Culture and Memory in Medieval Islam Essays in Honour of Wilferd Madelung
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Culture and Memory in Medieval Islam Essays in Honour of Wilferd Madelung Edited by Farhad Daftary and Josef W. Meri I.B.Tauris Publishers london • new york in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies london Published in 2003 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Rd, London w2 4bu 175 Fifth Avenue, New York ny 10010 www.ibtauris.com in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies 42–44 Grosvenor Gardens, London sw1w 0eb www.iis.ac.uk In the United States of America and in Canada distributed by St Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York ny 10010 Copyright © Islamic Publications Ltd, 2003 All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. isbn 186064 859 2 hb A full cip record for this book is available from the British Library A full cip record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Typeset in itc New Baskerville by Hepton Books, Oxford Printed and bound in Great Britain by mpg Books Ltd, Bodmin Contents List of Tables and Figures x Preface xi List of Abbreviations xiii List of Contributors xiv 1. Introduction Josef W. Meri 1 2. Bibliography of the Works of Wilferd Madelung Farhad Daftary 5 Part 1 The Transmission of Knowledge 3. Universities: Past and Present George Makdisi 43 4. The ijåza from ™Abd Allåh b. Íåli˙ al-Samåhíjí to Nå˚ir al-Jårïdí al-Qa†ífí: A Source for the Twelver Shi™i Scholarly Tradition of Ba˙rayn Sabine Schmidtke 64 5. Abu’l-Óusayn al-Ba˚rí on God’s Volition Martin J. McDermott 86 6. Between Qumm and the West: The Occultation According to al-Kulayní and al-Kåtib al-Nu™måní Andrew J. Newman 94 7. Memory and Maps Emilie Savage-Smith 109 8. Abï Óayyån al-Taw˙ídí: A Sunni Voice in the Shi™i Century Wadåd al-Qå{í 128 Part 2 Memorializing, Remembering and Forgetting 9. Bal™amí’s Account of Early Islamic History Elton L. Daniel 163 10. ‘Say It Again and Make Me Your Slave’: Notes on al-Daylamí’s Seventh Sign of Man’s Love for God Joseph Norment Bell 190 11. Lists and Memory: Ibn Qutayba and Mu˙ammad b. Óabíb Julia Bray 210 12. A Jonah Theme in the Biography of Ibn Tïmart David J. Wasserstein 232 13. Meadow of the Martyrs: Kåshifí’s Persianization of the Shi™i Martyrdom Narrative in the Late Tímïrid Herat Abbas Amanat 250 Part 3 Commemorating Rulers, Dynasties and Conquests 14. Khuråsåní Revolutionaries and al-Mahdí’s Title Michael L. Bates 279 15. Shåhånshåh and al-Malik al-Mu¢ayyad: The Legitimation of Power in Såmånid and Bïyid Iran Luke Treadwell 318 16. The Beginning of the Ismaili Da™wa and the Establishment of the Fatimid Dynasty as Commemorated by al-Qå{í al-Nu™mån Ismail K. Poonawala 338 17. Purloined Symbols of the Past: The Theft of Souvenirs and Sacred Relics in the Rivalry between the Abbasids and Fatimids Paul E. Walker 364 18. Conceptions of Authority and the Transition of Shi™ism from Sectarian to National Religion in Iran Saïd Amir Arjomand 388 19. ™Umåra’s Poetical Views of Shåwar, }irghåm, Shírkïh and Íalå˙ al-Dín as Viziers of the Fatimid Caliphs Pieter Smoor 410 Selected Bibliography 433 Index 449 List of Tables and Figures Tables 9.1 Comparative Chronology in Bal™amí and ®abarí 14.1 Copper Coins of Rayy, 138–45/755–63 14.2 Abbasid Copper Coins of Khuråsån to the End of al- Man˚ïr’s Reign 15.1 Coins of the Reign of Nï˙ Bearing the Title al-malik al- mu¢ayyad Figures 7.1 A Map of Syria (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Dept. of Orien- tal Collections, MS. Ouseley 373, vol.33b. Copy dated Dhu’l-Qa™da 696 (July–August 1297) 7.2 Map of Syria, rotated with north at the top 7.3 A Map of the Jibål. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Dept. of Ori- ental Collections, MS. Ouseley 383, fol. 86b. Copy dated Dhu’l-Qa™da 696 (July–August 1297) 7.4 Map of the Jibål, redrawn and rotated 180 degrees 15.1 The Bukhårå dirham of ‘336’ with the title al-malik al- mu’ayyad min al-samå’ in the marginal legend 15.2 Rukn al-Dawla’s medallion (al-Mu˙ammadiyya 351/962) and Man˚ïr b. Nï˙’s medallion (Bukhårå 358/968) Preface I had been familiar with, and greatly impressed by, Professor Wil- ferd Madelung’s scholarly contributions to Islamic studies through his publications. But I first met him late one afternoon, in March, 1985, in his office at The Institute of Oriental Studies in Oxford. The meeting had been arranged by my friend, and his colleague, Dr John Gurney. At the time, still living in Tehran, I was writing my first book on the history of the Ismailis and was very keen to receive Madelung’s comments as the foremost contemporary au- thority in the field. He generously agreed to review my work and that was the start of an academic relationship – of a master and disciple type – that has continuously grown. Madelung reviewed my subsequent chapters as well, and saved me from making sev- eral errors, common or otherwise. That book was finally published several years later with his Foreword. In time, I increasingly witnessed not only Madelung’s unsur- passed mastery of the sources on the Ismailis, Zaydis and the early Islamic theological movements in general, among other areas of his interest, but also the totally selfless manner in which he has always been willing to share his knowledge with others. Indeed, several generations of students and colleagues have benefited, over the last four decades, from Madelung’s tutorship and personal xi xii culture and memory guidance in Chicago, Oxford and London. Some of them have participated in the production of this Festschrift that honours one of the greatest, and most humane, Islamicists of our times. This collective volume is offered to Professor Madelung in gratitude and deep affection. All the contributors join me with Dr Josef W. Meri in wishing Wilferd ad multos annos and continued contribu- tions to his many areas of Islamic history and thought. F. Daftary List of Abbreviations AI Annales Islamologiques BEO Bulletin d’Études Orientales BO Bibliotheca Orientalis BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies EI2 The Encyclopaedia of Islam (New edition), Leiden EIR Encyclopaedia Iranica, New York and London GAL C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Literatur, Leiden GAS F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, Leiden IJMES International Journal of Middle East Studies JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JIS Journal of Islamic Studies JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam JSS Journal of Semitic Studies MF W. Madelung, Maktabhå va firqahå-yi Islåmí (tr.), J. Qåsimí, Mashhad MME Manuscripts of the Middle East NS New Series OLZ Orientalistische Literaturzeitung REM W. Madelung, Religious and Ethnic Movements in xiii xiv culture and memory Medieval Islam, Hampshire RSS W. Madelung, Religious Schools and Sects in Medieval Islam, London TAPS Transactions of the American Philosophical Society WO Die Welt des Orients ZDMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft List of Contributors Farhad Daftary The Institute of Ismaili Studies, (co-editor) London Josef W. Meri The Institute of Ismaili Studies, (co-editor) London Abbas Amanat Yale University Saïd Amir Arjomand State University of New York Michael L. Bates American Numismatic Society, New York Joseph Norment Bell University of Bergen Julia Bray University of St Andrews Elton L. Daniel University of Hawaii at Manoa Martin J. McDermott Beirut George Makdisi* University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Andrew J. Newman University of Edinburgh Ismail K. Poonawala University of California, Los Angeles Wadåd al-Qå{í University of Chicago Emilie Savage-Smith The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford Sabine Schmidtke Free University of Berlin Pieter Smoor University of Amsterdam xv xvi culture and memory Luke Treadwell The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford Paul E. Walker University of Chicago David J. Wasserstein Tel Aviv University *Professor George Makdisi sadly passed away in September 2002 1 Introduction Josef W. Meri Publishers and scholars have often lamented the proliferation of the Festschriften. As one distinguished colleague aptly observed, Festschriften are superfluous. Like other academic traditions, this unprofitable enterprise may well in time fade from the collective memory of academia, or at least, from the realm of conventional academic publishing. But as humanists we strive to preserve such time-honoured traditions of learning and scholarship, and not merely succumb to the latest trends. The prevailing sentiment in the Academy is that the Festschrift represents a long-standing ritual, a selfless undertaking, an enduring token of appreciation and an abiding commitment to honouring an esteemed friend, colleague and mentor, who has profoundly shaped our field and enriched our intellectual lives. In this humanistic spirit the present volume honours Wilferd F. Madelung, Laudian Professor of Ara- bic (emeritus) at the University of Oxford. There is no branch of knowledge of medieval Islamic history and religion that Wilferd Madelung has left untouched. Few have been as prolific in the depth and breadth of their scholarship, while possessing the humility, humanity and perspicacity that he does. Professor Madelung is a humanist in the truest sense of the 1 2 josef w. meri word who has always eschewed the power and politics of academia and instead, dedicated himself to the pursuit of knowledge.