DOCSLIB.ORG

In Medieval Damascus Author(S): Joan E. Gilbert Source: Studia Islamica, No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
In Medieval Damascus Author(S): Joan E. Gilbert Source: Studia Islamica, No Institutionalization of Muslim Scholarship and Professionalization of the 'Ulamā' in Medieval Damascus Author(s): Joan E. Gilbert Source: Studia Islamica, No. 52, (1980), pp. 105-134 Published by: Maisonneuve & Larose Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595364 Accessed: 18/06/2008 12:19 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mal. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP AND PROFESSIONAITZATION OF THE 'ULAMA' IN MEDIEVALDAMASCUS Introduction Following the Islamic conquests, companions of Muhammad (sahaba) left Mecca and Medina. As Muslims spread across the world from Spain to Central Asia, scholars eager to keep alive Muhammad's teachings traveled back and forth through Islamic lands to discuss religious questions, to exchange inform- ation, and to teach. The first generation of scholars of Islam after the companions of Muhammad are designated followers (tabi'iin), subsequent generations are called 'ulama'. Scholars is the essential meaning of the word 'ulamd'. As generations of Muslims sought to order society on the basis of the principles of Islam, the term 'ulamd' came to connote scholars of religion and religious law; and 'ulama' became a collective word referring to all manner of scholars of religion, including the judges who administered the law of Islam, professors of Islamic law, hadlth transmitters, imams, preachers, legal advisers, sufts, and private individuals with some proficiency in religious matters. In each episode of Islamic history, 'ulama' have been a general 106 J. E. GILBERT body of scholars of religion who filled one or more of the fore- going specific religious roles. Yet, when scholars of religion are considered in the context of the whole of Islamic society, the general term 'ulama' fails in precision, for the broader social roles of the 'ulama' have varied over the centuries. During the course of Islamic history 'ulamd' have been both proponents of social change and preventers of it. In diverse times and places 'ulamd' have either shunned or accepted state appointments. In the early centuries of Islam private, independent scholars representing all levels of society informally associated with one another. In the later Islamic centuries 'ulamd' served as salaried bureau- crats and permitted the incorporation of their scholarly organi- zation into the state. The present article concentrates on the 'ulama' of medieval Damascus between the years 468/1076 and 658/1260. Throughout this period interaction between the 'ulama' and the ruling families of Damascus increasingly promoted the endowment of religious establishments, the institutionalization of Muslim scholarship, and the professional- ization of the 'ulamd'-developments which mark a significant change in Islamic social structure and Muslim community life. During two separate epochs of Islamic history Damascus served as a capital city and as the source of political, social, cultural, and intellectual trends that influenced the entire Islamic world. The first such era lasted approximately one hundred years, from the mid-seventh to the mid-eighth century. The second period of special importance for Damascus extended through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In this period Turkish and Kurdish rulers replaced local militias with imperial troops for external defence and with a police force for internal control. The city enjoyed growing agricultural and manu- facturing activity and increased trade. Expansion of the religious establishment was part of the renaissance of twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus. Although 'ulama' were active in Damascus throughout previous centuries, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries they enjoyed unprecedented opportunities. Scores of new religious institutions were established, large numbers of salaried posts INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 107 for teachers and stipends for students became available, and increasing numbers of religious scholars from around the Islamic world came to study, many to settle, in Damascus. The International System of Scholarship Before the crystallization of Muslim scholarship in twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus, and from earliest Muslim times, companions of Muhammad, tabi'iin, and subsequent generations of 'ulamd' journeyed throughout the Islamic territories to pursue and disseminate religious knowledge. This tradition of travel in search of learning continued to dominate the educational and career patterns of later 'ulama'. As conquest and conversion brought diverse ethnic and linguistic groups into the original Arabo-Islamic empire, Muslim scholars from areas as distant as Spain, North Africa, and Central Asia sought personal communication with one another. A network of scholarly contacts began to extend across the Islamic world. Muslim scholars traveled as participants in a host of professional and social as well as religious practices that grew up around the exchange of religious information. These organized pur- suits constituted an international system of Muslim