 229). '

•

(2) Mu'iiwiya (a) 'The earth belongs to God and I am the deputy orGod' (Bal., Ans., vol. iv/a, p. 17 vol. iv/I, p. 20, §63; Mas Muriij, vol. iii. § 1861 v, pp. 1041). (b) 'Your brother, Ibn l;Iarb, is the deputy of God and you are his vizier' (l;Iiiritha b. Badr to Ziyid b. AbThi in Tab., ser. ii. p. 78). (e) 'You have lost the khalifal Alliih and been given the khilofal Allah' ('A�.i' or 'A.$im b. Abi Sayti to Yazid 1 on Mu'iiwiya's death in Jii\lii. Boyan, vol. ii, p. 191; Mas., Muriij, vol. iii, §1912 v, p. 152; 'Jqd, vol. iii, p, 309"). (d) . Mu'iwiya b. Abi Sufyin was a servant whom God deputed =

.•

=

=

CJPYnghted malenal

The rille Khalifat Alldh

7

(;jrakhlafahu Allah) over the servants . . . and God . . . has now invested us with what he had' (Yazid I in Ibn Qutayba, [mama, p. 190). (e) Mu'iwiya preferred his son Yazjd for khiliJfat Allah 'ala 'ibadihi (al·Mu'taQid in Ibn Abi 'I·l;ladid, SharJ" vol. xv, p. 178, citing Tabari; but Tab., ser. iii, p. 2173 11, gives a different version). (3) YaZld [ (a) Cf. above, 2. c,d,e. (b) Imtim al-mlLflimin wa-khalifat rabba/·'tilamin (Muslim b. 'Uqba in Ibn Qutayba, [mama, p. 203. cf. p. 202: 'I hope that God, exalted and mighty is He, will inspire His khalifa and 'abd with knowledge of what should be done'). (c) 'Woe to you who have separated from the sunna and jamaa and who have disobeyed the deputy of God' (Syrians to Hishimites in l;Iamza al-I$fahini. p. 217). (5) The Sufyanids in general (a) '0 people of Jordan, you know that Ibn al·Zubayr isin a state of dissension, hypocrisy and disobedience against the caliphs of God' (l:Iassin b. Milik b. 8abdal in 'Iqd, vol. IV, p. 395'). (b) The Umayyads in the presence of Mu'iwiya are addressed as banI khulafo' Allah (Aghtinl, vol. xx, p. 212; al-Tilbani, Miskin al-Dirimi', p. 185). •

(5) Marwan [ No direct attestation. (6) 'Abd a/-Malik (a) For the coinage of 'Abd ai-Malik's reign which refers to kha/ifat Allah, see Walker, Catalogue, vol. ii, pp. 28, 30f(bronze coins. undated (but see below, chapter 3, note I»; vol. i. p. 24; Miles, 'MiiJrib and 'Anazah', p. 171; and id 'Some Arab­ Sasanian and Related Coins'. p. 192 (miJ,rab and 'anoza dirhams, undated); Walker, Cala/ogue, vol. i. p. 25 and Salmin, ' Dirham nadir', pp. 163ft'. (Khusraw II plus standing caliph dirham, dated 75). .•

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8

God's Caliph

(b) For the stories in which al·Hajjij deems God's kharifa superior to His rasu/with reference to 'Abel al·Malik, see below, chapter 3, pp. 28f. (c) 'To the servant of God, the Commander of the Faithful and khalifat raM al·'alamfn' (letter from al-l;Iajjaj to 'Abel al·Malik in 'Jqd, vol. v, p. 2SI2). (d) 'God, exalted is He, has said, "fear God as much as you can" (64: 16). This is [due] to God . . .Then He said, "hear and obey" (also 64: 16). This [obedience is due) to the servant of God, thekhalfjaofGod and the noble one/belo...ed (najib/Ilabib) of God, 'Abel ai-Malik' (speech by al·l;lajjij in Mas Muru j, vol. iii, §2088 .... p. 330; '/qd, vol. iv, p. 117; cf. Abu Diwiid, Sunan, vol. ii, p. SI4, and the mangled version in Ibn 'Asikir, Tahdhib, "'01. iv, p. 72, in which the caliphal epithets are reduced to amir a/-mu'minin). (e) 'You thought that God would betray His religion and His khiliifa' (al-J;lajjaj after Dayr al-Jamajim in '/qd, vol. iv, p. 1161; Mas., Muruj, vol. iii, §2066 vol. v, p. 30S). (I) 'God, mighty and exalted is He, has deputed the Commander of the Faithful 'Abd al·Malik over His lands (utakhlafahu Allah) and been satisfied with him as imam over His servants' (speech by al-l;Iajjij in Ibn Qutayba, /mama, p. 233). (8) 'The earth belongs to God who has appointed His khalifa to it' (Farazdaq, vol. i. p. 2S'). (h) 'Ibn Marwin is on your hump, the khalifa of God who has mounted you' (camel-driver's song in Aghani, vol. xvi, p. 183; a variant version refers to al-Walid I, cr. below). (i) 'God has garlanded you with khilafa and huda' (Janr, p. 4741). (j) 'The caliph of God through whom rain is sought' (al·Akhtal. Dfwan, p. 101'; also cited in Aghanf, vol. xi, p. 66). (k) Khalifiit Allah al-murajja (al-'Abbas b. Mul)ammad in Aghanf, vol. xxiv, p. 217, probably with reference to 'Abel al·Malik). , (I) 'The deputy of God on his minbar (Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyat, no. I : 17 (p. 70». (m) Khalifar al-RalJman (Ri'i, pp. 228�1, 229", variants; the text has .•

=

=

walf amr Allah). (7) aJ·Walfd J (a) For the stories in which Khiilid al-Qasri deems God's khalifa superior to His rasiii with reference to al-Walid I. see below, chapter 3, p. 29. CJPYnghted matanal

9

The lille Khalifat Allah

(b) Fa-anta Ii-rabb af-'iilamin khalifa (JaTiT, p. 3848). (e) 'Vou are the shepherd of God on earth' (Farazdaq, vol. i, p. 3121). (d) 'The caliph of God through whom clouds of rain are sought' (Nabighat B. Shayban, p. 284). (e) 'The khalifa of God through whose slInna rain is sought' (Akh\al, p. 18S·). (0 'The khalifa of God who has mounted you' (AI-Walid to his camel in '/qd, vol. iv, p. 424, a variant of 6 (h); ef. Ibn 'Asikir, Tahdhib, vol. iii, p. 398, where it is JamTI who says it ofal-Walid I). (8) Siliaymiin (a) 'The kharifa ofGod through whom rain is sought' (Farazdaq, vol. i, p. 361'. Note also Janr, p. 35', where Ayyiib, the son of Sulayman is prematurely described as khalfJa U'I-Rai}miin). (b) 'My heir apparent amorrg you and my successor among all of those over whom God has deputed me (islakhlafani Alliih) is . . . 'Umar' (Sulaymin's testament in Ibn Qutayba, Imiima, p. 308; in this document Sulayman styles himself khalifat al-mwlimin, cf. p. 307). (9) 'Umar II (a) 'The khalifa ofGod, and God will preserve him' (Janr, p. 2741; the title is mentioned again at p. 275'). (b) 'The one who sent the Prophet has placed the khiliifa in the just imam' (Janr, p. 415'). (10) Yazid II (a) 'Vazid b. 'Abd ai-Malik is the deputy of God; God had deputed him over His servants . . . and he was appointed me to what you see (Ibn Hubayra inMas., MUrUj, vol. iv, §2210 v, p. 458; Ibn Khallikiin, vol. ii, p. 71). (b) Kharifal Alliih (Janr, p. 256'). '

=

(I I) Hishiim (a) For stories in which the deputy and the messenger of God are compared with reference to Hisham, see below,chapter 3, p.29.

10

God's Caliph

.

(b) 'and Hisham, the deputy of God '(al··Abaliin Aghiini, vol. xi, p. 305). (c) 'You are using abusive words for all that you are God's deputy on earth' (visitor to Hisham in Ibn Kathir, Bidaya, vol. ix. p. 351). (d) 'You have lied to khalifat al·Ra�man concerning it' (al­ Farazdaq or al·Mufarrigh b. al-Muraqqa'in Aghanf, vol. uii, p. 21). (e) ai-imam khalifal Allah al·riqa 'I-humam (l;Iaf� al-Umawi in Ibn 'Asakir, Tahdhib, vol. iv. p. 392). (f) Note also khalifat ahl a/·ar4, khalifat af-anam (Farazdaq, vol. i, p. 165', vol. ii, p. 830.1); compare Sulayman's kha/i/at af­ muslimfn (above, 8,b). (12) al-Walid II (a) Cf. the letter translated below, appendix 2, pp. 116ft'., in which the caliphal institution is identified as deputyship on behalf of God and the caliphs are referred to as khulafli' Allah. (13) Yaz id III (a) Cf. the letter translated below, appendix 2, pp. I 26ft'., in which Yazid III identifies all Umayyad caliphs up to and including Hisham as khulafo' Alliih; by implication he brackets himself with them. (14) Marwiin II (a) Cf. the letter in which Marwan (not yet caliph) states that 'this caliphate is from God' (Tab ser. ii, p. 1850). (b) 'God's religion and His khilafa' (Marwan in a letter (penned by 'Abd al-l;Iamid b. Yal)ya) in Safwat, Rasii'iI, vol. ii, p. 474, citing Ibn TayfUr, lkhtiyar al·maniiim wa'/-manthiir and other sources). (c) And in disobedience to the deputy of God a Muslim continually strikes with the sword in his hand that of his brother' ('Abd al-l:Iamid b. Yal)ya with reference, probably, to Marwan II, in his 'Risala fi'J·fitna' in al· Tadhkhira af-lJamdiiniyya, bab 31). cr. below, chapter 3, note 14, where 'Abd al-l;Iamid speaks of God's rasu! and khalifa. .•

•

righted matmal

The title Khaliof l (d) Cf. also the refiection of

IJ

khalifal

khaliaf l (Ya'qUbi, vol. ii, p. 420, has �Ialif al-shay(an, obviously a whel'.! Oawiid b. 'Ali denounces Marwan as

corruption.)

The Marwiinids in general

(15)

(a) Thiibit Qutna refers to (a'at aJ·Ral}man aw khulafiJ'ihi (Aghilnl, vol. xiv, p. 271). Cf. also above, 12 and 13.

The Umayyads in general

(16)

(a) According to al-Mada'ini, the Syrians called all their children Mu'awiya, Yazid and al·Walid 'after the caliphs of God' (Pellal, 'Culle de Mu'awiya', p. 54).

2 The ofllci.1 nature of the title That

khalifal Allah was an official title of the Umayyad head of state

is clear from the attestations given already. It was not of course the title commonly used for purposes of address and reference to individual Umayyad caliphs. For such purposes amlr aJ-mu'minitl, 'commander of the faithful', was adopted, and this title is far more densely attested in the sources than khalifa; indeed, in the non-Muslim sources khalifa the official designation of the caliph's function,'D and what the attestations just given show is that it stood for khalia f t

khaliaf t khaliaf t it did not stay on the coinage for long, II the Umayyads continued 9 According to Brock, it is only atl�Ied 0f\C:Jr in 5yriac lile�lu�. and Ihat in a lale 5Oume: 'Uthmin i5 addrtS5ed as 'caliph or Ihe prophet or God ' in lhe Cllronirlr

ad 12J4 (5. P. Brock, 'Syriac Views or Emergml lslam' in O. H. A . Juynboll

(td.), StwditSOft11«l Fiw Crnlur),o/iJl_ic welrt)'. Carbondale and Edwardsville 1982, p. I" and nole 33 thereto). The only Syriac autslation thus renders Ihe

claMical khalifat rasiil Alldh. 10 Similarly, the official designalion ortbc function ofa Frmc:h parish priest is nln. but his pari5hionen will .aually address him as �rt and refer to him as/r prrr. In his\ctter regardinglhe sUCCts$ion al·Walid II rden to Ihe caliph5 as kllu/aft · when he describes their history. function and importance, bUl switches 10 amir al·mw'minfn when he addTC$SM. his subjects dirtttly (cr. below. appendix 2). II The fact Ihat it disappeared rrom the coinage does not mean Ihal 'Abd al·Malik repen led of having called himself khali/at regarding the kind or propaganda he wished the coina� to make.

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God's Caliph

to spell out khalifa as khalifat AI/iih in their public statements until the very end of the period: for all their political differences, ai-Walid II, Vazid III and Marwan II were at one on this point. The appearance of khalifat Allah and variations on this title in court poetry thus reflects official usage. not poetic inventiveness. Leaving aside a reference to 'Uthman in a thirteenth-century Syriac source,

khalifar rasul Allah is not attested for the Umayyads at all." 3

KNlIf. - kNlIf., AUiII

It was not just the Umayyads and their poets who took khar,Ja to stand for khalifat Allah when applied to the head of state; apparently everybody did so, Thus Yazid b. al-MuhaJlab, in a letter to thecaliph Sulaymiin, refers to 'Umar h.

al-KhaUiih wa-'Uthman h, 'Ajfiin )',.'a-man bddahuma min khulafii' Allah, "Umar, 'Uthmiin and the deputies of God after them', in a completely matter-of-fact way implying that all caliphs were ipso facto deputies of God, U This agrees with the fact that even an anti-caliph such as Ibn al-Zubayr was referred to in poetry as khalifat al-RaIJmiin.14 On the Kharijite side we have the ferocious speech delivered by Abu J;lamza in the 7405 in which the iniquitous behaviour of Vazid II (and other Umayyad caliphs) is described with the sarcastic comment. 'is such supposed to be the distinguishing characteristic of khulafo' Alliih?'U It is not clear whether Abu I;famza held even righteous rulers 10 be deputies of God, but one would certainly infer from this that, like others. he held the litle of khalifa to siand for khalifal Alliih.11 On the Shi'ile side 12 cr. lbove. note 9. 13 Tlb ser. iii. p. 1334. 14 Wlkr, AkhbiJr a/.qut/ilh, ed. A A M. II,Mlrighi, Cliro 1947-SO, vol. I, p, 263: A,lultIr, vol. IV, p. 400. 15 cr. below. appendix 3. section 9. 16 'Deputy orood' il nOlln appropriate litle for a Khirijite ruler, and at some stalC the Khirijilcs duly rejc<::ted the caliphal title altosether (cr. E. A. Salem. Pol//iral TMor), and InJ/;/U/IOIIS of 1M Kha...·�iJ. Baltimore 1956, pp. 52f.). But Ipparently they retained it throughout Ihe Umayyad period. Thus we Ire told that Qataff b. ai,Fuji'a had been Icknowledged as c:aliph (al·Dhahabi, Siyar aldm 01·nu/xJ16", ed. Sh, II·Am.'uland others, Beirut 198 h vol. IV, p. 152: that he hid been known as amir ol·mu'min;n is numismaticilly attested. cr. Walker. C%/ogw, vol. II, pp. 112(" and well known to the literary tl1ldition). And of Abu l:Iamn himself we are told thlt he Jive alleailnoe to 'Abdallih b, Yabyi '014 '1,lchll4fo (Tab.. ser. ii, p. 1943: A61!4ni, vol. XXIII. p. 227). There il nothins to sUlJ'CSt Ihat heor any other Khirijites took the tille to stand ror somethinlother thin Ichaft/o/ Allah .mona themselves: 'do you not !ICC how the deputyship or God Ind the imamlte of the Muslims hive been deslroyed'!', as Abu ijalTl7.a exclaims in Ibn Ahi '1·l:Iadid's version or his spccch (below, appendix 3, note 8). .•

'

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The title Khalifat Allah

/3

the title is well attested too, as will be seenY Finally, there is a story to the effect Allah ft '[-arc/." This story is unlikely to be true, I. and it may not even date from the Umayyad period. But however this may be, the point which matters here is that 'Umar II singles out his name, kunya and the title amlr al-mu'min,n as alternative fonns of address, not khalifat rosiN Alliih; to the author of this story khalifa apparently also equalled khaTifal Alliih so that 'Umar had to reject the calipha\ title altogether. Having established our three points for the Umayyads. we should now like to point out that they hold true for the 'Abbasids too. The title khalifat Allah is attested for Abu '1-'Abbas,1O al-Man�ur,t1 al-Mahdi,n al-Hadi,u Harun al-Rashid,1t al-Amin, al-Ma'mon," U

17 cr. below, note 57, 18 Ibn 'Abd al-I;lakam, Sf'OI 'Uma, b, 'AM ol·'A:T::,' ed. A. 'Ubayd. Beirut 1967. p, 54, An apocopated version is cited in al-Qalqashandi. Swbl, ol·A'!h/J. cd. M, 'A,·R. Ibrihim, Cairo 1913-20, vol. v . p. 445. 19 a. below, p. 7"" Note also that 'Umar II here protesb when an anonymous penon addresses him as kMHo f t addrcued him as IlICh (cr. above, p. 9), On the contrary. Pseudo-Tbn Qutaybl inrorms us thai Jarir's poem moved him 10 tean. though il still railed to make him SQuander money on the poet(lmdmo, pp, 3IOf.: limilarly 'Iqd, vol, II, pp, 94tT. though without the tean), 20 His IOM'q' on a kiter in whkh Abu Muslim requests permission to perform the J,ojj $.Iys that he will not prevenl him from visiting bo)'1 Alliih ol-J,Driim 011' leholifolihi (,Iqd, vol. \V, p. 2 1 111). 2 1 AI·Man$ur described himself as kha/ifol AII/Jh in a letter of amdn 10 'Abdallih b, 'Ali (1l1·Az4i. TO',l1ch ol-Mow�i1, ed, A.l;labi'ba, Cairo 1967. p, 168), and AbU OiwUd spoke of him and the 'Abblsids in generalIS khula/O' A/Uih (Tab ser, iii, p. 107). For poetic attestations. see Abu Nukhayla in A,nanr. vol. xx, p, ",21 (also quoted elsewhere); al.Sayyid al·l;limyari, ibid., vol, VII, p, 2�. where he is /choRlot ol·RJJJ,miin lI·o·'I-q�'im inI poem addremd to al·Mahdi; Marwin b. Abi vol. VI. p. 169, where l;Iafp, Ibid.. vol. x. pp. 86, 91; Mas, Muriij, vol. IV. 12380 he is ono: more lc.Iro!Tfol ol-RoJ,m4n; Ibn al·Mawli in A,ItdItT, vol. 111, p. 299. and al·Mu'ammal in Tab . ser iii.. p. 407: A,/II'Jnr, vol, ""t!, p. 2"'7, both of whom desclibe al-Mahdi IS the son of leha/ifol AIf�h, We owe many of lhex and other rderences to F, 'Umar, 'Min alqib al·khulafi' al-'abbisiyyin:khalifat Allih wa-Jill AlIih', Mojol/ol of-jiimi'o ol-mll3ttJ1lliriY}'o 2 (197 1), p. 327; Tyan. Coli/al. p. 4%n), For a]·Man,ur as su/liJn AfJdlrfl ort/ihi, see below. chaplet S. note 176. 22 Bashshir b. Burd. Drll·dn . ed. M. al·Tihir b, 'Ashur, Cairo 1950-, vol. Ill. p, 94 (lehaR/ot Alldil bo)'M 'f-l/qq wo'f-'ad: cited in A�lriinf, vol. IU, pp, 2",3. 2",5); Ibn al-Mawli. A,hanT, vol. 111, p. 299; below. note 6<1; cr. also Mas .. Muriij, vol. IV, 12447 VI, p. 240. 23 Tab,. ser iii. p, 600. ull. (A{/�h, , ,lelwlf/OIWhu); A,lriinr. vol. "I". p. 285 (lehilli/al .

.•

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.

_

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_

,

Allah),

24 Abu ']-'Atihiya in Tab.. ser, iii, p. 687. Id, in A,lriini, vols, IV. p. 14: XIX, p. 74; It 1{athir, Bid4),o, vol. x. pp. 217 (wori/",", rosUJ AUdit lII'o-boqiyoljiNJ lehild/ol AMh), 221; '/qd. vol. III. p, 293'", For Hirt1n IS lehuff/ot Alliih see also Goldziher.

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GOlJ'J

Caliph

al-Mu'ta�im,U al-Wti.thiq,tI al-Mutawakkil,tt and al-Munta�ir,JO that is for every caliph from 750 to 862. and thereafter for al-Mu'tau in 865.'1 for al-Muhtadi (d. 870).st for al·Mu'tamid (d. 892).u for

al-Mu'taljiid (d. 902). who described all the 'Abbasids as kltulafo' AllaJrw, for al'Ta'i',1I and other caliphs of the 8uyid period,1I for p. 61n. with reference 10 the Arobian Nights. Compare also Tab ser. iii. p. 663 (fQ·mnQ 'llull... akramQllu min klli/o/Qtihi ...·a-suIIOllihl). AgI!6JrF. vol. XlI. p. 59.....ccording . to Qalqashandi. Sub�. vol. I. p. 415. al·.....min was the first caliph to be referred to as such [rather than as amr, QI''''''''''i"£"1 in Ihe Friday prayer, Ihe fonnula used being QlfaJrumnw tqlilJ ·obdaJr.a ...·a· kllaU/af/Jka; .l·..... min w.s thus kllafi/a/ Alldh even in mosques. For khafi/a/ Allah on al·Ma'mlin·s coins. see G. C. Miles, TIlt Numismo/it His/or, 0/ RQII, New York 19]8. pp. 10]f. . 106(.; S. Shamma Dirhamin nidirin 'an 'aliqit diniyya'. a/-MQJlu:ikal 4 (197]), p. 46; al·Ma·miin is also khQfifal Allah on dirhams (now in the British Museum) struck in the nlme of Taltta [b. Tihir) in Samlrqand in 208, 209 and 210. in Nishapur in 208 and 209, and in Herat, Zaranj Ind al-MuttammadiYYI in 208 (�are obliged to Nicholas Lowkk for this infonnation). He referred to himself as khaIT/a/ A/fiJII in l letlct to Tihir rIqd, vol. IV, pp. 2ISf.): and Tihir confinncd that lhil was indeed what . b. al·Oabbik described him as kluJrifa/ he _s(AKhanr. vol. XlI, p. 54).....1·!:Ius-yn o/·RalJmiJIf (A,hdnr, vol. VII. p. 301); and he himself spoke of khulaft' AlldIt and khiliValuirll fl ardihl in hi. letter announcing the "dcsipation of al-RMji as his sl.lCOeSSOr (sec appcndb; 4). A"hilllf, vol. XIX, p.7,.: al-Nu....yri, .. Nihil)'al ol·arabfl/WlUn QI·odttb, Cairo 1923-, vol. v, p. 1,.8, citin, ....bii . TammAm. Compare also Qalquhandi, SuN" vol. VI, p. 0i02 Va·/tItf1mQ al46 '1/4h ild _T, al·","'",I"£" khiliVatahN). aJ-Kh'lib II-BIJhdldi. Ta',lkh Ba,hddd. Cliro 19]] vol. xiv, p. 17 (Ihe one ' who senl the Prophet Mubammad pvc the kJdlii/Q to al·/miim o/·muI!ladi): A"h""r, vol. IX, p. 2841 (AII4h ... kluJlrfalihl): he is khit:i" AI14h fl khalqlhf). II·Fikihi, Akhbd, Makka, Leiden MS, Or. 46], fol. ]49b (_ F. ...... G .....1. Dahas, ...... Critical Edition of Kilub AkhbUr MQk/ca', Exeter Ph.D. dill. 198]. p. 263): an inlltripdonal Zamum. oriainally in lhe nameof a!·Mu·t.$im and subsequently in Ihat of al·Mu'lamid. read omarQ khaff/QI Allah Jtilar af·imdm al·MuIQ ...·ak.kil 'al4'lIiJ11_Fr QI'mu'mlnFn ... Sec liso A"h4nF, vol. XXIII. p. 212' (d.•Iso p. 210"). Tab" ser. iii, p. 147S ('tIbd AlliUI M'Q.kharifalultu). Tab.. ser. iii, p. 1546 ('aM Allah ",'Q-Ichan/alultll: there is a close resemblance between the IlnSUlae of this baya Ind Ihat of the baya to al-MuntaJir). NOle .Iso the refcrem:e in a dot\lment of the same ye.r, in connection wilh al· M uSla'in, to the flCt thlt God hid made khiliValaJrll Ii-drnin; .�,.- 1O'Q·/iJ'al kltuJafiJ'ilri lart/"- djibU 'aid k4ffal o/·umma, ibid" p. I 56S). Ibn Taahribirdi, a/-NlljVm caliph is lold by a Hishimite "_IQ khalrfQt rabb al-M_r n ...'liM amm soYJ·itJ a/·mursa/Fn. " Fikihi, Mak,ka, MS. fol. ]52b (_ .....1 Dahas, p. 272: o_ra kJwrifal Allah A�mad a/·/m4m al·M"'lamld 'ala 'ilah amr, al·"'II·minrn ...{inscription II II-Masjid al-!:Iarim)). Tab" ser. m. p. 2177. .....I-Ti·i· is described u al·imdm IJUjfrJl AII4h 'ala khalqihi ...·a.khalr/atuhujT aulihi In In official lcuer written by al·Sibi on his behalf (Qalqashandi, SubIj, vol. VI, p. 4 1 ]). '....c;lud . al-
Mus/im SUN/in vol.

II.

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25

26

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•

27

28

29

30

]1

]2

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33

]4 ]S

CJPYnghted matanal

The lille Khalifal Alliih

IS

al-Muqtadi in the late eleventh century,n al-Musta�hir in the late eleventh/early twelfth,U al-M uqtafi in the mid-twelfth.3t al-Nii�ir in the late twelfth/early thirteenth,., and ai-Mustan�ir in the thirteenth.41 The title is also attested for the 'Abbasids in genera1.u As in the Umayyad period it counted as the official designation of the head of state. Thus it was used in official letters and on official occasions;u and al-Ma'mun, followed by al-Muqtadi, restored it to the coinage," A manual of court etiquette attributed to al-Ja1:li� states that' kings' o/·l'Iiim bi·o'llim 00)'/ A/liih oJ-horiim. ed, F, Wustenfeld, Ltipzig 1857. p. 168).

The opinion of H, Busse, The Revival or Persian Kingship under the BuyKis'. in D. S. Richards (ed. ), Islamic Civi/uotiOll 9SO-ll5O, Ollford 1973, p. 63, that 'A�ud al-da...la's concept of this title ...as oonlfllry to ' ...hat the caliph and Muslim theory of stile htld . . . [bulJlypical for lhe emir's opinion of the relalionship betwttn caliphate Ind kingship', is clearly not correct.) See Ihe model letten in al-Sibib b. 'Abbid, Rtud'il. ed. 'A.·W, 'Azz.iim and Sh. J t !;layf, Cairo 1947, pp. 21 (klwlia al·Mu'.yyad .1-Shiri1:i, STrat oI-Mu'a),),ad, ed. M . K. l;IuSllyn, C.iro 1949, pp. 76, 154: among the various titles which the caliph had bestowed on the Buyid Abu Kalijir was yamill kIIart/at Aflah. which reappean as q;:ufm Ichalr/at Afllih in a Ietler from al·Mu',yyad, the Filimid din; al·Mu'ayyad denied Ihat the 'Abbisid was Icharl/at .... ·u depuly of God in his vie ... . cr. below, nole 62). , Miles, Ra))" al·islimiyya '. Sumo 28 (1972). p. 155. al·Ghll.ili. Fat!O'jl! af·biJ(ini),}'a, cd. 'A.-R. Bada...i. Cairo 1964. p. 169; cr. I. Goldziher, Strt!im:hri/t dn <:azdn 6�tn dit BQ(lm"jja-St!lclt, Leiden 1916. p. 80 and Ihe note thereto. For the $arne caliph as 1c1mliJal aJ·mu'mlnin (on a dinar dated 5(7). sec al·l;lu$ayni. 'Dirisit', p. ISS. Qalqashandi. Sub#!. vol. vi, p. 397, where a letter rrom thaI caliph to the Scljuq sultan includes mu'iiI klwlT/at AIIM among the latter', tilles. 1;1. al-Bishi, al·Alqdb al·Ullimlyya. Cairo 1957, p, 278; below, note 54. Qalqu­ handi. Sub", vol. VlII, p. 273 (...here al·Ni,ir is described as Ichon/al AlfilhjT ort/ihl in a leiter rrom hil vizier to the muq(a' of Basra), and vol. II, p. 286(...here hc is 'abd Alliih ...·a-lchuliJaluhu jT 'I·'alamin). AI·Bbhi. Alqdb. p. 278 (lchofifat Allah fl art!ihl ...·o·".,· ibuJru jTlchalqihl). C/ T}'on, Cali/at. p. 4471'1. (...here the 'Abbisid, are IehaM'i/ Alluh); compare al50 'Iqd, vol. IV. pp. 24On, 242'. Watt's impression Ihat the title became less rrequently used under the 'Abbbids is both right and wrong ('God's Caliph', p. 571; Formot;rt Ptriod. p. 84), It is not true that the caliphs made any 1ess use of iI, bUI Ihe nature of court poelry changed. The therr.es rehearsed by JarTr and al.Farazdaq W1:re swept aWly by ne... poetry, so that 'Abbisid di...·am yield rew references evcn though the official concepl of the caliphate remained the same. cr. above, nOles 19f' 31f., 35, 39; below. nOle 54; E. Tyan. lfUti!utlOllS du droit public musulmon, vol. II (Sultanat tt cali/al. hereafter Sultanat), Pari, 19.56. p, 116. According to a model cited by Qalqashandi, $ubJ" vol. VIII, p. 325, letters sent to govcrnon and others on lhe accession of a ne... caliph should state that God has selected so-and-50Ii·lchilii/atihi; lhe modtl letter of congratulation to a caliph on his accession similarly refen 10Ichi/iVal AIMh and IchalT/o,u milllchu{ajiJ'lhl (ibid vol. VIII, pp. 393f,; oompare pp. 398f.). cr. above, notes 2S, n. Some late attestations are epigraphic tal·Bishi, A/qiib, p. 278). '

J6

37 38

39 40

41 42

43

44

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/6

God's Caliph

should be addRssed as khalifat Alliih, amin Alliih and amir at· mu'minin.u And now as then khar,Jat Allah was what the caliphal title was generally taken to mean We do not rebel against deputies or God', Abu Oawud told Abu Muslim.�· 'Mu<Jar produced the messenger or God, the book or God, the ramily or God and the deputy or God', a member of the 'Abbasid family announced with the intention of provoking tribal strife among the 'Abbiisid troops.u .

•

Khalifal Alliih is also the title of the Mahdi in eschatological works.41 But the� is one difference; whereas khalifal rMiil Alliih seems to have been unknown to the Umayyads, it makes an appearance under the 'Abbiisids. Thus 'Abdallah b. 'Ali described the caliphate as being !l·rasii( Allah;41 Bashshiir b. Burd speaks of khiliifat Al,madin poetry addressed to al·Mahdi;" 'Abd al·Malik b. Sali� told Harun that he was khalifat Alliih ....·a·riUUlihi . . .jf ummatihi wa-aminuhu 'aId

rdiyyalihi;" and even al·Ma'mun spoke of khildfat rasiilihi," while al·Mutawakkil was flattered as kha/ifot Alldhjf 'ibiidihi wu-kha/iful rasiif Allahflummatihi.n Indeed, by the time of Saladin it had become good form to refer to . God, His messenger, and their kha/ifo·... Clearly, the 'Abbisids in no way resented this version of their title, which went hand in glove with their claim to have inherited the caliphate from their kinsman, the Prophet: thus al·Ma'mun's letter characteristically spoke of khildfat rasiilihi wa'/·qariiba biM." The point to note here, however, is that though the caliphs were happy to become successors of the Prophets, they did not thereby stop regarding themselves as deputies of God. 45 al·Jil)i; (aurib.), XilUb aI.'dj. ed. Ahmed ZCki Paeha, Cairo 1914. p. 86. 46 cr. the second rrlerence liven above. nOle 20. •7 Tab., ser. iii. p. 366. 48 Nu'aym b. l;lammid. XlliJb ul-jilan, British Library. Or. 9449. fol. &4a (we owe this reference 10 Michael Cook); G. van Vloten, 'Zur Abba�acschichte', Zriluhrl/I .r Ot'UUthett Mor,rttliindisthett GrullJtha/1 52 (1898). p. 219. citin, al·Maqrizi; Ibn Mija. SU/IGII. ed. M. F. 'Abd al·Biqi. Cairo 1952-3. vol. II. no. 4OS4 (Xlllfb al-jilU1f. bib 24); Ibn ijanbal. MUJw. Cairo Illl. vol. v. p. 277. 49 Abmad Zaki S.fw.t (ed.), JumluJru/ rasQ'ilaJ-'urub, Cairo 1937. vol. III. p. 9{citin, al-Siifi). SO Ba$h$hir. vol. m. p. 74. 51 ·Iqd. vol. II. p. 154". In the several olher venions of this paIUte Hiriin is klmn/al rruUJ AI/WI. d. T.b., ser. iii. p. 689; Am.. Ma.qiJ. p. 264; Al)mad Zali SafWlot. JamItorul khu/ub aI·'arab. C.iro 1933. yol. III. p. 91. with further references. 52 Safwal. RasiJ'lI. yol. 111. p. S09. 5) cr. the AlfhiJltF reference liven above, note 29. 54 X..IIN dMliku /l1u Iflllfh ",·a.Ji·ranVihi 1I'Q.II.klralr/alihlmll• •1-Qi4i .J·Fi4i1 5Iales in a letter wrilten on behalf of Saladin 10 the dfM'dtt aI·khiliJ/u in BIIghdad in lhe lime or .1-NIJir (Qalql5h'ndi. SubIJ. vol. YII. p. 127). 55 SafWloI, Raslf'lI. yol. III. p. 509; nalurally Bashshir's poetry refermi lo mrralh aI·NJbT 100 (vol. III, p. 284).

CJPYnghted matanal

The title Khalifat AlIiih

17

It was not only the 'Abbisids who assumed the caliphs to have retained this function. When the Umayyads of Spain adopted the

khalifat AlIiih." The Imimis explained that their imams were khulafo' Altiih ft arr!ihi," though as might be expected they too stress their right to khiliifat radii Alliih.Ie Isma 'iii authors likewise identified the imam as deputy caliphal title, poets promptly spelt it out as

of God and successor of the Prophet alike." An Ism! 'ill convert of the Musifirid house numismatically proclaimed 'Ali to have been

kharifat Alliih." The founder of the fii�imid dynasty was officially proclaimed khalifal Allah 'a/a 'I·'ii/ami" in the abortive attempt to establish a fi�imid state in Syria,'1 and later Fatimid caliphs were also described as deputies of God in both poetry and prose." Only 56 'Jqd. 1101. III, p. 5021 (cited by Tyan. Cali/Qt, p. 44Sn.); d. EI', ' ". 'khalif.·, col. 943b, wiThOUT references. 'Abd .1-R.hmAn III was also IclwltJat al-RaJpr/4", d. 'Jqd. vol. III. p. 52P'; cf. •lso p. "94, where Mul;l.mm.d b. 'Abd .1-RabmAII il "

_Iif AI/IVI.

57 .1-KuJ.yni, I2i-Utvl mill l2i-k4/1, ed. A. A. al-Gh.fflri, vol. I, Tehr.n 13n-81, pp. 193,200; .I-Shaykh .I-Mufid. KiliJbal-irsMd, tr.1. K. A. How.rd, London 1981, pp. 169, 462. Compare Ibn Bihiiya, KamdJ aJ-dfn, ed. 'A. A •I-Ghatliri. Tehr.n 1390, pp. "fr., where Ad.m il identified u kludifat Allah .nd all fund.ment.1 docuirlet c:onecrnin, the im.m.te (bctc te....ed the: caliphate) .re exegetically derived from Qur. 2 :28. Ibn Sh.brishiib also add_ Ihis YeT1e in proof of the necessily of lhe imamate (MaNiqib AI Abr Tdlib, N.j.f 1956, vol. I, p. 2 1 1 ) .nd ciles tr.diti o n• •nd poetry on lhe im.m in FOeral and 'Ali in �rticul.r beinl (Imonl olher thinp) klu:ttr[QI AI/611 ft ardiJll/bi/6diltf (p. 212; vol. U, pp. 262f.). 58 See foreumple Kula"ni, K4/T, p. 200; MurJd, lrsMd, p. 401 .ndpGufm: al-5h.rIf II-Murta4i, DTM'dn, ed. R. al-Safrir, Cairo 1958, 1101. I, p. SO". cr.p. "9"-" . 1be caliph.le is of coune .Iso envisaged .. succcl'ion to Mul}amm.d when 'AIi is described as hi. M'lZJf, •• st.ndin, in the lame rel.tion 10 him .s Joshu. unlo Moses, Ind so on. 59 Al;lm.d b. Yl'qiib, aJ-RisiHa/l '/-iMdma, ed. Ind Ir. S. N. M.lr.amn under the title TItt Political D«lrWof/� /sm6'rfll, Delm.r N,Y, 1977, fol. 86v, wbctc the im.m is k1wlrfa/ A/hill la'd/a/llc.lralfll(lliJri M'a-fl-rtuiJihi/l ummalihi; Qur. 2: 28 .nd 38:25 on God'. appoinlment of Adam and D.vid a� both cited. But al-Qic;JiII-Nu'min lvoid. boTh lhe caliph.l lille and these: .ell(:l in hildilCUS$ion or the imam.te (Odd'in! aI-lsIdm, ed. ·A. 'A. A. F.Wi, Cairo 1951-«1, vol. I, nO$. l6tf.), 60 S. M. Stem, 'The Early Ismi'iJi Mission.1in in North·West Pc.sia and in Khurisin and TranSOUDia', Ihdk/ill o//Iw School o/Orkntl2i A/ri((lll SwdWs 23 (1960), pp. nf. 61 Tab. Jer. iii, p. 2233: cr. H. H.lm, 'Die SOhne Zikr.w.ihs und das ente fatimidi.:he Kalifat (290/903)" Oit Writ dtts LsJanu 10 (1979), p. 42. 62 A leiter from the Filimkl caliph al-'Aziz to his JOvemor of ElYpt rtfers 10 God .nd His chosen caliphs (klndu.ta'ihi '/'mlUlt!/a)"" (Qalqash.ncfi. SubI" vol. 11\, p. "33). praisinl God who /JaM amYr aI-mu'mill11l M'#·'",akJw"'!b l/-Ichif4!atilr/ M,#-Ja'al. �y)"""u milt IcJwlqlhl M'lJ-amfllaint 'aid '/bddUll (Ibid.. p. 4).4). The Filimkl caliphs art similarl" God's in the documents ciTed byQalqash.ndi, Subb, 1101. Viti, pp. 237. 240: 1101. IX. pp. 377, 386, AI-Mu'lyyad. the Fllimid chief dd7, referred 10 the Filimid caliph as khatr/al AIIM (Di"'dn, ed. M. K. l;Iusayn, C.iro .

CJPYnghted matanal

18

God's Caliph

the Zaydis s«m never to have made use of the title Among the Khirijites, 'Abd al·Salam

b.

khalifar Alliih."

Hashim al·Yashkuri con·

tinued Abu l;Iamza's tradition by enumerating the misdeeds of al·Mahdi with a sarcastic comment on such behaviour 'from some· body who lays claim to

khiliifar AI/fih'."

Such taunts notwithstanding, the 'Abbasids stuck to their elevated title even after their transfer to Mamluk Egypt, where they were duly rererred to as

khaliJar AlIiih

and

nii'ib AlIiih ;"

when the Ottomans

claimed to have inherited the role, they too became deputies or God." Meanwhile the title had been adopted by the sultans in the Seljuq eastU no less than in .Seljuq Rum;18 a scholar such as al·Tahlawi still identified the king (sc. the khedive) as

khalf/at Alliih fi art/ihi

in

nineteenth�entury Egypt." The expression also made its appearance rurther afield. 8y the eighteenth century it had come to be used as

•

19<49. no. 19: 3; cr. al10 no. 2: I )7: ka-I"'at AIItlh 'aJ" kAaff/atihi 'ol'a'J·/fIJUlaflJ·aJ" }am" w.. ..'llDtihi). Hini�s poetry al10 refel"J to Hi, deputies on eanh (Tyan, SwlttllWt. p. 514n.). 6) Not even ProreHOr W. Madelung knows a laydi attestation (letter of 7/9 1984). In 50 rar as he was I khoa/a, the Zaydiimam of the Yemen was apparently khafi/a (be it in the sense of depuly or $UCCCS$Or) of the imams who hlld p� him (khoff/af / a ·o·/ItfIl1O. cr. Qalquhandi. SuM,. vol. vr. pp. 47, 123; vol. VII. p. ))4). The laydis were however familiar with the idea that anyone who enjoined good and prohibited evil was khaff/a of God, Hi, book and Hil mes5ellger alike (cr. lhe reference liven below, chapter 6, nole 12). 64 Khanfa b. Khan'il, To',rkh, ed. S. Zak1r.lr. Damascus 1967-8, yot. II, p.702; al·Mahdi had referred 10 himself a$ kha«Ja/ahu in his letter to the rebel (ibid., p. 701). 6' cr. al·U-hiri. Zwbdol kash/ aJ'lfKImaliJc, ed. P. Ravaissc. Paris 189<4, p. 89 (huII"a kha"/af AlliVrjT anllhl "'a'Im "amm ,tuijlihi JOYJ'ld / o ·/tfNrJai1n II'O-W/Jrllh / o 'khil4!a "arlhu. first ciled by Marlolioulh. 'The Sense of the Title: KIta"fa ·. p. )27); Goldziher, Muslim Stwf&J. vol. II, p. 62 (rla'ib AlldJr ft ar(ji}II) ; Tyan, SwJtaNlt p. 239 (with these and other rererences). Note also Qalqa5handi, SwbIJ, vol. YUI, p. 108, where the Mamluk sultan al·A,hnfNi,ir al-din is addressed, int�ralja, as Ja)1khild/a/ AlliJh in I letter from the Na�rid Mubammad V written in lhe IJ60s; and vol. lI. p. lJO. where the caliph al·MuMa·in in a "ohd of 141 1 to the Delhi sultan Mup.ff'ar Shih 1_ MabmUd Shih II?] citn the Qur'inK: phrase iltrl1j4"if'" /1" .art/ khaa/a"-. 66 Goldtiher. MW$JiItf Slwdi�J, yo!. ii, p. 62; Arnold, Caliphalt, ch. I \ . 67 AI·Ghazili. Na�U,Q/ a/·mu/iUI.·, ed. J. Humi'i. Tehran ])51 (shamsi), p. 1)1 _ F. R. C. Bagley (Ir.). GIw:dlT'l Book (l/ CQWIU�Is/or Kin" , London 1964, p. 77 (this part oflhe Naffllaf aI·mu/Uk is a mirror by a contemporary ofal·Ghazili. not by al·Ghalili him�1f, cf. P. Crone. 'Did al.(ihazili Write I Mirror for Princes?', forlhcoming in J�,uS6lnt1 Stwdi�1 of Arabir and IIJam, no. VI); A. K. S. Lambton, Stat� and GoonMl�rI/ in M�djn'QJlJlam, Oxford 1981, p. I)) (Flkhr II·Din Riti). 68 AI·Baslli. Alqab, p. 278. 69 Rira Bey Rifi' fll·TahliwiJ. Kildb maMhijaJ-illbdbal.mqriY)'O/1mabNrljal.AMb aJ.'a.rriy)'al• Cairo 1912. p. J.S4 (we owe this reference 10 Y. M. Choudri).

CJPYnghted matanal

The title Khalifat Alliih

/9

a royal title in Java," while African rulers had adopted titles such

khalifat A/liil! tdii/iiji ar4ihi and khalifat rabb a/-'ii/amin.lI Indian and Morocca n princes also liked to style themselves khali/at Alliih and/or "ii'ib Alliih.7I The idea that kha/ifa stood for khali/at rosu/ Alliih was clearly not unknown: African rulers conflated it with the more exalted title to make kharifat rasiil rabb al-'iilam;n.1� But it cannot as

besaid to have made much headway. Apparently it still has not. In May

1984 the then President Numayri was reported to be planning to turn Sudan into an Islamic republic with himself as , Allah's representative on earth' [=

khali/or Alliihfi 'l-ard].H

In short. from 'Uthman to Numayri, or in other words from about

644 to about 1984, Muslims of the most diverse political, religious, geographical and ethnic backgrounds have taken the title of to stand for

khali/at AI/iih,

khalifa

'deputy of God'. It thus seems natural

to infer that this is what the title always meant. At least, it seems a little strained to propose that its meaning changed during the twelve years from 632 to 644 and remained stable for thirteen centuries thereafter. But if

kharifa meant 'deputy of God' from the start, then

the Shi'ites can hardly be altogether wrong in their claim that the legitimate head of state (whoever this individual was to the various parties at the time) inherited both the religious and the political power of the Prophet. Certainly, the Sunni caliph was to lose his religious authority to scholars, just as he was to lose his political power to sultans. But this cannot be how things began. This inference is so obvious that the reader may well wonder why it is hardly ever made in the secondary literature.n It is not made be<:ause the Sunni 'ulama' claim that the caliphal title did change its meaning in the twelve years between 632 and 644 : originally it stood

kharifar rasii l Alliih, successor of the messenger of God'. they say, not for khalifat Alliih. KlIalifat rasiil Alliih is the title which Abu for

•

Bakr. the first caliph. is said to have adopted, and the sources arc sprinkled with incidental reminders that this is what he styled 70

71

72 7) 74 75

M. B. Hooker, A COlld.s� u8al HUlor), of Soulh-l:.'tUl A.sia, Oxford 1978. p. 72. d. p. SO. R. S. O'Fahey. ' The Mal;lnllms of Kinem-Borneo" FOfII�s HislorilN Africo�; Bull�tln of In/ormatiOfl, no. 6. Dev:mber 198\, p. 2); R. S. O'Fahey and M. 1. Abu Salim, Lturd In Dar Filr. Cambridge 198), p. 30. Goldziher. Mu.dim Studi�.s. vol. 11. p. 62n; d also Arnold. Colifat�, pp 1 16f. O'Fahey and Abu Salim. Lturd in Ddr Fur, p. 30. R. Hall. 'Islamic zeal plunges Sudan into ne .... tunnoil'. Tht ObMfI".r. Sunday 2Q May 1984, p. 6. II is made in P. Crone and M. Cook, Hll8oriJm, Cambridge 19n. pp. 28, 17871; but even TYln IvoKled it for In that he clme close to doing lhc same:.

righted matmal

20

God's Caliph

himself." Indeed, when people (somehow anticipating the claims of the Umayyads) addressed him as khalifat

Alliih, he explicitly rejected

this version of the title. stating that he was merely the Prophet's successor and perfectly satisfied with that." A similar story is told about 'Umar," while another story informs us that 'Umar got tired of being known as khartfat khalifal 'asiil Allah. 'successor of the successor of the messenger of God,' and told people to call him 'Commander of the Faithful ' instead;1f thereafter, one infers, the title was stabilised as khalf/at 'asiil Alliih. Practically all modem scholars accept the claim of the 'ulamo', identifying the caliphal title as khan/at 'amI Alliih with little or no hesitation." Evidently. this places the titulature of the later caliphs in an altogether different light. The Umayyads, we are left to infer, changed the title (just as they moved the capital, introduced dynastic rule, and so forth).·' The caliphs did not really inherit religious 76 AbU B.kt is referred to or .ddrend as khDlffat riUW AlliJh in T.b., sef'. i. pp. IISO, 2751; Ibn Sa'd, al· Ta/JaqiJt af·kNbriJ, Beirut 1957-60, vol. III. pp. 1M (twice). 117: vol. vm, pp. 148. 470; Ibn 'Aslltir. Ttiriklr mrulilllll DimlUlrq. ed. S. •1· Mun'jjid, vol. i. Dam'KUI 1951. p. 5 1 1 ; Ibn Qutayb.. Itrtdmo. p. 20; W.lti', Qu4iJJI. vol. II. p. 57; A,Mnr, vol. XVlt. p. 360; 'Iqd, vol. II, p. 66" ; Qalquh.ndi, $ub/J. vol. VI. pp. 327, 313r.; .nd SO ronh. n This repon is cited in .1·Balidhurf, AlUdb a/'lUhriJf, vol. i. cd.M. I;J.mid.lIih, C.iro 1959. p. 529; Ibn Sa'd, Ta/JaqiJt. vol. 111. p. 183: Ibn !;I.nbal, Mumad. vol. t. p. 10; .nd elsewhere, .11 from Nill' b. 'Um.r from Ibn Abi Mul.yk., . Mecc.n n.ditionist who died in 735, • oentury .net Abu Baltr himself. 78 T.b., ser. i. pp. 27<48f., from Jibir .I-Ju·fi, . Kur.n traditionist who died .bout 148. 79 Tab.. set. i, p. 27<48; B.1.. AIU.. vol. t, p. 528. lne two stories h.ve: been .m.lgam.ted in the vtTIion cited by Mlfgoliouth from the RaJd'i/ of &dr al·Zant411 ('The Sense of the Title XluJ/rja'. pp. 323f.). 80 Thus ever. W'II .nd P.ret. Both reject IS ,poc'Jph.l the story th.t AbU BIb objected to the title JclttJllfal AllaI/, but neither conside� the poMibility thlt the whole point of creditin, him with the design.tion JchDlf/at r(UU/ AlliJlt WIS to down,...de the riv.1 title (W.tt, 'God', Caliph', p. 568; Pam, 'ij.rifat A11ih" p. 221). (W.II', luqestion, For_thY Period. p. 69. th.t Ibn Abi Mul.yka put the .pocryph.1 story into circulation in order to counter Um.yy.d cl.ims to divine Slnct;an of their rule on beh.lf of the Zubayrids. of whom he WI! • supponer, is impl.usible in view of the fact th.t lbn .1·ZubayrwlI himselfltnown '1 kllalr fat tJi·RDlJmdn, d. •bove. note 14.) SI Indeed. they ch.nJe'd the title in order to introduce dynastic rule accordins to ROller (ihJr,ttkrlel, pp. 35f.. 24S). Rotter rejects the .uthenticity of the line .ttributed to 1;J.55In b. Thibit in which 'Uthmin is referred to IS klralffat Allah .nd dates it to the second civil Wlf (with referenoe to 'Ararat• • Backlround', pp. 276ft'.), IfSUinlth.t the title WIS .dopted by Mu·iwiy. towards the end of his reign, probably to justify his choice of 5UOCIeSSOr. But thoulh we h.ve no wish to defend the .uthenticity of.ny ofl;l.55in'l poetry, 'Uthmin .ppun uJcllalrfat AlfiJIi in sevcn.1 other pauaF', as hIS been seen. while Mu'iwiy• •ppun as loch in. poem uttered in praise ofZiyid b. Abihi on the latter·l.ppointment to Basra in 4S/66S. four yean .Ref Mu'iwiy.'• •",",ion. Naturally the date of these

righted makrKlI

The title Khali/at Allah

21

authority: it was merely the Umayyads who claimed as much. Indeed, it could be argued that 'when the Umayyads used this pretentious title, it was merely intended to convey the unlimited power of the ruler';" and though contemporary scholars rarely go so far, the credibility of the claim implied in the title is undermined : apparent evidence for a specific concept of authority in Islam turns into evidence for little but Umayyad worldliness, or the growth of caliphal power in generaP' It is however reasonable to reject the claim of the ·ulama'. Klralifat

Allah is a title which, if taken seriously. leaves no room for 'ulama': if God manifests His will through caliphs here and now, there is no need to seek guidance from scholars who remember what a prophet had said in the past. The Umayyads took tbetide very seriously. They saw themselves as representatives of God on earth in the most literal sense of the word, as is clear above all from a long letter by ai-Walid 11.14 God has made the earth over to them : amin Allah, 'trustee of God', is another title regularly attested from the time of 'Uthman onwards." One is thus not surprised to find that kharifat Allah was a title of which most scholars disapproved:" deputies of God and paUliFS CQuld 1150 be queried; indeed.

