Mardja`-I Taqlid (Shi'i "Scholar")
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548 MARDJ AL-SUFFAR — MARDJAC-I TAKLID October 1389, and went on to lay siege to Damascus. topography. G. Le Strange, Palestine, 482, 503, The amirs of the main towns of the north of Syria 504; H. Sauvaire, Description de Damas, inJA (1894- banded together and came to the help of the city, but 6), ii, 402, iii, 469 n. 139, n. 140, viii, 285, 307 n. on the way, some of them decided to go over to 83, xi, 249, 251, 283 n. 59 bis, C, 477 n. 8, O.T. Barkuk. When, at the beginning of Muharram 409 n. 20; R. Dussaud, Topographic historique de la 792/end of December 1389 a warning was given of the Syrie, Paris 1927, 218, 306, 317-22, 334, 340, map approach of Timurbugha Mintash, Barkuk left II; A. Musil, Palmyrena, New York 1928, 71 n. 17, Damascus after a violent battle at Bab al-Djabiya, 100; R. Thoumin, La geographic humaine de la Syrie within the eastern area of the city. He fell back centrale, Tours 1936, 56, 232; N. Elisseeff, Descrip- towards the Mardj al-Suffar, passed through Kiswa, tion de Damas d'Ibn cAsdkir, Damascus 1959, 97 n. 5; and went on to camp at Shakhab. According to Ibn E. Wirth, Syrian, Darmstadt, 1971, 403-5; G. Sasra, the two armies confronted one another on 17 Cornu, Atlas du monde arabo-islamique, Leiden 1983, Muharram/5 January 1390. In this critical situation, 12, map I.—History. Ibn Sasra, ed. W.M. Brin- Barkuk was looking for cover when he suddenly came ner, A chronicle of Damascus 1389-1397, Los Angeles face to face with the sultan al-Mansur HadjdjT, the 1963, 25 (37) b. 26 (38) a, 49 (15) b, 51 a, 51 b, 55 caliph of Cairo al-Mutawakkil I, and the great kadis b, 95 a; N. Elisseeff, Nur ad-Din, Damascus 1967, who, since they had only a feeble escort, quickly 264, 308, map: 5 - c; R. Grousset, Hist, des surrendered. Hence at that point, the situation was Croisades, Paris 1934-6, i, 275, 637-44, 663, iii, 203; reversed. Mintash tried three times to release HadjdjT R. S. Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols, New and his companions but without success, since a York 1977, 111-13, 157, 159, 160, 176, 243; H. violent storm of hail and rain forced the adversaries to Lammens, L'avenement des Marwanides et le calif at de abandon their conflict. Though the number of dead Marwdn, in MFOB, xii/1 (1927), 39-40, 42, 61-3; on both sides was less than 50, it was nevertheless a R. Le Tourneau, Damas de 1075 a 1154, Damascus battle important for history. While Mintash sought 1952, 10 and n. 3, 35, 123-5, 165-7, 184-7, 213; refuge in Damascus, Barkuk went back to Cairo with Ch. Oman, A history of the art of war in the Middle the caliph and the amirs who had joined his cause, and Ages, London 1924, i, 302-4; J. Prawer, Royaume was restored to the office of sultan in Safar Latin de Jerusalem, Paris 1969, i, 293, 309; J. 792/February 1390, whilst al-Mansur (al-Muzaffar) Sauvaget, Caravanserails syriens du Moyen Age, in Ars HadjdjI disappeared without any more trouble. Islamica, vii (1940), 1-19; K. M. Setton, History of One may note that during the 8th/14th century, the Crusades, Philadelphia 1955-62, i, 401-3, 426, khans [q.v.] were built in the Mardj al-Suffar, a sign of 430, ii, 390, 398, 775; C. Thubron, Mirror to a certain prosperity in the district. One khan was built Damascus, London 1967, 201. (N. ELISSEEFF) to the north-west of the Ladja0 at Shakhab in MARDJAC-I TAKLID (pi. marddji^-i taklid, Pers. 716/1316-17 by the amir Tankiz b. cAbd Allah al- for Ar. mardiac/marddiic al-taklid), title and function of NasirT, the viceroy of Damascus. In 725/1325 another a hierarchal nature denoting a Twelver Imam was built between Kiswa and Ghabaghib in the nahiya ShTcT jurisconsult (mudjtahid, fakih) who is to be of al-Katf al-Busri (?) in the Mardj al-Suffar, at the considered during his lifetime, by virtue of his expense of al-Amir al-Kabir clzz al-Dm Khattab b. qualities and his wisdom, a model for reference, Mahmud b. Murtacish (?) al-clrakl al-Ghazakl, and it for "imitation" or "emulation"—a term employed to attracted many travellers. The Khan Danun, a very an increasing extent by English-speaking authors—by large khan, built 5 km. south of Kiswa on the road to every observant Imam! ShIcT (with the exception of Adhricat, was completed in 778/1376 during the reign mua^tahids) on all aspects of religious practice and law. of sultan al-Ashraf Shacban. One should also mention As in the case of other institutions, the history of this a khan at Ghbaghib, north of Sanamayn, on the function (called mardja^iyyat-i taklid or simply mardja- Pilgrimage