learning. Scholars of religion in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries typically studied first in their native city and began to travel, usually to several places, in order to continue their education. When they had accumulated enough knowledge and the documents certifying proficiency, they looked for positions either at home or abroad. Wherever they lived they both taught and carried forward their education, profitting from both resident and traveling 'ulamd'. Scholars sought to gain students and to increase their reputation, for future employment might depend upon popularity and fame. Contemporaries and biographers did not hesitate to compare one scholar with another, and the numbers of students and sizes of crowds in attendance were significant ingredients in a scholarly reputation. In every generation two or three scholars were acknowledged as outstanding, and others went 108 J. E. GILBERT to meet and study with these men. The biographies of contemporary 'ulama' show that they traveled to the same towns and that they nearly always studied with the same famous individuals. Religion was the basis of the system of international scholar- ship and the overriding motivation for itinerant scholars. For example, persons became muhaddiths for the sake of the religious experience of being part of a continuous chain of transmitters extending back to Muhammad. Scholars directed their travels to study with the most noted men of their generation in order to insure their place in chains of authorities stretching into the past and, through their own students, into the future. They were in their own estimation living links between generations of scholars. (1) Pilgrimage and traveling to gain religious knowledge were frequently combined. Essential to the functioning of the international scholarly system were personal contacts. Social connections integrating the system included acquaintance with influential scholars at home and around the Islamic world, contact with other students engaged in similar careers, and the establishment of marriage alliances. Some students studied with many professors; others stayed with a single professor for years, holding a job or two under him and acting as his companion or junior colleague. In some cases a student studied with only one individual, followed his professor from place to place, and settled himself in the new locale to which his teacher had migrated. A scholar might wed the daughter of a native-born or immigrant professor in his home town or in the course of his travels, and a new professor in town might marry into an established scholarly family. Thus, inter-city marriage alliances began to exist, further reinforcing the international association of scholars. (2) (1) Ibn Khallikan, Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, trans. by Mac Guckin de Slane, 4 vols. (Paris, 1843-1871; reprinted Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1970), II, pp. 387-388. (2) Ibn Rajab, Kitdb al-Dhayl 'ald Tabaqdt al-Hanabila, ed. by Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi, 2 vols. (Cairo: Al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya, 1952-1953), II, pp. 294, 296, developed a formula for describing the scholar that studied, married, and had children abroad: sami'a bihd, tafaqqaha bihd, tazawwaja bihd, wa wulida lahu. INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 109 The strength of scholarly relationships explains how persons could arrive alone or with a single companion (often father and son or two brothers) and be accepted, cared
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Political History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1187 C.E
    Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Honors Program Senior Projects WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Spring 2014 A Political History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1187 C.E. Tobias Osterhaug Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Osterhaug, Tobias, "A Political History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1187 C.E." (2014). WWU Honors Program Senior Projects. 25. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/25 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Honors Program Senior Projects by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Tobias Osterhaug History 499/Honors 402 A Political History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1187 C.E. Introduction: The first Crusade, a massive and unprecedented undertaking in the western world, differed from the majority of subsequent crusades into the Holy Land in an important way: it contained no royalty and was undertaken with very little direct support from the ruling families of Western Europe. This aspect of the crusade led to the development of sophisticated hierarchies and vassalages among the knights who led the crusade. These relationships culminated in the formation of the Crusader States, Latin outposts in the Levant surrounded by Muslim states, and populated primarily by non-Catholic or non-Christian peoples. Despite the difficulties engendered by this situation, the Crusader States managed to maintain control over the Holy Land for much of the twelfth century, and, to a lesser degree, for several decades after the Fall of Jerusalem in 1187 to Saladin.