82 81 S4 85

_ie

it not for 'Abet ai-Malik'. coins, an Umlyyld Inestations or the !itle lrJta/f[tll Altdll could be dismiued u back­ projections of I concept current under the 'Abbisid•. But irthe evidence is sood enouJh for us to ..wept th..t Mu'iwiya made use oflhe title, it is also sood enough ror us to aocept tkat 'Uthmin did so. Goldzjher. Muslim SI"'&S, vol. II. p. 61. See the litenture cited above. chapler I, note 2. See below, appendi� 2. Cf. l;lusin b, Thibil. no. 160:2 rUthmin); Tab., aero ii. p. 2Q8; A,nw.t, vol. XII. p. 74(Mu'iwiya); Jarir. p. 355'·; RI',. no. 16: 52; Mas MlII'uJ. vol. lII.f2067 ,.. v. pp, lOSf; Farudaq. vol. I. p. 355 ('Abd al-Mllik); Id vol. I, p, lS3'; Akhlal. p, ISS' (al-Warld l); Farazdaq. vol. II. pp. 5)41. US' (Hishim); ·Iqd. vol. tV, p, 450" (khwzziJn Alfdh ji biJUiIIi M.'II-uman4'uhu 'aid 'iblJdilli); Tab., aero ii, p. 1765 (al-WarKl II), Fornumerous 'Abbisid attestations. K'C below. chapter 5. note 118. The locus cI.sskus is al-Miwardi. ul-A1}lrlim tll-swl(dnly)'Q. ed, M. Enacr. Bonn 1851, pp. 22f, E. Falllan (tr.). MIIM.'�,rJi, Its JlllfU" 'Oflt�".tlfW1lfIlUX. AIPeB 1915. pp. 29f. (the P.ssaF is Jiv-en in En&iish translation by Lambton. SIOIt tJNI G""'t�"I. p. 87; it is misreplest!lIted by H. A. R, Gibb. Sludiu tIt/ 1M Ciriliztlliotr a/ I,/tInt. London 1962. p. 158). As usual. Ibn al-Farri' has wordin, similar 10 that of al-Miwaro.. thouJh he is less disapproving. cr. his ol-A1}lrdm aI-swlriin1y)'tl. ed, M. H. al-Fiqi, Cairo 1966, p, 27. Cf. also Ibn KkaJdiin. o/-Ju:' aI-ilwwai milf Irlldb aI-'ilxu (_ II/_Muqaddintll). Biilaq 1284. pp. 159(.. lind Lambton. up. til.. pp. 142, 186. According tOII-Miwardi. most 'ulll'll'tiJ considered the title to be unlawful on the around that God is neither abKnt nor dead, Ihough somt pClllil lted il. II is cleir. h�ver. Ihat earlier scholars had objected to it on M are David and other lhe 1V0und thlt it WI$ 100 exllted : the only Ichulajd' Alli prophets, 1$ the two 'Uman hid been made 10 e�claim (cf. Marloliouth. ' The Sense of the Title KIuJIf/II', p. 324; Ibn 'Abd al-l;Iabm. Siruf 'UntIlr b. 'AM .•

.•

86

_

righted makrKlI

22

God's Caliph

scholars were rivals. By contrast, khafifol rasut Allah is a considerably more modest designation which, as Nagel notes, makes no claim to a share in the Rechtleitung of the Muslims;'T successors of the Prophet and scholars could coexist. Given that there were caliphs before there were scholars. one is thus inclined to suspect that it was the scholars rather than the caliphs who changed the original title. or in other words that the scholars claimed a different meaning for it in order to accommodate themselves." This suspicion is reinforced by three further points. First, those reported to have rejected the title khalifat Alliih add up to Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Umat II and the 'ulama', or in other words the 'ulama' and their favourite mouthpieces. Statements attributed to the first two caliphs and 'Umar II are usually statements by the 'ulama' themselves, especially when the statements in question are of legal or doctrinal significance. Why should statements on the nature of the caliphate be an exception? Secondly, our sources claim that Abii Bab and 'Umar rejected the title of khalifal Allah for that of khalifat rasiil Allah. adding an apocryphal story about 'Urnar intended to drive home the message that khalifa means successor. In other words, kharifat rasUi Alliih makes its appearance in a polemical context. Thirdly, if the caliphate was conceived as successorship to the Prophet, why did the title khalifot rasUi Allah more or less disappear? After Abii Bakr and 'Umar it is not met with until early 'Abbiisid times. or in other words not until the 'ulama' had acquired influence at court under a regime conscious of its kinship with the Prophet. And even then. it failed to acquire much prominence among the caliphs themselves. We should like to stress that not aU 'ulamii' were opposed to the use of kharifat Allah, at least not after they had won the battle for religious authority; even so eminent a Sunni as al·Ghazili accepted his caliph as God's deputy on earth." The title was clearly too .1·'A1:it, p. 54: Our'in. 2:28: 38:25). And Ihis arlumenl is found in the later lileralure 100: Iccordin, 10 II.Baghlwi. il was Iegilimate 10 refer 10 Adam and David. bul not 10 anyone aner lhem. as khorifor AI/dh (Qalqashandi, $ubl). vol. v. p. 445. where al·Miward1"s paJSage is also reproduced). 81 Nagel. RtC'h/fti/ung. p. 33. 88 Morony riJhlly suspecu Ihal the modem lileralure is under the sptll of • anti absolutist circles in early Islamic lOCiely whose inlerpretation appean 10 have lriumphed in the lrea ortheory' (M. G. Morony. lruqo!rtr rh, Muslim ConIlUtJI. Princelon 198-4. p. 580). 89 For the scholars in seneral. sec above. nole 86; for al,GhatiTi. lbove. note 38

CJPYnghted matanal

The title Kharifat Alliih

11

embedded in the tradition for total rejet:tion to be possible. But the

'ulama' did sucoc:ed in depriving it of its historical primacy. or in other words. they succeeded in rewriting history. In attributing their own version of the caliphal title to the first two caliphs they presented an aspect of the present which they disliked as a deviation from a sacred past. This is something which they did time and again, and in so doing they successfully cast the Umayyads as worldly rulers indifferent or even inimical to Islam: time and again it is by their departure from supposedly

patriarchal

norms

that

the

Umayyads

condemn

themselves. Contrary to what is often said, it is this manoeuvre rather than 'Abbisid hostility which accounts for the unfavourable light in which the Umayyads appear in the sources. For the sources are nol in fact particularly enthusiastic about the 'Abbiisids, and what is more, the hostility to the Umayyads is too pervasive to reflect the change of dynasty: it is not something added after

750 by way of revision

of received history. Naturally there are some stories which renect 'Abbisid dislike ofthe fallen dynasty, just as there are some in which they suddenly appear in a favourable light; but these are surface phenomena which do not greatly affet:t the reader's perception of the caliphs in question. The real bias is that of the scholars who transmitted the memory of the past. not that of the rulers who took over while the scholars were thus engaged. Now because the bias is so

pervasive, it is hard to free oneself of it. Merely 10 discount a bit

of the iniquity certainly does not help: the question is not whether the Umayyads were more or less iniquitous than made out (presum· ably they were as bad as rulers lend to be), but whether history had the shape which the scholars attribute to it. In order to answer this question, and indeed to explain why the scholars came to view history as they did, we must read the works of the

'ulamii'

without

automatically adopting their perspective. Given that we owe so many of our sources to them. this is by no means easy. Nonetheless. in what follows we hope to show that it can in fact be done. (and contrast note 67, where Pseudo-Ghazili applies this lille to the sultan rather than the caliph). Ibn Khaldun also accepted that (l1·siy4w !l'lIf_flr lIi),(l lcfJjiJlo

InlciIDJq !l'a.JclliI4/a IflW. fl 'I·'ibdd li·trmfuJII �dmilr/ Jiltim (MlMltJddimD,

p. 120).

C;.pvrlghted material

3 The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

So rar we have established that the caliph seems originally to have been regarded as the deputy of God on earth and that he was certainly thus regarded by the Umayyads. We shall now elaborate on the Umayyad conception of the caliphal function with special reference to their views on the relationship between themselves and the Prophet. It is a striking fact that such documentary evidence as survives from the Sufyiinid period makes no mention of the messenger of God at all. The papyri do not refer to him. The Arabic inscriptions of the Arab-Sasanian coins only invoke Alliih, not his rasiif; and the Arab-Byzantine bronze coins on which Mul:tammad appears as rariil Allah, previously dated to the Sufyanid period, have now been placed in that of the Marwinids.1 Even the two surviving pre·Marwinid tombstones fail to mention the rasul, though both mention Allah;' I

M. Bites, The Arab-Byuntine" Bronze Coinaae of Syril: In Innovltion by '

"

'Abel II-Mllik ' in A Colloquiwnilf Mmwry ofGtorKt C(ITpmt� Milts, New York 1916, p. 2J. This .100y, whicb revises Wilker's dllin., relltes 10 roins wbose inacriptions include kluJrr/al AII4Ir IS well IS ra.nil A1I4Ir. II is not mentioned by ROller, Ba"trkriq, bul it does Iffect his findinp II pp. l4f.. where he espouses lhe view Ihlt these coins were slflll:k by Mu'iwiya, It is of COUnt true Ibil ihe Inonymous lutbor orthe MrurHtiit ChrOfrkk compoS !j in the mid-660s knew tblt Mu'iwiYI bid strvc:k lold Ind silver coins wbich did not find flvour with the Syriln populltion bccaUIC they lacked I cross (Th. Noldeke, 'Zur Qeschichte dcr Araber im I . Jlhr. d. H. IUS Syriscben Quellen" billchrift rIn DewIsc-hnI MrI',tfliWisd'tfl Gtstllschafl 29 (1815), p. 96); but he lells us nothinl of the wordin. or inscriptions on these coins Ind mikes no reference to bronze coins. 2 $.II-Munlljid, D/riUdl /flo'rlkh oi-lrlt(J(f al_'arabr, 8einlt 1912, pp. 41, 104, As mi&hl be upected, the documentary evidence preserved in the literary sources is less reticent. Thus the seal, of'AII Ind Mu'iwiYI on the peaet documents drawn up bet"'ail them Ire reported to blve borne the inscription ' Mul;llmmed is the messenger of God' (M. Hinds. 'The Siffin Arbitration AI,alllent', JOtmIlJi of �millc Slut/its \1 (1972), p. 104): indeed. the Prophet is himselhupposed 10 h.ve hid I rinl with this inSCription : it pasted from him to AbU Bakr. ·Um.r Ind

righted makrKlI

The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

25

and the same is true of MU'awiya's inscription at Ti'if.' In the Sufyanid period. apparently, the Prophet had no publicly acknowl­ edged role. This is not to say that he did not matter in the Sufyanid period, though exactly what he was taken to be at the time is far from clear;4 but it does suggest that he played no legitimatory role in Sufyanid political theory. The titulature of the Sufyanids suggests the same: • the earth belongs to God, and I am the deputy of God', as Mu'awiya i s said to have put it.' What the Prophet mayor may not have been was not from this point of view of any importance. All this, of course, changed dramatically on the accession of the Marwanids. In 66/685f. the first known coin identifying Mul;lammad as rasiJl Alliih was struck at Bishapiir in Fars by a pro-Zubayrid governor,' and in 7 1 /690f. the message was repeated on another Arab-Sasanian dirham struck: at the same place, this time by a supporter of the Umayyads.7 Thereafter reference to Mul;1ammad as

rariH Allah became a standard feature of Arab numismatic inscriptions.' Further, in 12/69Ir Mul;1ammad and Jesus were both identified as messengers of God in the two long inscriptions on the octagonal arcade of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.' During the 'Uthmin (Muslim b. 11-l;Iajjij, oJ·$a""" Cliro 1929-30, vol. XlV, pp. 67(. (Iibds ,,·/J-zli!/J). Such information can of counc: be dismiucd, IS can the quite contradictory information about caliphal signet rinp Jiven in al·Mas·WI, Kiliib at,'tlllbDl wlI'/·islirlJ/' ed. M. J. de Ooeje. Leiden 189-4. at tbe end 0( each reign. 'The 'Jqd IUgestS that the fiBt c:aliph (or It least the firsl 'Abbbtd ",Iiph) to have l lignet rin,referrinl to Mubammad a. rtuii/ AIIM wUII·Withiq, the inscription bccomin, common from al-Ri4i onward. (vol. v. pp. 122", 1291'1'.); but the informalHln in Qalqashandi. SwbIf. vol. VI, pp. lS4f.. ",SlS doubl on Ihis too (the only caliphal sianet rinl to bear this inscription here beinl that of al·Qihir). 3 G. C. Miles, 'Early Islamic Inscriptions Near n'ifin the l;Iiju'. JoumaJ ofNttU East�m SllId�$ 7 (1948); republished in a slightly modified form by II·Munljjid, Dirasilt. pp. 102(. 4 Cf. Crone and Cook, Ha,iUum, pan I. S cr. abo�, chapter 2, p. 6. 6 Walker, Cata/Ofl«, vol. I, p. 97. 7 Walker, CaIOlOfI«. vol. I, p. 'l08. 8 It OCC\In sucoessively on (a) the Type B imitation IOlidi struck at Damascus in 72 and/or 13 (0. C. Miles. ' "The Earliest Arab Gold CoinaF', Anwrie(J1f Numismatic Soc�I, MII.MItfI NOles 1 3 (1967), p. 227: (b) the transitionll dirhlms struck at Oamucusin the yeaB 73-5{Wllker, Cata/o,w. vol. I. pp. 23-5: Salmin. 'Dirham nidir'): (c) the Standin, Caliph dinars of 74-7 (Miles, op. cit.. pp. 212-14), and (d) theepipphkcoinaF, ....hich apparently started in 77 in the case of dinln and 78 in the cue of dirhams and on ....hkh thl« inscriptions Ire to be found : 'there is no Ood but A1lih alone', 'MuJ,ammad in the rtuiU of Allih whom He sent with pidancc Ind the reliJion of truth. that He might make it vicl:orious over aU reliaions' (an approximltion to Qur'in. 9: 33), Ind 'Allih is One. Allih is the Everlutins. He did not beFt, nor wu He be,olten' (an apocopated version of sUrtJt oJ·ileli/ill) (Wilker. Cata/Ofl«, vol. II. p. lvii). 9 C. Kessler. "Abd II.Malik'. lntcripeion in the Dome oflhe Rock: I Reconsid· eration '. Jf}tIrNll of Ille Roya/ Asialle Society 1970. pp. 4. 8.

CJPYnghted malenal

26

God's Caliph

governorship of'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwan. or in other words between 65/685 and 85f./704f., Mul).ammad made his first appearance, once more as rasu/ Alliih, in the papyrus protocols of Egypt. IO And the same 'Abd al-'Azjz is also reported to have given orders for all crosses to be broken and for there to be fixed on the doors of the churches in Egypt posters stating that 'God did not beget

.

nor was He

begotten' and that ' Mu�ammad is the great messenger of God and Jesus also is the messenger of God'. I I However the Sufyanids may have conceived of MuJ:1ammad, the M arwanids thus unambiguously identified him as the founder of their failh. But it is clear from the context in which they made their public affinnation of his status that they were motivated more by a desi� to establish the credentials of Islam over and above other faiths (notably Christianity) than by a wish 10 emphasise his continuing importance within the Islamic world; and though the escalation of Mu�ammad into a fully-fledged founder-prophet was indeed to undennine the position oflhe caliphs in the long run, as will be seen, in the short run it merely contributed to the rupture of relations between 'Abd ai-Malik and Justinian I I in c. 692, if it did even that. II There is nothing in all this to infonn us of the caliph's perception of Mul:tammad from an inner-Islamic point of view. For such a perception we may turn to a long letter written by al-Walid II to the garrison cities concerning the designation of his successors. This letter, to which we have referred already, is the most detailed document that we possess in respect of what may be tenned 10 Corpus Papyrorum Rai"tri ArchiduciJ Au.miat. 11I Strirs Arabica, vol. 1/1. ed. A. Grohmann. Vienna 1924, nos. 1-11. pp. )-12; A. Grohmann . . Zum Papyrus­ protokoll in friiharabischer Zeit'. Jahrbuch ckr OJf""'irhiM'htll ByUlI/linischtll G,8tflsdw/t 9 (1%0), pp. l)f. I I Severus b. al·Muqal'l'a·, Kilab 8iyar a/-abtl' aJ.JXl/iJrika. ed. C. F. Seybold. Hllm· burg 1912, pp. 121f. ed. C. F. Seybold in Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum OritntaJium. Script. arab.. ser. iii, 9. fasc. 1-2, Beirut, Paris and Leipzig 1904-10. p. 131. The original describes Mubammad as af·rasuf af·kahrr alfadf($ic) 't/fiJh. 12 The question still has nOI been rully resolved. The Muslim accounts preserve a memory that lhe wording on papyrus protetols was tomehow connected with the coinage and the rupture in relations (the main texu are Ibn Qutayba. 'U,'UII af-akhbiJr, Cairo 1925-30. vol. I. pp. 198f.; al·Baliidhuri. Futw, a/·bu/rilll,l ed. M. J. de Goe;e. Leiden 1866, p. 240; al·Bayhaqi. Kitdb af-maJ,iirin ",(!" ·masd..·". ed. F. Schwally, Giesxn ]902, pp. 498-502; al·Oamin, lIayat al-l,a,.a,,·iJn, BUliq 1284, vol. I, pp. 79-81). On the Byzantine side. TheophanH specifies 'Abd ai-Malik's strikin, of coin as one of the issues in the rupture of relations with Justinian II but makes no mention of papyri (ChrOfl�raphia. ed. C. de Boor. Leiplil 188l-5, vol. I. p. )65; cf. alllO J. O. Breckenridge, 1M Numismatic JcOff�raphy 0/ Jus/illian /I (68.5-695. 1OS-711 A.D.). New York 1959, p. 7) : while Nk:qlhoruJ and Mkhael the Syrian make no mention of either papyri or coinasc in that connection. _

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The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

27

the Umayyad theory of state, and its importance (first recognised by Dennett) is such that we give a full translation of it in appendix 2. AI·WaJid here sketches out a salvation history divided into two eras, one of prophets and another of caliphs. The first era began in aboriginal times when God chose Islam as the religion for Himself and mankind, or, as we might put it, established a religion for Himselfand mankind which He chose to call Islam. Having done so, He sent messengers to inform mankind about it, but without success, or so at least it is implied : there is a lacuna in the text at this point. but we know this part of the story from the Qur'iin. aocording to which nation upon nation received a messenger, only to be destroyed when his message was spumed. In due course, however, the messen­ ger Mul)ammad met with success. This messenger did not preach anything new; on the contrary, he confirmed the message of previous prophets, God having gathered unto him everything that He had bestowed on them. But now that God had finally got His message through, there was no need for further messengers, and God thus sealed His revelation with him. Mul)ammad represented the culmin­ ation of prophethood and on his death the era of the prophets came to an end. The era of the caliphs began when, on the death of Mullammad. God raised up deputies to administer the legacy of His prophets. Specifically, their task was to see to the implementation and observance of God's sunlla, lJukm, lJudiid, fard'it/ and lJuqiiq, 'normative practice, decree, restrictive statutes, ordinances and rights ' (as we have chosen to translate the terms in question), and thus to maintain Islam. The bulk of the letter is devoted to the supreme importance of obedience to God's caliphs : whoever obeys will flourish, and whoever disobeys will be punished in both this world and the next, as we are told time and again. What is so striking about this letter is that caliphs are in no way subordinated to prophets (let alone to the Prophet). Prophets and caliphs alike are seen as God's agents, and both dutifully carry out the tasks assigned to them, the former by delivering messages and the latter by putting them into effect. The caliphs are the legatees of prophets in the sense that they administer something established by them, but they do not owe their authority to them (let alone to Mul:tammad on his own). Their authority comes directly from God. In other words, fonnerly God II,." prophets. now He uses caliphs. There is no sense here that God has stopped ruling His adherents directly, or that thecaliphate is a mere Ersatzinstitution, a second-rate surrogate for the direct guidance which they enjoyed in the days of

CJPYnghted matanal

28

God's Caliph

Mubammadll. Mul;lammad is still a prophet with a small 'p'. Obviously he was the prophet most relevant to al.WaJid and his subjects, being a succc:ssful messenger who worked among Arabs and who created the community of which God had now put al·WaIid in charge. But he was still one out or many, and he stood at the end of an era, not at the beginning of one. Messengers belonged to the past ; the present had been made over to caliphs. There is considerable evidence to suggest that a1·Walid'sconception of the relationship between prophets and caliphs was that espoused by the Umayyads at large. As regards the Sufyiinids, the absence: of public reference to Mubammad on the one hand and the adoption of the title khalifal Altah on the other would suggest a similar (or possibly more radical) conception. As regards the Marwiinids, al·Walid's views are echoed in letters by Yazid III and Marwin II in a manner suggesting that his sacred history came out of a standard file in the bureaucracy"; and they are also reflected in the stories in which Umayyad governors and others credit God's deputy with a status higher than that of His messenger. Of such there are many. Thus al·l;laijiij is said to have written a letter to 'Abel al·Malik expressing the opinion that God held His khalifa on earth in higher regard than His rasul (inna kharifat Allah fiart/ihl (var. wnmalih,l akram 'alayhi min rasulihi i/ayhim), preferring His khafija over both angels and prophets (al·khalifa 'inda 'liah afflal

min al·mala'ika al·muqarrabin wa'l.anbiya' al-mursalfn; note the plural here).u He expressed the same view to MUlBrrifb. al·Mughira

('Abd ai-Malik khafijal Allah wa-huwa akram 'ala Allah min rusulihi; note the plural again).1t He was also of the opinion that those who circumambulated the tomb of Mubammad in Medina should rather circumambulate the palace of 'Abd ai-Malik, since one's deputy is I) Nigel, RrchtlllllllJf' pculM. I. In Iddition to the letter by Vllid III trlnlllted in IppendiJl 2, see thlt by 'Abd Il·l;lamTd b. Vlbyi in Saf..,...I, Rrud'II, Yol. II. pp. 552f, This leller, 100, Sllns wilh In account of how God chose Islam for Himself. lit.. culminltinl with the prophethood ofMublmmld: Ind Ihouah theera of the Clliphs hIS been omined. it continues by givins prlisc to God QlfodhT /ammontQ l4·ttdohw /i-rilJulihi 14"0Ichar ttJ / tllllfT _t ntJbiY)'lhi (written IS I letter of congrltuiltion on eonquest. it presumlbly refm to Mlrwin II. in so fir IS it is nol simply I mOOe!.) Note llso the resonlnces of II-WlrN:! II', fonnulae in the leiter by Mlrwin II in Tlb., aer. ii, p. 1850. 1 5 'Iqd. Yolo v, p. 51'.... cr. 53'; simillrly vol. II, p. 3Sot'. 16 II·Balidhuri, AlUdb tJI-wllril[. ms Siileymlni)'1: (Reisiilko.lllp) no, 598. Yol. II, fol. 28b,

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The Umayyad conceplion of Ihe caliphale

19

better than one's messt:nger.17 And in the course of a Friday oration he is said to have asked the rhetorical question whether any member of the audience would prefer his messenger over his deputy. II Khalid al-Qasri is reported to have asked the same question in the course of an address in Mecca at the time of al-Walid l or, according to another version, Hisham : 'who is mightier, a man's khalifa over his ahl or his rasiil to them?'." Allegedly, he bluntly stated that God had a higher regard for the ami"r al-mu'mini"n than for His anbiyii' (once more in the plural)." The rhetorical question was also put to Hisham, who is said not to have rejected the inference that God must have a higher regard for His khalf/a than for His rasal.·1 As told, these stories sound like frivolous, indeed blasphemous, flatteries; but what they illustrate is precist:ly the point that khalifa and rasiil were once s«n as independent agents of God: this is why they are comparable. The caliph is here given the edge over the prophet on the ground that whereas a messenger simply delivers a message, a deputy is authorised to act on behalf of his employer, and this sounds strained because it is clear that everyone knew better: what is being offered is simply a clever argument. The stories presuppose both that the last prophet had begun to acquire his capital ' P' at the cost of earlier prophets and subsequent caliphs alike, and that parity between them was the starting point. In the early days of the dynasty when somebody reminded MU'awiya that he was mortal 'like previous prophets and caliphs of God', the speaker took this parity for granted." 17 Ibn .....bi '1·I;I.ald. SIwuIJ. vol. xv. p. 242. Ibn 'Abd Rabbih his part or Ihis slory. bUI not the $CIodalous 5Uggation reprding ·....bd . .1·M.lilt·s palatt ('Iqd. vol. v. p. SI). 1 8 Mas.• Murii J. vol. m, §2094 - v , pp. B8f.; 'Iqd, vol. v, p. $21-1; .....bii Diwiid. S_. vol. II. p. S14; .1.Maqrizi, Q/·Nua' 1,·t,'/-ttJkMfum fT·m4 NytUI &mr UmayyQ WQ-&mr H4sllim. ed. G. VOli. Leiden 1&88. p. 29. Cf. •00 .1·JiI).iJ, 'Risila IT 'I·nibita' in Ras4' {/ QI.JaJ,#. ed. ·A.-S. M. HirUD, Clito 1964 79. '101.. . Taltdltrb. vol. IV, p. 72. II. pp. 16[; Ibn •....dkir. 19 Tlb .• sc:r. ii. p. 1 199 (aI-w.rld I); A,"""r, vol. XXII. p. 18 (Hishim); d. \l150 M. J. Kister. 'Some Repons Concernina Mecca from Jlhiliyya to Islam '. JowrnQ/ QftN EconOlffi( tlIIdSocial HIJltxya/IN Oriml IS (1 972). p. 91, cilin8 .1·Filr.ihi. AI·Ward did nol however hive .ny doubt that a 1lObt IchalF fQ (such IS OlVid) ....... more hiahly reprded by God Ihln . It.MIrfQ ...OO WIS not . Nlbr ("lqd. vol. l.p. 7\'). 20 A,lwini. vol. XXII. p. 17. 21 .1·Din.wari,Q/·AkhbfJraJ-fiwdi.ed. Guirp", Leiden 1888. p. 346. where Hilhim'5 interlocutor is n.med IS ·....bd.llih . b. $ayfi; d. also T.b., ser. ii. pp. 1818f where l1eis Ibn ShQY .oo Khilid .I-Qurii.outraged by the IfCUIDent; .oo .1.M.qrizi. Nizil, p. 29. 22 OalJlJilt b. QaYI in connection with lhe bGyQ to YlZid 1 in Ibn Qut.yb.. lmUma, pp. 156f. Note .Iso the .musing slory in T.b.• 5er. ii. pp. 206(.; Bal.• AIU.• vot. .•

•

righted matmal

God's

JO

Caliph

Fuller evidence, however, is available in Umayyad poetry, most of it Marwinid. It cannot be said that complete parity obtains between prophets and caliphs here. The poets speak of the Prophet rather than prophets. and they automatically assume him to rank higher than caliphs;1I caliphs only rank higher than the rest of mankind." Even so, the Prophet's edge is thin. Caliphs are inferior only in that they do not receive revelation ; and if God had not restricted the gift of prophecy to prophets, the caliphs would have been messengers themselves. as we are told with reference to Yazid IIU and Hisham," (Thomson's claim that al·Farazdaq credits 'Abd ai-Malik with the gift of prophclhood is not however correct.)17 IV/I, p. lo4 vol. IV/I., 109, in wh;chadeleptionofEl)'ptians/l;lim,ilwbo have beth told not 10 address Mu'iwiYI ukW(fQ becomesotmi6ed that they address him u rosWl Aildit inste.d. ThusVuid liwasthebestofthe ..!op!eonearth - thelivin.and thedead - except ror him Ihroup whom the dDt td-barlyya shone rorth (Farazdaq. vol. II. p. ''12"); apart (rom the Prophet. he was also lhe best orpcople in tenniO(pamlblF(ibld vol. II, p. 434"); he had nobody above him except God and _tNwwa (ibid. p. 682, lilt two lines). Hilhlm wu the .on o( the bet! people, MuJ;aammlld and his CompanK»u uotJ)ted (ibid p, 5351). There has been no shepherd Of! earth to eompare with Sulaymin. nol that is since the c1nth o(the Prophet and 'Uthmln (ibid., p. 637, ult.); there hu tIIn no shepherd in 111am to compare with Vazld n. ona:mon:with lhe qualification ' since Mul;Jammad and hilcompanion" (ibid. p. 1&9'). That much is clear rrom the meier""s pvm in the previoUi nott. In addition, hOWever, we an: told that 'Abd ".Malik WQ kltayr aJ./xlrlyY4 (Alth,al. p. 74'), that Sulaymin was lcNJyr aJ·1t4J (Fanzdaq, vol. II, p. 623"), and that al·Warld IT wa. kltd)ir aJ-bdrlyya kvlllM (ibid., p. 510'); al·Ri·1 thoupt lhat there was nobody like himself in Syria, exotJ)t (or the imam (no. 16:47). Ibn Qays al.Ruqayyll thoup! Mu"ab lhe bat of people. lhe _tr "'-maI",;,,&. excepted (no. 51: 2). And anu the death o( the Prophet nobody'. cInlh was 10 hiably lamented u that o(a/·l;lajjlj except for those or caliphs (Farudaq, vol. II, p. 529, ult.; cr. p. 495', wha'e the ..me i. said or al·I;lIjjIj'. relatives). Ir Jesus had not (oretokl and d05 jibed the Prophet, Yuid II would have m 1 .. talten (or one; and thouah he was not a prophet. he would scill be the eompanion or one in Pandise. alon, with Abu Bait" 'Umar and 'Uthmln (Farudaq, vol. I, p, 264'-'): ir there wen: to be a /Ubr aner the m."qf!. it would be Vuid II thlt God would choote (ibid.. vol. II, p. 8291-1). Fanzdaq, vol. II. p. 846''', when: IAGri '1·'iI", who IsJcaJl-, bUtI'M rtuN/ ,ffllll uy thai i(the holy ,,"nt ...m sent to other than prophets, Hilhim would be in receipt or revelation. W. ThomlOft, 'The Character o( Early Islamic Sect.' in i,tuJU GoJdzihD M_IDJ VoJ_, ed. S. L6winJCl' and J. Somol}'i, Budapest 1948, p. 92. If:peAted by Rinurm. 'Some Relipous Aspecu', p. 739, and MortnlY, lrfMI, pp. 04801'. ThornlOn wa. mialed by R. Boucher (ed. and tr.), D/vaIt« n,a:doIc, Plril 1170. p. 626 ofthe French kllt, wbert al·Farudaq is mlde to uy tltlt the imlm 'qui a � (du Seisneur Ie don de)propMtie briwraleurpieFi '; what heactually uid wu thai ' the one who has bestowed prophecy (Ie. God) broke their SUile' (with meith" to 'Abd al·Malilt', Yktory over Ibn ai·AJh'lth, cr. ibid., p. 208" of the Anbic text Fanrdlq, vol. I, p. 296"). ..

23

.•

.•

.

24

•

25

26 27

_

CJPYnghted matanal

The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

31

Indeed, Marwiin I was an imam to whom prostration (sujud) would have been made were it not for the

nubuwwa.II

As in the letter of

al-Walid II, the caliphs are the legatees ofprophets.II From Abraham they have inherited every treasury and every prophetic book," and they fight with the swords ofprophethood, by right of prophethood,'1 above all, of course, the prophethood of Mul;lammad, whose covenant they implement." But though Mu1;1ammad is now clearly invoked to legitimate the caliphate, it is to God on the one hand and 'Uthmiin on the other that the caliphs are directly indebted for their authority. 'The earth belongs to God, who has appointed His khar rja to it', as al-Farazdaq put it, echoing Mu'iiwiya." · God has garlanded you with caliphate and guidance', as Janr said.u The caliph is God's trustee

(amin Allah),"

God's governor, and governor on behalf of

truth." He is God's chosen one, as several poets slate.n But the reason why God chooses Umayyads rather than others is that the Umayyads arc kinsmen of 'Uthman. There is no lack of dynastic legitimism in this poetry, the fact that a particular caliph has inherited his authority being stressed time and again.1I Ultimately, they have 28 29

flrazdaq, vol. I, p. 11-4". cr. flrudaq, vol. II, pp. 632" (Sulaymin inherited the {kpcyof] 1SIIbuw). ws I!JO" (.·orUhii /111"1111 MWtommod .t4Ini biJd QW/4); 'Urwl b. Udhayna, Sltr" ed. Y. w. a1-Jubiiri. Baahdad 1970, p. 244 (wori/W ,1ISiiI AI/tJH vI'" �·or·). 30 fanttlaq, VQI. II, p. 829". 31 farudaq, vol. II, pp. 681, ult., 682'. 32 Addo)'to oJiDdhC"ahodo oJ-rosUI, u Janr tdls Sullymin (p. -432"): al-Wllid I wu waIT li··oht/ AllAh (ibid., p. 38-4") or wali 'oM M� (flrazdlq, vol. II, p. -418'). 33 fanzdaq, vol. I, p. 25'. )-4 Janr, -47-4'. 35 cr. above, chapter 2, note 85. J6 Fanrd'q, vol. II, pp. 79-4" (Oftf_ .'ld4t AfJM), 852" (.'afT oJ.I,oqq); Jlnr, pp. 390" (wu141 oJ·�q), 508' (..oIf oJ·1}aqq). 37 farudlq, vol. I, p. 296' (in ,merll); vol. II, pp. -431" (Yazid 111 785", cr. UQ1 (Hishim): Janr, p. -492t (al·Walid I); Ibn Suny; chin, al·Abwa, in A,It6t1r, vol. I, p. 298" (al·WaRd I): Ru'ba b. 11'''",iiij in W. Ahlwardt(ed. and tf.}. s-Iw!ttff oJ/tr orobiscltt, Dkhttr. vol. III, Berlin 1903, no. 61: 1 95 (p. 113) (Marwln II). 38 fanztllq, vol. I, pp. 88M• (you art the sixth ofsix caliphs. fltber, uncle, 'Uthmin, etc), 169" (you have inherited from Ibn l;Iarb, lbn Marwln and the one lhroup whom God helped Mubammad), 17-4' (the IOn of two imlms whole rather was also an imam); vol. II, pp. -418',' (11·War-oct inherited the caliphate from . ... en anoestors. indudinl'Utbmln), 6.SS" , 656"(Sulaymln inherited thecaliphate from his rltber/was liven it by God. either ....y not by ,M,b). 70.- (a1·WarlCl l inherited -'k (rom hi. ratber like Solomon from DavMI), 768"" (God caused l l.II'� once mort), 829" aI-Warld to inherit -nc, the contrut with ,ho.Jb bein, h (nu-dlll Abr'I-'Af), &-46"-" (B. Mlh"Win inherited the emblems ofpower), 8$2'" (they did not inherit it A:aJ4Jo"', i.e. rrom a eoUlterai or di,llnt lnoestor), 8531• (they inherited the caliphate ofl ripdy JUided one). The theme i. much less prominent in Janr, but cr. pp. 1-49, ult., and 367' {are you not the son of the imams of

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God's Caliph

inherited it from 'Uthman," a friend and helper of Mu�ammad's," who was chosen by a

shiirQ41

and raised up by God Himself,tI and

who was thus a legitimate caliph wrongfully killed.u In raising up Umayyad caliphs, God gives His deputy something to which He has a hereditary right." The Umayyads have always been caliphs and always will be, we are assured." In short, the Umayyads are God's chosen lineage, It is clear from this that, as far as the Umayyads were concerned, the Umayyad period began with 'Uthmin, not with Mu'iwiya. and this makes sense, given that they never regarded 'Ali as anything but a pretender. There is a case for adopting the periodisation proposed by the Umayyads themselves; after all. the classical view that 'Ali was the fourth caliph reflects doctrinal developments of the ninth century, not contemporary opinion : in contemporary perspective 'Ali was a pretender. on a par with the other protagonists of the first civil war." More importantly in the present contest, however, it is also clear that the growing prominence of Mubammad was bad for Umayyad dynastic legitimacy, As long as Mu�ammad belonged to another era, it was enough to have been chosen by God Himself, but not so when he had come to initiate the present: at this point some direct link with

Qutaysh, addressed to 'Abd al·'Am b, al-Warld: cr. al.Fatazdaq, yol. II, p. 656," where it is addressed 10 Sulaymin). Both 5late that the Umayyads have inherited an ualted buildinJ(Jarit, p. 256'; Fatazdaq. YO!. I, p. 266'). Ibn Qaysal·Ruqayyit st um . that the)' have 'inherited themUlbGr orkIrI14/a' (no. 2 : 1 0). a. also 'Urwa b. Udhayna, p, 281". 39 In addition to the references Jivm in the plec:eding note, lICe Fatazdaq. yol. I, pp. 27" (the IlIr4,1I of'Uthmin to whkh they .... u e the hein). 295, ult. (similarly), 3SI, penult.; Yol. II, p. 418' (apin stressinJ inheritance rrom 'Uthmin). 40 Farudaq, vol. I, pp. 169"', (the one throuJh whom God helped Mubammaci), ) 12< (&m aI·NIb! Q/'mJq(aja 1O·a-lmIMjirJllr.,). 90' (kluJ/fl MuJjQmmad lO'a-1mam J,aqq and the rounh of the best to tread the around). 41 Farudaq, YOI. I, pp. 265'" ('Utbmin'l power 'lm\1 back 10 a lO'AJly}'4 min Abr lIaff, he was chosen by lbe Muhljiriin: compare yol. I. p. 86' on lO'AJiyyat thlfnl 'tIrMy" ba'dIl M"; 1"=1); yol. n, p. oi18' (IO'QI'ithli fft(U�ataitD Ii-'Utllmlln Q/hl,r kdnat ,ur4tli nab/yyIM aI-WN,akltayyar), 64(;1, 768- (tbe m4JJMa apin). 42 Fatamaq, yol. n. p. 768-. 43 Fatamaq. yol. I. p. 312", 329'; yol. II. pp. 419"', 768f"': Ri'i, no. 58:S4: cf. al50 'Abdallih b. al·Zabir'l rererence to 80,000 people led by Gabriel (apparently the Syrian army at the time or al·Mukhtir) whOle tim was the dr1I or'Uthmin (SlIrr. cd. Y. al·Jubiiri. BaJhdad 1974. p. 78). ... This point i. made with panicular clarity by al-Farudaq (yol. 11. p. 768'-', addressed to al·Warld l); and al-Akhtal puts it very succinctly: a'rcU:"", Alli m mil 4IIt"'" m,aqq" biJrf (p. 7)").

FataWaq, yol. I. p. 224": Yol. II, p. 709': Nibighat B. Shaybin, p. 123'; 'Abdallih b. al-Zabir, p. 86". 046 O. W. Madelunl. Dtr Jmom al-Q4Iim ibn Ibrdhrm UIId dit GJalllxn.Jltlr� tltr ZaJdj/tn, Berlin 1965, pp. 223ft'.

45

righted matmal

The Umayyad conception of the caliphate

JJ

him was required. It was all very well to argue that 'Uthmin had been his friend and helper, and that his own Companions had elected him caliph, but such arguments did not carry much weight. On� the Prophet had acquired his capital 'P', straight descent from him was an unbeatable claim. But though the Prophet had begun to undermine the claim of the Umayyads to the caliphate by the time the poets start to speak of him, he still had not affected the nature of the caliphate itself. It is the nature of the caliphate which concerns us here, and on this point the poets are of riveting interest. In

essence

their message is that

however important the Prophet may have been in the past and indeed still is, the caliphs are central to the faith here and now. The caliphs are central to the faith in two ways. First, they are ' the tent pegs of our religion' (awtiid Jininif),t? not just in the sense that they keep the community of believers together, defend it and see to its adminsitration, but more particularly in the sense that without them, it would ipso facto cease to be a religious community. 'Were it not for the caliph and the Qur'an he recites, people would have no judgements established for them and no communal worship', Jarir declared." 'He who does not hold rast to God's trustee will not benefit from the five prayers' (man JamyalclHl bi-omfn Allah mU" arimf'''

fa-taysa bi't-�aJa....ii' . al-khams yanlaftu), an 'Abbisid poet echoed

with reference to Harun.U Three centuries later al-GhaziJi was similarly to argue that if the caliphate was deemed to have come to an end, all religious institutions would be in a slate of suspension and all acts performed under Islamic law deprived of their validity.5O In other words, there is no umma without an imam : it is the leader who constitutes the community, and without him God's ordinances cannot be implemented.1I It is in this vein that the caliphs are described as 'the imams of those who pray'," that 'Umar II is told that he has become an adornment of the abiding minbar,u and that numerous other caliphs are Hattered with reference (0 thejudgements established by them." 47 Farazdlq. vol. II. p. 62)'·; cr. p. 84''': billi 'tmIdlI" '/-dltI (or Hishim). 48 Jlnr. p. 3"·. An Iitemitive reading is 'Ind the Qur'in we recite'. 49 Agh4ltF, vol. XIX. p. 74, where the poem. de:sc:iibed as tprM./ gJ-NIZI Iar r ft 'I.Rtultid,

is recited to II-Mu'taJim: II·Khatib al-IbJhdldi. vol. IV, p. I�. � Ghazili, FQtjIJ'iJ" ch. 9; al·.lihiri (d. 872/t462) liso reren to this argument (Zubdo, p. 89). " cr. II-wllid U's Jetter. below Ippendix 2, where it is ror the imp\ementation or these ordinlnces that the caliphate i. instituted. H Jarir, p. " 1-.

53 Jlnr. p. 2n". Compare ibid., p. 508" where Hishim is wan gJ-J,aq'l who leads S-i cr. below, chapter 4. the pilpiml�.

righted matmal

God's Caliph

3�

Secondly, the caliph is 'like the qibla through which every erring person is guided away from error'.n The role of the imam is not only to validate the community of believers. but also to be its source of guidance (hudal, a pn:requisite for salvation. Salvation was seen primarily as a matter of finding the right path. and what the Prophet had done was precisely to bring guidance at a time when ' the waymarks of truth had become effaced'." blam itself was synony· mous with right guidance." and it is above all with such guidance that the poets associate the caliphate. Thus it is with khiJafa and hudti that God has invested the caliphs according to Jarir." The caliph is ' the khalifa of God among His subjects through whom He guides mankind after fitna· .. and 'the imam in the furthest mosque through whom the hearts of the perplexed are guided away from error' ... The Umayyads unite people .

on guidance afier their views have diverged. II. They and their governors make plain the subul al·hudd, 'the paths of guidance '." 'Through you He has guided every confused person', al-Farazdaq says.n The caliph is imam ai-huM, imam of guidance',". and as such •

55 Farazdaq, yol. n, p. 623, ult. (to Sulaymin). 56 a. appendix 2, p. 119. 57 MulJ,ammad wu lenl with IIwJ.J and tiff! aJ-l,Gqq• .. the epill'lphic coinalt proclairns,echoinIQur.9: 33 (d.lbove, nOle 8) ;comP'lRalsothe fonnulltJi'MI6m 'aJII mall fttalHta 'l·hlMllJ. uKd in \etten to infidels (flkl/if6b aJ.lc"fir, Qalqashandi, $MhI" vol. VI, p. 366, wilh sundry eumples in lhe followins PIP: lhere Ire numerous ally exlmples in the Qurra PlPyri, cf. for exlmple A. Grohmlnn, hom IIw W""do/A.rabic Papyri, Cairo 1952. pp. 125ft'.; there IR also numerous S-fwat. arly eomplel of Muslinu utinl it n i letttn to Muslim /tas8U, vol. n, pp. 105, 119, 288, 3(0). (_ for example U.... n. b. TbIbil, no. 22: 12; 'Ammin 1919, p. 6 1 ; WIlr. T, Qu
�,� .;"',0/.

0••

58 lIdr, p. ..7..,.

I, p. 289". 60 Farazdlq, yol. II. p. 619'·. 59 Faravlaq, yol.

