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The Life and Times of Abu Al- Hasan Al-Harrali (D. 638/1241)

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The Life and Times of Abu Al- Hasan Al-Harrali (D. 638/1241) Harmonizing Discursive Worlds: The Life and Times of Abu Al- Hasan Al-Harrali (D. 638/1241) The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Casewit, Faris. 2019. Harmonizing Discursive Worlds: The Life and Times of Abu Al-Hasan Al-Harrali (D. 638/1241). Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42029590 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Harmonizing Discursive Worlds: The Life and Times of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ḥarrālī (d. 638/1241) A dissertation presented by Faris Casewit to Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Islamic Intellectual History Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts April 2019 © 2019 Faris Casewit All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Prof. Khaled El-Rouayheb Author: Faris Casewit Harmonizing Discursive Worlds: The Life and Times of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ḥarrālī (d. 638/1241) ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the intellectual and spiritual biography of Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ḥarrālī (d. 638/1241), a Sufi-oriented polymath from the Maghrib who remains obscure in the Euro- American academy despite his considerable influence on a variety of fields within the Islamic tradition. Utilizing primary biographical, prosopographical, and annalistic sources, the present study identifies the various legist, theological, and mystical circles in which Ḥarrālī moved, including networks of teachers, associates, and students spread out across various political and social environments of the 12th and 13th century Arabic-speaking Islamic world. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. III TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... IV GENERAL INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 NOTES ON METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTERS OUTLINE ............................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER ONE: A WEALTH OF SOURCES, A DIRTH OF INFORMATION .............. 13 Ḥarrālī (d. 638/1241): Name and Biographical Sources ........................................................... 14 The nisbah al-Ḥarrālī: Definitions in Arabic Literature ........................................................... 17 The nisbah al-Ḥarrālī: Evidence from Aragonese and Castilian Sources ................................ 21 The nisbah al-Ḥarrālī: Irregularities in the Bibliographical Literature ..................................... 25 Ḥarrālī’s Early Years in the Far Maghrib ................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER TWO: THE KALĀM MASTERS OF FEZ ........................................................... 35 Ibn al-Naḥwī (d. 513/1119) ...................................................................................................... 36 Ibn al-Rammāmah (d. 567/1172) .............................................................................................. 40 Ibn Ḥirzihim (d. 559/1164) ....................................................................................................... 43 Salaljī (d. 574/1178-9) .............................................................................................................. 45 Ibn al-Kattānī (d. 596/1200) ..................................................................................................... 52 Ibn al-Numuwī (554-614/1159-1217) ...................................................................................... 59 Ibn al-Baqqāl (fl. 1200) ............................................................................................................ 61 Ibn ‘Ābid (d. 662/1264) ............................................................................................................ 62 CHAPTER THREE: EARLY MAGHRIBĪ TAṢAWWUF, BELLETRISTIC CIRCLES, AND THE COSMOPOLITAN ALMOHAD MILIEU ............................................................ 65 Abū al-Ṣabr al-Fihrī (d. 609/1212) ........................................................................................... 66 Abū Dharr al-Khushanī (535-604/1141-1208) ......................................................................... 77 Ibn Kharūf (525-609/1131-1212) ............................................................................................. 80 Ibn al-Qaṭṭān (562-628/1167-1231) .......................................................................................... 83 CHAPTER FOUR: IFRĪQIYĀ ................................................................................................. 90 Abū Yūsuf al-Dahmānī (550-621/1152-1224) ......................................................................... 91 Abū Sa‘īd al-Bājī (551-628/1156-1231) ................................................................................... 95 Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (606-684/1210-1285) ................................................................................. 101 Ibn Bazīzah (606-672/1209-1275) .......................................................................................... 109 CHAPTER FIVE: EGYPT AND THE ḤIJĀZ ...................................................................... 113 al-Fakhr al-Fārisī (d. 622/1225) .............................................................................................. 114 Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Qurṭubī (d. 631/1233) .............................................................................. 122 Spiritual Disciples of Ḥarrālī .................................................................................................. 129 CHAPTER SIX: BIJĀYAH ..................................................................................................... 137 The Political and Religious Context ....................................................................................... 138 Ḥarrālī’s Apolitical Posture .................................................................................................... 140 iv Ḥarrālī’s Asceticism ............................................................................................................... 144 Ḥarrālī and Abū Madyan ........................................................................................................ 151 Other Intellectual Forerunners ................................................................................................ 161 Ibn Rabī‘ (d. 675/1276) .......................................................................................................... 167 Ibn Asāṭīr (d. after 670/1271) ................................................................................................. 176 al-Qaṣrī (fl. 13th century) ........................................................................................................ 179 Ibn Makhlūf (602-686/1205-1287) ......................................................................................... 180 al-Ghassānī (d. after 682/1283) .............................................................................................. 184 al-Qal‘ī (d. 673/1274) ............................................................................................................. 186 Lesser-known Bijāyan Students .............................................................................................. 190 CHAPTER SEVEN: EPISTEMOLOGICAL MIRACLES AND ECUMENICAL OUTREACH ............................................................................................................................. 192 Ḥarrālī’s karāmāt .................................................................................................................... 193 The Tarragona Letter .............................................................................................................. 207 CHAPTER EIGHT: FINAL SOJOURN IN THE MASHRIQ ............................................ 228 Salāwī (b. 614/1217 d. after /1285) ........................................................................................ 229 Damascus: Interactions with ‘Izz al-Dīn Ibn ‘Abd al-Salām and Ibn ‘Arabī ......................... 243 Ḥamāh: Final Resting Place .................................................................................................... 251 CHAPTER NINE: ḤARRĀLI’S CORPUS AND ITS RECEPTION IN THE LATER TRADITION ............................................................................................................................. 257 Miftāḥ al-bāb al-muqfal li fahm al-Qur’ān al-munzal ........................................................... 258 Tafsīr ....................................................................................................................................... 261 Sa‘d al-Wā‘ī wa-uns al-qārī fī dhikr mā nazala fī al-ḥikmah min al-āyī ............................... 266 Risālah fī ‘ilm al-ma‘qūlāt ...................................................................................................... 268 al-Lamḥah
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