    [Show full text]
  • RJSSER ISSN 2707-9015 (ISSN-L) Research Journal of Social DOI: Sciences & Economics Review ______
    Research Journal of Social Sciences & Economics Review Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2021 (January – March) ISSN 2707-9023 (online), ISSN 2707-9015 (Print) RJSSER ISSN 2707-9015 (ISSN-L) Research Journal of Social DOI: https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol2-iss1-2021(79-82) Sciences & Economics Review ____________________________________________________________________________________ Analytical Study of Pedagogical Practices of Abul Hasan Ashari (270 AH ...330 AH) * Dr. Hashmat Begum, Assistant Professor ** Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Ibrar Ullah, Assistant Professor (Corresponding Author) *** Dr. Samina Begum, Assistant Professor __________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Abu al Hasan al-Ashari is measured to be a great as well as famous scholar of theology. He competed with philosophers with the power of his knowledge. He was a famous religious scholar of the Abbasi period. During the heyday of Islam, two schools of thought became famous. One school of thought became famous as the Motazilies and the other discipline of thought became known as the Ash'arites. Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari remained a supporter of the Mu'tazilites for forty years. Then there was a disagreement with Mu'tazilah about the issue of value. Imam al-Ghazali is one of the leading preachers of his Ash'arite school of thought. Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari inherited a passion for collecting books. As a child, he used to collect books from his hobby. Sometimes there are very difficult places in the path of knowledge, only a real student can pass through these places safely. He has been remembered by the Islamic world in very high words. There was a student who drank the ocean of knowledge but his thirst was not quenched.
    [Show full text]
  • Concept of a Crusade Within Each Faith in an Attempt to Ascertain the Roots of the Actions of Christian and Muslim Crusades
    InSight: RIVIER ACADEMIC JOURNAL, VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2, FALL 2009 CONCEPT OF A CRUSAID Thomas Jackson* Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies Program, Rivier College Keywords: Crusades, Islam, Pope, Warfare, Christianity Abstract Mention the word Crusade and depending on who is listening, the word's meaning and cultural impact varies significantly. Specifically, the Medieval Crusades, often traditionally defined by historians as offensive military campaigns waged by Christians to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims are held out as an example of western exploitation of Islam. Much work by authors such as John M. Riddle and Jonathan Riley-Smith has highlighted the historical events but has not considered the possibility these Crusades were defensive actions to counter previous Islamic advances into Christian territories. This paper will first examine the origins of Christianity and Islam, their spread, and the general concept of a Crusade within each faith in an attempt to ascertain the roots of the actions of Christian and Muslim Crusades. There will be an examination of the early Islamic advances into the Christian Levant. The work will assess the 1094 call for help by Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus I to thwart the Seljuk Muslim invaders. The paper will also examine the abhorrent Western European behavior during the Crusades. Finally, in a thoughtful postmortem analysis, the case will made that if the Crusades were not undertaken, Europe and its culture that we know today may not have existed. Introduction Mention the word Crusades and depending on who you converse with, the word's connotation and historical impact varies significantly with Christians and Muslims often holding diametrically opposing views.
    [Show full text]
  • The Second Crusade, 1145-49: Damascus, Lisbon and the Wendish Campaigns
    The Second Crusade, 1145-49: Damascus, Lisbon and the Wendish Campaigns Abstract: The Second Crusade (1145-49) is thought to have encompassed near simultaneous Christian attacks on Muslim towns and cities in Syria and Iberia and pagan Wend strongholds around the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. The motivations underpinning the attacks on Damascus, Lisbon and – taken collectively – the Wendish strongholds have come in for particular attention. The doomed decision to assault Damascus in 1148 rather than recover Edessa, the capital of the first so-called crusader state, was once thought to be ill-conceived. Historians now believe the city was attacked because Damascus posed a significant threat to the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem when the Second Crusaders arrived in the East. The assault on Lisbon and the Wendish strongholds fell into a long-established pattern of regional, worldly aggression and expansion; therefore, historians tend not to ascribe any spiritual impulses behind the native Christians’ decisions to attack their enemies. Indeed, the siege of Lisbon by an allied force of international crusaders and those of the Portuguese ruler, Afonso Henriques, is perceived primarily as a politico-strategic episode in the on-going Christian-Muslim conflict in Iberia – commonly referred to as the reconquista. The native warrior and commercial elite undoubtedly had various temporal reasons for engaging in warfare in Iberia and the Baltic region between 1147 and 1149, although the article concludes with some notes of caution before clinically construing motivation from behaviour in such instances. On Christmas Eve 1144, Zangī, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo and Mosul, seized the Christian-held city of Edessa in Mesopotamia.