6 1 Alhant, Yo\. IY, p. "25' (hmi'i! b. Yuir). Compare the pauaaa ciled below, note 119. 62 Jarir, p. 90'"' (of aJ-l;Iajj1j); complre Nibishat B. Shaybin, p. 29' on Umlyya

(nIblII tJi·-'1a9f). 63 Faranlaq, yol. I, p. 329"; d. also Jlnr, pp. "', ,. (WheR the Tamim who hive repenled oftheir'Alid sympathies IRsaid 10 ha� returned 10 /pw? aJ·IrwM), 384·. 440.. , ..7..•. 64 'Abd II-Malilr. referred 10 lhe Zubayrid in'llilection .. one directed apinst tr'imlf'lal aJ.JrwJ.t (Tlb., seT. ii. p. 7..3). A'w B. Tla.hlib remembered aJ,wlrtd I, al an inN1m Ihidd (AI"""T, YOl. XI, p.2S)'). Yalid II wu likewise praised U In

righted matmal

The Umayyad conceplion of the caliphale

Jj

he is associated with light He is 'guidance and light ',Ii 'the light of the land '.'· and the one 'through whose light every secker of guidance is guided to hudQ'." He is ' a light which has illuminated the land for us'," ' the moon by which we are guided· ... He sets up a 'beacon of guidance ' (manara'" Itl-hudQ) wherever he goes." His kinsmen and governon are similarly 'lights of guidance', full moons, stars and the like.U He disperses darkness" and makes the blind sec.71 He revives both land and souls,7' being rain (ghaYlh) in both a literal and a metaphorical sense: one asks for rain no less than for guidance from him." iIrIcJm IuMld by Kutblyyir, thouah tbe line is allO saki to have b! L Li add " 5 7 E 1 to 'Ab« aI-Malik (Kuthayyir 'AzzI, Dr.·iIII, edt I. 'Abbis, Beirut 1971, p. 342", cr. tbe editorial introduction to this poem): Yalid II was allO an imam of JUidance . aa:ordinl to II-Farazdaq (vol. n, p. 433': n i '57 IIJ.1ludi twi,.".." qfa 'l.."...ta::lIr). So wu Hisbim, ind: :j the Marwlnid caliphs in acncral, Iccordin, to tbe wne

poet (vol. 57, p. 8461). A poem in which 'Abd al-'ADz b. Marwin is prematurely dc:sClibed u kllDlffll characteriza him and bis lOn II h'5kJy Intdi too (Kiadi, GOKmOrI, p. .(6). As 10 often, the Zubayrids \IIere praised in the same terms as the Umayylds: Mu,'ab b. al·Zubayr wu In imam of IUidance accordina 10

al·Muhalllb's troops (Tab., Kf. ii, p. 821). 6S II-Qutimi, Dfwan, edt I. al-5imarri'i Ind A. MatJiib, Beirut 1960, p. 148" ('Abd aI-Malik), cr. Qur. 5: SO. 66 al··Abali in A,/Wrl, vol. Xl, p. 309': d. FatUd'q, vol. 57, p. 767" (mir a1.I14r). 67 Farl"1aq, vol. I. p. 165' (k.MIr[lIl tIItI 41_4 GJba� tjttw'tJrw. bUti k.hr yfIIt4

IfI./wdiJ kull- "qJu_).

68 Akh\al. p. 74'.

69 Farl7daq, vol. IF, p. 704'; d.

abo p. 4))1; Jarir. p. 2S4", (God pve Yalid II a mulk w¥II a1-nQr); Nibipat B. Shaybin, p. 49' (Yalid I) u liJbt); Yadd b. Oabbf. in A,/IIInf. vol. vn, p. 99" (al-Watid II i,.,. ,i?Q'II }#i/pl 'I·Mti ,. mir

'lIlA mir).

70 Jlrir, p. 4': Jlrir uys mIlCh tbe ume of Khilid II-Qasri in hi' DFw4n, edt N. M. A. TW, Cairo 1969 70. vol. II, p. 6()611 (al-Siwr-, version, p. 171, omill the line in quation). Mllblrib b. Ditblr in watT', QwI4/t, Yol. UI, p. 3311 ('Umlr II). ComP'l� allO '/f/d, vol. IY, p. 91''''11, whe� al-WaJid I men to what 'Abd II-Malik hid set up mlrl trIlIII4r aJ·lsl4m wtNII4mlhf. 71 Farudaq. Yol. ii. p. S4I' (mir- hudd, of al·'Abbis b. al·Warld) ; Nibi....t. B. Shaybin,p. 123'; IbnQaysal-Ruq.yyit, no. 2: 12(p. 75). NoteallOthat al-l;fajjif. Whit is a ni1r If 1-IttdiJ (11·'Ajjaj, or.. d .., edt W. Ahlwardt in 51;;;::Ja&.p1F aJ'� QrllbiJr:_ Dklrler, vol. IF, Berlin 1903, no. 12:66. p. 23). 72 Fanzdlq, vol. 5. pp. 289', 29@. 329"1\·; vol. n, pp. 61911, 620", 78S', 830'; Ri'i. no. 16:5); Qutimi. p. 148". ... 7J Fa r t.q, Yol. I, pp. 289', 329""'. 3.52"; Ri'T, no. 16:53. 74 Fan":IIq, yol. ii, pp. 839, penult., "'.5', 889'; Ibn Sunyj citin, al·Ab'NI.I in A,,,,,"1, Yol. I, p. 29r. 75 Fanzdlq, vol. 71, pp. S4I', 638', 767" (zltay,lr al-bil4d wa-fliir al-lt/bj1'I-pd_), 831', 1U5', 889': Jarir, p. 274·; Ru"ba, no. 39:41 (p. 103); Ibn Sunyj citin, .I-A\lwlf Ind 'Ao. b. al-Riqi' in AJ.r.aa.r, vol. I, pp. 298'. 300'; 'Abbis b. Mul;lammad in AlitoJI5I. veSt XXIV. p. 217"; (or al-WarKl Il', I«:r p'Dn u _,.... see WarKl, Sltrr, p. .55'. For thecaliph tbrouab whom rain ' i lOuabt (}'III'" bUtt " -maIM, see above, chapter 2, pp. 8(., and Ringrtn, 'Some RelipolQl Aspects'.

righted matmal

36

God's Caliph

The caliph is a source or guidance because he is himselr blessed and rightly guided. 'Uthman was a khalifa,ort mahdiy>",", 'a rightly guidedcaliph ',as Mu'awiya'smessengers told 'Ali." As raras al·l;lajjaj was concerned, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, Mu'awiya and 'Abd al·Malik were the rour (sic) khulafo' al·rashidun al·muilladun al· mahdiyyun.17 Similarly. in poetry 'Abd al·Malik is al·mubOrak yahdi Allah shratahu, 'the blessed one [through whom] God guides His adherents '.11 SuJayman is the mahdi, the rightly guided one, through whom God guides whoever is in fear of going astray," and through whom He disperses darkness;80 he is also the mubOrak and mahdiwho makes plain the road,.1 and through whom 'God has delivered us rrom evil'.11 'Umar It was al·mubiirak al·mahdi sira,uhu, 'the blessed one whose conduct is rightly guided ';11 he is also the mahdiin prose. U Yazid n is al-mubiirak al-maymun siraluhu, 'the blessed one whose conduct is auspicious'II and to whomGod has given ra'fa,o mahdiyy''' , 'the mercy of a rightly guided one' ... Hisham is al·mahdi wa'I-IJakam al·rashid. 'the rightly guided one and the judge who follows the right path '''' as well as 'the mahdi in whom we seek refuge when . frightened ... AI-Walid 1 1 is both the malu/j1' and al-qa'id al-maymun M:a'l-muhtadO bihi, 'the auspicious leader and the one by whom one is guided'." 'Stand up. 0 Commander of the Faithful. rash;t'" malldiy)"'''', as Yazid III was told. though not by a poet.11 In poetry the Umayyads in general are hudal K'a-mahdiyyun. 'guiding and rightly guided'.n Being mahdiyyUn, the caliphs are strongly associated with justice. The justice of caliphal sunna loosens burdensu and heals: ' through 76 rib. seJ". i. p. 3277; NI,r b. Muzil;lim, Woq'ot $if/f", p. 200. 77 'Iqd, vol. IV, p. 122. Possibly Abu Bakr was Idded by a copyist who rorgot to revise tbe figure accordingly. but it ilodd that YIZid lind Mlrwin I should hive

79

been omitted.

78 Janr, p. 356'. 80 Flrndlq, Yol. II, p. 620'".

Flrazdaq, vol. II, p. 655". 81 Jlnr. p. 432". 82 Farudaq, YOI. i. p. 326' ijQ-4j6IxJ....'..OtOM ... ,o�bl-kJrJI4fol oJ·lItDIrd1mln rJwr). cr. 11so Yolo II, pp. 638, ult., where he i1 once man: mDhdr,lnd 623", where he i1 k.hoyr 01414: and mau.llUItJ blJr). · 83 Jlnr, p. 275'. 84 Ibn Sa'd, TofHJqol, Yol. v, p. 333 (three times); Nu'aym b. I:fammid. FitOll, rols. 991. lOla (we owe lhis reference to Michlel Cook). 86 Faru.daq. Yolo II. p. .544". 85 Jlnr, p. 390". 87 Jlrir. p. 147'. 88 Jarir, p. S05. penult. 89 Flrazdaq. yol. I. p. 7, ult. 90 Flratdaq, yol. II, p. 510". 91 KltiJb QI·'uyiilr ",·o'/.I,Dd4'lq, ed. M. J. de Goeje. l...eiden 1871, p. 136. 92 Flrazdlq. vol. I. p. 88', of al-Walid I's predecesson. A goyernor such II Nltr b. Sayyir was also lIattered al 01-m41ik. o/-milJwl! (Flrazdaq, YOI. I. p. )47, ult.). 93 Farudaq, vol. I, p. 328'; cr. p. 329'.

CJPYnghted matanal

The Umayyad conceplion of th� caliphat�

37

the justice of your hands you heal the sicknesses of breasts';" through your justice you have cured everyone who thirsts'.Ii • Come to Islam, justice is with us'. as we are told." Adherents of'Uthman held this caliph to have been an imiim 'adl;17 MU'awiya was an imam 'adil;'" Abd ai-Malik was flattered as khali/at al-'adJ," an epithet also attested for 'Umar 11,100 who elsewhere appears as a/.imam al-'add;101 and both Yazid II and Hisham were described as imiim al_'adJ.!OI The Commander ofthe Faithful is imam"'" wa'adl"'" Itl-bariyya, Jarir said with reference to 'Abd ai-Malik. III According to al-Farazdaq, •

Sulayman made every place of oppression Uawr) a place of justice radf).!1H Hisham filled the earth withjustice and light. I" He also filled it with mercy (ra�ma),I" and with light, mercy, justice and rain, having been placed over the people as a source of security and mercy

(amnia" wa-ra�mat"").!" Though maho, is evidently not an eschatological epithet in these passages, it is hard to avoid the impression that the tenn refers to a redeemer. The mahdi of court poetry is not simply a person who walks in the right path, lOI but rather a deliverer from evil - someone who fills the earth with justice, mercy and light, who heals and who vivifies. 'He answered our prayer and saved us from evil through the caliphate of the maho,', as al-Farazdaq said with refercnce to Sulayman.!01 But this is not a point we wish to pursue in this 94 Farazd'q, vol. I, p. 3!12".

9S Farazdaq, voL I, p. 329';wmpare vol. II, p. 1I39, uh., where we are lold orHi$hlm that he 'brou&hl lhe _ or lhe IWO 'Uman in whkh there is miflJ' In�

mill al.soqlfm·.

, 96 Farazdaq. vol. u, p. 62)1. wilh reference 10 lhe death ohl·l;lajjij and the a""",ion of Sulaymin. a. p. 63811 (Sulaymin pUI n&hl every qaqd' j6'ir. followed by a reference to aI.qa4d' btl·l}aqq); Jarif, p. 43211. 97 Mul;lirib b. Dilhir in Walr.I', Qu44h, vol. Ill, p. 29. 98 'Iqd. vol. I. p. 46t. 99 Jarir. p. 440'. 100 Ibn Sa d TalKlqal. vol. v, p. 387. 101 larir. p. 41" . 102 lariT, pp. 2!16'. �S". 103 Jarir, p. 44()1. 104 Farazdaq, vol. II, p. 639'; for other stalements on lhe justice of this caliph. see above. note 87. 10' Farazdaq, 'Vol. 11. p. 840" (ra'aytwka qQ(/ IMla'ta 'I__r/' 'adJ-- ""/J''';ya tnJIlbasat al·;allfm). Compare Ibid., vol. I, p. 16" "" (amfr aI'MII'mi"r" bl-'adlilti . . . ",·a·liI .lIIma mil ddma af.klwlf!al· "iI'Im-- HiJh4mU); Jatir. p. �!I" (amfr aI-mw'mi"f" '

.

qad4 bi-·adll-). 106 Farazdaq. vol. II. p. 84" ; cr. p. '14, ult. (r�ma and 'adJ or the imam).

107 Farazdaq. vol. II. p. 8S2"-". 103 cr. I. GoId-Dher. I"troducliorf 10 IJlamk T1woI�y wtd La..., Princeton 1981, p. 197n. 109 Above, note 76.

CJPYrighted material

38

God's Caliph

chapter.1II What we do wish to stress is that salvation was perceived as coming through the caliph; and we should like to illustrate this further with reference to two notions commonly attested in both poetry and prose. First, the caliphs (or the caliphal institution) are described as ' refuJC' or stronghold' ('4ma), a word with Qur'inic resonance (cf. •

3 : 96, 'he who seeks refuJC in/holds fast to God (ya'(tJ.fimu bi'fliih) is guided to a straight path ') The metaphor conveys that it was the caliphs who saved the believers from error in both a political and a religious sense, or, as others put it, that the caliphs were the pillars of the religion. 'God . . . created from among His creatures servants .

whom He placed as tent-pegs for the pillars of His religion; they are His guardians [ruqaba1 over the land and His deputies [khulafli1 over the servants, and through them He has turned darkness into light, united the religion, strengthened that which is certain, granted victory, and put down the ovennighty', the future Marwin ' told Mu'iwiya.1 II 'God has made you a refuge ('itma) for His friends and a 5Ouroe of injury for His enemies . . . through you God, exalted is He. makes the blind see and guides the enemies [to the truth)'. 'Abdallih b. Mas'ada al-Faziritold the same caliph. conveying much the same message. ltI ' Through him God protected ('asama) mankind from perdition', as a poet said of Mu'iwiya in a poem to Yazid 1.111 The caliph was a fortress (�4n),1U or ' a cave in which you seek refuge' (/a'wlina). as Ziyid b. Abihi put it,ln just as he was ' the mahdi in whom we seek refuge (no/zau) when we are afraid', as Jarir said of Hishim.11t He was a 'ipna against tyrannY,117 and thus a '4ma for orphans,llI but above all he was a refuge against that disunity which inevitably meant dispersal from the paths of guidance. The caliphate, 1 10 We 'hall retum to il below, appendiJ: I . I I I Ibn Qutayba, Im-lUi, p. 164. 1 1 2 Ibn Quta)'ba, fmA.Ul, p. 158. Compare lhe speech of Abu '·Aswad', wife 10 Mu'iwi)'a : iMII 'lfdltjdallllttJ kllal1/a,-·jT'l·bUdd OWI·rrltfrb"� 'alil ,/••ib4tJ, ftUltUqd

bib tJ/·IftQ/tJr OWI·}WI�tu biktJ tJ/-slt¥u OWI-YIl'_U bib " .khil'if, ..·tJoQIIttJ '1-kIttJ/rfa fIi-mtl.fltJ/! wtll..-rr/_&t/imh, a/·_ttM/d (al-'Abbas b. BakUr al·Oabbi, Akhb6r tJ/.wiljiddt min tJ/·"ts6' 'tJ/iI M"ilw{ya b. Abr Sufy4lr, ed. S. al·Shihlbl, Beirut 1983, p. 1<4 and nate 2 lheieta).

I I ) A,Mnr. vol. XII, p. 1<4-; nate that Mu'iwiya is _In AUdit in the Piec:edinl line. 11<4 Akhtal, p. 18S'; cr. 8a.sh.hir b. Burd. val. ii, p. 304. where he is a lan), mountain (ItJ..-d, addressed 10 ,1·MahOi). I I S tab., aero ii. p. n. 1 16 Above. nate 88. 1 1 1 Farazdaq, vol. I, p. 321, ull. (jdtJ/1l '(.j/4J;¥ (tJIIiI kftil[iflllllllu btu . ·f·qllrilJ,l .

..",.'4tr;tJ,-'1-jIl�).

I II Janr, p. 211, pmuh. (of Yuid 11).

CJPYnghted matanal

The Umayyad conception of tlu! caliphate

39

or rather obedience to it, was a 'i.rma, maful, multaja', lamm 1i'I-shd/h,

wizr, man'a against /iraq and something which protects people (yd,fimuhum) against all ikhti/iif and shiqiiq, according to al-Watid lI .l It It is in this vein that 'Abdallah b. al-Zabir told 'Abd ai-Malik

that ' you have protected us ('Il1Dmtanii) with Bishr', who was al-qa'id

al-maymiin and al-'4ma, the �q of which did away with everything baril. III The caliph was a 'fsma mukhayyira bayna 'l-t/IlliiJa wa'l-rushd for people, as Zulzul and/or others were later to say with reference to al-Ma'mun."1 In short, the caliph was a refuge against error. Whoever clung to his 'j�ma would be saved, whoever ignored it would be damned : one would not seek refuge in God and thus be guided to a straight path without holding fast to His

khalifa.

Secondly, the caliphs (and the caliphal institution) are identified with God's rope, another Qur'inic concept (cf. 3 :98, and hold you •

fast to God's rope

(wa-'tll1imii bj-�abl Allah),

together, and do not

scatter'). Thus Mu'awiya was 'an imam and a firm rope for mankind',ln or, in the words of his son Yazid I,

Al1dh.1tS 'Your

/Jabl min /Jibal

rope is God's rope', al-Farazdaq told Yazid II and

Hisham, stressing that whoever took hold of it would find it unbreakable.lU Whoever holds fast to your rope [you will find that1 •

the blindness of his eyes disappears', the same poet said to al-Walid

LI 1i According to al-Walid II, God had a strengthened the strands of His rope through His caliphs. I" The caliph was thus seen as a

lifeline to God, someone who stands between God and His servants', •

as an early author, reputedly al-l;Iasan al-B�ri. said with reference to the imiim al-'adl.III or as . the rope extended between God and His creation

t,

as al-Mutawakkil was pleased to be told. Itt The concept

119 cr. Ippendix 2. pp. 12Off. Compare liso flfudlq, vol. I, p. 289": the Mlrwini
.•

CJPYnghted malenal

40

God's Caliph

of the caliph as God's rope conveys much the same message as that of the caliph as a refuge: whoever holds fast to this rope is saved, whoever 'scatters' loses the paths of guidance. And both concepts underscore the fact that allegiance to a caliph was a precondition for salvation. Like the pope, the caliph presided over a religious community outside which no ritual act had any effect.'Were it not for the caliph and the book he recites. people would have no judgcmentsestablished for them and no communal worship', as Jarir said.III Whoever dies without an imam dies a JiihiIi death', as even classical tradition states. IIO The Prophet had brought guidance in the past: like the caliphs he was both mahdi and imam af·/tudii.1Il But it was the caliphs who dispensed this guidance here and now. It is in this vein that Jarir enumerates ntlbtlw)I.'a. khiliifa and huda as more or less synonymous terms, III while al·Farazdaq speaks of the a " ad al·khiliifa wa'l-salam, 'the staffs of the caliphate and salvation'.m Mu\lammad might have become sayyid al-mtlrsafin at the expense of previous prophets and subsequent caliphs alike: but without these caliphs, the believers still had no access to his legacy.ll� It is for this reason that what looks to us like a choice between political rivals was in fact a religious one in early Islam. To give allegiance to an imam was to affiliate oneself to a guide who might •

'

·

129 Above, nOle 48. 130 Ibn I;lanbal. MW/f.ad. Yol. iy, p. 96. Compare mall mala M'O-/O hay'o 'oluy/rl malo mrtat al-jiJhiliy)'o (Ibn Sa'd, TahaqiJt, vol. y, p. 144): mtJlljQ,aqa a/-j(Jml1o shib"'· /0 1·miJ) mala ilId mT/ot ol-ftihllina and man maIo ",·a·qad /l(mlo yodolru mill hayo kanot mi/olllhil mIta, qa/d/o (listed by A. J. Wensinck and othen, ClHl("�dan("� �I Indicts r/.t 10 "adillM muswfmaM, !..eiden L936 69. s.n.'. 'jihiLiyya' and ' bay'a' respectively; but nOle the avoidance of the word imam in these: the emphasis is on membenhip oflhe community rather than allegiance to a leader). Cr. also the dictum 'il is 001 penniued to stay one night without an imam ', cited by Tyan, $wltflllQl, p. 304. 131 For i,"11m al·hlldiJ, see above, note '7. For Mu]:lammad as ul·malrrlf. 5CC l;Iassin b. TIlibit, no. 13 I : 2; al·'Abbas b. Mirdb. DfM·UII,ed. Y. al-Jubilrl. Baghdad 1968. no. 24:8; M. Hinds. ' The Bannen and Battle Cries of the Arabs at Siffin (657 AD)" uJ·Abltulh 2<4 (1971). p. 1 7 . 0 2 ; Brock. 'Syriac Views', p. 14 (citing Bar �kaye and the Chronicle ad 1234. where Mubammad appean as mhoddyana). 1)2 Jarir, p. 47<4". 1)3 Farudaq. vol. fI, p. 8401. 134 It should beclear from al1 this thaI we cannot agree with Nagel that the 'sun-ogate institution of the imamate . . . only played . purely negative role for the Umayyad caliphate' (Rnhtltllllng, p. 50). Nor arewe convinced that the concept ohhe ruler as deputy of God became more intense under 'Abd ai-Malik. as ROller sUfgnt. (B"" �rkrit,, pp. 24&1l'.). BUl there is cenainly more eyidence for the Marwinids than tl"leff is for the Suryinidl. nOI leaSI the poetry orlanr and al-FaT1lzdaq: no other poets, be they earlier or later. adherents of the Umayyads or others. lUCCeed ed in describing the caliphal ideal with the overpowerin, eloquence of those two.

righted makrKlI

The

Umayyad conception of the caliphate

41

or might not be the true representative of God; it was tochoosc one's

umma, The fact that 'Ail and Mu'awiya may well have had identical beliefs in no way means that contemporaries were faced with a purely political dilemma, There was only one true imam and one true umma, so that whoever made the wrong choice would find himself outside the community where no amount of religious observance would save him from a Jihili death, Choosing the right imam (or more precisely proving that the imam chosen was the right one) was a matter of vital importance for salvation; disputes over his identity thus precipitated the formation of sects, and declaration of belief in the legitimacy of one's own came to fonn part of the creed. 'Do you confess that Mu'iwiya is the caliph?', an Umayyad governor asked ofa Khirijite, executing him on his refusal to answer in the affirmative,Ui 'What do you say about MU$'ab?', Khirijites asked of al-Muhallab's troops, who declared him to be an imam of guidance; 'is he your leader (wali) in this world and the next . . . are you his followers (aw/iyd') in life and death , . , what do you say about 'Abd al­ Malik , , , are you quit of him in this world and the next, . , are you his enemies in life and deathT,'3' al-l;Iajjij professed that 'there is no god but God, who has no partner, that MuJ:tammad is His servant and messenger, and that he [al-l;Iaiiajl knew of no obedience except to al-Walid b, 'Abd ai-Malik; on this he would live, on this he would die, and on this he would be resurrected '.117 In the reign of al-Mahdi an 'Abbisid naqib died confessing that there is no god but God, that Islam is God's religion, that MuJ"ammad is the messenger of God, and that ' 'Ali b, Abi Tilib is the legatee of the messenger of God, ll'm, and the heir to the imamate after him',lSI An apostate who converted back to Islam in the time of al-Ma'mun gave proof of his Muslim beliefs with the creed, ' I confess that there is no god but God, who has no partner, that the messiah is a servant of God, that Mul;lammad spoke the truth, and that you are the Commander of the Faithful',ln 'There is no religion except through you and no world except with you', as al-Ma'mun was also told,'U The creed which Bughi, the Turkish slave soldier, had learnt consisted in declaration of belief in the unity of God, in the messengership of MuiJammad and in the kinship tie between the Prophet and the caliph on which 13S 136 137 138 139

Tyan, Cali/at, p. 4SS, citing Ibn al-Athir, /(ilmif, vol. lU, p, 346. Tab., ser. ii. p. 821. Tyan, Cali/al. p, 4SS. ciling Jbn al-'Asikir. Tahdhib (vol, 'v, p, 71), Tab., ser, iii, p, S32. Tyan, Cali/aI, pp, 4ssr,. ciling lhc ·Iqd. 140 Tyln, Cali/al. p, 456, ciling lhe 'Iqd. and Ibn QUllyba. SM'" p, S49.

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God's Caliph

the latter's legitimacy had come to rest.lf! The classical creeds which separate Sunnis, Shi'ites and Khirijites of course also contain declarations of belief in the legitimacy of the caliph or caliphs acknowledged by the sects in question. The fact that it was around the caliphate that Muslim sects crystallised is inexplicable on the assumption that the caliph was never mort than a political leader; and gjven that the process of crystallisation began in the first civil war, there is no question of seeing Umayyad innovations here. If Abii Bakr conceived the caliphate as a purely political institution, it had changed character by the time of 'Uthmin, presumably in tandem with the adoption of the title khalifat Allah. But in fact this is a most implausible proposition1u. Just as kharifal Allah seems to have been the caliphal title from the start, so the caliphate must have been min aJ-iiniin, part of the faith'. from the moment of its inception. •

14\ w. M. Pitton, A� Ibn lIaniNU and l/w Mj�, Leiden 1891, p. 91. 142 Thoup ror prad.K.I purpon this is what Tyln IUge5ted (COIi/OI. pp. 199ft'.).

CJPYnghted matanal

4 Caliphal law

If the deputy of God on earth was seen above all as a guide, what was the nature of his guidance? Obviously. in part it was political. The caliph was responsible for the maintenance ofthecommunity, the suppression of rebels, the conduct of jihad, and so forth; and the poets make no bones about the fact that guidance frequently took a militant (onn: where would people be. one of them asks. without the Marwiinid 'imam of guidance and beaters of skulls?',l The Umayyads and their governors were God's swords,' and as such they were invincible: obviously. whoever had God on his side CQuid nol bedefeated.S But what weareconcemed with hereis theirspiritual role, and what we wish to demonstrate is that it was seen as consisting above all in the definition and elaboration of God's ordinances. or in other words in the definition and elaboration of Islamic law. In his letter concerning the succession, al-Walid II expressed the opinion that God had raised up caliphs for the implementation of His IJukm, sunna. IJudUd.fara'i4 and IJuquq,4 a view which al-l;Iajjaj had apparently espoused before him.' In the same vein Yazid 111 stated that until the death of Hisham 'the caliphs of God followed one another as guardians of His religion and judging in it according to His decree (qatfinaflhi bi-IJukmih,),' while Marwin II described I Farudaq, vol. n, p. 8461• 2 Tab., Kr. ii, p. 78 (or Ziyid b. Abilti); aJ-'Aijij. no. 29: 140. p_ 48 (Yuki I); Faraubq, vol. I, pp. 2651, 2861; vol. n, pp. 530".695" (Sulaymin, Dishr. Hishim and al-l,Ilijij); Jlnr, p. S06" (the UmlYYads in gtllClIJ): cr. al!lO A,lWIf. vol. XI. p. 307; vol. un, p. 330. 3 Flrawbq, vol. I, pp. 251• 101· (f6J}ib AUdit ,MY' ffWlIhlUb, laYI4 bi-maghliib MOIl AlldIt #J1ibvhw). 4 Below. Ippendix 1. p. 120. 5 a. Ibn Qutayba, 1m'l id, p. 258. where aJ-l,Iajjij writes 10 aI-Warld l/a-'oJ!aylca

brl-lsl4mfa-qa_1m a...adab ...a-S#WUiJ·talw _-.lI.,d,,,.,,,,.,

6 BeJow, appendix 2, p. 126.

43 ,.1

44

God's Caliph

the caliphate as having been instituted for the implementation of God's statutes (shara' rdi nihl).7 We may begin by examining the ways in which they sought to fulfil this task. Most obviously, they acted as judges. The caliphal office is explicitly associated with adjudication in the Qur'an : in 38:25 God tells David that 'we have appointed you kha/i/a on earth, so judge among the people with truth' (fa·'IJkum bayna 'J-ntis bi'l-IJaqq), and in 2 1 : 78ff. we see David in action as a judge together with Solomon. There are numerous references to these verses in poetry. 'Judge (fa-'lJkum) and be just', al-A\lwa$ told Sulaymiin with reference to the fact that he had been appointed by God.' He is the caliph. so accept what he judges for you in truth' (rna qa4iz takum bi-'/-IJaqq), •

Janr said.' references to al-qa4iJ' bi-'/-lJaqq or 'ad! being commonplace. It Without thecaliph people would have nojudgements

(aMarn) established for them, as Jarir says in the famous line quoted twice already.11 Elsewhere he adds that 'the land rejoices in a "akom who maintains the ordinances (fara'it/) for us'.lt And the caliphs are explicitly compared with, David and Solomon : just as God 'made Solomon to understand ' in the Qur'an. so he gave understanding to lfalthoma) His caliph. II The caliphs. or at least some of them. responded by dispensing justice in person, apparently with some solemnity: when 'Abd ai-Malik acted as qatfi he would have a page recite poetry on legal justice before turning to the disputants. l( That the caliphs acted as qat/is was first pointed out by Tyan. U and Tyan's conclusion is confinned by early l;Iadith. in which they are frequently displayed in this role. Sometimes we see them give verdicts in concrete cases," and sometimes we are merely told that such and such 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 I!I 16

Tlb., ser. ii. p. 18�. A,,..,r, vol. IV. p. 235 (_ al-Abwa" SIIi'r. ed. ·A. S. Jamil, Cairo 1970, p. 178). Jarir, p, 390'. laTir, pp. 390'-', �!I"; farudaq. vol. n. p. 638","; Qulimi, p. r46'-·"; cr. also 'Ajjaj, no. 33: 19 (p. 56). larir. p. 355', Jafir, p. !106', farazdaq. vol. n. p. 768"--", wilh rererence 10 al·Walid I; Jarir. p. 254", wilh merence to Yuid II; cr. Qur.. 21: 78r. A,Mlrr, vol. xxn, p. 124. E, Tyan. HiJIQ;" • f'()IJtuI;sQliOft jwdiciQi" � fHJYs d'luQWI, vol. I, Pari. 1938. p. 134. 'Abd al-Razziq b. Hammim al-S.n'ini. tll-MIqQlllfQf, ed. I;I,·R. al-A'�mi. Beirut 1970-2, vol. VI, no, I0710(,Abd al·Malik and a divorce case): vol. Vllt, nO'. 1S460 (two people submiued a dispule or an unidentified nature to the same caliph), 15489 (a dispult submitted 10 Mu'iwiya): vol. IX, no, 16419 ('Abd ai-Malik and wills): vol. x, nOI. 18261, 18274r,. I 8298r. (Mu'lwiya, Marwin, 'Abd al·Malilt, 'Umar II, Yuid 11 and Hisham in cases or qos.infG).

righted matmal

Caliphallaw

45

a caliph qat!ii bi-dhiilika, adjudicated on the basis of such and such a rule.17 Either way the Umayyads cast in this role are usually Mu'awiya, Marwan I. 'Abd ai-Malik and 'Umar II, though Valid I I and Hisham also appear. II Marwin is however presented as governor of Medina rather than as caliph (as is 'Umar li on occasion too), and other caliphs fail to appear altogether. If Even so, the traditionists clearly agra:d with the poets that adjudication was part of the caliphal role. In Umayyad times it was part of the role of the

governor too.to The fact that the caliphs and their agents acled as judges is not in itself of great significance from the point of view of their role in the definition of the law. Hindu kings, for example, also acted as judges for all that they had no role in the formulation of dharma, the religious law elaborated by the brahmans; kings might or might not give verdict in accordance with dharma: either way royal orders had to be obeyed, and neither way did royal orders count as sacred law.II But caliphal verdicts did count as sacred law, as is clear from the very fact that they are to be found in l;Iadith. l;Iadith is a record of authoritative rulings, not of historical ones. Most of the rulings which f:ladith ascribes to the Umayyads may very well be unhistorical in the sense that the Umayyads were not in fact its authors.n What matters is that legal scholars wished to present them as such : at some point in history Umayyad adjudication was regarded as a source of authoritative decisions, with the result that Umayyad verdicts were collected and/or invented. If the Umayyads had not been regarded as a source of holy law, no verdicts attributed to them would have been found in l;Iadith at all. According to l;Iadith, however, it was not only in connection with adjudication that the Umayyads formulated law. They are also said 17 'Abd al-Razziq. Mlqannaf, yol. YI, nO$. 10633 (Mu·iwiya. mama,e), l0366f. (when: ·Abd aI-Malik n:gn:ts one orhis rulings), 1 1908 ('Abd al·Malilr., divorce); '·01. YII. nos. 12301 (Mu'iwiya, divorce), I :wo9('Abd ai-Malik, divorce); yol. Yill. no. 15665 (Mu'iwiya, lei/abo). a. also P. Crone. 'Jihili and Jewish Law: the Qasama'. Jt'rI4.laltm Srwit's ill Arabic and Islam 4 (1984). note 171. 18 In addition to the examples given in the Pn:ecdinl notes, see J. Schacht, Tht OrigillJ af Muhonrmodall ju,ispf'"Udoru, Oxford 1950, pp. 193ft". 19 Ibn l;Ium implies that he has seen traditions involving all the Umayyad caliphs

down to al-Walid II; but the passage is too polcmkal to be taken at face value (sec the reference given below, note 36). 20 See for example Schacht, Origins, pp. 193, 197, 200, 201: AgnanT, yol. Yill. p. 63; Yol. XXII, pp. 32f. 21 R. Lingat, Tht CIOS$ical LD... of India, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London 1973. pp. 224ft". 22 cr. Crone. 'Jiihili and Jewish Law', pp. Issr.

CJPYnghted malenal

God's Caliph

46

to have issued what in Roman tenninology would be known as edicts or mandates to their governors and judges, laying down the legal rules which the latter were to apply. The best known example is the famous letter on fiscal and other legal matters addressed by 'Umar II to his governors which Gibb misclassified as a rescript," but other examples survive. Thus Mu'iwiya sent instructions regarding stolen property to his governor in Medina;" 'Abd ai-Malik wrote instruc­ tions, presumably to his governors, concerning slave-girls in whom defects are found after the sale;15 'Umar I I is depicted as constantly despatching instructions on this or that aspect of the law to governors and judges in various places;1I Yazid II wrote to the judge of Medina (and presumably judges elsewhere too). laying down that the testimony of stupid people should not be accepted ;" and Hishim sent instructions to an Egyptian qiiq; on points concerning dowries." Conversely, governors and judges would write to the caliph for instruction on difficult legal points. Thus Mul:lammad b. Yiisuf. governor ofthe Yemen. wrote to 'Abd ai-Malik asking for the correct procedure to be followed in a case of illicit intercourse.1I AI-l;Iajjij wrote to him for a ruling on a question of inheritance." When a difficult question relating to manumission by kiliiba arose in Mecca. the governor ofMedina (and Mecca)similarly wrote to 'Abd ai-Malik 23 Ibn 'Abel al·l;lahm, $Tra, pp. 93tr.; d. H. A. R. Gibb, 'The Fiscal Reluipt of 'Umar II', Arablca 2 (19.5.5). In Roman la"" a iUCiipt was the emperor" answer 10 a question addressed to him which toolt the (orm of either tpi.J,ula. a ICp8rate letter. Of subJtriptio, a reply written at Ihe fool of tbe petition itself (F. Schulz. HiJtory of Rofl'lOll Ulal $eitfttt, Oxford 1963. p. 1.52). 'Umar lI's lellier was not an answer to anYlhing. In Roman lenninology it was an edict or mandale (cf. ibid., pp. 143tr.. I 54). 24 Abd al-Raztiq. MIqIlNlq/. ...01. x, no. 18829. 2.5 WaitT'. Q�, vol. ii. p. 267. 26 He insuucu them on the treatment or non·Arab converts (al-Balidhuri. Futw, al-buld4n. p. 426; Ibn 'Abd al·l;fakam. Futu� Mlfr. ed. C. C. Torrey. New Haven 1922. p. ISS; Ibn Sa'd. Tobaqdt. vol. .... p. 384). a theme actually attested in lhe letter to which we may now refer as 'Umar's edict; on olher fiscal questions (Ibn Sa'd, Tabaq4f, vol. .... pp. 376. 380). on punishments (Ibid p. 31.5). on qosiimQ (see the references given in Crone. • JihiTi and Jewish Law'. note 167; though the sources refer to hislc.ittib in IRis contexl. tbe extant edict does not cover itl. and on marriaJC law in relation to orphans (Kindi. Got�,.,.orl. p. 339. wbere the judJC is named; .Abd al-Rauiq. MlqanNlj, vol. "'i. no. 10370. wbere he il anonymous; Ibn Abi Shayba, aJ-Mlqalf"q/. ed. ·A.-Kh. Khin al-Mghini. Hyderabad 1386-. vol. t.... pp. 140. 160. where he has completely disappeared. a good example or tbe way in which conlext tends to JCI losl in l;Iadith). 27 Walti'. Qu4dIl. vol. 1, pp. 1.59f. 28 Kindi. Go�'tF""01J. p. 348. 29 'AbeI al_Raniq. MIqIlNlq/. ...01. YII. no. 1l38.5. )0 Walti·. QutJdh. vol. t. p. )O!I. '

.•

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47

for advice,l! A governor of Ayla wrote to 'UmaT II for rules concerning runaway slav� who steal." and an Egyptian judge wrote to the same caliph for elucidation on points relating to clientage, pre�mption and blood-money payable for broken fingers.U A Syrian judge wrote to Hisham for advice on questions regarding inheritance and manumission,l4 Judges and sub-governors might also seek advice from the top-governor of the area, who might solve the problem or write to the caliph for advice in his tum.1i Ibn !:Iazm even claims that ' whether the mattcr arose in Medina or elsewhere, neither governor nor judge would [ever) give judgement without referring it to the caliph in Syria. and neither would [ever) do more than carry out the Jatter's instructions'," This is a polemical exaggeration, but clearly just an exaggeration, not an invention. Even private persons would submit petitions concerning legal questions. According to early l;Iadith, • a man went to 'Abd ai-Malik to ask him about various things which he told me about. 'Abd aI-Malik showed the petition (kiliib) to Qabi$8 [b. Dhu'ayb al-Khuza'i, his secretary]. It said, "[what does one do to] a slave who slanders a free man?", Qabi$8 said, "he is given eighty lashes.'l··· Similarly. a certain Nifi' b, 'Alqama is said to have written to 'Abd ai-Malik asking him about the pennissibility of reVOking wills in which manumissions have been made," and there are also examples involving 'Umar lI,n (It is the caliphal replies to such petitions from governors and laymen which are rescripts in Roman tenninology.) According to Ibn I:fazm. the Malikis were wrong to take pride in their much-vaunted 'Medinese practice': given that all disputes were referred to the caliph in the Umayyad period, it consisted of nothing 31 Milik b. AnlS. al-Mu"",,,!a". Cairo n.d., vol. II, p. 146: compare 'Abd al-Rauiq, MU$Qllruif, vol. VtII. no. 15659, where 'Abd aI-Malik just 'writes' this rule in 31 3) 14

)5

)6

)7 )8

)9

peril. 'Abd al·RazUq, Mu.rGlllUJ/, vol. x, no. 18984. Kindi, GawrntHf. pp. )))r. Waki', Qu46/r, vol. III, p. 205. cr. w.ki', QIM$iUr, voL 11, p. 21. For the total dqxnden<%of qUt/U in the Umayyad period on tbe loverno" who appointed them. sec ibid., vol. I. p. 141. Ibn }j.allTl, (l1-ll}IcdmfT lqiil a/�iim. cd. A. M. Shilr.ir. Cairo 1345-48, vol. IV, p. 218; fi"t cited by R. Brunschvig. 'Poltmiques medievalcs autour du rile de Milik', al-Atldafla I S (1950), p. 400. 'Abd al-Razziq, Mu.rCIM(lf, vol. VII, no. 13787. 'Abd al_Raniq, Mu.rQlUla/, vol. IX, no. 16384. Thepenon in question was perhaps a Meccan scholar (cf. Kha.rrra b. Khayyil. Xi/db aJ-rabaqill, cd. A. O. al-'Umari, Baghdad 1967, p. 280). Ibn Abi Shayba, MtqCIMa/, vol. IV, p. 7S (a man married a woman and consummated tbe marriage, whereupon be round a dercct in her: 50 he wrote to 'Umat II rOt advice).

I

I

CJPYnghted malenal

48

God's Caliph

but the decisions of'Abd ai-Malik. al-WaTid I, Sulayman. Vazid II, Hishiim and even al-WaTid II, plus a little from 'Umar II whose reign was brief. as everyone could ascertain for himself from the f:ladith collections." Nine hundred years later Schacht unwittingly followed Ibn l;Iazm's advice and arrived at the same conclusion: Umayyad legal practice was the starting point of Islamic law as it exists today." Unlike Ibn f:lazm. Schacht had his doubts about the authenticity of the decisions ascribed to the Umayyads, but this is of no importance here : what matters here is that early scholars automatically assumed law in the Umayyad period to have been caliphal law. Caliphal law is not a notion familiar to the classical lawyers. In their opinion the first four caliphs were qualified to issue rulings on law because they were Companions, while 'Umar II was qualified to do so because he was an exceptionally pious caliph who cultivated Prophetic f:ladith, but no legal competence was vested in the caliphal office itself: in so far as caliphal rulings had any authority, they owed it to the same tradition from the Prophet which validated the rulings oflhe lawyers themselves. One is thus not surprised to find that there are traditions in which the Umayyad caliphs are described as drawing their opinions from the 'ulamii'. Far from being consulted by governors and judges. we are told, it was the caliphs who would write off for legal advice from judges and other legal scholars. Marwin, for example, wrote to Zayd b. Thabit for his opinion on a certain problem and, baving obtained it, duly put it into effect.42 'Abd aI-Malik wrote to the qii4fof J:fim$ asking him what the punishment for a homosexual should be.'- AI-WaTid I wrote to al-l;Iaiiaj asking him to consult the local 'ulamii', and !II' forth." Traditions in which caliphal rulings are validated with relerence to precedents set by the 'uJamii' or by the Prophet himself are fairly common,n Indeed, there are even some in which Marwin I and 'Abd ai-Malik are cast as 40 Above, note 28. 41 Schacht. OrigiN, pp. 190ff. 42 'Abd .1·R.zziq, M,qolUlaf, vol. VI. no. 10866; Ibn Abi Sh.yba, M,qannaj. vol. IV. p. 234. 4) W.ki', Qut/dll, vol. Ill, p. 210. 44 'Abd .1.Razziq, MII.f(JfJIIQf. vol. VII. no. 12325. Note al50 the tT.dition in whkh • cue is brought to Marwin. lhe governor orMedin•• bul in whkh il i5 1bn 'Abbas who enunci.tes lhe MIle for whkh the tradilian i5 cited; in the !itCOnd version Marwin h.5 dropped out .ltogether (ibid.. vol. VI. n05. 10568f.). -'5 'Abd .J.Razdq. M.qunnllj. vol. VI. no. 1(63). cr. n05. 10628. 10632: no. 1 1908, cr. no. 1 1907: Ibn Hisham. SIra, vol. I. p. 224.

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Caliphal law

49

Jaqfhs, legal scholars, and/or as tradilionists in their own right.U But ultimately the fate of Umayyad rulings (other than those of 'Umar II) was to be rejected rather than retained on a Prophetic ticket. The l:Iijizis retained them longer than anyone else, and it is largely to them and their Egyptian pupils that we owe the traditions in which the Umayyads appear as formulators of law,u though there is also some Syrian, Basran and even Kufan material.4I In classical law no caliphs other than the first four and 'Umar II play any role at aiL It is clear. however. that the classical point of view is the outcome of a reinterpretation. Originally all caliphs fonnulated law in their capacity as caliphs. as the Umayyads themselves explained. and it is also as caliphs that they are usually invoked in early l;Iadith. Caliphs of God or otherwise, the Umayyads are here seen as authorised to make religious law on a par with the ROshidiin. Naturally, this point was beyond Ibn l:Iazm. who adduced his discovery that Me(linese practice was based on caliphal decisions as a crushing argument against its validity: what are the decisions of mere caliphs against those of the scholan who are the true legatees of the Prophet? More surprisingly. it was also beyond Tyan and Schacht, both of whom concluded from their findings that law in Islam must once have beenconceived as secular: howelsecould it have been made and dispen­ sed by caliphs?l' Presumably Tyan would have changed his mind if 46 Thus Marwin I and 'Abd al·Malik both appear as traditionists in Ibn Sa·d. Tabaq4f. vol. v. pp. 43. 224. 226. whee"( we are told that Marwin would consult the Companions and act in accordance with their apalllent. while 'Abd al-Malilr. would sit with thefwqQh4' and 'ultlM4' of Medina and remember what they had Mid. Both 5imilarly appear in Ibn i;lajar, Tahdhrb al-/ahdhrb. Hyderabad 132S-7. the rormer in vol. x, pp. 91f., the latter in vol. VI, pp. 422f; accordinlto Ibn !:fajar and al-FaMwl, KI/4b af-mdri/a t/t·a'I·la',rkh, ed. A. Q. al-'Umari. BaJhdad 1974-6. vol. I. p. 563, 'Abd al-Malilr. was reclr.oned amonl the (our fuquJUf of Medina; and when somebody ulr.ed Ibn 'Umar who should be uked (or lepl opinions when the old men ofQuraysh had died. he lIid that Marwin had a .on who wa5afaqIlt : ' aslr. him'. Bolh Mu'iwiyaand Marwin lransmil lraditions from the Prophet in 'Abd al·Razziq. MU.JtlIINJ/. vol. I , no. 4 1 1 ; vol. IX. no. 17087; vol. X, no. 18958. 47 It is because so much of this material is of Mcdinesc origin that Ibn l;Iazm could usc it to undermine the concept of Mtdwu practice. But 'Abd al.Razziq owed over a quarter of his traditions on Umayyad rulinls to Inc Meccan Ibn Jurayj, who had them nol only from Medinesc. but also from Meccan and occasionally other aUlhorit;es (e.J. vol. VI, nos. 10568, 10633; vol. VIII, no. 1S489). The Elyptian material (preserved in al-Kindi and Ibn 'Abd al-i;lalr.am) relalcs almost exclusively to 'Umar II. 48 cr. 'Abdal·lbzziq, M�NItl/. vol. I. no. 1707(Kufan); vol. vl,no. 1 1908(5yrian); vol. VIII. no. 15664 (Basran). 49 Tyan, OrgtulualiOl1 judiclQ;rt, vol. I, pp. IMfT. (early qa44' had no religious

CJPYnghted malenal

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God's CaUph

he had reconsidered this conclusion in the light of his later work, for he proceeded to write a book in which he stressed the religious character of caliphal authority more strongly than any scholar to date." As for Schacht, he evidently had a strong sense that there was such a thing as caliphal law; yet in deference to the 'u/ama' he almost invariably

downgraded

it

to mere

'administrative practice', 'administrative regulations' and the like,tI thus casting the Umayyads

as Sa'udi kings who can only make nifiims. But law in Islam was

always regarded as God-given," and it is precisely in discussions of God-given law that the Umayyads are invoked in early l:Iadith. What early I:fadith reflects, in olher words, is a stage at which God-given law was fonnulated by God-given caliphs. This is clear in a number of ways. First, there is no distinction in early l:Iadith between caliphs who could fonnulate legal rules for the extrinsic reason that they were also Companions or exceptionally pious and later ones who had no right to interfere with the contents of the law at all. ' ( have lived under 'Umar, 'Uthmin and the later caliphs', a Medinese successor says, character and only acquired it under Penian influence, especially under tbe 'Abbiskil); Schacht, {""odwtiOlf, p. 17: ''"'11M in iu Islamic context oriainally had a political rather than lepl connotation; it melted to tbe policy and administration of the caliph '. 50 ViL the Co/i/o' to which we Ire so putly indebted. But he did not reconsider (cr. E. 1yan. His'olrt at rcwronisotlOfl judiciDiru n poyu J'lsu""o, Leiden 1960, pp. 1 1 7f.). 'I He actually speab orUmayyad IeJislation in J. Schacht, 'o'Mio:ismc. tradition­ llisme et Inkylote dins II loi reliJieute de l'lslam' in R. BrunJChvi, and G. E. von GrunelMum (cds.), Cltwkismll t' dtclilt nJtllftldM.J rltutDirt atrIJI_, Paris 19n. p. 142. EI_here, too, we are told that ' tbe caliphJ acted to a lfCllt e.lllent al the IlwJiven of the community' (Schacht. {"froM,IOft, p. "). But we an: immediately assured that the UlJUlyyads or course lacked the religiO\lJ luthority ofthe Prophet Ind thlt their lepl lttivitiet were men: 'administrative Jeaislltion '

(Ibid.). '2 If the IeJislation of the Qur'in is not Ilw, whit is7 Schacht dcuibes it

IS

an ' essentilily ethical Ind only incidentally lepl body of ma�ms' (On,Uu, pp. 224r.), Ind Wansbrau&h I"m (J. Wansbrau&h, Qwtlllic SUMMI, (hforcl 19n, p. 17-4). But quite lpan (rom the fact that it does not conti,t of muim. It III, mSlicll lslamic law could similarly be dex,ibed II C:SItntiaUy ethical Ind only inddmtally lepl: it all depends on what one unckntands by 'law'. Clearly, law u defined by the Muslims ....... alwlYS reprded II God-Jiven. One can of COUnt question the attribution of the Qur'in to MubamrMd; but the fact that Mu1;lammad mlde law was known already to Sc:beos (Sc:beos (anrib.), HIJtoin d'Hlracilus, u. F. Mlcler. Pari, 1904, p. 9': he brought the Ishmaelites toaether under one law Ind prohibited carrion, wine Ind fomkation). Equally, every trldition attributed 10 him could be dismiued as spurious: but the Constitution of Medina still vouehsafeJ the fltt thlt he Icted II Idjudicator with divine luthority (Ibn Hishim. Sfra. vol. •• p. 504).