route, and another, the Khan al-Zayyat, Hyyat, the term maraja ci- taklid often being abbreviated to the south-west of Kiswa and north-east of Shakhab. as mardja*-, pi. maradji^} is to be understood in the In 1941, during the course of hostilities between the context of the protracted doctrinal development of Free French forces (supported by the British and Imamism. Although the Arab element played and Commonwealth troops) and the Vichy troops, there continues to play an important part in this develop- was a battle on the Mardj al-Suffar, which took place ment, historical circumstances prevalent in Iran since on the very spot where the Byzantines had been forced the establishment of Imami ShIcTsm as the state to yield ground to the Arabs 1300 years before, and religion under the Safawids (907-1135/1501-1722 this later battle allowed the Allies to enter the Syrian [q.v. ]) were ultimately responsible for giving to the capital. ImamT muditahids a dominant spiritual and temporal Bibliography: Arabic texts. Mascudi, Tan- influence. Under the Kadjars (1794-1925 [q.v.]), the bih, 261, 286; Ibn Hawkal, tr. Kramers-Wiet, 210- Imam! ^ulamo? developed or re-interpreted various 11; Ibn al-KalanisT, Dhayl (Ibn al-Azrak al-Fariki), concepts or points of doctrine (niydbat, aHamiyyat, Beirut 1908, 115/10, 132/35, 213/65; Harawi,'K. mardja^iyyat, wildyat) which contributed to the increase al-Ziydrdt, ed. and tr. J. Sourdel-Thomine, of their power. Having undergone an eclipse since the Damascus 1953, 12/28; Yakut, Buldan, Beirut 1920s—a period corresponding with the renaissance 1957, iii, 413; v, 101; Ibn al-Athir, Kdmil, Cairo of Kum [q.v.] as a theological centre—the influence of 1930, ii, 276-78; viii, 132, ix, 216; Ibn al-cAdim, the Imam! mudjtahids and the role of the mardja^-i taklid Zubdat, ed. S. Dahhan, Damascus 1968, iii, 146; were seriously reexamined in the early 1960s as a Ibn Shaddad, al-A^ldk al-khatira (Dimashk), ed. result of doubts concerning the succession to Dahhan, Damascus 1956, 182; Ibn Kathir, Biddya, Ayatullah al-cUzma Burudjirdi (d. 1961 [q.v.in vii, 4; xiii, 76, 78; xiv, 21, 24; Ibn al-Furat, Suppl.]), sole mardja^-i taklid since 1367/1947. Discus- Ta^rikh, ed. K. Zurayk, Beirut 1936-9, viii, 205; ix, sions and debates were held by members, religious 152-3, 185-6; Makrlzi, Khitdt, iii, 58, 92; Ibn Kadi and lay, of the Islamic societies (andjumanhd-yi isldmi) Shuhba, Ta\ikh, ed. A. Darwish, Damascus 1977, concerning the method of selection and the functions index, s.v.; Ibn Taghnbirdl, Cairo, vi, 121, 122, of the mardja^-i taklid and the institution of mar^a^iyyat 149, 222, 223, 304, vii, 267, viii, 159, 204-6, in general, the position of Imamism with regard to xi, 260, 355, 367, 371.—Geography and idjtihdd, taklid and the various problems posed by the MARDJAC-I TAKLID 549 relations between religious and political authorities, munity therefore lived in a state of messianic expecta- the forms and the degrees of power which could be tion which compelled it to seek out solutions for its exercised by the mudjtahids, etc. It was especially spiritual and temporal organisation. Unlike the after the publication of these discussions (Bahthi, Sunnfs, the Imam! fukahd^ generally denied the 1341/1962^ cf. Lambton (1964), 120), of which the legitimacy of powers established de facto during the authors, Ayatullah Talikanl (d. 1979) and Mihdl ghayba (the basis and the logic of this attitude have Bazargan, were arrested and imprisoned following the been questioned by Arjomand (1979) who criticises demonstrations of spring 1963 against the "white the interpretations of N.R. Keddie, A.K.S. Lamb- revolution" of the Shah (in which Ayatullah Khu- ton, H. Algar etc.; cf. Calmard (1982), 255, Calder maynl played a prominent role) that abroad there (1982 A), 3, n. 2). ensued a wide-ranging debate concerning these ques- In the acknowledged absence of an infallible guide tions, of which the salient points are summarised or of a just sovereign, or of transmitters of traditions below in their historical context. (muhaddithun), the Imam! fukahd^ became scholastic 1. Discussions of idj_tihdd and taklid. The theologians (mutakallimun) before extending their evolution of Imami attitudes towards idjtihad and taklid prerogatives in the capacity of mudjtahidun (J. may be analysed in the context of what has been Hussain, 150). Their influence increased under the called, sometimes retrospectively and anachronis- Buyids (who professed Shf-ism), with whom they felt tically, the conflict between the Akhbaris/Akhbariyya able to collaborate without sacrificing their loyalty to [q.