    [Show full text]
  • Makdisi Source: Studia Islamica, No
    Maisonneuve & Larose Ash'arī and the Ash'arites in Islamic Religious History II Author(s): George Makdisi Source: Studia Islamica, No. 18 (1963), pp. 19-39 Published by: Maisonneuve & Larose Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595177 Accessed: 06/01/2010 12:42 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mal. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Maisonneuve & Larose is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Studia Islamica. http://www.jstor.org ASH'ARIAND THE ASH'ARITES IN ISLAMICRELIGIOUS HISTORY II THE PROBLEM OF ASH'ARi Ash'arl poses a problem as author of a work entitled Istihsdn al-khaud fT 'ilm al-kalam.
    [Show full text]
  • Reply to “Abu Alqama” and His Nefarious Attacks on a Narration from Malik Alal----Dardardardar
    REPLY TO “ABU ALQAMA” AND HIS NEFARIOUS ATTACKS ON A NARRATION FROM MALIK ALAL----DARDARDARDAR Praise be to Allah that is due from all grateful believers, a fullness of praise for all his favours: a praise that is abundantly sincere and blessed. May the blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Master Muhammad, the chosen one, the Apostle of mercy and the seal of all Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all); and upon his descendants who are upright and pure: a blessing lasting to the Day of Judgment, like the blessing bestowed upon the Prophet Ibrahim (alaihis salam) and his descendants. May Allah be pleased with all of the Prophetic Companions (Ashab al-Kiram). Indeed, Allah is most worthy of praise and supreme glorification! In this reply the following narration will be analysed in refutation of a pseudo-Salafi’s claims that it is weak and contains an unknown narrator (majhûl) by the name of Malik al-Dar in its chain of transmission (isnâd). The following has been presented here (sunniforum.com) by one of the brothers in documenting the evidences used to endorse the validity of Tawassul. Imam al-Bayhaqi related with a sound (sahih) chain the following: It is related from Malik al-Dar, `Umar's treasurer, that the people suffered a drought during the successorship of `Umar, whereupon a man came to the grave of the Prophet and said: "O Messenger of Allah, ask for rain for your Community, for verily they have but perished," after which the Prophet appeared to him in a dream and told him: "Go to `Umar and give him my greeting, then tell him that they will be watered.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Contemporary Wahhabism Rebranded As Salafism
    FIl se peut q ue quelqu ’un d ise : FIl se peut q ue quelqu ’un d ise : Contemporary Wahhabism rebranded as Salafism: the issue of interpreting the Qur’anic verses and hadith on the Attributes of God and its significance Submitted by Namira NAHOUZA to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arab and Islamic Studies, April 2009. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. (signature) ......................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT This research studies the theology of those Wahhabis who have now named themselves Salafis. For the purpose of the study, they are referred to as the ‘Wahhabis-self-named- Salafis’ (WSNS). The thesis starts with the observation that the WSNS are usually studied from a political perspective, much less frequently a theological one. Recent research has identified that the theological background of all the different factions of the WSNS is one and the same. This is true for the WSNS who advocate a peaceful way to achieve their goals, as well as those who do not. This thesis aims to explore some of the theological issues that unify these factions. This research demonstrates that, because the WSNS are opposed to the very concept of interpretation of the Qur’an and the hadith, especially when these texts deal with important theological issues such as the Attributes of God, they have developed a vision of Islamic history which is entirely different from the one which had traditionally been accepted by most Muslim scholars and Western academics.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Intermediaries in Post-2011 Syria Transformation and Continuity Local Intermediaries in Post-2011 Syria Transformation and Continuity