C;.pvrlghted malarial

Caliphal law 'and they only beat a slave forty times for

5J

qadhf'.n This Medinese

is using the same idiom as Valid b. al-Muhallab, who spoke of " Umar, 'Uthmin and later caliphs of God '," and what he is saying is that since no caliph had ever beaten a slave more than forty times for this particular crime, doing SO would be contrary to Islamic law. The first caliphs have already acquired special sanctity in both his and Yazid b. al-Muhallab's statements, but they are not contrasted with the Umayyads. What the Umayyads do is here seen as a continuation of patriarchal practice rather than as a deviation therefrom, precisely as it is in the work ofa scholar as late as al-Awza'i

ry, too, the first caliphs have acquired

(d. 714).n In Marwiinid poet

special sanctity without thereby undermining the validity of the acts of the Umayyads : Sulaymiin acted in accordance with the sunna of the fiiriiq, sc. 'Umar I, and modelled himself on 'Uthmin ;" 'Umar

sira resembled that of his namesake;" Hisham 'brought the .runna of the two 'Umars';" and the Umayyads in general followed the Junna of the rasiil." In poetry all the caliphs are a'immat al-hudd, mahdiyyun and rashidiin, and this is also the impression conveyed by II's

early l;Iadith. Unlike the court poets, the scholars soon ceased to accept this as true of conternpory caliphs: accepting the rulings of 'Abd ai-Malik did not necessarily imply acceptance of Hisham as a source of law; it certainly did not imply acceptance of al-Man$ur as one.to And in due course the scholars ceased to invoke caliphs altogether, except for the first fourtl and 'Umar II. But there is no simple way of explaining how the Umayyad caliphs came ever to be invoked unless we accept that legal authority once resided in the caliphal office itself. Secondly, it is as specialists in caliphal law, not as bearers of a Prophetic tradition of their own, that the scholars appear ih a number of these traditions. Thus when Mu'awiya writes to Zayd b. Thibit for advice, Zayd replies by adducing the decisions of' the two caliphs before you', i.e. 'Umar and 'Uthmiin.n 'Is there a binding pm::edent .53 'Abdal-Razziq, MtI.$OIIIIQ/, vol. VII. no. 1379J(adraA:tu'UMar,,·Q·'U,hmdllM"Q-maII S4 Above, chapler 2, nOle Il. bd'dtJlrum (sic) mill aJ-Ic�faflJ' ). 56 Farudaq, vol. n, p. 6n·. .5.5 Sehach!, OriKiIu, pp. 70ft". .57 Jarir, p. .5 1 1 ' . 58 Faramaq, vol. II, p . 839, ull. 59 Farazdaq, vol. I, p. 3JOl. 60 Cf. below, chapler.5. p. 91. 61 Or more precisely lhe fint three aner AbU Baler. cr. below, appendilr. I, p. 112. 62 'Abd a1-Raniq, MtI.$OIIMf, vol. x, no. 19062; but note how the version cited by Milik. MIIM'Q(fQ', vol. I. p. 333, downandes calipbalauthority: Zayd wrote back saying 'God knows best! This is a problem on which only _rd', thai is IchNfaflJ', have given verdicts; I have lived under the two caliphs before you. and they gave . . •

him (sc. the grandfather) hair in the presence of a brother. a third in the presence

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God's Caliph

(sunnamMiya)on this?', 'Umar II asksof Sa''id b. al-Musayyab. who replies that 'Uthmin had once adjudicated in a dispute of this kind.1I Similarly, when 'Abd ai-Malik is confronted with a problem relating to kildba, Ma'bad al-Juhan'i informs him that 'Umar and Mu'awiya had adopted different rules on this point, Mu'awiya's being the better.1t In all three traditions SllIn I a is assumed to be caliphal, not Prophetic precedent, and it is as mcmorisers of such precedents that the scholars are taken into account. But the transition to the classical pattern is well illustrated in the tradition in which a scholar refuses to implement caliphal law on the ground that the Prophet had ruled something else.II Thirdly, it is clear that the caliphs were free to make and unmake $unna as they wished. 'We do not know of anyone who adjudicated on the basis ofthi! rule before 'Abd ai-Malik', a transmitter remarks without in any way wishing to depreciate the validity of the rule in question;H in other words, it was valid because a caliph had made it, not because it went back to the Prophet or a companion. 'Abd ai-Malik's rule continued to be applied by his successors, we are told, but when 'Umar

II

became caliph ' we feared that he would revoke

it'." As it happens, he did not, but he clearly had the right. Even of a caliph as late as al-Mahd'i we are told by way of compliment (in a non-legal work) that ' he made sunan not made by any caliph before him'." Once again the fonnulation of law appears as a prerogative of the head of state, in accordance with the claims of the Umayyads themselves.

63

64 65

of two . . . '. And nOle how caliphal .uthorilY is fu"her eroded .1 p. 334. wheff, byd .ppe.rl .. .n .uthority in his own n&hl r.ther Ih.n • mere tr.nsmitter of ealiphal Wlto'$: 'Milik said th.t he h.d he.rd from Sul'ymin b. V.sir th.t 'Umar b. •1·Kh,"ib, 'Uthmin b. 'Atfin .nd Zayd b. Thibil ,waned • third 10 the ..ee of brOlbers. ' c SC! anndf.ther in the p, 'Abd .1·R.nlq, M�tIIIQf. II vol. x, no. 18245 (for the tr.nsl.tion ofsrmna m&ji),o, tee M. M. Bravmlnn, TM Spiritual Batk,r(JUlld of EDrfy /Jfam, Le;den 1972, pp. 1 39ft'" esp. p.141), In the 10nl.nd cle.rly I.te tradition ciled ibid., vol. VII, no. 12325, .,.heff, II·w.rld I instrucu .,.I;l.jjij 10 .sk .round lboul a certain problem, it is limillrly • rulin, by 'Uthmin Ihlt the Khol.r consulted comes up wilh, 'Abd .1·Razziq. M�tIII,II4/ vol. Viti. no. 15664. 'Abd .1.Rlzziq, M�Qlfnaf, vo\. x, no. 18829: Mu'iwiy. sent instructions rqardinl Itolen aoodl to his governor of Medina (M.rwin), who paned them on 10 lhe ,ubJovemor ofthe Vamim. (Uu)'d b. Zuhayr al·Anpri), who refused to apply them, invokinlthe prophet. Abu B.kr, 'Um.r .nd 'Ulhmin. Compare Schacht, Orill,.", pp. 55, 15S, 208. 'Abd al·Razziq, MllftJNlof, vol. IX, no. 16419.

66 61 Ibid. 68 MU'.rrij .l-Sadiisi, Klt4b �fmiflftQS(lb QII1Q)'Sh,ed. S. •'.Munajjid,Cairo 1960, p. 12.

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53

Finally, it should be noted that the anti-caliph Ibn al-Zubayr also appears as a legal authority in early l;Iadith, though on a far smaller scale than the Umayyads;" his aq4iya are referred to elsewhere tOO.70 Whoever was accepted as caliph was thus taken by his followers to be a source of law regardless of whether he was an Umayyad or other Qurashi, a companion or a kinsman of the Prophet. We should like to stress that the Umayyads concerned themselves with all as�ts ofthe Shan-'a, not merely with the law of war, fiscality and other public matters as Schacht believed to be the case." There is no sense in early l;Iadith that the Umayyads should be invoked as authorities on public rather than private law; on the contrary, they regularly lay down rules regarding marriage, succession, manumission and the like. It is only when it comes to ritual law that they practically vanish from the material (with the exception of 'Umar II). But it seems unlikely that ' the imam of those who pray' should have left ritual law alone. There are in fact some traditions in which Mu'iwiya is invoked as an authority on prayera and fasting,a and there are several on 'Abd ai-Malik's manner ofpcrforming the pilgrimage and prayer;74 conversely, there are also traditions in which caliphs afe instructed Of corrected in matters of ritual by

'u/amo'.U Besides, the

non-legal literature condemns the Umayyads for having changed the prayer (not to mention the qibJa), or in other words fOf having laid down a fonn of prayer which their subjects disliked. a The almost 69 See for example 'Abd al_Rnziq, MIqQllNif. Yol. IX. nos. 16245-6. 10 When 'Abd ai-Malik.'. ,ovemor of Medin. asked whether Ibn al-Zubayr's verdiculhould be annulled, 'Abd ai-Malik replied thlt they should not on the Jfound that hedid not resent Jbn al-Zublyr'saqtJi)"o, but rather his bid for power and that the I!Inulment of aqfiyo i. hlrd to beat (Wlki', QwJdh, Yol. I, p. 130; d. also vol. II. p. 404, where Ibn al-Zubayr writes to 'Abdlnih b. 'Utba, tellin! him how to adjudicate, and p. 321, where he objects to I verdict by Shurayb who nonetheless refuses to chan,.: it). 71 Schlcht, OrigiJu, p. 198 ('Abd II_Ruziq's M�QIINJ/wl$ not Iyailable when he wrote). 72 'Abd II-Rau.iq, M�QWla/. vol. II, no. 3687. 73 'Abd II_Rlniq. MlI.ftllUla/. vol. IY, no. 78SO; contrast no. 7834, where he owes his dictum to the Prophet. 7.. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaq4t, vol. Y, pp. 229f., 2321". Note liso the Kufan tradition in whK:h Marwin is invoked as In authority c:onccminl the sanctity of mosques ('Abd al.Rauiq, MIqQIINJ/, yol. I, no. 1107); he also appeln IS In luthority on ritual law ibid., Yol. IY, no. 83SB, but as the editorial note uplains. al-BlyhaqTs venion presents Jbn 'Abbis as the luthority rather thin, I. here, simply the trlnsmitter ofMlrwin's view. 7S 'Abd al·Rattiq, MlqtJ1lNJ/, Yolo II, nos. 261!, 2691. Note also the tn-dition. Ibid., Yol. IY. no. 8664, in which Mlrwin's role is limited to that of I5kin! a Khollr', opinion on I question of dietary Ilw, 76 l1-Jibi� ' Risila fi 'I-nibitl' in his RIJ.J4'il, Yol. II, p. 16.

CJPYrighted malarial

54

God's Caliph

total absence of Umayyad caliphs from early I;fadith on ritual law is thus likely to mean that it was in this field that their legal competencc was first rejected. What then wert the sources of caJiphal law?H According to poetry,

kifiib, sunna and ra'y. The book was the Qur'an, be it in its present form or otherwise;" but sunna was not the sunna of the Prophet, �t alone something documented in I;fadith, and ra'y was they

wert

not the acumen of ordinary legal scholars. As for sunna, it was good practice in general and that of prophets and caliphs in particular. Among the prophets David and Solomon have pride of place. ' David is justicc, so judge by his surma '(fa-'�kum bi-sunnafih,). Nibighat B. Shaybin told 'Abd ai-Malik ;1' 'you two have become among us like David and Solomon, following a sunna falii sunnat'") by which everyone who follows it is guided " al-Faraz­ daq told Ayyub and his father, the caliph Sulaymin." But the Umayyads followed the SWlna of the Prophet too, according to the same poet.'1 Among the caliphs, 'Umar and 'Uthmiin arc prominent, as seen already," but so arc later rulers. 'The family of Marwin acted sincerely towards God; they are the best. so act in accordance with their sUMa'. Nibighat B. Shayban told 'Abd ai-Malik;" A'shi of B. Rabi'a told him much the same." 'Abd aI-Malik was a caliph whose swtna should be imitated, according to Ibn Qays al-Ruqayyit'u and the Umayyads in general had left behind 'ordinances

(fara'if/)

and a sunna worthy of recollection' according to al-Farazdaq," who 77 We are concerned with the (ormal rather than the substantive SOUft'e$ henl. The q�lion of the elUent to which they borrowed from their non·Mu51im sub,iects is disc"".d by P. Crone, }tQlI'O'I, P'OOiffdaJ tmd IJlam/c l.,Q""', forthcomina. 78 The Commander ofthe Faithful is defined as someone who 'Ipplies the lJoddand followl the book ' in I poem add rnsed to 11·l;Iajjij (Jlrir, p. 17, penult.), Ind al.ljajjij himself is said 10 be q4ft- bi'l.Jcllab (ArMtrr, vol. XXII, p. ))2). Jllrir idenlilies the book as the Qur'in in the line ' were it not for the caliph Ind the Qur'in he recites . . . ' (Jlrir, p. 3505'), and he also men to the ract that God has revealed l{arrrJD to the traveller and the poor in it (p. •105'1). For other references to the book in hi, dr""., ICC pp. 256', <47<4'. For views on the shape of the Qur'in aboul Ihil time, ICC Wansbrou,h, QIII'4IIk S,IMIW,: Crone and Cook, HQlar/sm, pp. 17r. 79 Nibiahat B, Shaybin, p. 108'. As noted in the introduction, p. z. the vtTSion given in A,"""T, vol, VII, p. 1081, has srralihi for IWIMlihi, 81 Farazdaq, vol. I, p. ))()I. 80 Farazdaq, vol. t, p. )081. 8) Nibi,h.t 8, Shlybin, p, lOl', 82 cr. above, p, .51. 8<4 al·8alidhuli, AlUab aJ·ruh,4f, vol. Xl (AffOllytlk' arabiKlw ChrOlliA:), ed, W. Ahl· wlrdt, Greifswald IU), pp. 24Of. 805 KMln/a J'llqItuJ4 bi'lW/Mlilri (Ibn Qays al·Ruqayyil, no. 2: 17). 86 Farazdaq, vol. I, p. ))01.

righted matmal

Caliphal law also hoped that Sulayman would 'restore to us the

sunan

.5.5 of the

caliphs '.11 It is clear from these passages that sunno was not envisaged as a set ofconcrete rules, but rather as a general example, an llSwa lJasano such as that set by the Prophet according to the Qur'an." When the Umayyads are said to follow the SllIlnO of David, the Prophet, the Fariiq or later caliphs, the message is that they acted in the spirit of these people, not that they knew ofactual rulings from them, let alone rulings transmitted from them in l;Iadith.n This is not to deny that in practice the Umayyads paid close attention to the verdicts of their predecessors. Precedent tends to playa major role in the dispensation of law regardless of whether it is formally binding or not, even under modem conditions; and like most members ofpre-industrial societies the Muslims took a conservative view of law. Thus a poet compli­ mented 'Abd ai-Malik on not having reversed any of his predecessors' verdicts, having chosen rather to imitate their action;" and in the line by al-Faramaq just quoted, legal reform is characteristically envisaged as legal restoration. But the concept of sWlna was not in itself an obstacle to legal innovation. Thus we are told that 'Umar Ii's sira resembled that of 'Umar I, 'who instituted ordinances and whom the nations took as their example', the implication being that 'Vmar II also instituted laws." As has been seen, caliphal sunna appears as something capable of change in early l;Iadith too. 87 Farazdaq, vol. I, p. 329'. 88 Qur. 33:21 (/� kdnQ Ialuu,,- fT rasiU1 'IIMI lUWal--l}asa1Ia); cr. Z. 1. Ansari, . Islamic Juristic TenninololY before Sift'i: a Semantic Analysis with Spedal Reference to Kufa', Arob/eQ 19 (1972), p. 262. 89 This is obvious when they are pjd to hav.: followed the filMQ of remote flJUm such a5 David and Solomon, but .noma is allO translatable IS FI1CT'II example ... ient it referred 10. Thus A'shi ofB. Rlbi'l encouraaed ev.:o when concrete pw · 'AM II·Malik to desisna1e his son al·Warld U sUClCeSlOr at the e,;pense of hit brother 'Abd al-'Azj'z, sayin& that a son hu the best claim to the mulk ofbis father and that 'Abet II-Malik had himselfinberited his power from 'Uthmin, Ibn l;Iarb and Marwin:fa-'uh ljaMrtl"- wQ_'mil bi_Nllltil!inI lQ (above, note 84): yet, thouah sUClCeSsion had � dynastic since 'Uthmin, it had not always been from rlther to SOIl. Similarly Mlrwin thouaht that Mu'iwiyl'. desipation of Yuid as his heir WIS in accordance: with the '"'"110 Wiya mahdiyya of Abu Dab (who had designated 'Umar u his succesr), so thouah the Medinese did not share that view on the ground that Abu Dab had not desisnatcd I member of his own family 90 A,Mnr, vol. IV, p. •221. ("Iqd, vol. IV, p. 371). 91 Ashbailla mill 'Umar aI-Fariq SrrQttVrv _ 'l-/arlJ'U/ M'O.',_, bill; I·_m (Janr, p. S i l l). Note also the ftuidity of the concept of JIUIIIO in the claims made by al·Flrl.%dlq on behalf of SlIlaymin: he acted in acrordance with the $IUIIIQ of the Firiiq, but he .110 modelled himself on 'Uthmin. and he was upected to restore the SIUUUI of the caliphs or Fihr, the Umayyadt in general havin& lefi behind them a JIUIIIQ worthy of recollection. .

'

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God', Caliph

ro'y of which the caliphs were possessed. it was a superhuman insight (ro'y yafiiqu ro'y al-rijiil), as we are told with reference to Vazjd II," who is also described as an imam" huda" qad saddada 'Uiih" ra'yahu," Elsewhere it is a super-human understand­ ing: as mentioned already, the caliphs were mufahhamun, made to As regards the

understand by God on a par with Solomon. 'the rightly-guided king' (al-malik al-mahdi),·· It is with reference to this notion that a ruling of Mu'awiya's is deemed better than 'Umar's in an early tradition." Indeed. al-ijajjaj held 'Abd ai-Malik to be divinely protected against idle talk and behaviour slips (md.fiim min Harat al-qawl wa-zalal al-ji'I);" and all the caliphs wert rightly guided (mahdiyyiin), as has been been seen. In short, the ultimate source of caliphal law was divine inspiration: being the deputy ofGod on earth. the caliph was deemed to dispense the guidance of God Himself. The convergence of the evidence of court poetry and early l:Iadith is of crucial importance in that it puts paid to the idea that the Umayyad conception of the caliphal office was peculiar to the Umayyads themselves. Naturally the caliphs had a special interest in promoting it, and the poets who broadcast their views were certainly sycophantic. But the sycophantic element of court poetry lies in its denial of a discrepancy between ideal and reality, not in the presentation of the ideal itself. In practice the behaviour of the Umayyads may at times have been comparable with that of the Borgia popes; but if a poet flattered the Borgia popes on their power to bind and loose in heaven and on earth. he would still be making a correct statement about the attributes of the papal office. whereas a historian who tried to reconstruct the nature of this office with reference to the behaviour of its incumbents would go badly astray. Similarly in the case of the Umayyads. What the poets described was 92 Nibich.t B. Shaybin. p. 68'". 93 Kuthayyir, p. 342". The line is also laid to have been addressed 10 'Abd ai-Malik. 94 Above, note 13. It is al.Faramaq who describes Solomon as a rilhlly luided kinl. 95 'Abd II.Razziq, MIlfDMOf, vol. VIII. no. 1 5664. When asked why he prden

Mu'iwiYI's rule to 'Umlr's, M.·bad replies ""11NIll Da'Ud kalW fcllo)'�· mill Sulo),mdn/o./Im1/ahimohlJ (var./o-/ahlmahiJ) Sulo),mI". This is clearly corrupt. The Illusion is to Our'in. 21: 78-9. 'and Dlvid alKi Solomon, when they pve judaement concerninl the tillaFe . . � made Solomon to ulKientand it 1/0/ohhomnulld S"10),I7I611) and unto each we pve jud gement and knowledge '. The list or MI·b.,d's reply must thus have been that althoulh David was better than Solomon. it WIS Solomon that God made to understand. (ror variants on this traditkln. see J. van Ess, 'MI'bad al..(juhani', in IJlam...·i.JMnsdltlftliC"� Abllandlutllt" Frll: Mtittr. ed. R. Gramlich. Wiesbaden 1974. pp. S5r.) 96 "Iqd, vol. v. p. 25"; reproduced in Sarwlt, Rasd·/I. vol. II. p. 259. "

CJPYnghted matanal

Caliphallaw

57

the generally accepted concept ofthecaliphal office, not one invented by the Umayyads in the face ofstaunch opposition thereto on the part of their subjects. as one tends automatically to assume under the influence of classical notions; on the contrary. even the 'u/ama', the future rivals of the caliphs. took this concept as their starting point. Whether the Umayyads themselves were generally accepted is an altogether different question. Obviously, a great many of their subjects found them hard to bear, and as an antidote to the flattery of the poets we offer a translation of part of the famous speech by AbO. l;Iamza al-Khiriji in which the so-called deputies of God come across as anything but rightly guided." The Kh.ii.rijites were however unique in that they rejected not only the Umayyads themselves, but also the caliphal office which they represented. La �ukm" ilia Ii'flah, as their slogan said: God might have given judgement to David and Solomon, but he had not given any to his khaff/a." For those who were to become the Sunni majority. however, the illegitimacy of the Umayyads did not necessarily invalidate the caliphal ideal. Clearly it contributed thereto. and the erosion of the calipha! idea! at the hands of the scholars must have begun in the Umayyad period (one suspects that al-Walid II's letter had an outmoded ring to it already at the time of its publication); but it was only under the 'Abb.ii.sids that the process was completed, leaving the Imimis as the sole adherents of the original conception. It is to this process of erosion that we shall devote ourselves in the following chapters. 97 cr. below. appcndiK 3. 98 cr. Qur. 21 :19: Crone and Cook. Hagarism. p. 27. .

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CJPYnghted malenal

5 From caliphal to Prophetic

sunna

Originally. JUIUIa was that established way of doing things which the Romans called mos majorum, ancestral custom. Classically. it is Mu­ �ammad's way of doing things as attested in traditions going back: to him. supplemented by traditions going back: to his Companions (including such early caliphs as the sect in question recognises), who are assumed to have perpetuated Mubammad's practice. In its classical form. the concept of sunno undermines caliphal authority in three ways. First, the exponents of Prophetic sunna are scholars, not caliphs: the caliph has no say in its transmission or interpretation except in so far as he is a scholar himself. Secondly. Prophetic .nmna takes the fonn of a host of concrete rules: having lost his capacity to make his own sunno, the caliph cannot simply treat that of the Prophet as a general example in the spirit of which he should act. And thirdly. the sunna of the Prophet is resistant to reinterpretation : the outlook of the scholars is averse to allegory; and since they owe their authority to knowledge of the Prophet's rules, they are not qualified to reinterpret or explain away these rules, be it on behalf of the caliph or others. To this may be added that the rules themselves are not particularly conducive to caliphal designs, having been made by scholars in, on the whole, competition with caliphs; but whatever their contents, their formulation deprives the caliph of any say, qua caliph, in the definition of Islamic nonns. According to the scholars. the classical concept of sunna was born in the lifetime of the Prophet himself: sincere Muslims wished to model their conduct on that of the Prophet from the start. If this claim is accepted, the Umayyad concept of the caliphate must have been an un-Islamic deviation which was never accepted by the community at large, and this is indeed how it is often presented; but it should be clear by now that this cannot be correct. Certainly, there is every reason to believe that MuJ:tammad's followers regarded their

58 CJPYnghted malenal

From ca/ipha/ to Prophetic sunna: the Umayyads leader as a source of right practice and spoke of his

59

sunna as

something worthy of imitation; but this is by no means to say that the classical concept of sunna was born in those: days. In pre-Islamic Arabia every person endowed with a modicum of authority was a potential source of nonnative practice within his own family, tribe or wider circle of contacts; why should MuiJammad have been an exception?l But in classical theory MuiJammad is the only source of such practice. On the one hand, his precedent overrides all rival ways of doing things, binds every member of the community and coven every aspect of life;1 on the other hand, it is properly documented, so that everyone can study and refer to it, as opposed to loose:ly equating it with whatever is perceived to be right at any given time: extra-prophetic authority is thus effectively ruled out. It is this feature which gives the classical concept its unique strength, and it is in this sense: that it must be the product of an evolution, as most Islamicists would now agree.' What we wish to do here is to examine the major phases of this evolution from the point of view of its effect on the authority vested in the caliphate. The Umayyads In the Umayyad period the expression ' sunna of the Prophet' is most frequently encountered in the collocation kitiib Alliih wa-sunnat nabiyyihi. a collocation which in its turn is most frequently encoun­ tered in the context of revolt. The sources present every major revolt I cr. Bravrnann, SpufhMll BDdc,rowui, pp. I 39ft'., where it is penuasi�ly ugued

that .f\ll\a/t were invariablyregarded asloinl baclc to specific personsin pre.lslamic times thouJh the penons in question were not .Iwa� leiiK",bered. For one who instituted a,JJDllld wilhin his family. see p. 152, where an Um.yy.d nobleman says Ihal his ralher .ramta lwenly Ihousand dinan for his 'WQmeIlfolk, or in olher woret. eslablished this as Ihed010CI 10 which they w.:re enlitled by his lWlllO= for another who hoped to establish aJOO
C;.pvrlghted material

60

God's Caliph

from the time of 'Uthmin until the fall of the Umayyads as having invoked a call to. or an oath of allegiance on, 'the book of God and the swrna of His Prophet'. On the Shi'ite side the examples include 'Ali at Siffin in 31/6S7f.' al-l;Iusayn in his attempt to gain the support of Basran ashrdjin 60/680.' the tawwabun in Iraq and the Jazira in 64/684,' al-Mukhtir in Iraq in the mid-60s/680s.' Zayd b. 'All at Kufa in 121 /738,' and the missionaries of the 'Abbisids in Khurisin.' On the Khirijite side they include al-Mustawrid b. 'Ullafa in Iraq in 43/663f,10 Suwayd b. Sulaym in the Jazira in 77/696f,1I and 'Abdallah b. Yal;1yi and Abu l;Iamza in the Yemen and the l;Iijiz in 129-30/746-7f. 1I Among rebels of other colours we find the provincial opponents of 'Uthmin,l. the followers of 4 T.b., !ler. i, p. 3279. 5 Tlb., seT. ii, p. 240: M'Q-anlad'WJcum lIiJ/dtiJb IIlIiJh WD·SUNlQt niJbi),yilli#'mjQ·iMa 'I'SI#IfI(1 qtMI umllQt M'QobtNl 'l·bltFQ qad l4yl)'Qt. 6 Tlb .. Ift'. ii, p. .sos: IImiJ twUl'Qkum iliJ IcItiJb II/llit _·.nIMQ1 Nlblyyilll M'Q'I·'Q!Db '"i qlll. bi-dW' aItJ ballllll _·iliJ jiMd Q/-mll/JUf11I M·III·m 7 Tlb .. Ift'. ii, pp. S69f.: ad'ii/cum (liJ 1e/IIJb AIUJh M'O·.R/IIItIQ Nlbi)'}'iJrlf/ ....·. Q·I14 'l'IQIDb bl-dimd' QIII oJ'Nyt M·III..!' 'QII Q/.q"taja' M'O-J iMd a/·IIIiJ,lIf11I. Similarly pp. 606, 609, 633, 722: Inc:! 8.d . AIlS.. vol. v, pp. 213, 228. 8 Tlb., seT. ii, p. 1687: imt/lnatFWJcum lIiJkftiJIJ AIIM M'Qolll1fltlO tla/JI"},ill;f/"m M'QojihiJd QI·.6Ii1rtlll M'Q'I"f"QII Q/-mlUtQ(j'qf'f1r M'Q'{flJ' Q/·-'!riimlll M'O'9QJI'I 1t6dM 'I{Q)" ba,-rra Qllfilli b(1'JQM-8 M·Q·rodd oJ'm(l;iJJlIrt M·Q·iqfalal·mujaMmtu M'O·rrapin4-altl Q/·bo)'t - 'Q/d '""" n/lfabo laniJ M'QojahilQ J,aqqan4. a. p. 1700, where he CllIs to ttic book or God .nc:! the .JUMQ or his Prophet Ind the revival or JUIIQII Inc! the extinction or innovllions. 9 TIb., ller. ii, p. 1989: ubdyrukum 'QllJ kftab AfUJh 'Q:lQ M'Q-j<J/fQ M'Q'IJIIIMt rrab;y)'iJri �I"m M'Q'I'fiJ 'Q Iff·" 44min aliiboyt rtuiJlAlIlJh fl"m a. pp. 1993 (where the JUtltla or the Prophet hiS been omitted). 2003: Ak"bar QI-daM'/Q Q/·'abb4Ji),fQ M'Q-jTh; QkhblJr al-"AbMs M·Q.M'Oladilrl, ed. 'A.·'A. al·Ouri and A.·J. .1·Mull.libi, Beirut 1971, pp. 284, 287, 317, 323, 329, 33S, 3-40, 36S. 10 Tlb IleT. ii, p. 40; imwJ rratl'WJcQ lid btab Al/lJh 'Qzza M·a.jal/Q M·Q·.nwwt Nlblyyill l ff'm M'Q'M'Q/lJ)'Ot IIbY Baler M·a·'U_ rN/M'{Jn 1111411 'Q/QyllimlJ wlll·barlJ'a min 'Uth""'tI M·Q·'Aa 1i./�tI4tllfhim6fi'l·drtI wQ·(arklllimd "ukm al·k/tlJb. 1 1 Tlb. • ller. ii, p. 984:jQo;_ '11DdIritHJd'U ilaylli kitlJh AIMh M'Qol&WIQt M� j 'l/adilT ttnqQ1MiJ 'a/lJ fllJI'mbtiJ I Q/·utrIMr bi'/{Qy' M·Q·taf" oJ·"tMJUJ fI' I4'Q·nna MVI'I·ltualluf brt.jtJlHul)')'Q. 11 For'Abdlllih b. Ylbyi II $In'i', see Bal . AIlS. (MS), vol. II, rol. 1 1I7b : nod'iJ illJ 'lIlJh M·Q·lJiJ leltiJbih/ M'QoIWl/lQt /lQbiyy/hl #'m I4'Qomljifnl /JIQII dild i/Q)'Iw1. Q/·lJldm dfmuI6 M·a·Mu� rrabiyyund M·Q'I·Kdbo qib/mw M'Q'I·Qw'iJII im{JnrwuJ similarly A"ItanT, vol. XXIII, p. 216. which rillhliy hiS i/Q)'lIimd ror ifQ)'Itd). Abu 1;lIml.l·' ('111 'NI$ tttJd'iJcum iJiJ leI/db AlliJh M'O'Jllnnat tlQbiY)'illi M·III·qlUm btl· JlfM'I)')'Q M'Q'I·'ad}f1 'I·ra 'i)')'Q M'O'M'mf al-iJlchmds f1 mQ14'dqnltd 'IIQtT QItIOrQ 'lIiJ1r bllHl ('/qd, vol. IV, p. 14¥-'; compare llso Tlb.. Jer. ii, p. 2008: A"Mttl, vol. XXIII, p. 237). One or Abll I;ilm.u's commlndcn similarly called a Syriln gmeral lo QI·klfdb M'III·JUtllIO (A"lIdttr. vol. XXIII, p. 24S), Of to QI-SllnnQ M·Q'I·'QItIlfI M·Ie/ldb 11I1161r) (Bal.. AIlS. (MS), vol. ii, rol. 19Ob). 13 a. M. Hinds. ·The Murder or the Cllipb 'Uthmin', Ifftcrnat/onQI Journal oj MIMlt Elm Stud;tt 3 (1972). p. 453. .

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C;lpVrlghted matsnal

From caJiphal lo Prophetic SUMa: Ihe Umayyads

61

Ibn al·Zubayr in 64/683,I ' Mu�rrif b. al·Mughira in Iraq and the Jibal in 77/696f.," Ibn al-Ash'ath in Sistiin and Iraq in the early eighties/about 700,1' Yazid b. al-Muhallab in Iraq in 101-2/719-20f 11 al-1;Iirith b. Surayj at Balkh in 1 1 61734f. and later,lI as well as his followers at A mul in 1 1 7/735f.l' and other separatists in Khuriisan in I 28/145f.10 We do not wish to defend the authenticity of every single attestation. the very early ones being particularly suspect, but that it was customary for rebels of the Umayyad period to make a call to the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet would be hard to deny; clearly. it was customary for them to do so whatever their sectarian stance. What did such a call signify? Given that it was used by rebels of the most diverse persuasions. it can hardly have signified very much in concrete terms. This is confinned by the so-called letter of Ibn Ibi<;l to the caliph 'Abd al·Malik, which is more probably a letter by Jibir b. Zayd to another 'Abd ai-Malik. perhaps a Muhallabid,l1 and .•

AM., vol. iv/b, p. .58; vol. v, p. 188: IHlya'Uhw '016 klftJb AII6h wa-.JJUI/Iaf NJbiyyihi wll-sTra! aJ-khwla[iJ' al-�61J, i n l . Earlier, we I� told, Ibn al-Zubayr had called to aJ·rUfiJ "''fl·,hUril l (vol. v, p. 188). 1.5 Tab., ser. ii, p. 993: iNt61Uld'Ukwm U6 kif6/) AII411 wa·.JWl/laf nabin'ihi ...·a-1I6jihiJd ' man 'QIIida OIl aJ·lJaqq ... ·a'lIa' fhora brt-Jay' "'a'forQ/ca J,ukm aJ-Jci/iJb. Cf. also p.

14 Bal.,

984. 16 Tab., ser. ii, p. 10.58: fubiJyfibta '014 kiftJb Af16h wa-.JU/I/fQ! nabiyyjlf; "'a-khaJ' a'inunot al·(jaI61a "'a-jihdd aJ·mw,UIrn. cr. also p. 1092. 17 Tab., ser. ii, p. 1398: twbdyfiino 'aJiJ kif6b AII6h "'Q-SWlna/ nob/nih; $I' ..'a··uld an

18

16 lu/a' aJ-juniid bUlidana Mla-f6 baY4aIQIfU wll-liJ yIIU 'aJa)'/'IIJ ITral aJ-jasiq a/·JfujjiJj. a. abo pp. 1)91, 1)92: and AghlinT, vol. x, p. 43.

Tab., ItT. ii, p. 1.567: [a-da6hwm aJ-l/iJril" il4'i·kiltJb wa'/·S1WIu �·u'l·bay'a li'I·rUJd. Cf. 1150 pp. 1570, 1571, 1571. 1889f.

19 Tab., ser. ii, p. 1.583. 20 Tab., ser. ii, p. 1931. 2 1 Cf. M. Cook, ENlyMUI/im DotmtJ, Cambridge 1981, pp. 57ff. Cook'sproposition that the leUer was addrew:d to 'Abd a1·Malik b. al·Muhallab �iV't'S lOme

suppon from the fact Ihil ihe klier, in enumerating the misdeeds of'Uthmin. mentions thai he p�venled the people ofal·Sabrayn and 'Umin from selling their m'ra until lhat or the imAra had been 50Id (Hi nds Xerax (on which, see Cook, DotmtJ, p. 4), p. 388; al·lliawi, KD.1hf aJ-g"wmnuJ a/-jQmi' /i·Q/chbiJr al·ummtJ, �hiriyya MS, la'rikh, no. 346, p. 301; at-Barridi, Ki,lfh a/·Juwiihir, Cairo 1302, p. 160 _ R. Rubinaoci (Ir.), 'II califfo 'Abd al·Malik e Iii Ibadili', AMUIi lklfllli/wia Ulliptrlilario Or�!ak di Napol/ NS .5 (19.53). p. 1 12). This might reasonlbly have been expected to make some impression on a Muhallabid conscious of his 'Umini origins and connections. II was not however, from Kinnin that 'Abd ai-Malik wa.s dismiucd in 86 (as conjectumt by Cook, D�ma, p. 63, with �ference to Tlb., ser, ii, p. 1 1 82). According 10 Khalifa, Ta'rTkh, p. 410, he had b ee .. in charge ofthe Basran '''"rfaunder al-l;Iaijij. a poinl confinned by al-Farazdaq (d. H. l.ammens• • i.e chantre des Omiades', Jow11WJl A,iar/que ser. IX, 4 (1894), p. 172): differently pUI, he had served IS the deputy ofal·l;llkam b. Ayyiib. al-l;Iaijij's governor of Basra for most of the time betWttn 7S and 86

CJPYnghted malenal

62

God's Caliph

according to which the call signified that the person who made it was angry on God's behalf, God having been disobeyed.lI Kilab Alldh wa-.tUIInal nabjyyihj was thus an oppositional slogan on a par with al-amr brt-maru! wa'l-nahy 'an al-mrmkar, and what it said was no more and no less than that the rebel disagreed with governmental practice, believing himself to have a better idea of what right practice was. This explains why it is that the Umayyads and their governors only made use of the collocation in efforts to make rebels return to the fold, or in other words in attempts to persuade Ihem that right practice was to be found with the caliphs after all. Thus, we are told, al-Mughira b. Shu'ba used to preach to the philo-'Alid J;lujr and his followers that 'Uthmiin had followed the book of God and the sunna of His Prophet.1S 'Abd ai-Malik called Ibn al-Ashtar to God (sic) and the sunna of His Prophet before defeating the Zubayrids.1t al-J;lajjiij reputedly wrote to the Khiirijite Qatari b. al-Fujii'a that 'you have opposed the book of God and deviated from the sunna of His Prophet'." 'Umar II instructed his governor of Iraq to call the ijaruriyya to al-'amal bj-kirab Allah wa-SUMOI nabiyyihi." And adherents ofthe anti-catipb Ibn al-Zubayf similarly called al-Mukhtir and his followers to kjriib Alldh wa-SIIIInal rilSUl Alldh before defeating them.n With the possible exception of'Umar II (to whom we shall return), the Umayyads did not normally make use of the collocation, not even in statements designed to present their policies in the most appealing ofiights.·1 Things duly changed, however when

22

(Bal., ..flU., vol. iv/a, p. 59). It WIS undoubtedly rrom this office that he wu dianiued, ICCOI'dinl to aI-Tahul, in 86. The ract lhat 'Abd al·Malilr. held offioc in the headquarters or the lbi4is in the period 75-86 misht be takm to sugest lhat the epistle was COJnIXl I!� durin, these yean (rather than in the next period or Muha'labid asomdancy from 96 to 99). He who boo:omes anll'Y on God's behalr when He is disobeyed, and is contmt with God', �"" Ind calls 10 Iclt4b AII.!It WQ·U4 JJ/nISI3I rtDhI)'Yiiti JIVtJ'$IIIUItIl o/-MW'",iIIi,. bddahN, does not ao to excess. as al·8arridrs YCrsion has it (Ja ....·t1hir, p. 164 Rubin.a:i. 'II Qlitfo', p. 1 1 8 ; prbled in al-llkawI. XQ.Jhf, p. 304; millin, from the HiItds Xmnc, where the venion aiYen i. incomplete). Tab., K'r. ii. p. Ill. Tab., ItT. ii. p. 7.). S.fwat, RQJ4'U. vol. II, p. ,n (citin,al-Muburad, DI-XlIMiI). TIle version Ji� by a'·Jlbi� (Ibid pp. 18Of.) makes DO rdermc:e to thi•. In neither version is the point picked up in Qllari's rtply . Tab., ler. ii. p. 1)-47; Ibn Sa'd, TabtJt41. vol. v. p. l.S8; Ibn 'Abd al·�alr.am. STra, pp. 83. 90. Tab., ler. ii. p. 722. cr. also p. 7.2. We do nol lr.now what Morony hal in mind when he Itlles Ihal in the anennalh or the second civil war the Umayyads lried to increue their Rliaious authority by claiminl to rule in ICCOrdance with the Qur'in and $IIIUIIl (Iraq. p. 480). _

2) 2. 25 26 27 28

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From coliphal lo Prophetic .fWUIO: the Umoyyatb

63

an Umayyad rebel acceded to the throne. Like other dissidents, Yarid III began by calling his followers to the book of God and the sunno of the Prophet, spelling out by way of concrete infonnation that succession (al-amr) should be decided by consultation (shura)." Having done so, he also made use of the collocation in his accession speech: ' I have rebelled in anger on behalf of God, His Messenger and His religion, calling to God, to His book. and to the sunna of His Prophet (,s/) at a time when the wayrnark.s of guidance have been pulled down and the light of the people of godliness has been extinguished. 'U He wrote to the people of Iraq promising them that he would act in accordance with the command of God and the sunno of His Prophet, following the way of the best of their people in past times.sl And in his letter of aln/in to aJ.l:lirith b. Surayj he similarly stated that' we became angry on God's behalf when His lJudUd were suspended and His servants suffered all sorts of things, when blood was shed where it was not lawful and property was tak.en without right; so we wished to act in this community in accordance with the book of God, exalted and mighty is He, and the sunna of His Prophet'.11 In short, Yazid III assured his subjects that he had not rebelled for personal reasons, but rather because God's law had been violated, something which he now promised to put right." Plainly, the rebels who called to kitab Allah wa-sunnat nabiyyihi did not equate SUIUUl with the example of the Prophet as attested in l;Iadith. Leaving aside the fact that some of them may have been Qu'inic fundamentalists," they never adduced examples set by the Prophet which the Umayyads were supposed to have ignored and which they themselves now promised to observe. Instead, they 29 Tab., ser. ii, p. 1804; 8,1, AIU. (MS), vol.

30

31 32 33

34

II,

rol. 161a. Tab ser. ii. p. 1834; Bal., AIlS. (MS), vol. II. fol. 169b; 'Iqd, vol. IV, pp. 95r. Below, appendix 2. p. 128. Tlb ser. ii. pp. 1861f. Note Illal Ibn al·Zubayr also claimed to have rebelled ,Ivujob-- /filM. witll special referena: 10the Umayyad handlin, ofIlly' (A,Mnr, vol. I, p. 22); and 'Umar lI soushl to pre-empt Ille ,1rrwiob ohbe Kllirijile SIIawdhab when he wrole, 'it lias come 10 my allenlion lhal you IIave rebelled ,hlldat,a- lrtiM wlI-li-lllyylhi, lbi bUI you IIave no better nshl to do thal lhaD I do' (fab., Ia. ii, p. 1].48). One would assume Illis 10 be lile calC or lile KllinjileS refetled to above, note 9. Compau 'AbdaUill b. Yai)yi'. call cited lhere with the CI::d of the Sistini l:Iamza al,Kllriji: rr11/&t4 brtMh raW- -.b(J·lsl4m dJiI·· _ ·bl·Mu f f!'II -ilK "ablJ'�· wa-bf1'Qur'dn ,...17.. . WII-I)oklllll"" (0. Scarcia, ' to ICambio di !eUere Ira Hiriin aI·Rasid e l:Iarnza al-l:Iarili scrondo il "Ta'nO·i Sistin "', AMPllikll htituto Unilltrsitarw OriD/tall! di Ngpoli NS 14 (1964) p. 639). A. Zimmermann Doles, l:Iamz.l's c.' t Mientifies lhe Qur'in as lhe sole foundation for rilual, dogma, law and ,ovemmenl (F. W. Zimmermann, 'Koran and Tradition in the Anli'Qadarile Epi.lle aUribuled 10 'Umar b. 'Abel al·'ADz·, unpublished paper presenled al lile colloquium on lhe study of l:Iadilh, Oxrord 1982). .•

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God's Caliph specified grievances such as the Umayyad manner of distributing revenues," the stationing of Syrian troops in Iraq," the keeping of troops too long in the field," maltreatment ofthe Prophet's family, .. tyranny and the like,·' It was by these acts that the Umayyads had violated God's book and the sunna of his Prophet, or, as the rebels paraphrased it, suspended the l)udUd and rendered the sunna dead;" and no attempt whatever was made to prove that the Prophet had acted otherwise, To the rebels .nuuaa thus meant much the same as it did to the Umayyads, that is venerable and acceptable practice practice acceptable to Ih�m, The Umayyads saw caliphal practice as identical with that of the Prophet for the simple reason that they approved of their own acts, while their opponents conversely saw it as opposed to that of the Prophet for the simple reason that they disliked Umayyad policies, To say that someone had followed the

sunna of the Prophet was to say that he was a good man, not to specify what he had done in concrete tenns." Contrariwise, when people complained that a governor had acted bi-ghayr al·sunna, they simply meant that he had behaved in a fashion unacceptable to them," In concrete terms, the ' sunna of the Prophet' meant nothing. There are incidents in the revolts of Yazid b. al·Muhallab and al-I;firith b. Surayj in which this comes across with particular clarity. Thus a participant in the revolt of Yazid stated that 'we have called them {sc. the Umayyads] to the book of God and the sunna of His Prophet Mu�ammad, may God bless him, and they claim that they cr. above, notes 5. 8-10, 29. Thul Yuid b. al·MuhaUab, above. note 12. Thus Zlyd b. 'An, lbove, note 5. cr. above. notes 3-5. cr. nota 5 (_;alim). 8 (joboriyytl). 12 (Ihe behlviour or al-I;lajjij). 4() Cr. notes 2, .5, 8, 28. 41 Thus AbU BIIk.r had followed the _ of Ihe Prophec, while 'Umar had Kled 35 36 37 38 39

in ICCOrdince with the book. orGod Ind revived the _ orthe Prophet in the opinMm ohhe Khlrijites (T.b set. ii. p. &83): by contrlll, 'Uthmin and 'An had innOYlted and lbandoned Qur'ink: I,Mtm (above., nOie 1). Put rulen had followed the book of God Ind the _ or lhe f"'rq)bet IOCOrdin, to Zayd b. 'An, bullhey had stopped doin, so, Ind it WIJ for Ihis IUson that be wiabed to revolt (ibid p. 1700). Similarly. I aood prllClK:e such u thai or eledin8 the best Muslim ruler without refermce to his tribal stltus wu ra'y rmhld /a-qad M'!h/ bihi tJI·SUMQ bddG oJ·,tufI1 lcoordin, to lhe Khirijites (ibid p. 985). To their OPPOIKIIts, of course, il WII neither ra', rmhId nor "'1VId. Whatever one liked could be SUMQ even ifnobody practised it: lIJIIIJM .r-a waJalcimtGNJ dartUIIl (WIIti" QwtIIJt, Yol. iii, p. 7 1 : cr. also AbU Dhu'ayb in AIMrrr. vol. VI. p. 277-). 42 O. 'Iqd, vol. II, p. &0", with refe,tllot to 11-l;Iaiiij's80vmlonhipohhe l;Iaramayn: orMITWin in Medina it WIS aimillrly said that he 14,aqqrbi-lWUfa(ibUI. p. 1 10: Qalquhandi, Suhb, Yol. I, p. 2.59). .•

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have accepted it from us', meaning that it would be unwise to initiate further hostilities; but Yazid replied, 'do you really believe that the Umayyads will act in accordance with the book ofGod and thenulna of the Prophet? They have destroyed that (qad qayya'u dhdUka) ever since they came into existence'.41 It is plain that this interchange was not about the Umayyad attitude to Qur'an and sunna but rather about the rebels' chances of having their concrete demands accepted, Yazid b. al·Muhallab's point being that the alleged Umayyad willingness to negotiate should not be trusted. Similarly, when "�.$im b. 'Umayr, the governor of Khurasan, agreed with al·l;lirith b. Surayj to ask Hishim for the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet and to rebel if the response was negative,U the issue was not Qur'in and l;IadHh, but rather Hisham's choice of personnel: '( am only asking for the book of God, exalted and mighty is He. and conduct in accordance with the sunno, and the employment of people of merit and excellence', al·l;lirith later explained to Na$r b. Sayyir." In the governorship of the latter, al-l;Iirith had some sort of manifesto read aloud in the streets" and he made it clear that the governor of Khurisin ought in his view to be chosen by local men, i.e. by a shuroY Na$r refused to step down,4I but a sIlUro for. the election of sub--governors did in fact take place. Na$r and al·1;Jirith nominated two men each, instructing them to nominate candidates of their own ' who would act in accordance with the book of God', and to draw up such sunan and siyar as the candidates in question should follow.u To al-l;Iirith and his followers, the book of God and the sunnaofthe Prophet thu5stood for local control orIocal govemment.1O To other rebels in other areas, it stood for something else again. 43 Tab.. ser. ii, pp. 1399f. 44 Tab., ser. ii, p. jj71. 4j Tab., ser. ii, p. 1889. 46 Tab., ser. ii, pp. 1918, 1920. It wa. a klrdb UI}')'Q'ojThl stror a/.l/drUh. 47 Tab., ICr. ii, p. 1918. Af-amr ('authority') normilly stands ror the Clliphate in the C1Opl'e$$ion o/-QIftT shwd (as in the tradition aI·runr If QWQ}'sh, cr. A. Ara:d Ind A. Erad, 'aI-ftJ4foflTVlbat aI.xlld/a de Calil al-din II·Suyiili'. fsroc/ OrinI/O/ Sr�s 8 (1978), p. 232), but the context here and 1.1 p. 1919 sirongly SUgesll that 11-l;Iirith had the lovemorship or Khurisin in mind. . 11-l;Iirith once more ellis for the 48 Tab.. tl:r. ii, p. 1918; compare p. 1931 . ....MT'e runr to be shiird Ind it is al-KirminT ....ho . reruses. 49 Tab., ser. ii, p. 1918. A1·l;Iirith's candidates are unidentifilble, but Na$r chose Muqiti1 b. Suiaymin, the exqete, and Muqiti1 b. I;Ilyyin Ial-Nabali!. the son of I distinauilhcd /'JIIIM·fd ....ho . Mod become: I _14 mvtIIfJlJt J or the exegete. Compare bdow, appe .. d ix 2.p. 127 and DOte 8j the,do, wl .... !IC YaDd III envill.JCI , Ij ",TIr __� '.... , ,,,.. I sltiird as consistin, orfivrhd' aJ".. so cr. Tab., Kr. ii. p. 158). wMT'e a1·l;Iirith's follow
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In short, the collocation of book and .numa stood for justice. whateverjustice was perceived to be in each particular case. AI·l;lirith b. Surayj paraphrased his demand for the book of God and conduct in accordance with the SUMa as one for al-q;yiim bj'J··adJ wa'l·sunna, telling Na$r that it was now thirteen years since he had leO: Marw

inkii,." ltI.,jawr, 'in protest against tyranny'.'1 'We only fought for you in search of justice
Sunna in the sense of right and just practice

might well be documented with reference to the past. Yazjd b. al-Muhallab called not only to the book of God and the swrna of the Prophet, but also to the sunna of the two 'Uman.n A Khirijite prisoner taken by al-l;Iajjij objected to al·l;lajjij's execution of prisoners and defined the sunna on this point by reference to the book of God and pre-Islamic poetry." The sunna by which Marwin tried to justify Mu'iwiya's designation of Yazid I as his successor was the plecedent set by Abu Bah." And a clever poet invoked the precedent of the prophet him9Clf to 'Umar II, infonning this notoriously stingy caliph that the Proph�1 used to reward the poets who praised him." But in all these examples the reference is to the past as generally remembered and approved, not to a special record of Prophetic (or for that matter other) precedent transmitted with particular care on account of its particular authority. Whether pre-Islamic poetry, the Prophet or later figures are invoked, SWIIUJ refers to all those nonns which a person comes to regard as bindin, through interaction with his social peen and for which he will only seek support in the past if the nonns in question are violated, not to a code absorbed through a study ofpast models to which reference will constantly be made as a matter of course. It was people's notions

51 52 53

�

S5

S6

which Md pardcipaled in the reyolt; both �ueslS were annled them, wDt.eupon a relative or Ma�ala b. Hubl)'T'I was appointed JOYemor. An appointment or this kind wu presumably amon, the thinp the)' had rou&ht ror: oneorthe lelden orthe revolt wu I _/d or !;Ilyyin II-Nablli, I mawld or Matqala b. Huba)'T1 (Ibid., p. 1.582). Tab.• 1e1'. ii. p. 1890. NOIe also lhe associltion or killJb and .nlll1IO with rlMki aJ·mlI.fmim. lbove. note I. Tab.• tier. ii, p. 1931. Tab" tier. ii. p. 1392. ·Iqd. '0'01. ii, p. 1"/". A knowledF or poetry Ind DYy6M DI"(Utm was apparentl)' Ipprecialed in ,&jrJ, ct. below, note 17. Above. ChaptCT". nOIe 89. ·I,d. '0'01. II, p. 92'; compare A.,lIdrtl, vol. IV, p. 276, where the Prophet is inyoked to al·Wlrld !.