    Local Intermediaries in post-2011 Syria Transformation and Continuity Local Intermediaries in post-2011 Syria Transformation and Continuity Edited by Kheder Khaddour and Kevin Mazur Contributors: Armenak Tokmajyan Ayman Al-Dassouky Hadeel Al-Saidawi Roger Asfar Sana Fadel Published in June 2019 by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung P.O. Box 116107 Riad El Solh Beirut 1107 2210 Lebanon This publication is the product of a capacity building project for Syrian researchers that was designed and implemented by Kheder Khaddour and Kevin Mazur. Each participant conducted independent research and authored a paper under the editors’ supervision. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be printed, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the publisher. Layout and Cover Design: Milad Amin Translation and Editing: Hannah Massih, Livia Bergmeijer, Niamh Fleming- Farrell, Rana Sa’adah and Yaaser Azzayyat CONTENTS Building from the Wreckage Intermediaries in Contemporary Syria........................................................4 Kheder Khaddour and Kevin Mazur Politics of Rural Notables...........................................................................21 Armenak Tokmajyan What We Can Learn from the Rise of Local Traders in Syria........................43 Ayman Al-Dassouky Informal State-Society Relations and Family Networks in Rural Idlib..........67 Hadeel Al-Saidawi The Role of the Christian Clergy in Aleppo as Mediators The Nature of Relationships and their Attributes.......................................93 Roger Asfar The Leaders of Damascus The Intermediary Activists in the 2011 Uprising.........................................119 Sana Fadel Building from the Wreckage Intermediaries in Contemporary Syria Kheder Khaddour and Kevin Mazur Seven years of war in Syria have shattered many of the social and political relations that existed before the conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • The Literary Contribution of Some Important Historians Contemporary to Shams Al-Din Al-Dhahabi
    THE LITERARY CONTRIBUTION OF SOME IMPORTANT HISTORIANS CONTEMPORARY TO SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY^ ALIGARH, U.P. (INDIA) FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF iWaiter of ^|)iIo«op^p IN ARABIC Under the Supervision of By Dr, Abdul Bari Mrs, Sultana Razia Khanam M.A. (Arabic & Urdu;, B.A. (Hons) (Dae), B.L., Ph.D. (Patna) M.A. (Alig.) DEPARTMENT OF ARABIC, ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH. 1986 J)s ^--1 ^g DS996 r"- ^«- •- Tele : 234 DEPARTMENT Of ARABIC ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH Dated..?*.**^..f.*^^.?^.».?.^ This is to certify that Mr«, ^Itena 'Isiasiw '^b^namhus ^one h#r M.Phil w®tlc uniar By suservlsion an4 h«s eoruDleted h«i» work succ«ssf!illy. This Is aa orlsrlnwl contrlbuties and «ntlr#ly h#r own* ( Pr* AHiuI Bari ) Sttparvlsor The tltl« ©f th» K^Phll m«sert«tloa is "Thf* T,lt«r?ry Contribution ©f 5-ORJ« lwf>ort'»T5t *!l?torl»»n!» Contvanwemrj to ^liras al-Dln CONTENTS Page Acknowledgement ... ... ... i Introduction Ibn al-Tiqtaqa ... ... ... 26 Abu al-Fida ... ... ... 62 Ibn Shakir al-Kutubi ... ... 7 9 Al-SafadI ... ... ... 86 Bibliography ... ... ... 99 I avail myself of this opportunity to express my high sense of gratitude to my learned supervisor and benign guide Dr. ''Abdul Barl, Reader in the Department of Arabic, Aligarh Muslim University, whose affectionate patronage and constant guidance have been an incessant source of information for me in completing this M.Phil. Dissertation entitled, "The Literary Contribution of Some important Historians Contemporary to Shams al-Din al-DhahabI" and whose valuable advice made this work possible to see the light of the day.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Ibn 'Asakir (1105–1176): Muslim Historian and Advocate of Jihad Against Christian Crusaders and Shi'