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of propriety and justice which detennined what was sunna, not the other way round ; and appeals to the sunna, or to the book and sunna. or to the book on its own, or simply to God," were so many appeals to these notions, whatever they were at any given time." It is because the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet stood for whatever was perceived to be right and proper in any given case that an oath of allegiance involving this collocation was a conditional one: allegiance was pledged as long as propriety and justice were observed. When Muslim b. 'Uqba reconquered Medina for Yazid I, he executed two Medinese for their detennination to swear allegiance on the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet, as opposed to on the understanding that they were slaves whose lives and property were at the discretion of the caliph.n lbn 'Umar is said to have paid written allegiance to 'Abd al.Malik on the ,rulma of God (sic) and the sunna of his Prophet" But al·Mukhlir, who had called for the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet in confrontation with the 57 'Abd al·Malik called Ibn ai-Ashlar 10 God and lhe SIIII.IIQ of Hi, Prophel, whi<:h may be a scribal mistake (above, note 2.); but the Azd of Khurisin pve baya to 'Abd ai-Malik b. Harmala 'aid kitdh Alldlt 'azza wa·jalla (Tab. ler. ii, p. 1862); al·Kinnini protested that he only wanted 'the book ofGod ' when he look Marw (ibid., p. 1930); and Qat/taba, advancinglPinst the Syriln troops It Iplhin, filled I mfI,Jl,a/ on I spear Ind called the erltiUY to mif/l1t&l1td 'l-mllfW(ibid., ller. iii. p. 5). Note also how klt� Alldh �'d-.nIMtJt NIbIyyihl in al-Bartidls version of Jimr', IeUer to I certain 'Abd II·Malik twice fiaum as 1cilifb Alfah/kitdh ,dbbihim only in Il-Izkawrs rendition (Blrtidi. lawiJhl" l'(t. 165f. ; 11·Id.lwi, KtJSltf, p, lOS), 58 'By wllal book or by what .tWIIItJ do you consider my Jove of them IJe, the HbhimitesJ disbonourable for me?', as Kumayt rhelorically asked (al-Kumayt, Dk H4JiMljjdt, ed. and u, J. Horovitz, Leiden 1904, p, 32 _ 27: no. 2: 13), meaning that there was no reason wily it should be dishonourable at all. • , do not know in whal book ofGod they find this ri:q and 'a(d" . Mu'iwiya is reponed to have said, meaninllhat the ri&llU which his subjects claimed in respect oflhem could be ignored (Ibn 'Abd al-I;fakam, Fl4tiilJ M/fr Wl'fNJkItbdnJM, p. 101). 59 Bal., Alii., vol. IV/b, pp. 38r. : d. Tab" ser, ii, p. "20, where the book ofGod and lhe JMMd of the Prophet are repl...... by _I 'Umar, Compare Ibn I;fazm. lamltdrat QIISQb d/-'tJrdb, ed, ·A.·S. M. HirVn, Cairo 1962, p. •27. where a Kindi gives allesiance to Mu'iwiya 'aJ4 lr.itlb Alldh 'dlId _jolla WtJ-.JIINIt,aniI II A/1M: Mu'iwiya prolested that /4 JMrr- laU. 10 which the KinO. replied ..·_ta /4

bayo" Idlco. 60 'Iqd, vol.. iv, p. 400 ; al-Bukhiri, lA,nwllrk! t,aditioruntaltotMt01ltJ.ed. L. Kreht

and T. W. JuynboIJ, Ldden 1862-1908, vol. \'1, p. 402; Qalqashandi, SlIbfl. vol. 'II, p, -480 (bas the more traditional lei/db AIIM __I nobiyyih.); Ibn 'AUkir. TaAdhfb, vol. V" p. S2 (menlions the written fonn); Thomson, 'Early Sects', p, 91 (miues the eJlotptional nature of this oath). For another oath on the J'\UIIItJ ralhertban the book of God, ICC Ibn 'Alikir. TaJulAlb, vol, 'I, p. "2.: after the death of' Ali, Ziyicl tecured from Mu'iwiy. an .liik for hisalelf and for I;fujr b. 'Ao. and his companions. at which lhey swore aUesianee ' on the S\QV\tJ of God. the '"""'" of His meuenscr, and action in obedienc:z to Him',

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Umayyads, contemptuously refused a compact with Ibn al·Zubayr on the basis of book and junna: 'you can go and make a compact with my worst slave·boy on that', he said, spelling out an alternative bay'a designed to give him a far greater say in Ibn al·Zubayr's affairs:" the ' run·of·the·miU compact' (al-mubaya'a al-'amma) did not suffice in this case." Conversely, an undertaking to rule in accordance with the book and the junna amounted to a renunciation of absolutism. Having explained, in his accession speech. that he had rebelled in anger on God's behalf. calling to the book of God and the .run,", of the Prophet, Yazid III proceeded to state that he would engage in no building works, squander no money on wives and children, transfer no money from one province to another except in a limited way and with good reason, keep no troops in the field too long, destroy nobody's income by overtaxing dhimmis and thus forcing them to flee, and allow no mighty to oppress the weak ; on the contrary, he would pay everybody's stipends and maintenance when they were due and treat remote provincials on a par with subje<:ts close at hand ; and he would step down if he acted otherwise (provided that he had been given the opportunity to repent) or if a more suitable candidate for the job could be found." Observing the

sunna of the Prophet amounted to following 'the way of your best people in the past' (saM man salafa min khiyiirikum), as he said in his letter to the people of Iraq,U or command of God and the

in other words to pay attention to what his subjects took' to be right practice," Like al-l;Iirith b. Surayj. he held that al·amr shura. or in other words that the caliphate should be elective." To everyone except the followers of the ahl af-bayt, the book of God and the srmna of the Prophet stood for a rejection of absolutism, justice being a matter of consultation, To the followers of the ahf al·bayt, of course, it stood for a rejection of the Umayyads only, what they hankered for being the unlimited power of a different house. But either way,

al-qiyam brl-sunna wa'-'adl had little or nothing to do with prophetic rules attested in l;Iadith. 61 Tab.. ser. ii, p. 528: cf. Bal., AM., vol. V. pp. 216(. 61 Bat, A/U., vol. v, p. 217. 63 Tab., JtI'. ii, pp. I8).U.; Khar.ra, Tc'rDr:A, pp. 5SOf. : Ami, M(ttI'�i/. pp. 57r.: Kit4b aI.'",.,.., p. ISO; 'Iqd. vol. tv, pp. 95(., -462"". 64 cr. below, appendix 2. p. 128. 65 Note also that in Jibir', leun- to a certain 'Abd al·Malik a man who is hiit>' on God', behalf call. not only 10 1M book of God Ind IM ,f\IPl/I/J of the Prophet,

but also 10 the IVI'IINI orlhe belic�ti. ann- him (Banidi, 1(ttI·6hIT. p. 164; prbled in Inawi, Ktu/lf. p. 304). 66 Tab.. ser. ii, p. 1804.

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When then do we first come across the concept of a Prophetic sunna endowed with a content of its own ? Allegedly, it is attested as early as the first civil war in the arbitration document drawn up after the battle ofSiftin. (Incidentally. the non-Muslim contention that it was the Syrians who won this battle is corroborated by Umayyad court poetry).IT But the more plausible version of this document states that the arbiters should seek guidance in the book of God and, failing that, in al-sunna al-'Qdila al-jiimi'a ghayr al-mufarriqa, ' the just sunna which unites people and does not set them apart', not the sunna of the Prophet.II To later Muslims this was unintelligible. 'Where is that

sunna, where should one seek it. what is its fonn, what is its fonnulation, what is the basis of its meaning?', as al-Jil).iJ asked in outrage. concluding that the original reference must have been to the sunna of the Prophet;1t and another version of the document (8) duly replaces the offensive expression with a hybrid SWlnal rasUl Alliih al-jiimi'a. But what the document referred to was clearly a SWlna conceived in purely pre-Islamic tenns.,. The arbitration document illustrates a problem familiar to all students orearly Islamic bistory, viz. that the historical tradition was updated in the course of its transmission.l1 As it happens, document A survives. Had it been lost, we should still have argued against the 67 Faratd.q. vol. I, p. 101','; Akblal, pp. 174r; cr. P. Crone, SltIt'ts on Houes, C.mbridse 1980. notes 30, 103. 68 Hinds, 'Arbilration Aileement', pp. 102ft'. 69 Hinds, • Arbilration Agt :.!II mt·. p. 109. 70 cr. the pre-Islamic pmte./.lU/j4mI·,Aayr naifarrlqadd .. c e dby Hinds, , Arbitration Ailee...e ..t', p. 101. The Sbi'ites also undentood the s- in question as a Prophetic one, cr. Ibn Abi '1-I;1101d, Shm./.l, vol. XVII, p. !I2, whert 'AIr. n i structions 10 aJ·Aahtar on the laUer's applinlment to EI)'pI include tbe .tateIl K ..t tbat a/·radd/14 '/·nuVJ(Qur. 4: 62) equals a/-uk.1wJIt bl·SllNtQliJri'l.jiJmi'tJ ,Aayr aI-mufrurlqa. 71 Comp"rt'lqd, vol. IV, p. 4!17; hereal-Warld II ttlisShuri'a lbat be did not summon him to uk him about killb AII4II WtJ-$YtIItJ/ MblyyiJrl, but ratber to dilCUlS wine (similarly. vol. Vl. p. 336); but in A,h4nT, vol. VlI, p. 49. be says tbat he did not summon him to uk him about 'lim, ad a/tJ/� (rom him onfiqh. or '-r him tell l;ladith or recite the Our'in. In tbe fint p""'ae he is presumably sayina lb.t he is not inlertSted in borina talk about pio\ll practice iIIultrated witb melthte : � oDd �sllae to tbe Our'in ortbe type round in the lheolopcal epistles; in the I he spells Ollt what a c1assieal lCholar IInderstood by the collocation. Comptart also Dhahabi, Siyar, vol. v, p. 372; Afltilttr, vol. VD, p. 83. Here al·Mabdi says that al·Warld II was not a :indIq. Jiven that God wOllki not place His caliphate with somebody who did not believe in Him; bIlt in the I«Ond version oftbis story, it is al-Mahdi who u)'5 that he was a IiNIlIt and a/,.,", who objectJ on the JfOuod that God would not appoint IOmeOht who did not btJieve in Him to klUi4/tJ/ af-nubuwwa (as opposed to khU4/tJ/ A1I4II) and amr a/._.

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authenticity of document B's rendition on the ground that so early an occurrence of Prophetic sunna as a source in its own right is implausible in the light of other evidence. This is a less conclusive argument, but documents like A do not always survive, and there are passages in the tradition to which it must be applied. We take it that poetry and documents were more resistant to updating than the rest of the tradition (though evidently not impervious to it. given that they were preserved within it, and evidently not always authentic in the first place either) ; and we treat with special respect un-classical sounding statements in the SOUlceS on the ground that they are likely to be survivals. Where such evidence adds up to a consistent picture, we dismiss classical-sounding statements contradicting it, as for example 'Umar's long suspect instructions to the qiir/f and similar material." But inevitably much of our evidence is of a somewhat indeterminate status : it might be authentic (or at least early) or it might not be. Where this is the case, we have chosen to err (for the sake of the argument) on the side of credulity. Turning now to the theological epistles extant from the Umayyad and/or early 'Abbisid periods, we find that prophetic SWllfQ is here usually mentioned in collocation with the book of God, usually with the same insubstantial meaning of' right practice' as in the parlance of the Umayyads, their poets and their opponents. Thus the letter ascribed to al-l;Iasan al-Bqri declares that 'every doctrine which has no proof from God is an error', all while referring with approval to the fact that its author has learned from • the ancestors who acted in accordance with God's command, transmitted His wisdom and followed the .runno of the Prophet' (urannii bi-sunnot rami Alfdh),fI suuestin, that the author was a Qur'snic fundamentalist for whom the sole source of sunno was the Qur'in as interpreted by people of whom he approved. The Qur'sn is also the sale concrete source of in the letter of Jsbir to a certain 'Abd al_Malik,14 while the traditions cited in the epistle attributed to 'Umar II can be dismissed .nmna

72 O. D. Marloliouth, 'Omar's Instructions to the Kadi', JOllnuJI of lilt RoytJ/ AIlDtlc Socitt! 1910; compare 'Umar on k/,Qb and SIWNI' in Wald', QII<{I4Jr, Yol. H, p. 189 andprwim; Tab., ser. i, p. 11s.i. wheTelhe Prophet himselrexhonl ptOpk 10 .tic1r. to kl" b AIIM M'Q-Jlll'lll(J "fIb;yy;hl; and numerous palSlp of the lame 1r.ind ICattcmt throuahout the sources. 73 H. Rilltl', Studim ZUT Getchichte der itlamilChen Fr6mmip.cil', On IIIom 21 (1983) p. 68. 14 A. noted by 1. Schacht, 'Sur I'exptillion "S_ du Prophel:c'" in MIl";gtl d'Or/tnlmiJIM offtrll a Hmri MQ.!JI, Tthran 1963. pp. J63r. Note liso how 1r.nowledac of btlll AIIM M'(J'JlllIlll(J rtuG/illj ends up IS 1r.nowledac ofkillll Af/M in the story told in Wa1r.i', Qwt/i1h, Yol. II. p. 30. '

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as intrusive.n All the epistles are heavily Qur'ank, and in general SWUla does not in their parlance have anything to do with l;Iadith." Even so, they are not all completely innocent of it. Thus it is in response to the question whether his views were based on transmission from one of the Companions of the Prophet' that the author of •

al-1;Iasan's letter declares himself a Qur'anic fundamentalist;" in other words, Companion 1;Iadith existed though he did not feel bound by it. One epistle, the Slrat Salim, cites concrete examples of Prophetic action as well as a Prophetic dictum," while another (the Ibi4i letter to a certain ShIite fonnerly known as Ibn fbic;!'s second letter to 'Abel ai-Malik) argues agai nst Shrite l;Iadith in a manner ruling out the possibility of interpolation." None of the letters can be precisely dated. however; in fact, such provisional dates as they have tum partly on the presence or otherwise ofl;ladith in them. They suggest that 1;Iadith was in the making in the late Umayyad period, but that is all one can say. Legal l:ladith, however, similarly suggests that it was in the late Umayyad period that l:Iadith acquired currency, if Bsain without providing any finn dates. In early l:Iadith legal questions later to be resolved by the Prophet are often resolved by jurists Uuqaha') acting as authorities in their own right. Most of them belong to the mid and late Umayyad period, though many of their views are likely to have been ascribed to them after their death. Now their views coexist with numerous traditions from early caliphs and other Companions, occasionally even the Prophet, which seem to reflect the same stage of legal development; and if this is correct, the traditions in question must have been current in the late Umayyadjearly 'Abbisid periods too." Elsewhere we are told that 'Abel ai-Malik warned the Medinese against the flood of unknown ai,adilh coming from Iraq (or more precisely al-l1UJ.fhriq), telling them to stick to the mrql}afcollected by 'Uthmin, ai-imam aI-1tUIi/iim, and to thefarii'i4similarly collected by him in collaboration with Zayd b. Thibit.·1 Eastern l:Iadith is here something contrasted with caliphal scripture and law, not with Prophetic practice preserved by the Medinese; and though 'Abd ai-Malik may never had said anything ofthe kind, the statement must 7S 76 77 78 79 80 81

cr. Cook. DoKmIl, pp. 12SII'.; Zimmermann, 'Koran and Tradition'. cr. the discussion in Cook, Do,mIl, cb. 3. Ritter, 'Sludien', p. 67. Cook, Doglflll, pp. 99(. Cook, Dosma, pp. IIII', cf. pp. 5)11'. cr. Crone, R()"'"', PrOf1wUJI Illld IJlDmlc lAw, ch. 2. Ibn Sa'd, Taboqa/. vol. v, p. 233.

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surely antedate the fall of the Umayyads. In fact, by the late Umayyad period evcn al-Farazdaq knew of people who related from the Prophet," while another poet who died in the 7405 spoke of the Prophet's sunna as something which it was useful to study.u Distressingly vague though the evidence is, it thus s«rns reasonable to conclude that by the end of the Umayyad period the sunna of the

Prophet had acquired a content of its own. This is not to say that every rule in it was ascribed to the Prophet himsc:lf; on the contrary,

cherished practices and clever opinions ascribed to local sages were Prophetic .n.mna only in the sense that they were ra'y rashid." But under the aegis of the Prophet there was now a concrete alternative to caliphal practice, and this is the point of importance here: by the late Umayyad period the Prophet had not only acquired his capital 'P', but also sponsored a law conceived in opposition to that of the Deputy. Even so, it must be stressed that what the scholars took to be Prophetic sunna scarcely surfaced in the Umayyad period outside the circles of the scholars themselves. Practically no traditions, be they Prophetic or other, are cited in letters or speeches by Umayyad caliphs, governors or secretaries." None seem to be adduced by rebels. Scarcely any appear in theological epistles. Hardly any are cited in accounts about Umayyad judges," judges being required to 82 Farazdaq, vol. II, p. &46'''' (people or learning who relate rrom the Prophet say that ir prophecy had not come to an end, Hishim would hawe been in receipt or revelation). Both Hishim and ai-WarM! I were ramiliar with tr.ditionsorthe same type (whoeYet has been caliph ror three days etcapes hell fire; God counts the good deeds or a caliph only, not the bad ones), but neither identified them IS traditions rrom the Prophet (d. lhe mettlK:es Jivm below, chapter 6, notes 60,

61).

8J 'Urwa b. 'Udhayna (d. c. IlO). p. 91": mfMil oJ-ffobf'1-1IIrtIPI[SII1fNJluhuflJ4ila If4jr Ia'QllunnJrd. 84 O. aboYe, note -41. 8S For a rare example, _ Dhahabi, SiYQr, vol. IY. p. 2-47, where 'Abd ai-Malik cites a well known Prophetic tradition on the dire rate or those who reruse 10 10 on campaian ('*' min rmulim la yqhzU QII' ,'I4}ahlrl:u IM:i,.. . . ilia �lJbahu 'flall �'a qDbIa 'l-mawI) in an oration deliYe,ed rrom the mlnOOr. saying that he had heard il rrom Abu Hura)'i'a. Givm al·Dhahabr. date. his teslimony is not or course particularly compelling: the conte�1 i. 'Abd ai-Malik', Medinese upbrinJin,and hi' l'q)u.ation as afaqrlr (cr. above. chapter -4. note 46). In another late 1OUrc:e, Ibn 'Asikir, TIlhdlrIb, vol. IV, p. !II, a1-l;Iajjij cites Prophetic tradilions complete with isNJds : one, whkh he invoked in hi. """fha, had been transmitted via "ln4lbas by 'Uthmin to Marwin to' Abd ai-Malik. Compare also ibid. Yol. III, pp. 287, -4!1O. where 'Abd ai-Malik and Hilhim are told Prophetic tradition. by others. Umayyad judan appear as transmitlen or Prophetic Uadith every now and apin in WakT, QwI4/i. t.s. vol. t, pp. J04. J2-4r.. cr. J)7; Yol. II, pp. I !lft'., 23ft'., 504; vol. III, pp. 17tr.. 117. But mOlt or the tnoditions cited are non·lepJ, even in the case of .

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know the Qur'an, not tradition.n If our records of Islamic civilisation had stopped in 150, l;Iadith would have appeared to us as a marginal phenomenon. We would have been familiar with the concept of SWUUJ, both Prophetic and other, and we would have known that fuqahO' engaged in the study of the law had begun to acquire some local standing;" but we would not have ascribed much importance to tradition. To all this there is only one alleged eltception : the sources insist that a Prophetic sunna with a content of its own came to the surface for a brief while under 'Umar II. 'Umar I I is said to have made use of the collocation kitab Allah wa-sunnat nabiyyihi, not only in connection with the l;Iaruriyya, but also in statements of policy. Thus he professed himself bent on il}ya' kildb A.llah wa·sunnat nabiyyihi," held that no obedience was due to any governor of his who did not act in accordance with the kitab and

sunno," infonned his governor of Basra that adjudication should be based primarily on kitdb Allah and secondarily on sunnat rasui Allah," and stressed the overriding importance of adhering to both." judaes whodied in theearly'Abbisid period such IS Ibn Shubrumund al.l;lajjij b. Ar1ih. Companion l:iadilh il rarer, Ihoulh the Icltwlojlf al·rtuhidii" ol.moMiyyi1lt are invoked on a Jepl point in vol. I, p. 295. In K.ind!, G_r_J, oqt¥who died in 83/702f. ciles a legal dicuul1 of'Umar's al p. 319. bUI no Prophetic precedent is invoked bere until lhe man of al·Mahdi. in whic� a jude: wu dismissed for 'pervertinl SlINWI ra.ri11 Alloll', havinl refused to recol"ise the legal validity of oJ,bdJ even thouaJ! it was recoaniscd by the Prophet, AbU. Bakr. ·Umar. 'Uthmin. Tal"'. aj.Zubayr and othen (p. 372: similary Ibn 'Abd al·l;fakam. FunlJ, M4r. p. 244, cr. the glossary at p. 56- ror the verb }·aHdu). 87 Ibn Hubayra wanted to know whether lyiJ b. Mu'iwiya, qijr/i of Basra, could recite the Qur'in and knew any poetry and aY}tdm a/·'{Uab. the answer 10 all three questions being positive (Wakj'. QwJiJJr, vol. I. pp. 351(.). Marwin I wanted to know whether the q44TofEgypt had memorised the Qurin. knew thefar.fit/and could write, the answer to aU three questions belnl neplive (Kind!, Gowmor!, p. 312). When 'Umar'l lovemor of Mecca appointed a tn(IWla u lubaovemor. he jUSlified it with rererence to the ract that he could �te the book and kl)C"W the far" i4 (al·Fikihi, AkltMr Mokia, ed. F. Wibtenfekl.. Leipzi. 1859 p. 36). KnowledaeorJIl/IIIO, let alone _ exemplified in l;Iadith.docs not Kdli lo haw: been a desideratum. 88 cr. Tab. KT. ii. p. 1571, where we are told tnat the 10Yttnor of Khurisin had K'PtfuqaM' and fl'UrlJ' to negotiate with aI·J;lirith b. Surayj in the elpectation that al·l;lirilh would similarly xnd men to him. 89 Ibn 'Abd al·l;lakam, STra, p. 18; cr. p. 40; Ibn Sa'd. Ta/JQ¢t, vol. v. pp. 342. 316: 'fqd, vol. IV, p. 43j. 90 Sarwat, Rtu.fil, vol. II, p. 361. citin, Ibn al·JalllZi, STral 'Umor b. 'Abd al·'A:I:. ed. M.·D. al·Khatib, Cairo 1331. p. 72. 91 Waki', QvtIiJJ!. vot. I. p. 17; Bal. AM. (MS), vol. II. fol. 1bo. 92 Ibn 'Abd al·l;lakam. STra, pp. 69fl'. In this letter, supposedly written on hil accession, 'Umar II refers to the book and JUIII\O time and again; even so. the examples of Prophetic nmrlO are all Qur'inic. .

.

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God's Caliph

What is more, he made it clear that for him the Prophet's surma had a content of its own. Thus, we are told, he gave orders for the ahl aJ-'ilm to disseminate their knowledge in the mosques, complaining that ' the sunno has been rendered dead ',', and for the ohl al-$oldi} to be supported by the treasury so that they could devote themselves to recitation of the Qur'iin and transmission of al,iidilh." He wrote to Abu Bakr b, (Mu�ammad b. 'Amrh.) ijazm in Medina, telling him to write down such lJadilh ,asiiJ Allah as he could find there on the ground that both 'Um and 'ulamii' might disappear," He emphasized that one should stick to the swnna ofthe Messenger and leave offwhat had been innovated after him." instructing Abu Bakr b. ijazm to accept nothing but Prophetic l;Iadith" and elsewhere quoting the alrl

ai-SUMO as saying that sticking to the sWlna brings salvation." In general, he pronounced himself to be a mere imitator (muqrodj fl.) rather than an adjudicator (q6tr")." and it was in this spirit that he allegedly refused to be known as kha/ifal Alliih. I" How much of this is true? Possibly none of it. We do not wish to deny that 'Umar II was an unusual caliph. As little as twenty years after his death even so rabidly anti-Umayyad a rebel as Abu l;Iamza al-KhariJi refrained from condemning him. merely saying that though he had good intentions, he failed to carry them out;"1 and a few year after Abu l;Iamza had exempted him from hell-fire, the 'Abbasid avengers similarly exempted him from th(' exhumation and posthumousexccution which other Umayyad caliphs had to undergo,'OI sparing the life of his son and grandson too.III

93 Sa(wlt, RlU6i/. vol. II, p, 3.51. citinl lbn II·Jlwzi, STra, p. 94. 94 Sarwlt. Riud'iJ. vol. 11, p, 314, citinl lbn .1·J.wzi, $ira, p. 103. 9S Bukhiri. Rnwil, vol, I, p, 31. 96 Slrwlt. RlU6'il. vol. II, pp. 349f, cittnl lbn .I·l.wd, $ira, p. 67. 97 Bukhiri, Rtcwif. vol. I, p. 37. But we Ire lold Ihlt thi. bit WIS miuinl tn Ibn Dinlr's vcnion. 98 s.rw.l. RlU6iJ. vol. u. p. 360 (citin, lbn .I·l.wn. Slra. p. 68); d. p. 350 (p. 67), where there il '4Ina in rollowin, the SWfM. 99 MIS. M�ri4, vol. IV, 1217.5 vol. v, p. 42 1 . tbn 'Abd .1·l;Ilhm, Slra, p, 42. hIS hinrrjfidJt formuqlrJ-,lSdo IbnSa'd. T"""q�" vol. v, pp. J.4O, 168,lnd AI.A.jurri, Akhbdr Abf llaff 'Umar b:Abd ai·'Azf:, ed. 'A. 'A.·R. 'UII)'lin, Beirut 1979, p, 63; but ayoninee mikes lhe rormer !'eldin, prerUible (cr. the continu.tion .

_

_·/41111 bl-mwblad/' WlJI6kiMf IPIUtlabn.

100 Cf. lbove, ch.pter 2, note 18. 101 a. •pptndi,; ), p, 1]0, 102 S. M05Cati• • Lt mUllere des dins l'histoire et dans Ies rl'lll'benlS poeliques·. Arrhir> OrkftIDl"( pp. 89ft". OlWlid b, 'Ali interceded ror him 103 'Abd 11·'Aziz b. 'Umu WIS spired (A,ft41If, vol. IV, p. 346) 100 wu later to be found Imonl the flll16baof Abu l.'fu (Abu lur'l, Ta'rrklt, ed, Sh, II-Qujini, Olm.scu$ 1980, p. 569. no. 15679). A.d.m

CJPYnghted malenal

From caliphal to Prophnic isunnar.' Ihe Umayyads

75

Shi'ite sources e�tol his virtues;IOt Christian sources deplore his zeal for Islam;l" and Sunn'i sources describe him as the mahdi, an epithet which numerous Umayyad caliphs have in court poetry, but which only he has retained outside it.IOI We take it that his unusual role was at least in part forced upon him by his name and date. I.? How· ever this may be, the fact that posterity accepted him as a rightly guided caliph also means that it fathered a greal many later views on him. It is by no means implausible that he undertook to rule in accordance with the book ofGod and the sunna oflhe prophet in the same sense as Yaz'id III was to do SO,I01 that is by renouncing the most unpopular aspects of Umayyad policy. Thus we are told of the scrupulous attention he paid to proper use of public funds,ulI of his rejection of conventional fripperies associated with calipha! ceremonial,l1O of his obsession with justice and equality, III of his

104 10j

106

101 108 109

110 III

b. 'Abd al·'Aziz b. 'Umar wu spared by 'Abdallah b. 'Ali (Ibn ·Asikir. Tulldhib. vol. II, p. 364) and went on to find favour wilh Abu'I··Abbas and al·Mahd'i (AShmrf, vol. xv, pp. 2861r.). E. Kohlber" 'Some Imimi Shi'i Interprelation5 or Umayyad History' in O. H. A. JuynboIJ (ed.), Slwd�sOtl IMFint ernt"" of/slamic Sodrly, Carbondale and Edwardsville 1982, pp. Ij3f. In; a. Theophanes, CIt'0#W8,aplria, p. 399; Scverus, Slya, al-abd', p. 144 Michael lhe Syrian, CMOtIi,,�, ed. and Ir. J.-8. Chabot, Paris 1899-1910. \'01. II, pp. 488f. cr. below, a"PI"",n"dix I, p. 11<4. Sulaymin is also mahdfin both pod!')' and prOK to the extent that al-Mas'Gdi credits him with the laqab al·Mahdi (Mas., TtmbIla, p. 3)5): but al-Mas'iidi's Umayyad alqdb are aU spurious whereas -Umar II was remembered as the Mahdi in a very real sense. Below, appendix I. a. Tab., ser. ii, p. 183j, where one or Yand 111'5 supponen dC'Klibes the lalt�r as even better Ihan 'Urnar II. This comes over Slrongly in his rerusal to accord largesse to poets from miil Allah/ba),1 Q/-mdl (Aghdnr, vol. VIII, p. 48, vol. Xl, p. 283) and what he did gi\'e them came in small amounts, from his own 'ofd' in one case (ibid. vol. VIII, p. 48) and from I whip-round amona hi. untmiJlliil a/-aw/lHi in another
CJPVrlghted material

76

God's Caliph

concern for the poor, the needy, widows and orphans,l It of his open condemnation of governors such as al-l:faiiij,1U of his conciliation of the 'Alids and their supporters,ll. and of his redressing of wrongs perpetrated above all by Marwinids.1 II Indeed the threat posed by 'Umar to the material interests of the Marwinids,ll' together with his undisguised criticism of his Marwanid predecessorsl17 and his indication that he might well displace Yazid b. 'Abd ai-Malik from the Marwinid succession and instead opt for a shiirii,lII would appear to render the claim that he was poisonedlll more cogent than Rtua'j(, vol. II, pp. S8O(" cilinl the 'Iqdand other sourotS). He is reponed to h.ve declared that his aItI ooYI had no more riPl to Grz4q le/ulnG than anybody else. On hi. even-banded treatment of convau. ICe Ell 1.11. 'mawli' lI!ICtion (e) and the literature cited there. 1 1 2 WakT, QwIiJJt, vol. iii, p. 33 (eleo by MuQirib b. Dithir). Note too lhe correspondence cited by Ibn 'Abd IJ.I;lat.am (SlrG, pp. 66f.) rdatin, to a poor woman in Emt whose: chickcos were beinl slolm.

1 1 3 Safwat, RAttfi/, vol. II. pp. 371(. (citin, Ibn al·Jawzi and other sources); Ibn 'Abd aJ,l;Iakam, srra, pp. 16$.; Fuawi, MIfrIj'G. vol. i, pp. 609f. I I" He pUl l SlOp to the Id,./shD,m of 'Ali on Umlyyed mDIIdblr (Ibn SI'd. Tabaq"', vol. v, pp. 393f: II-YI'qubi. TG',Tkh. WIt II, p. 366 ; Bal. A/U. (MS), vol. n, fol. 92b ; AliWtIT, vo\. IX, p. 258'). I practioe which hid been inlroduttd by Mu'iwiya (,Jqd, vol. IV, p. 366): Ind he returned the olsis of Fadlk in the l;Iijh to the dcHcn.:iants of Fitima (Ibn Sa'd, TGbGqtJ" vol. v, pp. 388ft'. ; Ya'qiibi, TG',ah, vol. II, p. 366; Bal., FUliJIt, p. 32; 'Iqd, vol. IV, p. "3S). 1 1 5 A,ltiJIJ1, vol. tX. pp. 2SSf. (he took over whit his /uJ,ma Ind and Ghl bayl possessed II'O-wmmd G'md/Ghvnt aJ,mtq4/i1r1); similarly Ya'qiibi, Tarall. vol. II, p. 366; Ibn Ahi 1-1;:Iad"1CI, Silo,,,, vol. XVII. p. 98 (he earned the hatred of the Marwinids on account of the mo;iJ/iIrI perpetrated by them), 100 (he reslOred everything wronJfully in the hind, of his Gill Ny', .nd he returned to I d/timmF from l;tim, an estate which hid been taken over by II-'Abbas b. •1·Warld b. 'Abd al·Mllik), 104 (he took a qG/rG away (rom one of the sons ofSullymin b. 'Abel II·Mllik). 116

117 118

1 19

Apparently the Sufyinids suft'ered 100 (Ibn Sa'd, Taboq/JI, Wli. V, p. 342). They Ire reponed 10 have owned half of the amll'/J/ G/-IUMIG (&.1., A/U. (MS), vol. II, fol. 6611). or bet'l1oeell one half and IWO thirds (Ibn Ahi 1·l;tld"ICI, SIuJ,/J, vol. XVII, p. 103), which 'Umar wanted to go (II least in pan) to the bayl aJ-mdJ. He Kli formidlble example with himselfand his immediate flmily (ibid. pp. 99, lOOf.),clampeddownon 'Gf"',diy4'andqaliJ't(lbn Sa'd, Taboq/JI, vol. v, pp. 372f.) Ind denied the Mlrwinids what earlier caliphs hid eu5l0mlrily liven them (Ibn Abi '1·1;:Iad"ICI, ShDr/J. vol. XVII. pp. l04f.). Ibn Abi'I-t,fId"KI, Shar/J, vol. XVII, p. 103 (the Mlrwinids took I particular dislike 10 'Umar's '(lyb of earlier caliphs/Marwinid asl"". In one account, the Mlrwinids complained to 'Umar that he was doin,less for them than his pmietessors had done, to which he replied that, if there WIS Iny more of Ihal son of talk, he would move to Medina Ind make 'it' (scil. the caliphate, or suoccuion to the caliphale) shUT", 'the man for the job (sci\. of orpnisinl this) btlnl al-Qisim b. Mublmmad b. Ahi Bah (Ibn Sa'd, TGbaq"" vol. V, p. )4W): in Inother, he is reponed 10 have said Ihat, if he could have his own way, he would mike 'iI' sliwa bet'l1oten al-Qbim b. Mu\wnm.d, Sllim b. 'Abda1l1h [b. 'Umar b . • 1-Khal1ibJ and Ithe UmayyadJ Ismi'n b. UmaYYI (Ibn Abi '1·t,fad"Ml, SittJrlJ, vol. xv, p. 264). Tlb., ser. ii. p. 1349 (AbU 'Ubayda); 'Jqd, vol. tV, p. 439; Jbn Il-Jawti, ST'G, pp. 276f.; Ibn Abi '1·I;tad"Ml, SliGr/J, vol. XVII, p. 98 (qT111 - probably I reference to the

From caliphal to Prophetic sunna: the Umayyads

77

Wellhausen allowed,'M But did his policies include attention to a concept ofProphetic sunna which, by all accounts, had only just seen the light of day in Iraq? This is what matters in the prc:sc:nt context, and this is also what is questionable, For one thing, al-Tabari knows him to have spoken of kitiib Alliih wa-.nmnat nabiyyihi only in the traditional context of negotiation

with rebels, 111 Most of the passages in which he departs from the traditional pattern are suspect on the ground that they come from

the earlier, but far less stringent biography of 'Umar II by Ibn 'Abd al-l;Iakam, and more particularly from the late biography by Ibn al-Jawzi (d, 597/1 200), For another thing, the sources (and above all Ibn 'Abd al-l;Iakam and Ibn al·Jawzi) preserve a correspondence which is far too extensive for a caliph of so short a reign, even granted that 'Umar II may have interfered with everybody's business on an unusual scale,lU At least part of it must be apocryphal, and some, including some with a bearing on SWlna, demonstrably is; indeed. the letter reproduced by Ibn al-Jawziin which the ahl al-sunna are quoted on the rewards of sticking to the sunna is what one might call super-apocryphal without sounding any different from the rest.us

120 121

122

123

report or Abu 'Ubayda). According to Abu 'Ubllyda's account, Sanu Marwin organised the poi50ning of'Umar becauJe lhey reared Ihat he would ellpropriale !.heir Qlffw41 and that he would remove Valid rrom the su«cuion. this being proposed in the course of an account where a Khiri)1 deleplton Cllpresses its doubts aboul Valid, On lhe other hand, lhe account given by lhe 'Jqd Iitribults the poisoninl to VIZid himself. J. WclIhau5ell, TM ArQb Kitt&tiom lRtd its FQU, Calculla 1927. p. 3 1 1 . And note that lboo", othen have him invoke the collocation in hb last speech. what they repon him as having said here is (.... Q q ( lIl min AlIlJh azzQ M'Q-jQIIQ killJb lID(iq M'Q-.JJUI/UI 'iUJjIQ (A&h4IIr, vol. IX, p, 267; 'Jqd, vol. IV, p, 96), j,�, both are God'•. 'Umar II ruled ror two and I halfyean, whereas 'Abd ai-Malik Ind Hilhim each ruled (or twenty. Nonetheless. the reign o( 'Umar II fitls 81 pa� in Safwat's collection o( official letten, to which the numerous letters in Ibn 'AM al·l:lalr.am (not used by Safwat) should be added, whereas 'AM ai-Malik's reign fills 1 30 .,.aes. from whK:h the numuous k1ten not written by or to 'AM ai,Malik should be subt�ed, while thai of Hilhim fills no more than 48. It is well known that 'Umar II has hcx:.. credited with an epistle apinst Qadaritts which is utant in Abu Nu'aym's /filyQ/ oJ·Q'w/iyll' (edited. translated and studied by J, Vln Ess, A,g CJttgUfWlimiscMr TMoIOf�, Beirut and Wiesbaden 19n). This epistle oonsists of an early tellt (8) and later additions (RJ by a reviser who probably worked in ninth�tury Khurisin and who attributed the revised version to 'Umar II (d', Zimmennann, ' Koran and Tradition '). The reviscrquolts the alii oJ·� as saying that oJ·/'tI� bl'1·JWUIQ MjiJh (R3 in Zimmc:nnann's numeration). Ibn a)·lawns biography of'Umar II illCludes a short version ofthis epistle (Safwat, Ra.M'il, vol II, pp. 360(. ; re(el'Ttd to above, note 57), This version preserves Rl--5. H)--I I, but only one line or 8 (line m in Zimmermann', numeration), the rest being without parallel in Abu NU'tym. In other words, an early lUI generated accretions and these accretions in due oourse swamped the tUI. TlIe lellt having been ralsely Iscribed to 'Umar II, 'Umar I I ended up as lhe author or lhese accretions aner the tut had hcx:n lost,

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From caliphal to Prophetic SlInna: the Umoy}'ads

of the huge mass of legal traditions ascribed to 'Omar I in classical works. He is explicitly said to have modelled his policies on those of his namesake,lao and on questions such as the fiscal status of converts the two 'Vmars did indeed lay down very similar rules if we go by l;Iadith.m Yet 'Vmar II never invokes the precedent of 'Vmar I in his writings on this question. When his governors point out that his rules are bad for the treasury, that people are converting in order to escape their taxes, that they ought to be tested for circumcision, and so on, he replies that god sent Mu�ammad to preach

(dd"iy"'''), not to collect (khalinllll);UI in other words, he

taxes

UiibiY''')

or to circumcise

responds by invoking the general

example of the Prophet. not the specific rules which 'Vmar 1 is

supposed to have fixed once and for all. It would thus s«m that the famous traditions enunciating these rules did not exist at the time.

The same must be true of the many other traditions attribuled to 'Vmar I, or to the Prophet himself, on questions which 'Vmar II is said to have resolved as an authority in his own right; and one story could be taken to concede as much: we are told that when 'Vmar ,

II resolved to follow the Slra of 'Vmar I, he wrote to a grandson of

that caliph for "Omar's letters and decisions concerning Muslims and dhirnrnl S ' (kutub 'Urnar wa-qa4iiuhuflaliI aJ-qibJa wa-ahl al-'ah4), which obviously implies that infonnation about his administration was not generally available.ln (Whether he succeeded in getting hold of them is not c1ear.)Uf We are also tok) that he disliked the caliphal

role of answering questions about the law and told his governor of Basra to stop sending him people asking about the

sunna and to ask

al-l:Iasan al-B�ri instead ('but don't let al-l:Iasan read this letter'), yet another story to the etrect that however much he may have talked about the sunna of the Prophet, he did not k.now what it was in

130 131 132 133

134

al·BaJri cites tbe Prophet's lreatment of tbe M.gians of Hajar to him (compare Cook, Dor-. pp. 99r.). cr. the references given below. note IH. a. D. C. Dennett, CIHIV6SiOff und 1M PoJl Tax jlf Early IJ/QItI, Cambridge Mass. 1950, esp. pp. 32/f.• 8<\f. Tab., !Cr. ii. p. 1354; Ibn Sa'd, TabaqiJl. vol. v. p. 384. Ibn 'Abd aJ.l,iakam, Slra. p. 122;Safwat, RtuiJ'j(, vol. II, p. 375, citingJbn .1-llWli; Ajurrl, Akhbifr, p. 70; cr. Ibn s,,'d, TobtJqiJl. VQI. v, p. 396; Bal.. An!. (MS), vol. n, fol. 75a, wbere be simply writes fOf Siral 'Umar. In TbD ll-Jawzi" and 11-.JJutri the arandson's response is a long hell-fire sennon, a reminder that 'Umu I IiV«l in a difftfmt time and worked with different men, and advice to rely on God alone: it sounds like I refusal to comply (especially if the final raja"lll'tu is read rajatl.lla). But Ibn 'Abd al-l;llkam cuts out the hell·fire sermon, and Ibn Sa'd cuts out mOil of the reply, including the reference to the books.

righted matmal

From calipha/ to Prophetic sunna: the 'Abbdsids

8/

such as al-Mdi, a/-mahdi, al-rashid and al-amin, which court poets had bestowed on the Umayyads, now reappeared as regnal titles of the 'Abbisids, now as then with a strong redemptive overtone.1n Like the Umayyads, the 'Abbasids were the best ofcrcation after the Prophet,In almost prophets themselves,l44 and chosen by GocIlU to be heirs of the prophets,l4I but of the Prophet above all. W Unlike the Umayyads, they were also kinsmen of the Prophet, It. to whose legacy they had a hereditary right,u, and thus able to pride themselves

142

l4)

]44

1-45

1-46

in 'A.-'A.aJ-Oiiri. 'al-Fikra .1·m.Miry. bayna 'I-da·...... .l-'.bbisiyy . ....'1··.$1' .. al-'abbisI '1·._.1' in Sluda i ArabiCd tl fslamica: FtstsclI'iflf� fJ,s6n 'Abb4J, cd, w. • 1-QiQi, Beirut 1981, pp. 124, 127f,). AI-M.n$ur was likewise M.Mi .nd Qi'im (ibid., p. 130), So w.s his son. aI-MaMi (ibid.. pp. 129£.: AglWnr. 001. III, pp. 25)" , 286, penult.), Hiriin w.s' the one who w.scalkd rd.JIr1d'� 1II'(Nrwluiiy�� (Abu '1·'Atihiy. in A,Mnr. vol. XVIII, p, 240"; MI5., Mllriij, '101. II, §758 _ '101. II. p, 338; cr. also Aglldnr, vol. XVIII, p. 248" , when: he is aJ·imam a/-rdJIIld). Al-Ma'mun WaJ aJ-lmdm aJ·matl,flk aJ·moJtdra/·rdJlI1d($arwll. Ras6iJ. vol. Ill. p. 420. ull.}, and to him his prtdcces50n wen: a'imIna r4sJtidUtt (ibid.. pp. 389, 412). a. B. Lewis, 'The Rtgnal Titles orthe Fint Abbasid Caliphs'. Dr. ZaJclr HlUiJin Prtst1llalion VoIlIfM, New Delhi 1968: and the mon: ICCCltl and fuller discussion in Durl, 'Fikra'. N.gel's views on the n:gnal lilles of Abu '1··Abbas skould be n:vised in the liaht oCtbe:se two works (cr. RtClilltilllttf, p. 91). To lhe .lIest.lions mentioned by Lewis of the appellation of o/-sajJaJJ havina been .pplied to 'Abdallih b, 'Alican now be added Ajbar Maclimu4, ed. E. Lafuente y Aklntara. Madrid ] 867, p, 46 (dismiueo:l by Moscati. 'M.",Cf'I:·, p. 95) and Ibn ·Asikir. TaMhfb, vol, IV, p, 391. Cf. Goldziher, Mwfim SluditJ, vol. II. pp. 55f. 'You h.ve nothing between yourself .nd yOllr lord, e"ahed is His n.me, ucept the nab' al-IIudQ', as .......kkil was told (Agh4nl. vol. x. p. 228"). .1·Mllt Fo·ka'OMlJitu btJ 'rJa '/·,aSWI ,asVl, as Hiriin was tokl: bm notc that Hin1n was otrended by this verse. thouah he generally did not mind being praised in the same terms as prophets (A,/raIrI, vol. XIII. p, 144"). W.ki·, Qu44h, vol. II. p, 153, when: Hiriin is ol-imdlil aJ-naqraja, IS J.rir h.d once characterised .1·W.rld l (p. 492'): Ibn K.thir, Bid4yo. vol. x. p, 268. when: al-M.mun is lold that 11111"," ahJ baYI 4rafM- AII.Jh min ba)lI/'ibddiJti. Cf. 'Iqd. vol. II. p.I6C1-', when:.I·M.n$ur is'aJl1inllmi"Solomon.Job.nd Joseph; AgIIIJ1l1, vol. XI. p. 340. when: • qd$ protests to .1·M.'miin by the One who ak,lIMllk" bN·khiid/o ...a-...·QffOlluUul mi rlltll al·"wbw_·o; .nd T.b. ser. iii. p, 1 1 12. where aI-M.'mun states that God has made the caliphs inheril malll'l1,ftll .

0/''"''''' ''' '' ''0.

147

B• •1·'Abbis have inherited the 1,,11 of Mubamm.d (A,Mllr. vol. XX. p, 238'): the Comm.nder of the Faithful and hi' family .n: w4ritlrii '/-Mbr(ibid" '101. Iii, p. 29)"); they h.ve inherited khil4fat AII.Jh rrom kll4lam aJ_bly6' (ibid., vol. u, p. 5-4''''); God pl.ced the 1,,11 of the Prophet with His klia/1fo « lqd, vol. IV. p. 242""); aI-MaMi was the son of the one who _rllM 'l-ltlJbr (ibid.. '101. I. p.

.

148

""').

Ibn 'amm al·rGJWI. ibn 'amm MwI,ammad. as poets would dutifully describe them

(Ful.yb in A,II61IT, '101. IV, p, 36011; Amj.·. ibid., '101. XVIII, p, 21-4": .Iso ciled in Ibn 'Asikir, TaJwIhfb, vol. III. p. 63). 1.9 NOlwithstandingthe fact th.t llOlTle Syrians h.d been under the impression that the Um.yyads wen: the sole n:1.tives.nd ieptces oftbe Prophet (Bal., Alii., '101, III, pp. 159f: Mas., MwrWj. vol. III, 1 1 845 _ v, p. 83).

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on the fact that they 'did not make the rasii/ secondary in importance to (diina) the khalifa'.1M But the caliphal institution and/or the caliph

himself continued to be seen as guidance and light,iii rain (ghayth),ln a source ofhealinglU and a refuge against error,lIt God's rope'" and the pillar of Islam,lu In short, the caliph remained indispensable for the attainment of salvation : he was ' the imam through obedience to whom one escapes the centre of the fire on the day of judgement', as al-Sayyid al-J:limyari said ofal-Man$ur. lu 'He who does not take refuge with God's trustee will not benefit from the five prayers', as Hiirlin and al-Mu'ta$im were told,Ul ln a passage echoing al-Walid II's sacred history Ibn al-Muqaffa' refers to the fact that God's religion is maintained by His prophets, deputies and friends on earth' (anbiyii'uhu ....a-khula . fo'uhu wa-awliyji'uhu Ii art!ihl);u, and even a scholar such as Abu YOsuf held that ' God. , . has instituted •

the holders of authority as deputies on earth and given them a light to illuminate for the subjects those of their affairs which are obscure

to them and to clarify those duties about which they are in doubt. '110 '1-I;IId""KI, Shar", "'01. xv, p, 240. citing Abu 'Uthmin (K. al-libi;). The caliphs Ire dlun,oQ 'I-niir It'a I-hwtJd (Aglt4lrl, vol. III. p. 294'); they Ire fi,6' Ind nur (ibid., vol. v. p. 30)', cr. pp. 304', )291'), lirdj af-naMr and badr al-.u/m (ibid.• "'01. VII. p. 19S"): they sel up the belcon of guid.nce (ibid. "'01. Xl.... p. 19910); they h....e nural-khiM/a flqd, ...01. I. p. 16)': "'01. v. p. 9110): compare nUr amir ol-mu'minfn (Safwal, Rtuil'if. "'01. III, p. 424).

150 Ibn Abi lSI

'

.

1'2 Agnilnr, vol. XIII, p. 146" (Hirlin); compare Abu 'I-'Alihiya on the same caliph, ibid., ...01. XVIII, p. 240': 1150 cited in Mas. Mllriij. vol. II, §7S8 - ...01. II, p. )37. IS) cr. AgMnl. vol. v. p. 30)', where B. 11·'Abbis arc not just t/i,d' ItI-quJiib and nwr_ but also Ih/fll·. 154 The ....� or Ibrihim al·lmim in I:larrin w.s 'qmot ol-din (Bal.. AIU.. "'01. III, p. 126, ult.• with fUr1her references). God had made the 'Abbisids the kah/and "i�n or His religion according to Abu 'I·'Abbas (Tab., ser. iii. p. 29). al·MI'miin was a 'isma to people whkh diSiinluished between al-4allJla ...·a'l·nuhd('fqd. "'01. VI. p. )714• where the line is attributed to Zulzul; AgMnr, VQI. XXIII. p. )9'. and "'01. VII. p. 16S", whcrc it isauributed to Ibn .l-Ba_iband l;Iusayn b. aj·J.")al;al;lik rcspecti�ly, and where mukhayYira hiS been replaced by m_,,·i:o). AI-Withiq was also a '/,fma IrI·klwlq (ARIulnI, vol. VII, p. I S9'). And al·Mu'tau held that God h.d made kJ.;/dlotailu fj·dfnihi 'i�ma"· (.bo�. chapter 2. note ) I). ISS For .1·Mutawakkil, see the rererence given above. chapter 3. nOle 128. for al-Mlnfilr's description of the caliphate .. "abI Allah ol-malTn wa·'l1rwoIWtU '1.It"l4tnqd. see Tab.• 5eT. iii. p. 447. 1 .56 Abu '1·'Atihiy. in AXhiinr, "'01. XX, pp. 301'. 302", 304.. ... 30" U'd 'omud .

·

ol-lllum). Wlkl'. QutJdh. "'01. II, p. 71. IS8 cr. above. ch.pter ), nOle 49. lS9 Safwal. Rasil'U, vol. III, p. 54, eitinglbn Tayfiir's unpublished

IS7

Ikhtiyiir al-man?Um

ol-manthUr. 160 AbU YusuL Kitilb al·khordj, ed. J 'Abbis, lkirut, Cairo and London 1985. p. 71. There is . full trandation of this passage in Goldziher, Mwl/m StudkJ, vol. II. p_ 68: Lambton, Statt and GOt'trnmtlff. p. .56: B. Lewis, IJlomjram Iitt PropMl

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Like the Umayyads, Abu Yusuf perceived the guiding light in legal terms, its main function being to maintain the I}udiid, uphold rights and re�stablish good practices instituted by righteous men (il}yii' al-mnan allali sannaha al-qawm aJ_$iilU,iin),11l a statement apt to suggest to the unwary that the relationship between caliphate and law had scarcely changed, There are indeed passages in which the 'Abbisids speak of Prophetic sunna in its traditional sense of acceptable practice. Like Yazid III, they owed their power to a revolt which had involved a call to the book of God and the SUMQ of the Prophet;l" and like him, they referred to this fact on their accession: they would rule their subjects in accordance with the book of God and the sira/sunna of the messenger ofGod, Diwiid b. 'An said, speaking on behalf of Abu '1·'Abbas.ln This clearly meant that they pledged themselves to adherence to what their subjects perceived to be justice, not to observance of a Prophetic SWlna embodied in I;ladith: the followers of the 'Abbisids had made an oath of allegiance on justice Cad!), as Sharik b. Shaykh paraphrased it,1I4 or on the observance of justice and the re�stablishment of good practices (iqiimal al-'adJ wa-il}yii'

al-sunan), as Ziyid b. Silil;1 put it.l" When, on the death of Abu '1·'Abbis, 'lsi b. 'Ali said that 'God honoured him with Hiscaliphate and re-established the sWlna of the Prophet through him we are t,

hardly to take it that the SUIJIUJ of the Prophet stood for anything concrete. 1M The expression is also used in its pre-classical sense elsewhere.til Nonetheless, it is clear that

$UIIIUl

as exemplified in l:Iadith was

M� to tM tGptlUt 0/ CQlUlotItillopl�, New York etc. 1974, vol. I, pp. I 54f.; A. Ben Sbcmesh. TlVCatiOlt I1I /slom, vol. III, Leickn and London 1969, p.

l8.

161 Ibid. 162 cr. above, note 9. 163 Tlb., Kr. iii, p. 31 (s/ra); YI'qubi, Ta'rDclr, vol. II. p. 420 and Ibn Abi ,.I;lad"KI..

SJuuIJ, vol. VII. p. 1 .54 (.nIMQ). Tbe IWO lenni ...eze practically synonymous II tbe time: (Bravmann. SpiritwaJ Brr'*lrowtd. pp. 134ft". ; BnYnWln'. opinion thai J',al RarW AIIM, 'tbe prooedun:/practioe of tbe: Prophet', hH not yet acquired tbc

of 'bioaraph, or tbe: Prophet. is (:Orroboratcd by tbc flct that Ibn liOiq'. biOJrlPhy ohbe Prophet was not oriJinally known IS sftal RJuNJ All4It, cr. the Irticle by Hindi melle
164 165

166 167

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something with which the 'Abbasids had to coexist from the start. Abu Muslim had been confronted with Pharisaic a��iib al-J,adi,h who

wished to test his knowledge ofiqh on his appearance in Khurasan ;111 j and when government came to be conducted from Iraq, it soon

became a matter of public knowledge that people there professed to have discovered what sunna was in concrete tenns. Seen through the eyes of al-Man�ijr, this comes across as an exciting development in scholarship with a minor political pay-off, Already before his accession, we are told, he 'had roamed the earth . . . written (downJ l;Iadith and acted as a transmitter in mosques';'" and after his accession too he 'remained well known for seeking allla,'.m He displayed particular interest in such

'i1m, jiqh and sunan as the

scholars could trace back to his own ancestors: thus the Meccan j scholar Ibn Juray, who was short of cash, was lucky to have in his possession an unrivalled collection of I,adith Ibn 'Abb4J;17l and the nuuhddyikh of Banii Hashim self-<:onsciously donned rose-coloured

� (muwa" ad) robes of il,riim when perfonning the pilgrimage in

accordance with a tradition in which 'Ali, acting as spokesman of the Hiishimites, puts 'Umar in his place on questions of sunna.17t Fuqahii had accompanied AbU Ja'far and other Hishimites on a journey to Abii Muslim in Khurasan on the accession of Abu 'I-'Abbiis;m and when AbU JaTar had become al-Man�ur. he '

admitted Ibn Tahman, the author of a book on sunonli " jiqll, to his majlis and paid him an aUowance.174 But pace Nagel, none oflhis seems to have influenced his concept of the caliphal office or his style of governmentY' In public al-Man�ur apparently never referred to 168 811.. AIU., Yolo III. p. 1)2. 169 al-Maqdili. Klt6b aI·bad' wtlf-ltirDch. ed. C. Huart. Paris 1899-1919. Yol. VI. p. 90. To al-Maqdisi. a Mu'tazilite, this WiU one or a]-Man,ur'. bad qUllities. 170 Sal., Ani., Yol. III. p. 183. 171 Kha\ib. aa,1uI6d. Yol. x. p. 400. NOle thlt ll-Mln,ur WIS not ordinlrily interested in 1Jttd.ds. which he dismissed II otiose fJasllw (Yol. x. p. 4(4). 172 Tlb.• ser. iii. p. -452; compare II-Shill'i. KilQb af-wnm. BilIiq 1321-6. vol. II, p. 126'.t1·: Ibn Bibiiya. MtJIf fiJ y� ·fIrM1n.. cd. 1;1. M. II-Kharsin, Tehran 1390 shamsi. Yolo II. p. 215; we owe the last two rererences Ind our undentandinl or the first to Michael Cook. 173 Sal.. AIlS'.• Yol. Ill. p. 151. cr. ISS. 17-4 Khalib. aa,lrddd. Yol. VI. p. 110; Ibn II-Nadim. FUrrb/. ed. R. Tajaddud. Tehran 1971. p. 28-4. On Ibn Tahmin. see now M. T. Mallick, • Lire Ind Work orTbrihim b. Tlhmin (a Traditioni.t of 2nd/8th Century)" Ja�rtltJ/ 0/ I� PaJclJ/tJIf HbloriC'(J1 Sodtly 2-4 (1976). Millick believes that his KitiJb lIl-SIUUUI is 10 be identified with his Kilob af-mruhyakha (for which see Rft1W tit f'lTlSIIIIII dts Mruflucrl/s AraMs 22 (1976), pp. 2-41-300; subsequently republished with fuller apparatus in Dlmascus 1983 by Majmd aI-flqM al-'flrabiyya). 175 cr. NiseI. Rtrlruftilurtt. esp. pp. 91ff. N'&e1111O wron&ly conveYlthe impression

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the sunna ofthe Prophet, the Companions or others, nor does he seem to have quoted l;Iadith to his subjects. /nnama ami sulran Allah jT arc!ihi. ' I am simply the authority of God on His earth ', he said, echoing Umayyad statements to the same effect. 111 To him, as to his Umayyad predecessors, obedience to God's deputy on earth was the beginning and end of the matter.177 It must be said that al-Man$ur's stance was surprisingly nonchalant, especially in view of the fact that he had been walned by Ibn al-Muqaffa'. Il' ln his RisaJajT'l-lalJiiba Ibn al-Muqaffa' refers to the kiliib and SlOlna on several occasions, usually in tandem, but without leaving any doubt that both were now regarded as autonomous sources of law.1n Sunna is here something exemplified in alhiir, traces ' or' past decisions' ;lH more precisely, it is precedents attested for the Prophet or the a'immal aJ-huda afier him (whoever they may be), as opposed to rulings by the Umayyads, whom Ibn al-Muqaffa' dismisses as mere amirs.lIt Now contrary to what one might have expected, Ibn al-Muqaffa' was not worried by the fact that private •

116

that the J_ in whkh al-Man,ur was interested was Prophetic in the technical sense of the word. One ",,*,#111 did quote a Prophetk tradition to him (Bal.. AM., vol. m, p. 262), while another invoked the Prophet'sexample (Ibid.• p. 200) : but neither Ibn Tahmin', JIIIUIII/1 'I-fiqll nOf Ibn Jurayj'. collection of 1,tJdf/1I b. 'AbMr nt<usarily went back to the Prophet (tboup Ibn Tlhmin's Klf4iJ t h); and the ,""",'(Urad 01 mprllyoJduJ docs contain a !ood deal orProphetic l;Iadl clothes were based on the authority of'Ali, Nasel also sees proof or al-Man,ur's l C:II)' uttered by him on the death of the esteo:m fot the J_ in a Line IUppu proto-Mu'tazilite 'Amt b. 'Ubayd: 'when men disputed about a $WIIXI, he made lhe I,odrlll plain with wildom and elep.noe' (R�IIt1til""" p. 100). But learlnl aside the fact Ihat Ihis line is miMinl from the version of the poem given in the Flllris/ (p. 203; contrast Ibn Qullyba, 'Uyiirl, Yol. I, p. 2(9). 'Amr b. 'Ubayd is more likely to have been a Qut'inic fundamentalist than a believer in tnc validity or!:Iadilh (and the ddM brl-Qur'011 ofthe pot'" has been mistranslated by Nagel): and lauaia '/-I/lllh lIl presumably means no more than that he spoke cle.rl),. Tab.. ser. iii, p. 426; Bal., AIIJ.. YOl. til, p. 268: 'Iqt!, vol. IV, p. 99, with special tere'C'M to the rid that in that capacity he WIS treasurer of God's nt41 and/ay . a. Tab., set. iii, p. 4()4. It is thus hard to accept the claim that 'the main reature oflal-Mansur'J] policy was to esllblish "Orthodox)''' based on the Ql,Jrin and tnc SJIMQ' (F. Omar, 'AbMriyy5/, BaJhdad 1916, p. 132). cr. S. D. Goitein, StJUkJ Ut IJltllflic Hislory tJIId 11IJtirufiOftJ, Leiden 1966, ch. 8; E. I. J. Rosenthal, PoIilicoJ 11IGlllIII Ut Mtvlin:ollslom, Cambridge 1968, pp. 12ft'. Ibn al·MuqalJa', RisdloJn-�, ed. C. Pellat under the titk Ibfl aI-Muqafftf, "Conseilleut" du Calife, Paris 1916, §I 11, 25, 35, 55. Ibn .I-Muqaffa', RiJ4/a, §§17, 37. In his glossary Pellat sugests that Ibn al-Muqaffa' used the word a,lIor to include both tcriptural and non-scriptural precedent, and t 1 1 could be liken to IUgest this; but in g31 he speaks or JMy' malm;, ",Ut aJ-JaJoJ, which can SCll'ttly include the Qur'in. To translate alMr by 'disposition tcriptuaire' as if it had flo/hi,., 10 do with tradition docs JeC'" a bit e"treme. Ibn al-Muqaffa', RisiJla, §35. ·

111

178 119 180

181

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scholars had engaged in the definition of the law: this he simply took for granted, yet another indication that the scholars had been active for some time. But he was alanned by the failure of the caliph to intervene in their work. In the absence of caliphal control, he said, the law was both arbitrary and lacking in uniformity, which was true enough : a story set in Kufa about this time has a man receive three different answers to the same simple question from three different Kufan/aqihs. 11t Accordingly, Ibn al-Muqaffa' said, the caliph should review these conflicting rules, draw up a code of the ones which he endorsed, forbid adjudication on the basis of the discarded ones, and leave it to his successors to revise the code from time to time.llt This would have restored to the caliph control over most of the law. An early Andalusian source claims that al-Man$iir commissioned the Muwaua', a short legal manual, from the Medinan jurist Milik b. Anas,ll4 while other sources say that he (or al-Mahdi, or Hiriln) resolved to impose the Muwaua' on his Muslim subjects as the sole authoritative legal work, only to be dissuaded by Milik on the ground that differing legal practices were too developed at the local level for such a measure to be politic or even feasible.iii A similar objection was raised by Milik in a report in which al-Man$iir is said to have told him, ' I should like to unify this 'i/m so that I can have it recorded and sent to the army commanders and judges in order that they [may) make themselves acquainted with it. He who later on acts contrary to it, I shall have him beheaded! ' : Milik's response was that any attempt to divert people from their local ways of doing 182 W":i', Qv4"", YO\. U1, p. 46. The thm: !cpl uperu .... e re Abu l;ianir., Ibn Shubrum. and Ibn Abi Layll. III Ibn .1.Muq.K.·, RUMG, 1]6. 1&4 'Abd .1·M.lik b. f;I.bib (d. 85) or 854), Ta·rllr.lt. MS Bodley, M.rsh. 288, p. 161 (4mQTMIl bl·1WlI/' mtlWdffG'IIti). cited by M. J. KiSler, On "Concessions" .nd Condl.lCl: . Study in Early lIadftlt' in G. H. A. Juynboll (ed.), StuthtSOft 1M First Cmt'"Y of III_Ie 5«.ty, C.rbond.le .nd Ed••rdIYille 1982, pp. 9], 2:W-. 185 .I·r.barf, aI·MllltlaJclwh ml" kltdb dMy/ aI.mudhayyuJ min IG'rllr.lr uJ'laI}4bD 1t'Q'/·riJbi'TiI in hi. Ta'rllr.lt, 1Cf. iii, p. 2519 (Ibn Sa d from .J.Wiqidi). In IbrAhim b. l;i.mmid·1 report cited IbUJ. the caliph is .1-Mahdi .nd the MIIWQf(a' is not referred to by n.me. In .1-Gh.zlli. 1,,)'4' '1I1iim aI·dIn. C.iro 1282. yol. I. p. 24, the caliph is Hiriin .nd Milik inyokes the Prophet'e tradition Ilcltti/df aI·1UIIIff(I r�(cited by Goitein. SIwt/WS, p, 164n). Furthcreumpln.re cited in A. Amin, Qu;IJ '1-I1I41P1, yo!. I, Cairo 19)), pp. 21Of. Schacht dismiued thex ieportJ as '

'

.necdotes (Ell. UI. • Milik b. An.s·, col. 206b) eJlpressinl Muslim rejection of the same Persi.n ide. of codification which he cl.imed to dilCem behind Ibn .1·Muq.Ir.... .dvim ('Foreip! Elements in Ancient III.mit Law', JOID'1IQ/ of CompGTGt� u,lJlatltHl, third klia, )2 (1950), parts iii .nd iv, p. 11; Mhnoinl tit /'AeGiM",. ''''trftGtiO#talt tit Droll COffIpari ) (1955), part iy, p. 140).

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things would be regarded askufr. 1M Nowifal-Man�u.rdid commission or select the MUKlaua' as a first step in following the advice of Ibn al-Muqaffa', then the choice was a poor one: Malik was no substitute for a panel of jurists such as that brought together by Justinian for the codification of Roman law (a point which Malik himself in effect makes in the reports just referred to);111 and in practice, and for whatever reason, neither al-Man�ur nor his successors implemented the advice by promulgating a sole authoritative code of the realm. The possibility that al-Man�ur felt too insecure in his power for so momentous an undertakinglU is not inconsistent with Milik's reported view that it would be seen as kufr. It may also be that he simply did not realise that his power was being undermined, though it should be noted that Ibn al-Muqaffa' was not the only person to

givewarningsofdanger: thus M usa b. 'lsa al-Kisrawi, acontemporary ofIbn al-Muqaffa', wrote a book 'on the inconsistencies ofthose who maintain that qillfjs do not have to abide by the instructions of the imams and caliphs in their performance of their official duties '.II'

Whatever the truth of the matter, the newly developed concept of sunna scarcely impinged on his conduct of public affairs. Given its importance to al-Man�or as a cultural phenomenon and to Ibn al-Muqaffa' as a political one, it is not however surprising that the new concept of sunna went public under al-Man�ur's son and successor, al-Mahdi. According to the vizier Abu 'UbaydaU.iih, God had made al-Mahdi 'the one who conducts the affairs of His servants and His lands, and the bringer to life of His sunan' ;1" in a verse by Marw.iin b. Abi 1:;18f$8, it is the Prophet's sunna rather than God's sunan that al-Mahdi revives;1fl and in the estimation of Mu'arrij al-Sados!, it was al-Mahdi's own .nman which were worthy offame. I"

186 Juynboll, Muslim Tradition, p. 63, cilin8 Ibn Abi l;Iitim, Taqdimot ol-mdri/o /i-leitOb oJ-p." ""til-ta'rI11, Hyderabad 1952, p. 29. 187 Note particularly al·Tabari. Mlllltakhab, p. 2519, wbere MAlik says that he has done hi. best in tbe Ma",rib, while a1-Shim has had aI-Awzj'i. and as for tbe people of Jr.q,fa..m.n aid oJ·'Jr4tq. 188 As sugested by Crooc. Slows on Hots�s, p. 70. 1119 Kit"'",,'v'l(jllr man :a'_ 411 14�lIiyo l1liyaqtadiyo '1-qwI6JtfTMa(iJ'imlhim bfl-"Imma ""a'I-kltuJaf4'. FihriJr, p. 142; first adduced by Schacht. 'Ousicismc:'. p. 1 59n; oompare 'Jqd. vol. i. p. 98.... wbere 'Umar II MY. that iqtidiJ' hfl-a'imma is one of tbe qualities r.t«("11' in a perfect q4l!f. 190 Safwat. lWs4'iI. vol. III. p. 161, citinll ibn Tayfur, Kil/1b al·mlI1f:fUm ",,"I-_tlM. e 191 Aghif1l1. vol. x. p. 89. Goldziher was orlhc opinion thal lhis poem could nOI h.... been dedicaled to any Umayyad. except 'Umar II (Muslim Stvdi�s. vol. n, p. 56); we must be, to differ. 192 Above, chapter 4, note 61; tbe examples aiven speciry his rodd aJ-ma:faJim .nd his allocation of various kinds of stipend.

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All this is very much in keeping with the Umayyad way of speaking : God's sunna is that represented by His Prophet and perpetuated by His caliph, sunna meaning little more than what is right. But the Umayyads had not been in the habit of speaking quite so much about sunna as were the 'Abbisids, and al-Mahdi himself made it clear that he envisaaed Prophetic SUMO, at least in part, as something exempli­ fied in ijadHh: in a Jetter dated 159, composed by the vizier Abu 'Ubaydallih and concerned with the descendants of Ziyid b. Abihi, he secured for himself the distinction of being the first ' Abbasid caliph on record as having cited Prophetic tradition in a public

statement.I n In adopting Ziyad b. Abihi as his brother, he said, Mu'awiya had contravened the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet and failed to observe a sunna hiidiya and qudwa mat/iya coming from the imams of truth (a highly charged tenn which here seems to designate those who had transmitted the precedents in

question), namely the Prophetic rule that the child belonp to the marriage bed and the Prophetic prohibition of fictitious kinship ties; both traditions are cited in full, though without jsnads.lt� In the following year al-Mahdi once more cited Prophetic l;{adHh in a public letter, this time one addresed to the Khirijite 'Abd ai-Salam al-Yashkuri: in withdrawing his obedience from the caliph and in slandering 'ATi, he said, 'Abd ai-Salam had disobeyed God and His Prophet, there being a yaqin rat/I" wa-J,adi,h fadiq from the Prophet stating that 'everyone whose master I am has 'Ali as his master too '.It' We leave aside what particular motives al-Mahdi may have had for according so emphatic a public recognition to the sunna which his father had cultivated on the side:l" We take it that if al-Mahdi had not done so, one or the other of his succesSOr! would soon have done something similar. AI-M ahdihaving taken the lead. however, Hiruncertainly followed suit. This caliph appointed as his chief qa
t9� Khlrrr•. To·rlU. p. 702.

t96 This question wu diSC'Ussed by M. llinds in 'The Early ·A.bbisid Clliphl lnd Sunnl'•• Plp!:rp,CS(lIled II therolloquium on the Itudyorl;ladith. Odord 1982: Hinds hopes to publish the relevlnt part in modified (om e\lIewhere.

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including the Prophet, that is the Kitabal-kharaj.U7 And JuqahQ now seem to have formed a regular cadre ofthe state apparatus, in which capacity their duties included accompanying the caliph on pilgrima� and witnessing the signing of important documents,'" as well as answering such queries from qa41s as the caliph continued to receive;UI apparently, they even had their own unirorm.:tfIO In his letter of appointment to Harthama b. A'yan, governor of Khuriisan, Harun stated that Harthama should make the book of God his guide in everything he did ;10' if in doubt, he should consult the local experts in God's book and thefiqh of God's religion. or alternatively refer the matter to his imam, that is Harlin himself, so that God might show the latter His opinion.lol In other words, legal experts who had made their appearance outside the state apparatus now took precedence over the God-inspired state itself. In the last year of his reign Haliin corresponded with l;Iarnza al-Khariji, a colourful rebel in Sistin whom he called to the book of God and the SWlnQ of the Prophet in the traditional fashion.101 l:Iamza responded by pointing to the book of God and His (sc. God's) SUno/VI: l;Iamza was a Qur'iinic fundamentalist,lO. to whom guidance was incarnate partly in the frozen fonn of a book and partly in the ongoing form of the 'way or those guided by God in their hearts'.'" l;Iamza thus subscribed to the old doctrine that guidance was available here and now (except that it was not available rrom caliphs in his view). Hiriin, by contrast, made it plain that sunan hadiya which the Prophet had '

197 AbU Viisurs attitude 10 l;lad1th as a IOUrce of law in this work is diseuued by A. Ben Slw:mcsh, TaxtJtilHf in /Jlam, vol. Ill, Ldden and London 1969, pp. Iff

.•

who does however exaaerate the number oftradition5 in question (sec: the indelt in the edition by I. ·Abbis). 198 They witnessed the document or amdn rOf tbe I;lasanid Vabyi b. 'Abdallih in 176 together with judges and Hishimitcs (Tab., sef, iii. p. 614; cr. allO Kildb al·'uyiin. p. 293). They took part in the drawinl up and witnessin, or the 50lemn documentsohl'C""sion durin, the pilJrimage or 186, apin 10aether withjudtts and otbers (Tab ser. m. pp. 6S4; Kitdb QPIIJW!, p. 304). Eycry time: al·Rashid went on pil!rimaF he was aocompanied by I hundred fuqaM' and their IOns (Tab ser. iii, p. 741). 199 cr. WatT, QIIf/dIr, vol. II, p. 142I l·tJ IOIl·ntJ 200 a. A,"""f. vol. VI, p. 291 (kdMyc(lammu bJ.'jmQma SOli''''' 'tJld qtJitIIUIWl .•

.•

__ytJibtuu /ibM

al.JuqtJhd' 201 Tab.. ser. iii, p. 717.

.

•

•

tJqbtJ/tJ Abii Yiisu[tJI.qd41blo(Jf1}dbl1rJ aliitJi.qtJIanu.

202 U-yllriJ'tJhll AlJdIt 'tJ:ztJ lI'o-jalJa rtiy•. 203 Scarcia. 'Scambio". p. 6)4. 204 Scarcia, 'Scambio', p. 636: cr. above, note )4. lOS Sabfl _ IItJd6 '11M qtJibahvm (Scarcia, ' Scambio', p. 636: we arc indebted to Zimmermann. 'Koran and Tradition', note 140, for our undetsllndinl of l;Ianwfs posilion).

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made clear were to be found in l;Iadith from him and other figures of the past.IOI In this interchange 'Abbasid history has come full �..de: an 'Abbisid is here calling to the book of God and the sunna of the Prophet in the sense of something authenticated by l;Iadith, whereas the rebel speaks the language which the 'Abblisids themselves had spoken in the past. From Harim onwards, references to the sunna of the Prophet in its classical sense become commonplace in 'Abbasid statements, and this is scarcely surprising. By 767 the classical account of the Prophet's life, Ibn Isl;taq's MaghOzi. had been written,"' while at the same time the classical schools of law were under fonnation: Abu l;Ianifa died in 150/767, Malik in 179/795, and by the reign of al·Ma'mun. al·Shifi'j had fonnulated his jurisprudential doctrine. Given that the 'Abbisids had failed to control all this, they had to toe the line. h might be argued that they could toe the line with impunity until al·Shifi'i's doctrines had won acceptance. It is plain that pre·Shifi'ite sunna was what Schacht called ' living sunna' rather than a dead one, that is to say it was the putative practice of the Prophet as continued by later generations rather than one sealed in the lifetime of the Prophet himself. Sunna was defined by the Prophet and later a'immat al·hudlJ/qawm.rlJlil}un, as Ibn al-Muqaffa' and Abu Yusufsaid,l08 and a great deal of it was still sunno in the sense of being ra'y rashid. In principle the imams of guidance/righteous people could well have continued to include 'Abbisid caliphs on a par with scholars, and the 'Abbisids could thus have continued to be seen as following the srmna of their pious forebears all while establishing their own very 206 cr. Zimmc'IIIAnn, 'Koran and Tradition', nott 140. In his commenuon lhe pAper

by Hinds al lhe colloquium for lhe 'tudy of Ijadith, O�.rord 1912, Zi mmc . ... ann pointed out thai since I;famza's letter is • line-by·line riPOSlt to Hiliin', his rejection or _ as authenticated by l;Iadith sugesU thai Hiriin lubtcribed to ii, and thai l;firUn in fact meres to a ljadilh in thi. lelter, however implicilly. Hirun invokes the Qur'lnic statement thai obedience 10 the Prophet equals obedience 10 God (Qur. •: 81). conlinues by rererrinl to God', book and the SUItGIt WIIO which MutJammad had made clear, and concludes by invitinl l;famza to obey lhe book of God and lhe .fMIUJQ of Hi, mennJrf by obeyinl the caliph. Thi. prauppotel that obedie,," 10 the caliph equalled obedimu 10 the Prophel, and thus 11$0 to God, .U<Slinl thai Hirun had in milK! lhe I...dilion died by AbU Yiisuflo lhe Cff«l lhll he who obeys the imam obeys the Prophet (KIuu4j, p. 80). 201 a. M. Hinds, "'Maahizi" and "Si..." in Elrly Islamic Scholanhip' in lA ,,� dII propltitt MoItotfvt, CoIJoqw • SlrtUbourr (octobrt 1980), Pari. 1983, on the aripnll title of Ibn bl;iiq', work. 208 cr. above, noles 161, 181.

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much as the Umayyads had done: it was only with al-Shafi'j that sunna ceased to be something which could be made here and now. In practice, however, this argument is not correct. On the one hand; living sunna was not very alive, or rather it was only alive to scholars. Whoever Ibn al-MuqaJra"s a'immat al-huda may have been,"' Abu Yusurs qawm �iililJiin included no caliph later than 'Umar II, while the last caliph to be cited as an authority on law in the Mu�annaf of Abd al-Razzaq (d. 2 1 1 /826) is Hishiim.1IO No 'Abbisid caliph is invoked as an authority in legal l;Iadith, the incomparable nature of al-Mahdfs sWlan notwithstanding. III The fact that the Umayyads had to be expunged from the record (with the exception of 'Uthman and 'Umar II) was bad for such sense of caliphal law as survived: in principle the 'Abbasids could have made living sunna, but in practice theCa'noo -ofcaliphal law had been closed, It was only scholars such as Abu l;Ianifa or the aptly named Rabi'at al-Ra'y who wert still in a position to institute sunan, and for such scholars al-Shifi 'j's theories were indeed a threat. Eut for the caliphs, they did not make much difference. On the other hand, even living sunna was very detailed. It was easy enough for the Umayyads to follow the sunna of David, Solomon, the Prophet or past caliphs, given that the sunan in question rarely had much concrete existence; it was an altogether different matter to follow or restore the sunna of the Prophet and the early caliphs once l;Iadith had got underway. Having been deprived of the authority to institute new SWlan, the 'Abbasid caliphs also found that the past which they wert supposed to imitate consisted of narrowly defined rules, nol of vague ancestral practice compatible with any interpretation which they might wish to put on it. In practice, their hands had thus been tied. To this must be added the point mentioned already, viz, that since Prophetic sunna was defined in the main by private scholars rather than by public servants, its rules were frequently and indeed inten­ tionally unhelpful to the state. This is not to say that the scholars '

as legitimatt by the 'Abbisidsat this stage was 'Ali, SU&F$ling Ihal tht Q'imtnQ includtd pnwnsothtr than caliphs, t.,. worthy forebears of the dynasty such as Ibn ·Abbis, But bert 1$ dsewhere in the Risjj/Q, Ibn al-Muqaffa· is prudt'lltly vagut. 210 ·Abd al·Razziq, M�af, vol, x, no, 18298. 211 The nta�t W't tel to it is Kindi, G�"'Q'1, p. 370, whcrt Ibn Lahi'a, an ElYPtian judge sa)'1 thit a\-ManJiir wrott to him sayin, an"C/hu Iii y(Jjil!Il/,.llj(J.. ..·I�1l 1tf.lJiimii pu/l!qQr-- .Q/jj ...iUitil (1ie). However thi, is to be undtrstood. it cltarly represents tht Commander of the Faithful as an authority of law; but no IJadith collection saw fit to includt it. 2Q9 Presumably the only non··Abbisid caliph

,

I

recognised

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advocated disobedience to the caliph ; on the contrary, l;Iadith is quietist, But though the subjects had to obey the caliph, the caliph in his turn had to abide by rules which in matters such as taxation, penal law, the fixing of prices and the like comiued him to a policy very different from what he might otherwise have had in mind: humane though it is, Abu Yusufs Kiliib al-khariij could scarcely be recommended as a rational approach to the problem of taxation. Naturally the caliph could ignore the sunna and he frequently did: but what is a deputy of God who is forced to contravene God's law? The scholarly conception of Prophetic sunna was thus a threat to caliphal authority from the moment of its appearance. The only way in which the caliphs could have survived with such a law would have been by reserving the right to act as its ultimate arbiters, or in other words by selecting from the works of the scholars such rules as they wished to recognise, depriving the rest of validity, very much as Ibn al-Muqaffa' had suggested. Though al-Man�ur did not apparently respond to his proposal, there are suggestions that both he and other caliphs saw themselves as arbiters of this kind not so much as caliphs, but rather as kinsmen of the Prophet (a quality which the Umayyad caliphs had conveniently lacked). As has been seen, al-Man�ur displayed a special interest in l;Iadith transmitted to and from Hiishimites. AI-Mahdi explained that in his capacity as kinsman of the Prophet he had restored the sunna ignored by Mu'awiyall1; on another occasion he settled a question concerning the sunna of moustaches with reference to a tradition going back, via his father and grandfather, to Ibn 'Abbas.1II Similarly al-Ma'miin explained that of all people who followed the sunna of the Prophet he was the best equipped to act in accordance with it, partly because of his position in God's religion (.fc. his being khalifat Allah], partly because of his succession to Mul)ammad [.fC, his being khalifal rasUl Allah) and partly because of his kinship with the Prophet.1I4 But though the 'Abbasids would assert their special position vs-a-vis i the sunna in connection with this or that policy of theirs. they never claimed to have ultimate control of the law as such, nor could they have done so without rec:laiming the entirety of spiritual authority once vested in the caliphate. The law was the sum total of God's guidance, not merely matters of relevance to courts, for all that Ibn al-Muqaffa' only considered it as such in his

Risiila: it dealt with every aspect of

212 cr. llbove. note 193. 213 W.tT. Qu4d/I. vol. II, p. 130. 214 Bat., FUIUIJ. p. 32. cited by $arwat. Ra.fd·iI. vol.

lit,

p. 509.

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On the face orit al-Ma'mun sought his resouJ'¢ts for a restoration ofcaliphal authority in Shrism, first by designating the eighth imam of the Imimi Shrites as his successor, and next by assuming for himself the prerogatives of this imam. displaying the religious authority which he had won thereby in the institution of the m;�na,1II But though the erosion of the original concept of the caliphate within mainstream Islam on the one hand and the Hishimite descent of the 'Abbisids on the other both predisposed al-Ma'mun to seek a Shrite aegis for his ventures, it was in fact an Umayyad caliphate which he tried to restore (just as it was an Umayyad Dome of the Rock which he tried to claim for himself in Jerusalem), It may admittedly be argued that his designation of 'Ali al-Ri4i had little or nothing to do with his concept of calipha! authority: a recently uncovered document claims that he nominated the 'Alid in the belief that the end of the world was at hand,tl' If this is accepted. there is no question of regarding his choice ofai-Ri4i and his institution of the m;�na as two different strategies towards the same objective of regaining religious authority for the caliphate, In return his choice of al-Ril;lii would highlight the threadbare nature of 'Abbisid legitimacy after the fourth civil war: for if the caliph thought that he could only avert wholesale massacre ofhis kinsmen on the day ofjudgement by handing over to an 'Alid. then the caliph himself had evidently stopped believing that the 'Abbiisids had a right to rule, Loss of legitimacy and loss of religious authority went hand in hand under the Umayyads and the 'Abbisids alike : the designation of al-Ric;ti might be a reaction primarily to the fonner. the institution of the mi�na primarily to the latter, But there is reason to be sceptical about this claim, forit was precisely in connection with the designation of al-Ric;li that Umayyad concepts of the caliphate resurfaced, Thus the title ofkhalifat A/liih returned to the coinage. its first reappearance there being on coins issued in al·Rieji's name : and the message behind this come-back can hardly have been other than that the title was now meant to be taken as seriously as it had been in the days of'Abd ai-Malik: MuIJammad rasiU A/Nih. a/·Ma'miin khalifat Alliih, as the inscriptions proclaim, neatly restoring the old parity between 2 1 8 cr, F, Olbrieti, al·Mo'rnWt t ,Ii 'Alidl, I...eipvg 1929; D, Sourdel, ' La. potilique retipeuse du Cllire 'Ibbuide II-MI'mun" Rt�'IIt drs tludrs 1!larniqw! JO (1962): Pitton, A,,_d Ibn IIC/tIbo/ ami 1M MjMa; W, Madeluna. 'New Documents conceminS II-MI'mun, al-FII,tI b, Slhl Ind 'Ali II-RK,Ia' in Sludio Arahica tl I!//JI/'Iieo: Ft!/n:ltrij'l/or IIJs6n 'Abb43, ed, W, It-Qi4i, Beirut 1981. 219 Mldelun" 'New Documenu', pp, }431f,

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95

messenger and deputy.lto And at the same time al-Ma'mun made heavy use of Umayyad epistolary style in the letter he sent out from Khurisan announcing his choice of al-Ric;li as his successor. This letter, of which we offer a translation in appendix 4, is so close to that ofal-Walid II in terms of both structure and terminology that one suspects that it was directly modelled thereon (and al-Walid II is in fact known to have sent a copy of his to Khurisan).1tI Like al-Walid II, al-Ma'mUn begins with a review of sacred history divided into an era of prophets and another of caliphs. The era of prophets began when God chose Islam as His own religion and sent messengers with it until in due course the prophethood reached Mul)ammad, who here as in al-Walid's letter preaches the same as all the previous prophets and completes God's message to mankind. The era of the caliphs began when, on Mubammad's death, God set up the caliphate for the maintenance ofHisJaro'i4and "udUdand the shard'''' and sunan ofIslam, as well as for the conduct ofjihlid. As in ai-Walid's letter this is followed by a section stressing the importance of obedience to God's kharifa, though al-Ma'mUn has less to say about this than does al-Walid and, unlike him, also refers to the caliph's responsibilities in respect of his subjects. Here as there the caliphate is something which brings together the disunited, while the covenant of succession is a refuge and part of the completion of Islam. Both caliphs stress that they have had no greater preocc:upation than the succession since their accession, and both conclude with a paragraph on the benefits which will arise from giving allegiance. Leaving aside Qur'inic citations not used by al-Walid and the circumstantial detail regarding al-Ric;li and the 'Abbisid retinue. al-Ma'mUn's letter differs significantly from that of al-Walid only in that it refers to the kiliib/kitiib Alliih and sunna/sunnat nabiyyihi, as well as to the sunan of Islam, where al-Walid speaks only of the sunna ofGod, and further in that it cites a tradition, more precisely a Companion tradition (from 'Umar I) on the responsibility of caliphs for their subjects. The message is otherwise precisely the same as that of al-Walid : it is through the caliphs that God's ordinances are maintained. The letter 220

Cf, above, ehapler 2, nole 26, According 10 Shahan, Islamic HUlor,. vol. II, p, 47, al·Ma'miln ga� Ihe caliphal title 'a twisl to sianify thaI the ruler was God's deputy on eanh, instead of lhe simple earlier meaning of SU<.'ttSf SO ' in order 10 give his authorily •greater semblance of religious function', But al-Ma'miln did nol twist the lille. and his useofit wudearly farmore programmalic Ihan Shahan suggesu: whale�r inlerprelalion one adopt. of hi. religious policy, he ccnainly did not inlend simply 10 beautify the caliphale with some religious cosmetics,

221

Cf, .ppelldix

2, p, 117,

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thus amounts to a restoration of the Umayyad concept of the caliphate rather than to preparation for the end of the world. The failure of the experiment with al-Ric;li notwithstanding, a1-Ma'mun remained faithful to this concept. The caliph observes God's book and protects the legacy of the prophets (once more in the plural), as well as the J,aTfm ai-din, as we are told by al-Ma'mun's secretary, once more in tenns reminiscent of al-Walid's; He is aJ-qii'im bj-�aqqihi, the one who undertakes God's right'.111 And al-Ma'mun reaffinned this point on his institution of the mil]na. 'God has made it incumbent upon the imams of the Muslims. their caliphs, to strive for the maintenance of the religion of God with which He has entrusted them, the heritage of prophethood of which He has made them legatees, and the transmission of knowledge which He has committed to their care ... " he said, this time spelling out the implications thereof in no uncertain tenns: the Commander of the Faithful knows that the great multitudes, the mass of insignificant folk and vulgar public who in all regions and countries are without insight and deep reftection ... are people ignorant of God and too blind to see Him ...because of the weakness of their views. the deficiency of •

their understanding and their turning aside from reftection and recollection'.m Through the mil]na al-Ma'mun thus intended to resume the old caliphal role of curing spiritual blindness. But the

miJ,na was a failure too. Ibn Abi Du'id was no substitute for al-Farazdaq, and the vulgar masses did not want the cure: under the leadership of Ibn l;Ianbal they rejected caliphal guidance in religious matters once and for all. 222 SarwII, Rasd'lI, vol. Ill, p. 398, citing Al)mld b. Yii5ur in Ilc/uij'ifr ol-nuur.WrI 1\-a'J-nuurtmw. 223 Tab. ser. iii, pp. 11 m.; Pltlon, A"-d IbIt 1101160/, p. 57. .

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who transmit his traditions and his sunna, teaching them to the people, in a l;Iadith familiar to Sunnis and Shi'ites alike,ll But the caliphal title was apparently too closely associated with political power for this evolution to be completed, In the case of the heretics, however, there was nothing in al· Ma'mun's failure to force them to change their views on the caliphate; or rather there was nothing therein to force them to change their theoretical stance regarding this institution. In practice the caliphate ceased to matter much to the majority of Sunnis and Shi'ites alike. The Sunnis having stripped the head of state of his religious authority, the Shi'ites lost such real interest in replacing him with an imam of their own as they had managed to retain so far, devoting themselves to the elaboration of their own law and doctrine instead; only utopianists such as the Ism3'ilis refused to concede that political power and religious authority had parted company for good, But in principle the imam of the Imamis and their Isma'i1i offshoot alike remained both head of state and spiritual fountainhead. That the Imimi conception of the caliphate should be seen as an archaism rather than an innovation has been suggested already, and the case for this view may now be summarised as follows. First, the Imimis and Isma'i1is identify the legitimate head of state as deputy of God on earth,I4 They also identify him as the Prophet's successor: like the 'Abbisid caliph, the imam is khalifa fi'lldh Iddla ft khaliqolihi wo·li·rasillihift ummatihi,II and given the descent of the imams from the Prophet, this is as one might expect. Both sects generally prefer the title of imam to that of kharifa, possibly because the deputy of God is Qur'anically associated with bloodshed. and thus fallibility,l' but undoubtedly also because he is historically 13 a1-Rimhunnuzi. oJ-Mw,addilh jJ/�iI ba)'IIII '/·rdwf ""'(1/,,,,,'81, ed. M."A.al· Khatib, Beirul 1971, p. 163; Ibn Bibiiya, Ma'6n1'/�hb&-, ed. 'A. A.II-Ghll!iri, Tehran 1379, p. 375 (omils lhe leachina). I .. Cr. the references given above, chapter 2, nOles 57. S9-62. IS Ahmad b. Ya'qiib, RiJd/a, fol. 86v. Compare above chapler 2, p. 16 (Hirun); nOles 53 (al·Mutawakkil), and 58, 59 (olher Imimi and Ismi'm examples of the

imam as lhe Prophet's succesr). so 16 This was cenainly an embarra ssment to ShTite no 1m than Sunni exeFles (cr. above, chapter 2, nOle 5). Thus al·Tiisi finds it necessary to slreulhat the anselic commenl reprding bloodshed does "0/ refer to the behaviour of prophets and infallible imams, but rather 10 that of the rest of mankind, mankind beinl the Icharl/a (successor) announced by God in Ihis verse (al·Tiisi, al·Tibydlt fl'aj"$fr a/·Qur'&I, ed. A.I;I.Qafir al·'Amili and A.Sh.al·Amin, Najar 1957-63, vol. II, pp. 131, 1).4, ad 2:28); alternatively, Ihc ansels were referrinl to the behaviour oftheJiNl who had previoUJIyoccupied the CIInh (ibid., p. 132: similarly al-Qummi, Tafsir, ed. T.al-Mii$Rwi al·Jazi'iri, Naj.f 1386-7, vol. I, pp. )6(., where the Ichaff/a is however resolulCly idcnti6cd as God's J,ujja on canh).

�

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associated with real control or the entire Muslim world, I' Justas no separatist ruler could be a caliph. so a purely theoretical ruler could only aspire to be one; when the Fiitimids officially proclaimed themselves caliphs, it was precisely with a view to bringing the entire Muslim world under their sway," But however this l1}ay be, the point or significance here is that both sects apply to their own rulers a title first securely attested ror 'Uthmiin, Clearly, they took over this title as Muslim Gemeingut,lf Secondly, the imams or the Imiimis and Ismii'ilis are intrinsic to the attainment or salvation, Like the Umayyad and early 'Abbasid caliphs they are a'immat al-huda1O and imams or justicell who guide people away rrom perdition," God guiding people through them;U and like them, they are and/or maintain the waymarks and beacons or truth and guidance,u being light," shining suns, guiding stars, 17 JUII as 'Ali il the only amlr a/''''tI'millf1l in ImimI literature, so he tends to be the onl)' /cluJlIfa, In principle all twelve imams were caliphs: the Prophet himxlf predicted that theft would be twelvccaliphs after him (Ibn Shahrilhiib, MQllQqih, vol, I, pp, 2S1 f,). But in practjce this is rorlOllen, for we are also toid thll there havc only been four caliphs on elnh, Adlm, David, Aaron and 'Ali: those who deny that 'Ali is the founh arc in for a nasty 5Urprise on the day of judgement when it is announced that 'Ali is /chilli/a' Alldh/T art/ill' (Ibid., vol. II, pp. 26If.). 18 Khirijite or Zaydibreakawl)'S never adopted the caliphal title. be it because they rejected it altoFtbcr or because they felt iI would have been nonsensical; it was clearly becaU5C it would have bttn nonsensical that the Spanish Umanads initially railed to do so: the Fllimkis had to devalue the title before they adopted it.and it was felt to be an empty one even aner they had done so (d. F. Gabrieli. 'Omanadcs d'£spagne et Abbasklcs" Studla /slQlf1ica 31 (1970), pp. 98tr.; and note the absence ofcaliphal!ainWnC'f' here). Admilled ly.it was felt 10 bean empty one primarily becaU5C the Spanilh Umanads did not control tbe hoi)' places rather than because the)' dki nOI control lbe entire Muslim world; convenel)'. it was control ofthesc places rather than world dominion which pve the Ottoman caliphale a certain plausibility.just as it is control of the ..me places which gives the Sa'Udi monarchs I quui
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lamps and the like, which dispel darkness" and make the blind see,17 salvation being essentially a matter of finding the right path.II They are pillars of the religion,lt rain (gaylh)H and life to mankind;'1 they heal jn they are the rope of God to which one should clingU and a refuge for His servants.1t The imam is God's trustee (amiir Allah)" and somebody who stands between God and His creation.at Whoever dies without allegiance to such an imam dies a Jahili death according to Shi'ite no less than Sunnl l;Iadith;11 without faith in the imams one does not count as a believer.u 'He who does not hold fast to God's trustee will not benefit from the five prayers' is a line which, though originally addressed to Hariin ai-Rashid, appears in Imami literature on 'Afi too.n Thirdly, the imam of the Imamis and Isma'ilis occ upies the same role vi.Ni-vis the law as did the Umayyad caliph. The imam 'makes 26 Kula),ni,KiiJi,vol. I. pp. 196.200,204; Kuma)'t,pp. 64, 149 _ 46, 101(nos. 2: 110; 5:27); cr. also p. IS = I2f. (no. 1:54); Abmad b. Va'qiib. R.OOla. fol. 101v.: Mu'ayyad, Dt""6II, no." :�; 52 :4-6. 27 Mu'ayyad. DTwQn, no. I : 152. 28 For particularly striking passages illustrating this point, see Kulayni, Kii/T, vol.. II, pp. 182,208: Abmad b. Va'qiib, R.i.JaJa, fob. 84r.-85r. 29 Kulayni, Kdfl, vol. I, p. 204 (da'a'im a1-1!1dm); Kumayt, p. 2 .. 3, no. I: 5 (qa",'a'id aJ-IJ/dm). 30 Kulayni, K6ji, p. 200; Kumayt,pp. 3.9,99 &0 3, 7, 71 (no. 1:7,27; 3:97); cr. p. 154 _ 105 (no. 6: 18). 31 Kulayni, KUjF, vol. I, p. 204. 32 Kumayt, pp. 3, 4 .. 3, 4 (no. I :9, II); Mu'ayyad, Dldll,no. 37 :..3). 33 Cf. Ibn Shahrishiib, Maniiqib, vol. II, pp. 273f., where several tradilions idmtifying the imams as IJabi AIiUJr and aI·'w",'a al-wuthq4 are brought toðer. 34 Kulayni,K4/T, vol. I, p. 2OO(-/:c1If1-'Jbdtf):compare Kumayt, p. 3 _ 1 (no. I:7), where lhey Ire a ma'''''4 ror lhe guardians or orphans; Ibn Bibu)'l, MtllJItr, p. 371,where ""alaya' 'Ali' is "4,. Aliiih; Mu'ayyad, DTwiill, no. 2: 125, where they an! '4ma mIUI 10dJr0 billim min aI-radQ; compare also DOS. 4: 22; 36: 5; 59:42. 35 Kulayni,K4jT, v ol. I, p. 200 (amflt AI/411ft khaJqiJII); cr. pp, 223,291, where the same is said of Mul;!lmmad and 'Ali; simillrly Ibn Shahrishiib, MaII4qib. vol. I, p. 212; vol. II, p. 257: Tyan,SuI,_" p. 514n,rilina Hini' on al-Mu'iu. II amrll

Alldh hayna'ibddihl). 36 Yaqlimu maqdm Allan bG)TKI'ibddihi, IS al·Mu'ayyad pul il (Dr .. '4II , n. 37: 25), But there does not appear t o be any Uma)'yad pi"·-.kr!1 r(K lhe tenn "Iljja; and

the well known Imimi and Ismi'ili notion that God never leaves mankind. without a "ujju (j.t.. I prophet or an imam) is only implkil in the Umayyad material. 37 Kulayni, K4/i, vol. I, pp. 376f: Ibn Shahrishiib, Malliiqib, vol. I. p. 212,with a verse by Ial·SayyidJ al·l;lim),ari paraphrasing this tradition; Nu'min,DtiNim, vol. I, nos. 43, 48f.; Atunad b. Vaqiib, RisaJa, fol., 83r.; Strolhmann, Stoaf!rtdu /kr Zaldi/trI, p. 5. 38 Kulayni.K4fl. vol. I, p. 180; compare Ibn al·!;Iajjij in Ibn Shahrishiib. MaMqib, vol. Ill, p. 302: anta 'I·/mdm alladhTlu....·/d ""aldyatulIlHltd�j1'I.'adll'l·c1I,'a"",,;d mw'taqudr. cr, also Al;!mad b, YI'qiib, Ri.J41a, roL 99r. 39 Ibn Shahrishiib, MtJn&flb, vol. II, p. 257,where it is riled IS from an anonymous poel (",·a·qa/a sh8ir iiA:har) in a section on Ghadir Khumm. For its aUlhorship and original context. see chapler 3, note 49.

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known what is forbidden and what is allowed';" he 'allows what God has allowed, forbids what God had forbidden, maintains God's l,udiid and defends God's religion ',41 and in him is 'the completion of the prayer, zakal, fasting, pilgrimage and jihad, the augmentation of the booty and the alms taxes, the execution of the l,udud and al,kam, and the defence of the borders and outlying areas '.41 In lmimi and bma' i l i l;Iadith it is the imams who appear as authorities just as it is Umayyad caliphs who appear as such elsewhere." Jarir's 'were it not for the caliph and the book he recites, people �would have no judgements established for them, and no communal worship' it so utterly Shrite in sentiment that the Shi'ites could have claimed him as one of their own if all his most Shi'ite sounding poetry had not been uttered in praise of Umayyads. Finally, the imam of the Imimisand Isma' ilis is distinguished from the rest of mankind in various ways also attested for the Umayyads. Thus he is superior to all other people, ranking below prophets only.u The Umayyads wrongly claim such superiority, al-Kumayt says, just as they wrongly claim to have inherited the power which they have in fact USUIped.41 Like the Umayyad caliph, he is rightly guided. Thus 'Ali was ai-imam al-hiidi al-rOJhidu and imamuna al-mahdi,n He was hiidi)"," mahdiyy""," an expression also used in a satirical vein of al-l;Iusayn,4' who was al-mahdi ibn al-mahdi to his 40

41 42 4]

44

Kullyni, xajI, vol. I. p. 178; cr. Kumlyt . p. II 9 (no. I :34. where they Ire mu�iIIw" "'a-mw,ri",Iin), Ind the poem in Ibn Shlrishub. MWfdqlb, vol. III. p. 27S (/la}'Jr.1/IfI al-tw,rlm lI'a"-tw,m). KullynT. Kd/l. vol. I, p. 2OO;ef. Ibn BabUYI. Madill. p. 133 {/MQ '1f1lh . . ,fara4a 'ala)'I/llqdmDl al·�udiid}. Kullyni. Kd/f. vol. I. p. 200. And note thll lhe imams too I re presented as havinl stUled lelll poinu in response 10 petitions submit ted to them by privlle persons: 'one of our companions wrote a petition(kirdb) to Abll Ja'fat the Second, Istin, him lboul I man who has unlawful intercourse with I woman ...He wrote in his own hand Ind with his own seal ...(Kullyni, Kdft, voJ.vii, p. 16]; compare lbove, chlpler 4, p. 47). Jbn II-ij:lnlfiyya WIS ibtt kllo)'r 01-,.03 IxIda '/·nobl{Kulhayyir 'Azza in Ibn Sa'd. faboqiJt. vol. Y. p. 107); Ihe Hishimittli were superior loal·"dskullillim (KumlY!. p. 53 42. no. 2:87). ]] (no. 2: nf.; cr. 2: 28). Compare lbove. chapter ], p. )I. Kumly! . p. 41 Ibn Shahrishiib, MtINiqih. vol.II, p. 302. Ibn Shlhrishiib. Mmtdqib. vol.ii. p. 296. Olbbi, Wqfiddt. p. 24(1150 cited in 'Iqd. Yol.n. p. 109'·: Ind Qalqashandi. $IIM, vol.I. p. 258. with the Iddition Ihat he auides with his list").The Prophet also dexdbed 'Ali IS such (Ibn II·Athir. Uld al·sl/6IHlfl mdrifal ol·taJ1dbo. Cairo 1285-6. vol. IY, p. ]1). ij:ujr b. 'Adi asked God to mike 'Ali hadi)'o umma"� maltdiy,.· (NI$r b.Muzitlim. Wm(al Siff{t,t p.l81). Aqtii", "..ar,a Wi)"· malN/jy,.- ful.ya ..·"" lalqd }odHa '/."obiy}l'", IS I member of the aovemmenll roops It Karbali' is supposed to hive said (Tlb. ser. ii. p. 350). _

_

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followers." Zayd b. 'All was mahdi too.n So of course was Ibn al-l:;Ianafiyya in the opinion ofMukhtir, and he was perhaps the first Mahdi in the sense of a specific and long-awaited redeemer figure, though Sulaymin and 'Umar II were soon to follow suit,lI as were other 'Alids in due course. But all the imams were mahdiyyun according to the Isma'i1is.n Still, most Shi'ite literature being late, the epithet mahtli is here less commonly used of the imams than of the redeemer at the end of time, as it is in classical Sunni literature too. Further, the imam shares with Umayyad caliphs the quality of mufahham, made to understand on a par with Solomon in the Qur'in.it He also had superhuman knowledge." and in this respect he is better endowed than his Umayyad counterpart. who only had superhuman ra'y." He is also divinely protected against error (ma'�iim), and in this respect too he is better endowed than the Umayyads, who nonetheless came close to acquiring the same quality. Thus, as has been seen, the Umayyad caliphate was a '4ma against error to which one should hold fast as one holds fast to God's rope ;'7'Abd aI-Malik was ma'�iim min khatal al-qawl It 'a-talal al:fi'I;" and 'Ubaydallah al-'Anban spoke to al-Mahdi of al-khulafo' alTab., ser. ii, pp. 546. 51 Mas., Mwril), vol. IV, §2222 v, p. 470; 'Iqd, vol IV, p. 413"; al·Mubarrad, aJ-Xdmil, cd. W. Wright, Leipzia 1864-92, p. 110; Maqriii, Nizfl', p. 5; Ibn 'Aiikir, TulJltrb, vol. JV, p. 426, where a pro-Umayyad poet say. that 'I never 51W a mahaT crucified on a tree trunk.' 52 Cf. £1', .u. 'al·mahdi', col. 112b. Ibn al-l;Ianafiyya was the Mahdi foretold by Ka'b al·Atabir according to Kuthayyir 'Azza (AgMnT, vol. IX, p. 16). For Sulaymin, ICC above, chapter 3, p. 36; he WI. the Mlbdi roretold by the Torah and the Psalms and by rabbis Ind sooth5lyen (Flranbq vol. I. p. 32,..... For 'Umar II, whose physical features foretold that be was tbe Mahdi, ICC below, appendix I, p. 114. 53 Atamad b. Va'qilb, Rird}a, fol. IOlr. 54 El", J.D. 'imama', p 1167a; Kulayni, Kdj1. vol. I. pp. 270£.; E. Kohlber" ' Tbe Tenn MwJ,addOflt in Twelver Shi'is.m' SI.mu. Orl�IQIIQ Mf"mQrlot: D. H. Bo"f"IIt LHdicalQ, Jerusalem 1979, p. 401"1. For the UmaYYlds, ICC the references given abo�, chapter 4, note 11. The Imimiucem to hive roraollen the Qur'inic oMain of the term mufahhom. In Murd, IrJluld, pp. 1401'., we are told that 'Ali judaed aner the manner orOavid, that i s 'accordina to inspiration' (ilhiim, on which sec Kohlberg, op. dl., p. 40); but there is no rc:fercllOe to Oavkl and Solomon in their definitions of mw/alrllam. 55 El", J.D. 'imama', p. 11671. Their 'ilm is merllioncd liready by al.Kumayt (p. 6. no. 1 :22; it is a gift from the Omniscient). 7 56 cr. the references Biven above, chapter 4, notes 92-3. 57 cr. above, chlpter 3, pp. 3Sf. 58 cr. the rererence aiven above, chapter 4, note 96. Compare also ammQ bdda /Cl�/aJ,4 '/Iflh (//fI T, ol·mw'mlnTn . . . wo-'aJmna i4hw d'Iilahw (Abil Bakr b. l;Iazm to 'Umar II in Ibn Sa·d. Tabaqfll, vol. v, p. 390); ",ooOmr, al·mw'm/"i" )'G.J'ulu '/lahal-'�mo� ...a'I-tawj1q(Hishim in Tlb. set. ii, p, 1749); ...a-btl/4h tawj1q (//fIrr al-rmlminfn tI'Q-'qmolwhu (II-Ma'miln in Safwlt. RG.Jl'iI, vol. III, p. 509). so

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mrl'O.fam bihim wtil-ma'filmUn, though the khulafli'

in question were

scholars rather than rulers." Popular sentiment in Umayyad Syria had it that whoever had been caliph for three days would escape hell fire," God counting only the good deeds of a caliph, not the bad ones," a sentiment which might easily have issued in a denial of the existence of the uncounted deeds. For all that in Sunnl Islam

·;.fma

is reserved for prophets,lI it was hardly the Imimis who invented the concept. It is conspicuously absent from al-Kumayt's poetry, and when it makes its appearance elsewhere, it is defined with reference to the same Qur'inic verses to which the Umayyads and their poets had alluded.u Even so, it was undoubtedly more important for the Imimis than for adherents of the Umayyads to exempt the imams from error and sin, given that the

ahl al-bayt

were Qur'inically

defined as purified.N 'We are two families of Quraysh who will be worshipped instead of God, we and Banii Umayya', Ibn al-l;Ianafiyya is supposed to have said." Early Muslims thus recognized that though adherents of the Umayyads and the Hishimites sponsored dife f rent at one in their conception of the caliphate itself. It is because the same concept of the caliphate was involved that opportunistic poets could praise Umayyads and Hashimites in exactly the same terms." The

$9 cr. lhe rd'erenct pY'tn IboY't. nOl e 10. Compil'e M",·Mllm j'taf_tll mill sluur

So_ar (AI-Sayy id 11-!;Iim Ylri 10 II·Mln$ur ....ilh . refert:noe 10 BI ni! A\lmld in WitT, 0'�''', vol. II, p. 77); Wto �."...- mill 'ibdd AIf411 odroleol""," 'i.prwJI AI/db (11.MI m ' iln in 'Iqd. vol. IV, p. 107'1). A/·I,Gmd· 1r116It Ill/Gdlrl}ltg/II ... Ill·'i.prwJ Ii*llM'liyd'iill (11·Mu'la tim in Qalqa sh lndi, $ubb. 1101. VI, p. �). 60 Tlb Ief. ii. p. 17.7. where th e ca liph Hi shim refm to td-lJodftil olloJhi ,0M'iJhll '/-IIdf t o this dl'ecl, sayin, th lt h e will stop believin, i n it i f Il-Wlrld (II) is to .•

be calipb. . Ii-Wlrld I cites I J,adflh ,..,lI4ddithWJ4 blhi oitl g/_Shdm 61 'Iqd. vol. i, pp. 70(.,....hen: 10 thi s ell'ect I nd concludes (with th e h elp of Il·Zuhnl th lt ' peop lea r e seducinl UJ (rom ou r n:li pon', 62 EI', UI. "ifnll'. 63 Ibn SibilYI, Mda"l, p. 132: ....hen . 'Alib, 11·!:Iusayn i sIIted whit i s th emelning oftJ/·mdfWr!, h e n:plieshl'_'{'''''''QfIM bl-lJubI AlltlJI wtJ·lJubI AlliJJI mn.,·o' I·Qur'iJII (d', 3:98) ....hile . Hi shim b. 11·!;Iltam in response to th e sam eq uestion Idduces .

):96. 64 cr. Qur. . 33:33:

INttJIPId ywrdu 'flair /i·}'IIdIthiba 'ollkum ol-rljJ ohl ol-boyt IWI-JiIItohhl,okum 10thY,.-. Cf, Tlb., ser. ii, p, 1715 .....hen: . II·Sayy id 11·!;Iim Ylri duc:tibes Zlyd b, 'Ali IS 1ll_,Wthar; K ully ni, Klfl, 1101, I, p. 200, ....hen: . the im .m i. _roitlru, mill o/· rJhumjb. (Th e im lm is llso pure (rmqojfa. muhodltdhab. moJ,4) i n Kum ly t. but only w ith n:fel'CTlCC to Fnc:l lol)', cf, pp. 55, 83_ 41. 61,

nos. 2:79; 3:37.) 65 Ibn Sa·d . TiJboqdl, 1101.. II. p. 94 (IWO versions); Gh lZili. FtNjd·I/J. p, 206. 66 Th us II.Flfl%dlq praised Zay n Il··,l,btdin I nd theohf oJ.boyt IS the besl of the tdtI td-4Tf. the im lm s of piou s people, flin, liah t ilIum inlting d lrtnc:s5 I nd I n:(UF (11·FI raz.daq, Diwlll, Bei rut 1960, vol. II. pp. 17111'.; the po<:ih. which i s

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he was no more of an absolutist ruler than the Messenger had been, and contemporaries could hardly have anticipated that the nature of the state was soon to change. Change it did, however, As the conquests slowed down on the one hand and the number of Muslims increased on the other. the former conquerors increasingly found themselves reduced to subjects deprived of a say in the running of public affairs. In principle. of course, nobody could possibly object to delegating public affairs to a representative of God Himself on earth: Imami literature eloquently describes how wonderful it would be to do precisely that. But in practice it amounted to a total surrender of power to a ruler who was by definition always in the right; and the sheer might of the caliphate both forced and tempted the Umayyads to make increasing use of this power over and above the frequently impossible and certainly always contradictory wishes of their subjects. In short. when the Deputy began to wield the power ascribed to him, this power was felt to be oppressive: once the initial sense of exhilaration was over. constitutional crises were bound to set in.7t Now from one point of view one might have expected the ultimate outcome of these crises to have been a rejection of absolutist rule for some sort of consultative government, or in other words the creation of institutional checks on the exercise ofcaliphal power. The widespread insistence that the caliphate be elective (al-amr .rhiirii), the endless demands for observance of k;(iib and .umna, good practice and past models, the constant objections to Umayyad fiscal policy, and the general readiness to take up anns against what was perceiVed to be oppressive rule. all these are features indicative of so stubborn a detennination to keep government under control that one might have credited it with a good chance of success. But from another point of view it is not of course surprising that no representative bodies ever did emerge. The caliph's resources were far too massive for anyone to have much leverage against him. Mu'awiya paid careful attention to consultation with the tribal nobility, and all caliphs had to engage in a certain amount of horse-trading in order to have their successors accepted; but no caliphs had to negotiate in order to get revenue, taxes being paid overwhelmingly by non­ Muslims. Practically everyone of importance in the Umayyad state adopted aRer the conquest or the Fertile Crescen t had beaun: this point too is discussed in appendix I. 72 We 0'We the term 'constitutional crisis' and all the thought which it IUgests to Dr F. W. Zimmerm.nn.

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owed the bulk of his income to dhimmis too, but through the intermediary of the state; disputes over fiscal policy were accordingly disputes over the distribution of public revenues among those entitled to a share. not over the allocation of the tax burden among those obliged to pay.7J The tribal nobility did have political power independently of the state in the form of tribal followings. but these were ephemeral assets under conditions of settlement in the urbanised and socially stratified Middle East, and by the second half of the Umayyad period this nobility had duly begun to disappear from the public scene.H Owing both their power and their income to the state, the generals and governors who replaced it were even less likely to win concessions from the caliph, as Yazid b. al-Muhallab discovered at the cost of his life. In short, for all the activism bequeathed by the Arab tribal past, the leverage which medieval dukes and barons had against the impoverished kings of western Europe simply was not available. Even if activism had sufficed to put shackles on the caliph, it is hard to believe that the outcome would have been other than political collapse. On the one hand, an area so huge as that controlled by the Umayyads could scarcely be held together for any period of time by any form of government other than the imperial one towards which the Umayyads were moving; and on the other hand, the tribesmen and ex-tribesmen who made up their subjects were so unruly that throughout most of the period repressive government in the style of al-I:fajjiij was required for the maintenance of a semblance of order. To this should perhaps be added that the opponents of absolutism rarely proposed any com.:rete form of machinery for the limitation of power. Yazid III declared himself willing to step down ifhe failed to implement his programme and/or a more suitable candidate could be found, but he did not say who was going to review his progress or how they were to proceed if they deemed it to be poor. Khiirijite 73 For the nature of such disputes in the first civil war. at the beginninl of the Umayyad period, sec M. Hinds. 'Kilfan Political Alignmenu and their Back­ ground in the Mid-Seventh Century A.D.', In/r:'1IlJ/jOf'UJi JOilma/ of MiddI, EoJ/ S/udks 2 (1971); id., 'The Murder of the Caliph 'U1lJ.min'. For thar nature in

74

the third civil war, at the end of this period, see the accesion s speech by Yuid III summarized above, chapter :S, p. 63. Taxation was noc In issue ucept in so far as it related to dhi".".is (especially dhj".".is tryinS to pin rccoiJIition as Muslims, cr. Wellhausen. ,frllb Kingdom, ch. :S): Ind as fir as YIZid III was con cerned, over-talation of dhiJnmTs was of political importanee only in so far IS it led to de-population of the lands on which his Muslim adherents were dependent for their income. Cf. Crone, SIavr:s, chs. :S, 7.

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works also disregard all practical problems posed by Kharijile political ideals; there is a total lack of institutional machinery behind the Muslim concept of consensus; and pre-Mongol Muslim society is in general characterized by a predominance of infonnal over fonnal organization. Still. we are not entirely sure about the relevance of this point. By the late Umayyad period al-l;Iarith b. Surayj and Na$r b. Sayyar had a good idea of how to set up a shard, and soapparentlydid Vazid III himself: all parties involved designated men of integrity to act as electors.li Representative bodies could presumably have developed from these modest beginnings if the opportunity had been there. The fact that the opponents of caliphal absolutism ended up by satisfying themselves with purely theoretical propositions may thus be a straightforward result of the caliphal ability to ignore their demands. Given that the caliph's exercise of power could not be controlled, the opponents of Umayyad absolutism had two courses of action open to them. On the one hand, they could oppose the ruling dynasty in the belief that government would cease to be oppressive if there was a change of personnel. This was the course adopted by various followers of the ahl al-bayJ such as the shla of the 'Abbiisids and 'Ali: and the remarkable fidelity of the Imamis to the original conception of the caliphate turns on the fact that they never put their belief to the test: had Ja'far al-Sadiq been so unwise as to let himself be elected caliph in the aftennath of the 'Abbisid revolution, even his adherents would soon have repented of their views.lI Alternatively, the oppo­ nents of caliphal absolutism could limit the area afec f ted wi thdrawing from caliphal control all matters of religious significance, above all the definition of God's law. This was the solution adopted by the future Sunnis, and its feasibility turns on the fact that rulers cannot in fact shape the beliefs and private lives of their subjects unless the latter believe they have a right to do so. Calipha! power thus remained absolutist, but it affected politics alone. Of course, given that the Sunni solution deprived the caliph of a say in the definition of the law all while insisting that he abide by this law, it

could be said that the scholars succeeded in turning an absolutist 7S cr. lbove. chlpte:r S. nole: 49. 76 He: was invilc:d by Abu Slllma 10 participale in I sll{lriJ, but wisc:ly declinc:d (C. Clhc:n 'Poinls d e vue sur II "Rcvolulion 'Ibbisidc:"', RfWt Hisloriqw 230 (1963), p. 330). bmi1lism did of course survive lhe: crc:alion oran Ismi'ilT scale, bUI not on the whole ImonllM subjecls orthis Sllte:: lhe: 8c:rbc:n orNonh Arricl wc:re soon disillusionc:d, Ind 1M Egyptilns chose: ne:ver to conve:rt.

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monarch into a constitutional one. H But in the absence of machinery for the protection of the constitution, they only did so in a purely theoretical sense: in constitutional theory the caliphate was an elective office too, for all that it was plainly hereditary in practice. But though caliphal absolutism remained. the victory of the scholars had profound political effects. The historically significant point is that a ruler who has no say at all in the definition of the law by which his subjects have chosen to live cannot rule those subjects in any but a purely military sense. When the Jews elaborated their all-embracing religious law, it was precisely with a view to surviving as a community of their own under alien rulers, their own state having been lost. When the Muslims took refuge in a similar law, the state from which they had distanced themselves likewise had to be manned with outsiders in order to go on. In Hindu India, where brahmanic dominance similarly led to the fonnation of an all-embracing holy law withdrawn from royal control, the state became practically redundant.71 In all three cases the prevailing attitude to power was one of quietism: rulers must be obeyed whether they are right or wrong, observant of the law or not. From this point of view no ruler could complain of the laws in question. But rulers were obeyed as outsiders to the community, not as representatives of it, except (in Islam) in their performance of ritual duties such as leadership of the prayer or conduct of jihad, the latter being an activity particularly apt to restore moral continuity between the ruler and his subjects. The state was thus something which sat on top of society, not something which was rooted in it; and given that there was minimal interaction between the two. there was also minimal political development: dynasties came and went. bUI it was only the dynasties that changed. From the point of view or the political development of the Islamic world, the victory of the 'ulama' was thus a costly one. A less stultifying solution tolhe problem posed by God's deputy on earth would have been a division of labour whereby all law of public relevance remained with the Deputy, while private and ritual law passed to scholars willing to collaborate wilh him. a situation familiar from elsewhere.1f But where all aspects of life are covered 77 We owe Ihi1 poinl lo Dr F. W. Zimmennann. 78 Cf. J. Hall. POM"" and Ubmiu. Oxford 1985. ch. 3. 79 Such a division of labour was characlerislic or Rome before the Dominale and or pre·modem conlinenlal Europe. In classical Greece and China Ihe stale also took over a limiled area or Ihe law. though no privale scholan emerged to lake over the Te$t.

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by a single sacred law, such a solution is impossible. God's law was indivisible, and collaboration between His rival representatives was ruled out until one or the other side had won. (There were of course collaborative scholars such as Abu Yiisuf; but such scholars tended to lose their standing among their peers.)" As it was the 'uJamii' won. Islamic history would certainly have been different, more dynamic in political tenns if the Deputies had managed to defeat them, The fact that all aspects of life were rolled together in a single God·given packet in the Islamic view of things was of crucial importance for the fonnation of a new civilisation in an area in which civilisation cannot be said to have been in short supply; the same fact lies behind the ideological intransigence oftslam viNl·visthe Western world today. It is a fact which throughout history has given Islam extraordinary powers of survival; but at the same time it has always interfered with the capacity of Muslims to organize themselves. 80 er. Goitcin, 'Attiludes towards Government in Islam and Judaism' in his S/!ldkJ, pp. 2O.5r.

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Appendix I

it was 'Ati who was

imam aJ·IJaqq;' and

so

on. It The fact that

al-l;Iu{ay'a's verse is unflattering to Abu Bakr is not of course a guarantee of its authenticity; Abu Bakr is not always clearly identified elsewhere as a head of state; and at any rate an in8uential politican could well have been turned into a head of state by Marwanid times as long as nobody had an interest in remembering otherwise (as did the Umayyads in the case of SitUn), But in the absence of positive evidence: for the conjecture, there is too much to explain away. There are nonetheless some suggestive passages in which Abu Bakr seems to have been forgotten. Thus, as mentioned already, Yazid b. al·Muhallab spoke o f " Umar, 'Uthman and the caliphs of God after them'. as if the line of caliphs had started with 'Umar.1I Similarly, a Medinese successor said that '( have lived under 'Umar, 'Uthman and the later caliphs, and they only beat a slave forty times for qadhf', meaning that this was the right punishment given that no caliph had acted otherwise. II And Zayd b. Thabit cited calipha! precedent to Mu'awiya with the comment that ' I have lived under the two caliphs before you', for all that Zayd, a Companion of the Prophet, could scarcely have missed the caliphate of Abu Bakr.u Apparently Abu Bakr did not count as a kharifa to any of these individuals, He certainly did not count as an authority to anyone engaged in the elaboration of the law: traditions ascribing legal doctrines to Abu Bakr are practically non�xistent.14 I f h e was head of state, he would thus appear to have been one of a different type from his successors. Now it is well known from the many richly documented messianic movements of recent times that reality often forces the participants in such movements to take considerable liberty with their doctrinal script: the herald assumes the role of messiah, or is taken by some to be him; the messiah decides to be only a herald, or to abandon the script altogether for a while; several leaders are active, the allocation of roles between them being anything but clear, and so on. Abu Bakr may well have been an example of this: as head of state Kumayt, p. 156 107f. (no. I: Iff.). 10 cr. Nibiahal B. Ja'dl in 'Iqd, vol. II, p. 971: al·Oll;il;iik b. Firiiz al·Daylamiin RaJ. A/I.J., vol. Iv/b, p. 27. I I cr. above, chapler 2, nole 13. 12 cr. above, chapler 4, note SJ. 13 cr. above, chapler 4, nOle 62; contrasl 'Abd al·Razziq, MIq(UlMj, vol. x, no. 11829, where a subgovemor refuses to apply Mu'iwiya's inSlrUClions on the around Ihilihe Prophel, Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Ulhmin had acted otherwise. 14 For one whkh BtU close, see 'Abd al·Rattiq, M/qQIUIQj, vol. I, no. IISI. 9

..

C;.pvrlghted material

On the date and origin of the cali phate

//5

is a fact that the Byzantine emperor had come to be seen as God's representative on earth by the late sixth century," and that here as in Islam there was a predilection for David and Solomon as prototypes of the ideal ruler.J.t (Indeed, even the western view that Peter was vicar of God on earth seems to have reached the Islamic Middle East at an early stage.)S1 That Sasanid kingship was what one might call caesaropapist is well known.31 But all that this amounts to is no more than that the Muslim concept of power was in line with that current in the non·Muslim world. It is an odd idea that a state founded by a prophet should have needed the example of secular empires in order to develop theocracy; and pace Tyan and others, the caliphate clearly did fuse religion and politics from the start, whereas they were only twins on the other side. Neither the Persian nor the Byzantine emperor was on a par with the khaffja, who was intrinsic to the acquisition of worldly prosperity and heavenly bliss alike. What is more, we do not have the right relationship between religion, politics and law in either empire. The Byzantine basileus was indeed the ultimate source of law, but he was so in his capacity as Roman, i.e. essentially pre·Christian, emperor, and the law in question was a secular one irrelevant to the attainment of Christian salvation. Conversely, Zoroastrian law, though religious, was not formulated by the Shihinshih. The imperial models may well have influenced the development of the caliphate in various ways: but when Mu'awiya is accused of being kisra 'I·'arab*' and of having turned the caliphate into something hiraqliyya and kisrawiyya,lI what is meant is that he accumulated power at the expense of his subjects by introducing dynastic succession and the like, not that he introduced theocracy. There is no imperial model behind the office of khaffjat Allah. It is only the Samaritans who offer the right fusion of political power and religious authority in conjunction with a holy law, and they do have the merit of speaking of IJly/t yhwh.1t But this could conceivably be an instance of Islamic contamination. and the Arabs may have invented their khaffjal Allah on their own. 3) cr. A. Cameron. 'Images or Authority: Elites and Icons in ute Shah.Century

34

Byuntium' in M. MUllett and R. Scott (edl.), BYlollfium and 1M Clauicol TradiliQft, Binningham 1981, p. 213,cf. p. 217.

Ibid., p. 221.

35 a. the poem wronaIy ascribed to al·Warld lI, Shfr,

p. 160,'.

36 cr. most recently S. Shaked, 'From Iran to Islam: Notes on Some Themes in

Transmission', Jtru.ro/O1l SlumtS in Arabic and Islam, " (198-4), pp. 37ft'. 37 B.a.1., AIU. vol. Iv/a, p. 125. )8 Ibn Qutayba, 'mUma. p. 162: IiQi;, RQsd'U, vol. II, p. 1 1 . )9 CrODe and Cook, Hagarism, p. 178, nole 7 1 . .

righted matmal

Appendix 2 The letters of al-Walid II and Yazld III

The Letln or aI-Walid II

AI-Walid Irs letter concerning the designation of his successors is preserved in the chronicle of al-Tabari (sec. ii. pp. 17S6ff. suh onno 125; also reproduced in Safwat. Rasa'iI, vol. ii, pp. 44Str.), and apparently there alone. It was first singled out as a document or some importance by Dennett, who also offered a summary translation (or more precisely a loose paraphrase) which is very deficient in places (D. C. Dennett, ' Marwan ibn Muhammad : the Passing of the Umayyad Caliphate', Harvard Ph.D. diss. 1939. pp. 169ff. ; partially reproduced in M. Khadduri, The Islamic Conception of Justice, Baltimore and London 1984, p. 26). More recently the letter has been discussed by Nagel (Rechrieitung, pp. 82fT) and Khadduri (Justice. pp. 25ft'.). All three scholars assume it to be authentic, and so do we, For one thing. it is hard to see why anyone should have felt tempted to forge the te�t ofa succession document equally devoid of religious significance and historical effect. For another. a forger active in the 'Abbisid period (and he could scarcely have been active before it) would have required e�traordinary historical insight to produce a document in which the importance of the caliphal institution is stressed. but its Umayyad incumbents are taken for granted, Further. the fact that al-Ma'mun produced a succession document along very similar lines'(see appendix 4) shows that the inshii' did indeed come out of a bureaucratic file: and since the 'Abbasids before al-Ma'rniin do not appear to have made use of this type ofinshii', we must assume either that it antedated the 'Abbasids or that it originated in the time of al-Ma'mun. It does not seem likely that al-Ma'mun's secretary would have amused himself by penning elaborate succession docu­ ments in the name ofUmayyad caliphs (nor would one have assumed him to have had sufficient historical sense to omit t;ladith. be it .

116 righted matmal

The letters of 01- Walfd II and Yazid III

117

Prophetic or other; but ofJ:ladith there is none). We are thus entitled to assume that the inshii' antedated the 'Abbasids and that the leHer was written by Samal on behalf of al-Wafid II precisely as the letter states. (The name Samal is peculiar and should perhaps be read Simak though there do not appear to be any variant readings of it; it could scarcely be a corruption of Salim (b. 'Abd al-Ra�man, $al)ib diwiin al-rosii'i/, cf. Tab., ser. ii, p. 1750].) Given that we only have al-Tabar?s version, it is hard to say whether it is based on a written copy of the letter or on an oral version thereof, but one would have thought it to be based on a document. The letter is long and so close to al-Ma'mun's in formulation that if it was copied from somebody who had simply heard it read aloud, the person in question must have had an extraordinary memory. AI-Taban says that he has it from 'All, sc. al-Mada'ini, 'from his aforementioned shuyukh', according to whom two men came to Na$r [b. Sayyar] with the letter wa-huwa amma ba'da[ . . . Jere, a fonnulation apt to suggest that he is repro­ ducing the text of the copy sent to Khurasan. The text is corrupt in places and not always easily amended. In our attempt to restore meaning to it we have greatly benefitted from the fact that Professor I�san 'Abbas was willing to place his expertise at our disposal. Even in its amended version, however, the letter does not lend itself to translation. The style is involved and overloaded: as the scribe piles warning upon warning, both syntu and logic are stretched to breaking point. Exactly what he has in mind at any particular point is often less than clear, and those who heard the letter read aloud must frequently have lost the thread ; on the other hand they must have felt that the overall message was being positively hammered into them: the caliphs are God's own instrument and everyone must obey them; obedience will be amply rewarded, whereas disobedience and dissension have dire consequences in both this world and the next. We hope that our cumbrous English version retains some of the same effect. Both Dennett and Nagel saw evidence in this letter that the Umayyadsdenied the doctrine offree will(' Marwan h. Muhammad " p. 172; Rechtleitung, p. 71 and note I thereto), and Khadduri even claims that the letter was intended as a reply to Qadarite critics of the Umayyad regime (Justice, p. 25). But we must beg to differ. There is indeed a strong sense in it that God is re­ sponsible for everything, not least for the success of His caliphs and the downfall of their enemies, but there is not anything remotely resembling a thought on the relationship between the divine and the

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119

straight path,' Ultimately the grace of God (as manifested) in His prophethood reached Mu1;tammad, at a time when knowledge had become obliterated and people had become blind, having acquired different desires' and gone their separate ways, the waymarks of truth having become effaced, Through him God made guidance clear and dispelled blindness. and through him He saved (people] from going astray and perishing, He elucidated' the religion through him. and He made him a mercy to mankind,' Through him He sealed His revelation, He gathered unto him everything with which He had honoured the prophets before him, and He made him follow their tracks,' confinning the truth of that which He had revealed together with them, preserving it,!' calling to it and enjoying it,ll

1, In due course there were those from among his nation who responded to him and became adherents of the religion with which God had honoured them, They conflnned the truth of that which previous prophets of God [had preached). where their people used to

call them liars, accepted their sincere advice where they used to reject it, protected their sacred things from the desecration which they used to commit. and venerated those things which they used to hold in contempt, No member of Mul;lammad's nalion would hear someone give the lie to one of God's prophets concerning that with which God had scnt him,II or impugn him in what he said or hurt him by calling him stupid, arguing against him orll denying that which God had sent

1758 down with him,I' / / without deeming his blood to be lawful for it and cutting off such ties as he might have with himu .. even if they were their fathers. their sons or their clansmen ",It

Qllr''''', Edinburgh 1970, pp, 127ft',), Unfortunately al-Ma'mun's leller is much

moner at this point (cf, appendix 4),

4 Ifflalf lriya alpan, cr, Qur.. 17: jj; 29: 4j; 41 : 34. j Sird( MlIJlaqi'M, cr. Qur., 2: 136, 209; ):96; j : 18, and pGJ$im. 6 Tashtfl Mina/-JurM'd. The temptation to read hwdif for hCl*'dis strong, but compare KumaY', p.!i4 40 (no. 2:7) : wa-lr.ay!a qmdlwhwm /ruda. ll'a'/-hall'iJ"lumiJ bihiM MutaJlrtfibu). 7 Reading anluJja for abhaja, following Safwat, RaJd'/I, vol. II, p. 448. S RaI}nt(J"· 1fI-'O/QlP/in, d. Qur., 2 1 : 107. 9 Wa-qaifa bihi 'ala olharihiM, 'he caused their tracks 10 be relraoed through him', _

cf. Qur., 2 : 8 1 ; 5:50; j7:27.

10 Cf. Qur., j : j2.

I I Compare the similar account in ai-Rashid's leiter toConstanline. Safwal, RasiJ'i1,

12 13 14 1j

16

vol. 111, pp. 2jSf. i as the object of yasma'1I (or J'llJI7fa'II). Reading MwJcadhdJJb-" Reading all' for IdJJ, following O. Similarly IbrlhIm. U-man tmla/a '/1M 'a/ayhi ma'airll. We omit 'a/aJ'hi, followin, 0, on the Found that the text has previously used Mdahu alone (compare Qur. 2: 2Q9). We omit thefa-IQIPIyabqa k¥rprea:ding iIIiJ. following 8M and O. The alternative translation would be: '50 no unbeliever remained without thereby rendering his blood lawful and cutting off ,uch relationships as he might ha� with him '. Wa-in kiJnii dbtJ'airwm aw aW'airwrt QW 'ashualairwm. 1M sudden shift from singular to plural arises from the fact that this is a Qur'inic quotation, if a slightly deviant one (cf. Qur. 5S:22). '

.

C;lpynghted malenal

Appendix 2

J20

[The era of the caliphs]

3. Then God deputed His caliphs over the path of His prophethood

("G14 mitthdj nubvwwari/,,)

-

(that is] when He took back His Prophet

and sealed His revelation with him - for the implementation of His decree (�ukm), the establishment of His normative practice (SIIMQ) and restrictive statutes (�lIdiM1), and for the observance of His ordinances

(farifit/) and His rights (�uquq), supporting Islam, consolidating that

by which it is rendered firm,!' strenathenins the strands of His rope,lI

keepinS [people] away from His forbidden things.11 providing for

equity ('adt) among His servants and putting His lands to right. (doing

all of these things) through them.II

nne importance of obedience to the caliphs) ... God (blessed and exalted is He) says, "and jf God had not kept back the people, some by means of others. surely the earth would have been corrupted; but God is bounteous to mankind".11 So the caliphs ofGod followed one another, in charge of that which

God had callsed them to inherit from His prophetsll and over which

He had deputed them. Nobody can dispute their risltt without God cuting him down. and nobody can separate from their polity (jamaa) without God destroying him, nor can anyone hold their government in contempt or query the decree of God (qa4Q' Allah) con�rning them

(tc.

the caliphs) without God placing him in their power and sivins

them mastery over him. thus making an example and a warning to othen.1I This is how God has acted towards anyone who has departed from the obedience to which He has ordered (people) to cling, adhere and devote themselves, and through which it is that heaven and earth came to be supported. God (blessed and exalted is He) has said... then He lined Himself to heaven when it was smoke. and said to it and to

1759

earth. 'come willinsJy or unwillinsJy'. They said. 'we come /I willinsJy'''.1t And God (exalted is His invocation) has said. . . when your Lord said to the ansels. ' I am placing a deputy •

(kharifa)

on earth ', they said,

are you placing in it someone who will act corruptly and shed blood

while we are celebrating Your praise and sanctifyins You?'. He said, .. ., know what you know not· 11 .

17 Readin. t4Jlulrdu for '4JII,r,-, followinl BM.

18 cr. Qur l: 98. 108. 19 I!arrmilli. for all that one would haveupected maIp,lmi/li(the word used below). 2Q We have taken the liberty or not rrputinl 'throuah them' seyen times (as does the tUI). 21 Qur 2: 252. 22 Uterally ' from the matter of His prophets (min amr tlltbi),d'lh,). 2] cr. Qur., 2:62. 24 Qur.. 4 1 : 10. 25 Qur . 2: 28. .•

.•

'

.

C;.pvrlghted malarial

•

The lellers of a/·Wafid If and Yazfd II/

111

5. So through the caliphate God has preserved such servants of His as He has preserved on earth: to it He has assigned them. and it is through obedience to those whom He has appointed to it that those who have been given to understand and realise il(s importance)" attain happiness. God (blessed and exalted is He) knows that nothing has any mainstay or soundness save by the obedience through which He preserves His truth, puts His commands into effect. turns [people) away from acts of disobedience to Him, makes [theml stop short of His forbidden things and protects His sacred things. So he who holds to the obedience which has been apportioned to him is a friend of God and obeys His commands, attaining rectitude and being singled out for good fortune in [both] this world and the next. But he who leaves off it. forsakes it and is refractory towards God in respect of it loses his share, disobeys his Lord and forfeits £both) this world and the world to come.U He becomes one of those overwhelmed by miserylt and overcome by aberrant things which lead their victims to the foulest places of water and the vilest places of slaughter in respect of the humiliation and retribution which God will inflict on them in this world. And He will cause them to undergo all the chastisement and grief which He has prepared for them (in the next)." 6. Obedience is the head of this matter, illl summit, illl apex, its halter, its foundation, illl refuge and illl mainstay, afier the declaration of beli ef in the unity of God with which God has distinguished between His believers. Through obedience the suoxssful" attain their stations from God and gain a right to reward from Him; and through disobedience others obtain those of His punishments which He metes out to them. that chastisement of His which He inflicts upon them. 1760 and that anger of His which he causes to befall them.II / / In abandonmentll and neglect of obedience, in depanure from it, lack of attention to it and carelessness of it." God destroys (all) those who stray and disobey, who are blind and go to excess, and who leave the 26 27 2! 29

Readinl wjltiMahd (er wlhimaM) M'Q·mq.,;rahd.

cr. Qur., 22:!!.

Cf. Qur., 2J:!08.

Readi n,fond (/addg falntm forfond 'iltdaJrwmr/ndoJw rollowin, Sarwat, RtU4J'i1,

vel. II, p. 4SOn.). 30 Af·mujfil,iiII, a lenn used tw elve times in the: Qur'in, always in the: phrase wfd'Jw j hllm Qf.rm¢liI,im. J] We have resorted to fairly draslK: emendations here, readin, WQ·btf.malIYQ ndfQ l milt 'P*lbiJIi M'Q-yuI!iqqu glwJ)'nJrum mil ,...J,ilfw b/him ""4im4t/h{ M'Q')'IQ'/bwlilm alQ)'hjm mill swJch{ihi. 1lte tCAt makes no sense u it stands, and thouAh less drastic emendations are possible, we eannot think or any other which will preserve the parallelism. 32 Rudin! _hl·tark ""llrQ for M'Q.ywtlzaJu btl-ll'a, cr. 8M and 0; IIoimilarly

IbriMm. 33 Readinl lubodhdhul for tabadtbJ.

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123

splitting up of the unity of its adherents and their coming to disagJee on that over which God has brought them together, for which his friends yearn and to which he incites them. God will show them nought in this matter but that which harms them and gives the lie to their ambitions; and they shall find that through that which He has dec ..eed for His friends, God has made firm the settlement of their affairsu and banished from them those who wish to introduce colTuption and unfaithful conduct among them, or to enfeeble that which God has strengthened or to rely on that from which God has turned away.n

8. So through these things" God has perfected for His caliphs and His pious party, to whom He hasentrusted obedience to Him, the good things to which He has accustomed them.4f and He has appointed for them (part] ofHis power to strengthen, ennoble. elevate and consolidate so that they may accomplish their end." The maUer oflhi! covenant is part of the completion of Islam and the perfection of those mighty favours by which God makes His people obliged to Him. and [also] part oflhat which God has made in it 1st. in Islam?] - for the person at whose hands He brings it about and at whose tongue He decrees ii, making it suoceS5ful for him whom He has appointed to this position - a most valuable treasure from His point of view and, from the point of view of the Musims, l the most excellent manifestation of the favour which He manifests among them" and of the safeguard which He extends to them, of His power on which they rely. and of His refuge in which they enter. Through His refuge God has given them power to resist and through it He preserves them from all destruction, gathen them in from all disunion, subdues the people of J 762 hypocrisy and renders them immune /1 to all dissension and schism.

9,

So give praise to God, your Lord, who takes pity upon you and does you good in your affain for that which He has guided you to in this covenant. God has made it IS(. the covenant] something in which you can trust, on which you can rely, from which you can attain tranquillity and in the shade of which you can seek sheiter.1I Through it He shows you the right path wherever you turn your necks. wherever you direct your faces, and wherever your forelocks meetU in matters of your religion and this world. In this there is a momentous grace 46

Reading 'aqd for the 'lIqad adopted by tnt Letden editors.. ....alfd 'Uah 'anhll minhd. though the 'aM" i5 missing. 47 Reading flmd (a 48 BiMi, a general reference to ....hat has just been mentioned. 49 A�an" 'lfailht'awwado/rllm. We have opted ror ' good things on the ground that 'the best' cannot be perfected. SO This dause is implicit in sabbaba lahwm, cr. Lane, uxit:on. S.tI.. SI Literally 'the most excellent impres5 in that ....hich He impresses upon them '. S2 Reading afya'ihi for a/ntll1ihi, 'brancha ', on the ground that the preposition i$ IT rather than hi. S) Viz. .... herever you are together. '

righted matmal

124

Appendix 2 and a great favour from Godu bestowinr' ampleness of health and safety, as is recognised by those ofintelligenceM and good intentions who pay dose attention to the consequences of their acts and who are cognisant of (he beacon of the paths of rectitude. So you have reason to thank God in respect orall those ways" in which He has preserved your religion and the state of your polity (amrjoma·otikum). and you are competent to know the essence of His binding right(s} in this matter and to praise Him for that which He has resolved for you. So let the importance and worth of this in your estimation be in proportion to the favour which God has beslowed upon you in it, God willing. There is no strength save in God."

10. Moreover. ever since God deputed him, the Commander of the Faithful has not had a greater preoccupation or concern than this covenant, on account of his knowledge of ils pre-eminent role in the atrair(s] of the Muslims and those things in it which God has shown them for which they are thankful. He (.I'c. the Commander of the Faithful] ennobles them by that" which he decrees for them, and he chooses to exert himselfin this mailer (both] for himself and for them. On his own and their behalf he asks for a decision regarding it from his God and Master. the all.powerful in whose hand is the decision and with whom are all invisible things." and he asks Him to help him 1763 to achievt that which II is most righteous for him in particular and for the Muslims in general. II. The Commander of the Faithful has deemed it best to appoint two heirs." so that you may be in the same position as those who were before you. enjoying" a respite of ample hope and inner tranquillity, a f\ourishing state ofconcord," and a knowledge of the state of affairs which God has established as a protection, rescue. goodness and life for his people and as a humiliation. loss and restraint for every hypocrite and godless person who desires the destruction of this religion and the corruption of its adherents. [The designation of al·l;lakam and 'Uthmin] 12. So the Commander oflhe Faithful has appointed to it al·l;lakam. son of the Commander of the Faithful, and after him 'Uthman, son 54 Bald' �QII, cr. Qur" 8: 17; d. also 7: 1)7; 14:6. 55 Literally just ' in', 56 DlwlI.ii '1-QIb4b, where the Qur'in hu iiJii 'loQlbOb (in fjftecm places). 57 ITMd . . ",in dlraJjkll, I general rererence to whit had just been said. !58 Qur., 18:)7. 59 Literally 'i n thlt'. 60 cr. Qur.. pan;"'. 61 Literally 'to mike I covenlnt lfler I covenant'. 62 Literally just 'in'. .

63 cr. Qur.. 8: I .

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The letlers of al· Walid 1/ and Yazid II/

125

of the Commander of the Faithful." Both of them are persons of whom the Commander of the FaitMul hopes that God has created them for this purpose and fashioned them for it, perfecting in them the most goodly virtues of those whom He appoints to it in respect of plenitude of insight, soundness of religion, superabundance of manliness and knowledge of what is right." And the Commander of the FaitMul has spared no effort or good action on your behalf or his own in this matter. 13.

So give allegiance to aH l akam, son of the Commander of the Faithful, and to his brother afier him, [undertaking tol hear and to obey. In so doing, reflect upon (the reward of] the best of what God used to show you and bestow on you and accustom you to, and what He has acquainted you with in similar situations in the past by way of extensive prosperity, general good and mighty bounty, into the ampleness," security, blessing, safety and protection of which you have passed. This is a mailer which you have deemed slow in coming and to which you have tried to hurry. You have praised God for 1764 causing it to come 10 pass and for decreeing il for you, II and you have burst out with thanks regarding it," deeming it to be a good fortune for you. You hasten towards it, and you exert yourselves in the fulfilment ofGod'sdaim upon you; for so much ofGed's blessing, generosity and good apportioning has come to you in the past that" you are disposed to want it and desire it in the measure that Ged has favoured and benefitted you with it. 14. Further, if something sbould befall one of his two successors, tbe

Commander of the Faithful is entitled to put in his place and position whoever he may wish to put there from among community or his sons" and give priority to him over the survivor if be so wishes, or to place him .fier him. So know that and understand it. We ask God, apart from whom there is no god, and who has knowledge of the unseen and the visible," the merciful and the compassionate, to bless the Commander of the Faithful and you in that which He has decreed 64 According to the Aghani, vol. VII, p. 7011• al·Warld gave precedence to ·Uthmin.

This is an inference rrom a widely cited poem attributed to al·Warld himselr, which is cited there too and acoordins to which 'we hope ror 'Uthmin after al·Warrd '. But one version adds 'or !-Jakam', and the poem is not by al·Walid in any case (cf. his Shi'" pp. 147r., where rull references are siven).

65 WaflJ' a/·ra'y _-#"I,a/ aJ·d/'n wa-jQZ�a/ a/·muruwwa lOla'/.nuirija bj·¢Jil, a/,unllir.

Reading ralchd'ihi for rajd'ihi. 67 AJ,dalhlum fihi $huk,.", an expression conV1:ying suddenness and impulsivity. Ajdaylum is possible, ir less likely. 66

68 Literall)" there has come to you in the past or God's grace . . . what '.

69 It is notable that al-Walid considcn the poaibility of selecting a SUOOC:lI0r from among his ummG, viz. IOmebody who need not apparentlybc an Umayyad or even 70

a Qurashi.

'Alim aJ·ghayb ...·tll-shahilda. cr. Qur., 6:73; 23:94.

CJPYnghted matanal

J26

Appendix 2 at his tongue and determined to this effect,7I and 10 make its oulcome well-being, happiness, and joy. For thaI is in His hand; nobody but He controls it, and rrom Him alone can it be petitioned.

13. Peace and the mercy or God be upon you. Written by Samal, Tuesday, 2 1 Rajab. in the year 125 1= 20 May, 743].'

The letter of YoW III

Vazid HI's letter to the people of Iraq is 10 be found in al-Tabari (ser. ii, pp. 1843ff sub anna 126; also reproduced in $afwat. Rasa'i/, vol. ii, pp. 46Stf.), and al-Baliidhuri (Am. (MS). vol. ii, fols. 1 70a-b, where the dale is given as 28 Rajab, 126 = 15 May 744. and the scribe is named as Thibit b. Sulaymin b. Sa' id (read Sa'd), i.e. the chief of Yazid's diwdn a/-,asti'i/ (see Tab., ser ii. p. 847» , The two versions differ considerably in a number of places, and at least one of them, possibly both, must be based on oral sources. Our translation renders al-Tabarrs text (for which al-Mada'ini is once more named as the .•

authority); we indicate only significant variants in al-Baliidhun"s

version. 1843 'God chose Islam as a religion, approved or it and purified it, and He stipulated in it certain dues which He enjoined, and He prohibited (other) things which He made forbidden. in order to test His servants in respect of their obedience and disobedience. He perfected in it every good virtue and great bounty. Then Heft took charge of it, preserving it and acting as guardian of those who observed His J,udUd, protecting them and making them cognisant of the meril of Islam. God does not honour with the caliphate anyone who observes the command of God and draws near to Him, whereupon someone opposes him with a COYenant or attemptsll 10 take away what God has given him, or a violator violates, but that [such a person's) guile is (rendered) very weak and his cunning most defective, so that God may complete what He has given to [the caliph) and store up a recompense and reward for him, making his enemy most prone to lose his way and most apt to forfeit his acts. So the caliphs of God followed one another as 1844 guardians of His religion, judging in it according to His decree, II following the book in it. In all this they received from Him by way of His support and help that which completed the favours bestowed 71 Note th at al·Warld is tatina out a double insurance polky; he wants God to bless the decision (thus acknowledainl th lt it is his own) ruuJ he crediu it to God Himxlf (thus obviltina1he need for I b1cssin&). 72 n_ tawallillnl. B. adds AIIOII. Yet one wouki have expected the Jetter to introduce the caliphs It this point (tlnunmo ",-aJldhv kMlrfataltv or somethina dmilar): the kJrild/a Ippelrs in the rol\owinaline IS somcthin,llready introduced. 73 Rudina J,u,.twilu with B. and Sarwlt for bi-I,wliil.

righted matmal

The leiters of a/- Walid II and Yazfd III

127

upon them, and God was pleased with them for it (i.!!. the caliphate)

until Hishim died. It

Then the office" passed to the enemy ofGod1f al-Warid. the violator of sacred things on a scale not perpetrated by either a Muslim or an unbeliever (since both would desire] to preserve themselves from committing such things. And when (neW1 of that) spread abroad and it became publicly known and misfortune was intensified and blood spilt on his account. and assets were taken wrongfully, along with (other) abominations which God will not let people commit for long,

1 went to him with1T the expectation that he would mend his waysll and apologise to God and to the Muslims, disavowing his behaviour and the acts of disobedience to God which he had dared to commit. seeking from God the completion of that which I had in mind by way of setting straight the pillar of the religion and holding to that which is pleasing among its people. Ultimately. I came tol' an anny (of men) whose breasts were enraged against the enemy of God, on account of what they had secn of his behaviour. forM' [this) enemy of God could not see any of God's statutes without wanting to change them and act contrary to what God has revealed." He did this publicly, generally and quite openly. God placed no screen around it and [did) not [cause) anyone to doubt it. J mentioned to them what I loathed and what I feared by way of corruption of both the religion and this world, and

I spurred them on to put their religion to rights and protect it, they (at first) bcingdoubtful ahout that, having feared that they were merely saving themselves in what they were undertaking until I called upon them to change it. Then they hastened to res.pond and God sent a deputation made up of the best" of those of them possessed of religion and what is pleasing, and I sent 'Abd al-'Aziz b. al-l;Iajjaj b. 'Abd ai-Malik in charge of them. (He went forth with them] until he met the enemy of God near a viUageU called al-Bakhri'. Theycalled upon him" to set up a shurii in which the Muslims" might consider for themselves whom

74 This sentence is missinl in B. 7S AJ-amr, cr. chapter S, note 47. 76 'Aduww Allah, to be contrasted with kharifat A/fah. n B. reads bdOO in place or mOa.

78 /",i;ar ",wrilja'Glihl. 79 B. reads wii [aqlw in place of ataytw.

80 From this point to the end of the paraJraph, B:a

acco

unt is much brierer and

different in much or its \Vordin.. 81 /�. a scriptural definition or JMril'{; but B. reads 1,..,"1,".. . . . am, Allah "'a-JIUIGII 82 83

84 8S

nabiyyihi. Readinl bi·klwyrihim in place ofywkhbiruhWll1 (the telU of B. dift'en at this point). B. adds min qwril llimf. B. reads fa-ddilhu in place or[a-dda,,·hu. B. reads fwqahil' a/·",u.slimfn ,,·a·(WJaJ,il·uhWll1.

righted matmal

J28

Appmdix 2

to invest [with authority) from among those they agreed on: but the enemy of God did not agree to that." So, in ignorance of God. he 1845 hastened to attack them. but found // that God is mighty and wise and that His grip is strong and painfu1.'l So God killed him for his evil behaviour and those of his agnates too who were with him. fanning his vile retinue. They did not reach ten [in number). and the rest of those who were with him accepted the truth to which they were called." So God eJllinguished hisjamrat' and reieved l His servants of him: good riddance to him and those who follow his path ! J have desired to infonn you of that, and to do 50 quickly, so that you may praise God and give thanks to Him. You are now in a prime position, since your rulen are from among your best men and equity is spread out for you, nothing being done contrary to it among you. So multiply your praise of your Lord for that and take the oath of allegiance" 110 the Commander of the Faithfulrl with Man$ur b. Jumhur," with whom I am satisfied for you," on the undentanding that the compact of God and His covenant and the mightiest of what has been compacted and covenanted on any one of His creation are upon you. Listen to and obey me and whoever I may depute to SUcce£d me from those upon whom the community agltes. You have the same undertaking from me: I shall act among you in aocoro..nce with the command of God and the .runna of His prophet, and I shan follow the way of the best of those who have gone before you. We ask God, our Lord and Masler, for the best of His granting of sua:ess and the best of His declee'. 116 117 1111 119 90

III 112 III

8. omits the second part of this !tCnlence (rrom 'whom to invest . . . '). B. omiu this senltnee. B. omiu this sentence.

Apparently I play on the two senses or the tenn: 'bUrning coal' and 'band '. Reading Myl 'w (with 9. and S-rwat) in place or liJbl'ii. This is rrom B. Who had been appointed by Yuld to tbe governorship or Iraq. From this point to the end or the paragraph. B.'1 acrount is much brierer than that or Tab. and then: is practically no coincidence or wording.

CJPYnghted matanal

130

Appendix 3 3, 'Umar took charge afier him. He proceeded according to the mode

of conduct (sira) of him who had gone before him. He collected the lay', assigned stipends. established am.rar and dir.·dns, gathered the people in night prayer in the month of Rama4in,1 gave out eighty stripes for wine-
cuned by the Messenger of God and was the son of one so cursed. He made the servants of God slaves, the property of God something to be taken by turns.' and His religion a cause of corruption. Then he passed on his way. deviating from what was right, deceiving in religion. •

7. Then there took charge his son Yazid, part of [the object orr the curse of the Messenger of God. a sinner in respect of his belly and his private parts. He kept to the path of his father. neither acknowledging what ought to be acknowledged nor disavowing what ought to be disavowed. 8. Then Marwin and the Banii Marwin took charge. They shed forbidden blood and devoured forbidden property. As for ' Abd al·Malik, he made al·!:iajjiij an imam of his, leading to hellfire. As for al·WaIid, he was a stupid fool, at a loss in [his) waywardness. abusing it (i.e. the caliphate) with benighted senselessness. And Sulaymin. what was Sulaymin ?! His concern was with his belly and his private parts. So curse them. may God cune them ! Except that 'Umarh. 'Abd al,'Ariz was from [among) them: he had [good) intentions and did not act [upon them!'; he fell short of what he intended. I

QI)'tJm $hah, ,anIII(jdJr. i.e. holding the night prayers which

lar6",'", (see EfI, 1.1>.).

came

to be called

2 DIiv.'aI'-. d. Qur $9: 7. Note that al·l;bsan al-Ba,ri is credited with havins said .•

orlhe Umayyads /tltlkMdhIi '/Md AI14JJ Icltawa/"- WD-Icitlfb AII4JJ _hal-- ""Q.m4/ AI/lilt tiJlwaI"· (Ibn ·Asikir. TaluiJlib. vol. IY, p. 79). ] Readinl/a4F4 in place of11114 (ICC Lane uxlCOft, s. Y. ra4a4), .. O. the word. attributed to 'Umayr b. l}ibi': hlveJlMl1i "''D·I_ tJ/'a!wa-IcId/ll ",'a-Iaylallt. . . (Tab.. Kr. ii, p. 869; Ibn ·Asikir. TaMhlb. YOt. IV, p. $7 (where the words are wrongly ucribcd to his rather» . ,

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Abii Jfamza's comments on the caliphs

131

9. Then there took charge after him Yazid b. 'Abd ai-Malik, a sinner in whom right judgement was not perceived. God has said concerning orphans, 'Then, if you perceive in them rightjudgemenl, deliver their property to them ':' and the affair of Mul;1ammad's nation is of grealer moment than the property of the orphan. [Yazid) was suspected of wickedness in respect of his belly and his private parts. Two items of apparel were woven for him and he wore one as a ridii' and the other as an iziir.' Then he sat l;Iabiba on his right and Sallima on his left and said, 'Sing to me, l;Iababaj give me to drink, Salliima'.' Then, when he had become drunk and the wine had taken a hold on him, he rent his two gannents, which had been acquired for one thousand dinars - [dinars) on account of which skins had been flayed, hair shaved off, and veils torn away: he took what he spent on (those two gannentsj unlawfully and wrongfully. Then he turned to one of [the girls) and said Surely I shall fly!' Most ccnainly! Fly to hellfire! Is such supposed to be the distinguishing characteristic of the caliphs of God?!' • •

10. )Then the squint-eyed Hisham took charge. He scattered stipends about and appropriated thelay': he made all ofthclay' ofthe Muslims that was pleasant and salubrious into (something promoting] his (own] glory - may he enjoy no pleasure!).' I was present at (the reading out of] a letter which Hisham wrote to you concerning a droughtl• which had occurred. With it (i.e. the letter) he pleased you and angered his Lord, [for) in it he mentioned that he left (the matter of] the alms taxll to you. This made the rich among you richer and the poor poorer, 5 Qur., 4: 5. 6 Iz4r signifies 'waist-wrapper', while ,U/4' aignifies ' prment covennl the upper

half or the body' (une, uxlcOl'l, J.t'v.; d. El', I.V. 'Iibis'). 7 For the background of these two SllvegiriS, see AlhanT, vols. VIII, pp. 334-351 and xv, pp. 122-146, where, however, no rererence is made to this panicular incident. It 5:illS that it was II-Wlfid II who WIS lbove 111 Biven to telrinl off hil prments Ind plunBinl nlked into I pool of wine (ibid., vol. 111, p. 301). 8 A-fa-hdkadM .fifal khulaja' Alldh; Il·Azdi omits the initial a-, while the ·Iqd (vol. IV, pp. 146(., whose compilCT, hlvin, said thlt he will 'Plrt us whit Abu l;Iamza had to say about the cIIiphs. nonethcleu cannot resist the temptation to relly this piece of scandal lbout /uJdtf b. /N/dtf min '"dad a/·khuJaj'il' 'iMakum) relds /a.h4dhiJr/ .fifaf khN/tJja' Alldh laa/d. The versions Ippelrinl in II·Ji"i� AIIrilnF, Ibn Abi '1-l;Iaald and II-laawi flilto preserve any rererence to khulaja' Alldh It this point; but Ibn Abi '1-l;Ilald does record thlt elsewhere in his w:rmon AbU l;Iarnza said: a/d llUflWnQ i/ll khiM/al A.llilh _-;"'.dlllal aJ-rmulimItt k4y/" IM/r"'? (Sltar�, vol. v. p. 1 17). 9 This bracketed passage occurs only in II-Ia.wi. iO COlt ally IJatma in II-Ialwi: the copyist of BII. reads kh.(ma, while the editor or .I-Azdi reads ....ilfa. 1be whole section rrom the beginnins of this sentence to the end or the paragraph is missins rrom the venions given by II-Ji"i� Ind Ibn Abi '1-I;IId"td ; it is given in I ditferent contu.1 by the A,hanr(voI. XXIII, p. 237), where 'lllw fl thimdrikum stands in place of I.tarma (cr. Tlb., JeT. ii, p. 20(9). I I $adoqilt (Bal. Ind a1-Azdi)/.JQ4aqa (II-Ialwi); but the A,hilnr(see the PIec;e(iinS nole) reads kharilj (d. Tab., JeT. ii, p. 20(9).

righted makrKlI

Appendix 3

131

and you said, 'May God reward him with good.' Nay! May God reward him with evil! He was miserly with his wealth and niggardly in his religion. II. fThen the sinner al-Wafid b. Yazid took charge. He drank wine openly and he deliberately made manifest what is abominable. Then Yuid b. al-Wafidlt rose against him and killed him: God has said". 'So We make the evildoers friends of each other for what they have earned.' Then Marwin b. Mul;Jammad took charge and claimed the caliphate. He abraded faces, put out eyes, and cut off hands and feet. How amazing is your satisfaction with the sons of Umayya, the sons of the raliq,U the sons of the accursed one! Curse him (i.e. Marwin), may God curse him !1.1I 12. These BanD. Umayya are parties of waywardl1C5s. Their might is selr-magnification. They arrest on suspicion, make d e .... e e s capriciously. kill in anser. and judge by passing over crimes without punishment." 'They take the alms ta� from the incorrect source and make it over to the wrong people. God has made clear the eight categories (of recipient, of .Judaqat). U Then there came a ninth category which had no right to them. lit set itsdf in the midst of lthose who did have a right] and said, 'The land is our land. the property is our property, and the people are our slaves ').11 It took all. That is the party which dec.ees other than what God has sent down. land God has said, 'Who so decl'tt5 not according to what God has sent down, they are the unbelievers, the evildoers and the sinners'. It The(se) people have acted as unbelievers. by God, in the most barefaced manner." So cune them, may God curse them!!." 12 Readinl ·al·Warld ' in place or' Khllid·. 1 3 Qur.. 6: 129 (the kadhaJiks pie«dinJ

qlJla '1fIJh has

been

disreprded as

dilloJf8phy). 14 I.e. one broupt within the pale of Islam a.ainlt his will (Lane. LrxiCOfl. ,.11.). in this case presumably lhe Marwinki forbear al-l;Iakam b. Am '1-',.1" . IS The whole of this bracketed plralflph OIXun only in al·llkawi. 16 Raj . al·Ji�il- and al·lzkawT Jive the sinsular form ,hsjWtJ (Ihe edilor olal-A%di rtads ,haq4'). while the A61W1r and Ibn Abi '(·l;Iaald give lhe plural j/tsft'4t. For IOme enmp!esofUmayyad,httja'4, lee aJ·Jibi;, Rtu4'iI. vol. II, pp. I I , 14: Waki', Qu4dh, yo l ii, p. 36; AghiJnl, yol. XXI, p. )12. .

.

1 1 Qur., 9:60.

1 8 This bracketed passage occun only in al·llkawi. 19 Ste Qur. S:-48-SI. 20 Readinlk.l.h.m. $.1:4 as ka!ra/'" fO/'4' (we art indebled 10 Professor Ibsln 'Abbis ror Ihis sugeslion). 21 This bracketed passaae occun only in al·llkawi. .

righted rna nal

J34

Appendix 4 [God's Messengers)1

363 1, To continue: God, great and mighty is He, selected Islam as a religion and selected for it from [among] His servants messenaers to direct and lead (othenj to it, the first of (these messenaenl conveying the good news to the last of them, and those of them who came later confinning the veracity of those who had gone before. Ullimately the prophethood ofGod reached Mul;lammad,at a timeofinterval between messengers,' obliteration of knowledge, cessation of revelation, and proximityofthe Hour, Through him God sealed the prophets, making him their witness, (and

so) preserving them;1 and to him He revealed

His mighty book - falsehood comes not to it from before it nor from •

behind it, a revelation from One all-wise. all-laudable ',' in which there is what' He penniued and prohibited, promised and threatened. warned of and cautioned about, and enjoined and forbade, so that He might havt the conclusive argument' over His creation, and 'so that whosoever perishes may do so by a clear sign, and by a clear sign may he livewho lives; surely God isall-hearing, all-knowing'.' [Mul;1ammad] transmitted God's message' on His behalf, and caUed to His path,lfint of all] with the wisdom, good admonition and disputation 'in the better way'l' which He had enjoined upon him, and then with holy war and severity, until God look him back unto Himself, and chose for him what is with Him (i.e. in Paradise), may God bless him.

{The Caliphatc]ll 1. Whenthe prophethoodcametoanend.andwith Mul;lammad - may God bless and preserve him - God sealed revelation and the message,

2 Cf.§f 1-20ral-Warld'.letter, and note in p8rticullrtheclolt limilarity orwordin, there: AII4It jaJltJ fkil,4nt (nllher than 41tJfiJ) '1·/J1;Jm �. . . '� 'uaja . . �• . . . �.t.!f 'II/lIMt kardmiJ, AIItV! fl tJNb.twwtJtlill I/.!f MIIiJ4mffIOd. . . 'olD ';lir duriu mill ai·'ibn . "'a-khtJ,_ biIIl wolJy., , 1 cr. Qur., 05: 22, 4 O. the end of the tint Plragraph of at·WarKl'I 1etter, where Ood preKr'l'eS what He has revealed with them. 05 Qur" 41 :42 6 Followin, Sib, b. al·JaWli'1 bi·mil tJJ,.oJltJ in prereltllCC to al-Qalquhandi'. /(l-oJ,ol/tJ and 10 accommodatin, the '.!f'1d pronouns in the rollowin, phrue wa-tJmtJt"tJ billi wtJ-rtaM 'mtJiu. 7 Af-/pI .Jj4 tJl-WliJluJ: cf. Qur., 6: 1.50. II Qur" 8:404. 9 Sibl b. al-Jawzi reads risil/6tilli in place or risil/tJt•. 10 BN/tJ.lltiyam,stllf. the whole sentence from 'called' up to thil point bein,calqued on Qur., 16: 126; note that the openin, puIIF or al·Walid'l ldler allO conta.ina the phraK 1111,,,, lllya tJJ,son <see note 4 thereto). I I cr. HH oral·Warld's letter, where the nc�uity orobeyin, the caliph il strated and his duties t'is-.d·�is his IUbjects are not. • . •

• . .

.

.

.

.

.

righted matmal

•

al·Ma'mun's leiter of designation of'AIi al-Ri4a

135

He made the mainstay of the religion and the ordering of the government (amr) of the Muslims [reside) in the caliphate. (in all) its fullness and might, and [in) the implementation of that 10 which God is entitled in (respect of] it (i.e. the caliphate) through that obedience with which God's ordinances (farii'i4) and restrictive statutes (hudud), as well as the laws (shard'!") of Islam and its nonns (Sunan). art established and his enemy is rought.1I It is incumbent upon the caliphs ofGod to obey Him regarding such of His religion and of His servants as arc placed by Him in their keeping and care: and it is incumbent upon the Muslims to obey their caliphs and to help them to establish God's justice and His equity. to make the highways safe and prevent bloodshed, and to create a state of concord" and unity of fellowship. Remissness in that" (occasions) disturbance of the ropen of the Muslims, disorder among them, variance within their confessional entity," oppression of their religion, superiority of their enemy, diversity in what they profess, and the forfeiture of this world and the world to corneY

364

4. It is incumbent upon him whom God has deputed on His earth and has entrusted with authority" over His creation that he [exert himself for God and)lI prefer that in which God's pleasure and obedience to Him (are occasioned), act justly in thai with which God may acquaint him and about which He may question him, judge with what is right. and act with justice in that with which God has charged and invested him. God, great and mighty is He, says to His prophet David, may peace be upon him. II o David, we have made you a kha/ifa on earth : $0 judge between people justly, and follow not caprice, lest it lead you astray from the way of God. Surely those who go astray from the way of God there awaits them terrible chastisement, for that they have forgotten the day of reckoning." -

1 2 While al·Warld's leiter refers to the nmIIQ/JIIII(II1 ofGod, here the nman are those of Islam. 1 3 SaIDJ, Nl aI·bay,,: cr. al·Warld·s letter §7 and note 43 thereto. 14 Sibl b. al·lawzi reads ...·a-fllchild/d/liJ/iko when al-Qalqashandi reads "''a-/Tikhldl dM./iko. 1 5 SibJ b. al·Jawzi reads umr where al-Qalqashandi reads J,obI. In al·Warld', leiter, the caliphs sirenathcn the strands of God's rope (13); cr. Qur., 3:98, 108. 1 6 Ilchlilaj millolilrim. 1 7 11tere is fairlydosecorrespondencc between thissentenoe and the fourth lefllenoe of §5 of al-Warld's letter. 1 8 Reading WQ-'ltamDtUJlrll (deleting the hamlQt a/-qDf on the alif and reading a $/wddt. on the ld', in place of the typographical erron in the text as it appcan

in the Swbl,).

19 This addition is gi\-en by Sibt b. aJ-JaWli.

20 Qur., 38:25.

CJPYnghted malenal

137

al-Ma'miin's lelrer of designation oJ' AIf aJ-Ri4ii

untwisted the rope (mar,) of the people of schism and enmity, [those given to) striving for disunity and looking out for" sedition. [The exertions of al-Ma'miln himseJf]u 6, The Commander of the Faithful has not ceased [to exert himself in

this regard}" since the caliphate passed to him and he experienced its dry and bitter taste, the weight ofits load and the severity of its burden, and what is incumbent upon him who takes it upon himself by way ofcleaving to obedience to God and fearing His punishment in respect 365 of that with which He has charged him, He has wearied II his body. has caused his eye to be sleepless. and has given prolonged thought to that [matter) in which [there are at stake) the might of the religion, the subduing of polytheists. the well-being of the umma, the spreading ofjustice. and the maintaining of the book and the sunna; and [all of] that has denied him tranquillity and repose in a life of ease,H (He has done so) cognisant of that about which God will question him and desiring to meet God in a state of sincerity to Himll in respect of His religion and His servants, choosing for the succession by his covenant and for the care of the umma after him the most excellent person possible in terms of religion, piety and knowledge and the one from whom the most can be hoped forin implementing God'scommandment and right. [He has done so] communing with God in a desire for His blessing in that [regard] and asking Him day and night to inspire him with that in which His pleasure and obedience to Him [are to be found], employing his mind and insight in his quest and his search amon�' his ahf boY1 from the descendants of' Abdallah b, al-'Abbas and 'Ali b, Abi Tii.lib, satisfying himself with what he knew of those whose situation and persuasion (madhhab) he knew [already)" and exerting effort and energy in enquiring about those whose circumstances were not known to him, until he penetrated deeply into their affain with his perception, put information about them to the test before his own eyes, and discovered by interrogation what they were about , 27 Prererring Sib\ b, al·]awzi's al lartlblnq to II-Qalqll$handi" al·raftl, 28 cr. § 10 of al·Warld', leiter, where 'ever since God deputed him, the Commander '

of the Faithful has not had a greater prroecupation or coneern than this covenant. , , 29 Added by us: as Safwal poinu out. the sense is obvious (rom the context JO Sibl b, al·]awzi readJo al·/ # !; K'a'l-da'a M'a-maltn';;' al··ay$h where al·Qalqashandi reads Q/-khaf4K'a'l-dda bi-hOlli),}'al·'Q),Jh, The senlence u a whole 10 some utent reflects § I I of al·Wartd's leiter, 31 Sib, b, al lawzi reads mun�j.lt'� where al-Qalquhandi reads mU/l4fu,ohu, "

.

-

32 Preferring Sibl b. a]·]awzi',fl to al·Qalqashandi's min, 33 Sibl b, al-Jawzi'sreading mllqttqi"'�flman 'alimaljdlahll M'(J-madhhabahilminhilln 'aid ·1·J,oqq ·iI",.- is judged by Gabrieli to be 'assai piu confuso' Ihan al· Qalqashandfs mllqla,fi"'- fl·man 'alima J,iiIQhll M'Q·modhlmbahll minhum 'alii

'j/mihi,

CJPYnghted matanal

al-Ma'miin's letter of designation o/, Ali al-Rit/O

139

after him, in the name of God and His blessing and the goodness of His deCl" for His �ligion and His servants, an oath for which you (willingly) streich out your hands and to which your hearts are joyously disposed. (Do so) being cognisant of what the Commander ofthe Faithful has thereby desired, having preferred in it (i.e. the giving of allegiance) obedience to God and regard for himself as well as for you. (Do so) thanking God for Hiscounsel, with which He has inspired the Commander of the Faithful in (the matter of] taking care of you, and for His solicitude for your guidance (rwhd) and well-being (.fD/dIj), and hoping for the benefit of that,n by way of the uniting of your fellowship, the sparing of your blood, the bringing of you logether after dispersal, the defence of your frontier-ways of access, the strength of your religion, the subduing" of your enemy, and the good state of your affairs. Hasten to obedience to God and obedience to the Commander of the Faithful. It is a matter in which, i( you hasten 10 it and praise God (or it, you will know good fortune, God willing.44 42 PreferrinlSibt b. al·Jn'1:I�s '4"14*" dM/iJca to a1-QalqashaDdi's '4'iJDIwfl dM/iJca. 43 Preferrlnl Sib1 b, aJ·Jawzi's qam' to al.Qalqashandi's ,tlfNrr, 44 Sib\ b. al·Jawzi adds, 'Written by his (own) hand on 7 Ramaq.in. 201 1_ 29 March, 817)',

CJPYnghted matanal

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righted matmal

INDEX

'Abbisids. !..Qt 1 1 3 aDd the caliph'l litk:, 13-16. L8 and SutlNl, & 80-96 '''bd al,'Aziz b. al-l;Iajjij b. 'Abd ai-Malik. 111 'Abd al·'Aziz b. Marwin. 26 'Abd al·'ADz b. 'Urnar, 74'· 'Abdallah b. al-'Abbis, ill 'Abd.llih b. Yal;lyi. � liD 'Abd II-Malik. 21. 41 10l and the caliphal title, 1r., I I

IsfaqIh, 48r. ma'fiint, ,S6 'Abd ai-Malik b. al-Muhall.b. 61" 'Abd ai-Salim al-Yashlturi. !j. 88 Abraham, 11 absolutism. 68, 106-9 Abu " ·'Abbas. LJ Abu Bakr. L 19f. l1. 1 1 1-l1. 129 Abu Bair b. Mul;lammad b. l:Iazm, :u Abil l:larru:a al-KhiriJl. 1.2. n. & 1!. 129-32 Abu i:lanifa, 90. 21 Abu Muslim. Ii. M Abu 'Ubaydallih. 88 Abu Yiisur, 82r, &8., 20. 21. 22. I Ul Adam, !. 17", '", 22". !(lO" Adam b. '''bd ai·'AzIz b. 'Urnaf, 74'" 'adl. justice, 36r. � 80, U 100. 12O 'Adud al-dawla. � Arrican rulef$, 19 'Ali, � ll. f!Q. 100", LJQ. 111 'Ali 'Abd al-Riziq, 91 "Ali al-RiQi. 946. 133-9 al-Amin, L3 amFn Alldh, God', trustee .1 Ii. 17K, 1', 21. 31. ll. 38"'. 39'", 80'", 82. 101. 1 13 •

ami, Qf-mu'minfn,

!l.

L6

al-Awn'i, il al-Azhar, 97, 98 al-BiOini, 97 Bughi, � David, 1. 17", 21", � a. 100", ill and Solomon, ]� � � � 56",

ll. H, lli

dhamw, 4.S

Fi1imids, 14"', !1. LOO Ghadir Khumm tradition, 78, [881 gJuly/h, il. 81. t!ll. I I ] al-Ghaziti, u.. ll. 97 Goldzihcr, 4r. guidance, s« hwdd

l,abl Alltlh, God's rope, ]9r., 82. LOl.

lO.l. UO

al-Hidi ('Abbisid), Ll al-Hidi (Zaydi), 98 al-l;Iajjij, 2l..!!. LXI al-l;Iakarn (b. II.Warld], 124r. l;Ianua al-KhlnJi, U al-l;Iinth b. Surayj. 61. 6J.. 64-6, 73M, llllI

Hartharna b. A'yan, U HiOin aI-Rashid, U. 8&-90 al-l;IlIIn al-8a,ri. :m. I1. 7S"I, � 130' Hindu kings and law, U lO!I' Hisham, 9f" U 2l. w hud4, luklance, 1L ]4[, � &2. 1.00 al-I:haayn, 60 Ibn II-Alh'ath, 61 Ibn al-l;Ianafiyya, LO.l. \.Of

153

Index

154

Ibn I;Ilnbal, � 97 Ibn l;Iazm. !1.. � 42 Ibn bbiq. \Kl Ibn JuraY;. M

al·MuhtadI, Jj

Ibn Tlhmin. U Ibn 'Umlt. 61

al·Muqllfi, 1..5. Mild b. 'T.. al·Kisrawi, 81 Mu"ab lb. al.Zubayr), fJ al·MUllaltfi, 97

trtwjDddId. IJj

al·Multhtir, & 62.. 67r LQ.3

Ibn II.Muqlil'l'. 12. 8S-7. 901'. 9:2

al·Munlltir, L! al·Muqladi, 15

Ibn II.ZubaYf. !1. 2QM, ll.. 6Of g 68. Vmd', 93 in d " /s'j ... " ., oI.Jrud4, imlm(s) of

al·Muslln,if, 1..5.

.•

lUidancc. H. � !l. a 80'". 81.

901' 100: ••

Imlmil, � 99-10$, L06 '.:,ma, � )8f., 14". 82'M, (98), 101M, 10)f. I I ), 136 luni'm., 17,99-103, 108", I I )

Jl'flr al.$idiq, Ul8.

j411i1r death, 4Of. lOJ JI'II. L.9. judaes, Iff fIItICs justice, Iff '0111

Us/fjs" tUW/ AII6A, U. Ii. 19f,

L2. I..I.. !L � a. 100'.,

LlI1f kltlb AIIM! _·.n;:;ul /Iilblyyilti, the boolt of God and the .1WV14 of His

� ill

al·Mu'tadid. Jj al·Mu'lImid, Jj

Mu!arri( b. al.Muat!ira, ZI.. 6J al·Mu'IIJim, I.!.. 97 al·Mula_UiI, l!. Ii. 97 al·Mu'tazz, Jj

Nu'aym b, tJunmld. 98 Numayri. 1.9. Ifiir, 1iat!I, ll. no loor.. UK"

Khilid II-Qlsri, 29'

Propbe1,

aI·Mullawrid b. 'unara, 60. al·Mullqhir, II

/IfJ'ib AflaII, � � !!. l2. al·Nifir, 1.S Nqr b, Sayylr, 65r, 108, ill

Justinian 11, 26

Khirijites,

.•

'968, ll. 7L 11. It �

IiJht. 3ft IIMr al·Mabdi, !1. & 87f � 92f., 98 .•

the Mahdi, I'dw6. MSltdi,,,w., Ii. 36r., � !iI,7S, 80'''. n. IOU, l I )f Mililt. 86f, IlO Munlult EI)'pt, Munluu, 1..8. 97 al·Ma'mo'n. !l. 1i. !L 92�. 1 16{ 1IJ-19 al-Man,ilr, 1 3,54-7,92 Man,llr b. Jumhllr, 128

Ottomana,

I.l. 97, loon

"" Pro"""

in early documents, 24-6

venus caliphs. 27-32 as im4m 1II-1rwIoJ, � IS mtJiJI, � P>OVheIS aod caliphs. 27-)2, 94r. Q.darism, 1 1 7r. qdi/fJ, ....r, 46/'. !Q. 72(, Qa�ri b. aI·Fujl'a, � 62

quietism. L09. Qur'in, .5{

.•

Mlrwin I, 7, !S, 4Ir, 1lO Marwin II. lor., 21. U2 Marwlnids, 1 1 , 25(., LlO. MediDele practice, 47(. l'Ii�, � � 97

MU'iwiya. !L U. 1lO and lhe caliphal title, 6(., � coin. or, 2!.'.

mwfaitlwlm. ,....). � L.O.3 Mubamrnad. Sff the Prophet

Rabt�at al.Ra'y, 2J ,6f AIIM, God's lbepbmi, t. 9:

,6shd/,ashr4, i Rbhidiin. 36. � 11. 81''', 98, 1.02 ,a')" H. � l.Ol rescripts, 46, "­ rope. SN f1abI AIJ6It

S.ladin, L6 Sllim b. 'Abd al·Rabmin. ill

Samil, ll1 Schachl. «. 4!H'. Seljuqs, 1.8

C;.pvrlghted material

Index a1-Shifi'T, 2Q, 91, 9), III

JJrWlJ, .R. il � 6t 16. !.!It � U1 SlJf'1JI docuJT\eflt. 6i $iffin, victon It, � 1 1 1, ill silJlel rinp, 24' Solomon. linn, 44, � 11 811", 91,

101. 1 1 $ SufyinidJ., 'L 24(. Sulroymin. 2. LlO su/fi1ll AfJiJJt, � I I I Suwlyd b. SUllym,

and _. g. 71-80

aa

!"hElller,

114

Umayyads. � 44r.. 8)1"

and tbe caliphal title, 6-1l. 2Of. hostile portrayal of, 21 and Jabrism, 1 17f.

of Spain, LL 10011

1. t 2'''. & lL Lln and the caliphaJ title. t §. U. 2Il!!. and the oriJins of the caJiphal office.

'Uthmln,

60

III and Umayyad IeJitimism,

II'Ti'i', L4

the tDww4bWr, 60.

aI'Tahliwi, 18 Thibit b. Sullymin b. Sa�Id,

Thomson, In

L26

TYln, §.. � fi

'Umar, t Ind tbe

155

tide, 2Q, 22 22. 1 L4

Ind , and meuianism. III 'Umlt II. t � a LlO

and tbe caliphal title. � !1 11

ll-3

al-Warld I, 8r, 22. UO aI·Ward II. UJ. 127. U2 leiter or, ll. 26-8. l8r.. � fl. ill, 1 16-26, 134-18nn al-Wlthiq, L4

Yuid I, L Lln YazXl lI. '! � W Yuid III, !.Q. §1. 61. 107r.. ill leiter or � il.. 1* 8 Yuid b. al-Muhallab, !.b a M. 616. 107, ll2! Zaye! b. 'Ar" & 1.Dl Zayd b. Thlbit, !t a 11. ill Zaydil, !.!.. 100"

156

God', Caliph

U N I V ERSITY OF C A M B R I D G E ORIENTAL P U B L I C .... TIONS PUBLISHED FOR T H E FACULTY O F ORIENTAL STUDIES

I

A�'f'''Of's' C_'1I1ory

011

P/a/o', Rtpublic, edited and translated by E.U.

Rosenthal

2 Fil:Ktrold', ' Soldmdtr ond IIbsd/I', edited by AJ. ArbeIT)' J "tOfa Sail/ale",; TIlt JfI/IlIM� Family Slorrhoust, translaled and edited by G.W. Saraenl 4 TIlt AI'f'lfan Hymll 10 MI/bra. edited and translaled by Ilya Gershevitch !i TIl, FlI.Jul o/·Madanl 0/ oJ·F6r6bl, edited and translated by O.M. Dunlop (out or print) 6 Dun Kar,". POf'lo/Malto, textschosen and transllled by AJ. Arberry;introduclion. nOles and alouary by P. Grtth 7 TIlt Political Writngs i o/OvoU Sorai. by 1.R. McEwan 8 Fimmciol Admmulro/ion IlIUkr 1M ranI Dynasty, by D.C. Twitchell 9 NtoIilhkCQII/�KNpnlofSOlllh India: II Stlldy O/Iht Duran Ashmowrds. by F.R. Alkhin . Yuklthi, by 10 1M JOpalll't b!lithl'�"': If Study O/ Iht Writ;"gJ 0/ Fuln,:tI..·tI Clrmen Blacker 1 1 k�ordJ 0/ H(IIf Itdml"lstral/OII. Vol. I His/orical Autumenr, by M. Loe_ 12 Rtcords of Hrm Arlml"lJmulrHI. Vol. II D�lt, by M. Loewe 13 1M Lmrtuogt 0/ '"drtljil of Orclla: It Study 0/ Early Bra! B�4 PrOJt, by R.S. Mc:Gr.:.or 14 Jt!p(J,,', FlrJI Gtntral EltctiOll, 1890, by R.H.P. Mason 15 It Col/tel/OIl ojToltJ/rom Ujl: It Sludy and TrQl"lol/on of' Ujl Shii/ Monoga/ar;', by D.E. Mills ... ·ls" Tht_J. by E.I.J. Rosenthal 16 S/udia Stml/lttl, Vol. I )t 17 Sludia StmiliUl, Vol. II hi_if: 17ItmtJ, by E.U. Rosenthal 18 A NtJloriall Colltel/011 of C"riJ/oI�irDI TUIJ, Vol. I Syriac Ttx/, by blise AbramoWliki and Alan E. Goodman 19 It NtJ/orian Coi/«/IOtI 0/ ChriJloIorlctll Tt.1I1I, Vol. II J,rlrtHiwctlon TrOllS/mloff. Indull. by Luise Abramowski and Alan E. Goodman 20 17It Syrloc VtrJlrHI 0/ /Itt PShJ�Non"oJ My/"oIogltal Schol14. by Sebastian Brock 21 Wtlltr RiI"lJ and '"igtl/IOft Prarlicrl In Lah}, by A.M.A. Maktan 22 Tht Commf'II/ary of Rabbi Dodd Kimlri on PJoinu c.1Ix·d, edited and translated by Joshua Baker and Ernest W. Nicholson 23 Ja/ill al-df" al-Suy"!'. Vol. 1 Biography (JIId borIr.graulld, by E.M. Sartain 24 Ja/dJ ol-drll a/·S"yii(r. Vol. II "1t/·TalIaddulh blnrmat ollaJa", Arabic text by E.M. Sar1ain 25 Or/gm and ,"" Jf't'I'J'- Sludif'J /n Jf't'I'islr-C/"lJtialf Rr/tJI/OfIJ ill Third Cf'lI/ury Poltllf"" by N.R.M. de Lange 26 Thf" flfJtJlack!'Uf"iJ.Ja'.- A rf'JuNa/ion 0/''''' ltxl. by John O. Smith 27 ShahMlM Sol" and Ifb P'l,)"('r·booIc, by Sieran C. Reir 28 Mori Ogol and Ilrf' Modt,ni:ollon ofJOpaMJt Cu/lurf', by Richard John Bownn8 29 1"1If' Rt/HI LandJ: All ifll�JtlRolion into oriJiIU 0/f'orly M'Jopotamlon mYlholol)'. by J.V. Kinnier Wilson 30 S#ladi11 : TM po/lti(1 Qf 1M Holy War, by Makolm CalMron L)'Qns and OavMi lackson 31 KhQlontJt BudJlriJl T,.1IIJ. rc...ised edition. ediled by H.W. Bailey 32 'ntC'r",C'II1t8 ,'''' Htbr,... BiblC': wayJ IN HOfIQUr of£.1.). ROJ"I/hal, edited by I.A. Emenon and S.C. Rcir •

righted matmal

Printed in the United Kingdom hy Lightning Soun:c UK Ltd.

98()400000 I BI46-6�

9

-

This new study examines how religious authority was distributed in catly lslam. It argues the case that. as in Shi'ism, it WM concentrated in the head of state. rather than dispelsed among leamed laymen as in Sunnism. Originally the caliph was both head of state and ultimate source of religious law; the SWUli pattern replcsthts the outcome of a conflict betv.-een the caliph and catly scholars who. as spokesmen of the community. asswned religious IcadeTship for themselves. Many blamicists have assumed the Shi'ite conctpt of the imamate to be a deviant development. In contrast, Patricia Crone and Martin Hinds argue that it is an archaism preserving the concept of religious authority with which all Muslims began. The cover illustration shows the reverse of a dirham dated 75AH1694-5 AD, in the caliphate of 'Abd aJ·Malik b. Marwin. probably struck in Damascus. The standing figurc is the Caliph himsel� bearded and wearing Arab hcad-dress. with his right hand resting on his sword·hilt omiT o/-mu ·minin (Commander of the Faithful), the right-hand Icha/[f]fat A//(ih (Caliph of God). Note also the star and crescent in each of the four segments. Photograph reproduced by pennission of the State Historical Museum, Moscow.

ISBN

9

0-521-54111-5