    Ibn ‘Asakir (1105–1176): Muslim Historian and Advocate of Jihad against Christian Crusaders and Shi‘ite Muslims James E. Lindsay Colorado State University Introduction On the authority of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abdullah, the son of ‘Umar ibn al- Khattab (may God be pleased with them both), who said: I heard the Messenger of God (may blessings and peace of God be upon him) say: Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, performing the prayers, paying the zakat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan (Ibrahim and Johnson-Davies 1976). As the hadith cited above indicates, Muslim scholars have long described the basic ritual practices of Islam in architectural terms. They refer to them as the five pillars (al-arkan al- khamsa); the supports that define one’s submission (islam) to God. The five pillars upon which the entire edifice of Islam rests are statement of belief (shahada), ritual prayer (salat), almsgiving (zakat), the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar (Dhu l-Hijja) and fasting (sawm) during the daylight hours of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (Ramadan). While some Muslim scholars argued that jihad should be included as the sixth pillar of Islam, most rejected such a designation and regarded it as merely obligatory on all able-bodied Muslims. An Arabic noun that in its basic sense conveys the idea of struggle or striving, jihad is often used as part of the Qur’anic phrase, jihad fi sabil Allah (striving in the path of God).
    [Show full text]
  • The Reigning Princes of Galilee Downloaded From
    1912 445 The Reigning Princes of Galilee Downloaded from F the various states constituted by the crusaders in Syria at O the end of the eleventh century the kingdom of Jerusalem comprised all the conquests south of the river Adonis (Nahr Ibrahim), and was divided into four greater and a fluctuating http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ number of smaller baronies. Of the former Jaffa and Sidon were on the coast, while that of Montreal, in the Oultrejourdain, and Galilee guarded the inland frontier towards Arabia and Damascus respectively. Jaffa was often held by the king, and before the disruption of the kingdom at Hattin was regarded as the proper fief for the heir apparent or presumptive of the crown. Sidon enjoyed the continuous succession of a single dynasty, at Serials Dept -- College of William and Mary on June 15, 2014 while Oultrejourdain and Galilee were ruled by some of the most celebrated fighting men among the Latins. In attempting to enumerate the princes of Galilee and their families the historian is to a certain extent hampered by the fact that the ' Lignages d'Outremer', which may perhaps be called the 1 Burke ' of the Latin kingdom, is at fault in ite record of Galilee. The account can be supplemented from charters, from the records of other families, and from modern research, but still it can never be as ample and detailed as could be wished. The principality was first given to Tanored towards the end of 1099, but it is difficult to establish the exact date when he became prince. He may have raided Tiberias and taken it during
    [Show full text]
  • An Islamic Perspective (Cultura. Vol. XI, No. 1 (2014))
    CULTURA CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE CULTURA AND AXIOLOGY Founded in 2004, Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of 2014 Culture and Axiology is a semiannual peer-reviewed journal devo- 1 2014 Vol XI No 1 ted to philosophy of culture and the study of value. It aims to pro- mote the exploration of different values and cultural phenomena in regional and international contexts. The editorial board encourages the submission of manuscripts based on original research that are judged to make a novel and important contribution to understan- ding the values and cultural phenomena in the contempo rary world. CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY CULTURE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL ISBN 978-3-631-65486-6 www.peterlang.com CULTURA 2014_265846_VOL_11_No1_GR_A5Br.indd.indd 1 14.05.14 17:43 CULTURA CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE CULTURA AND AXIOLOGY Founded in 2004, Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of 2014 Culture and Axiology is a semiannual peer-reviewed journal devo- 1 2014 Vol XI No 1 ted to philosophy of culture and the study of value. It aims to pro- mote the exploration of different values and cultural phenomena in regional and international contexts. The editorial board encourages the submission of manuscripts based on original research that are judged to make a novel and important contribution to understan- ding the values and cultural phenomena in the contempo rary world. CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY CULTURE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL www.peterlang.com CULTURA 2014_265846_VOL_11_No1_GR_A5Br.indd.indd 1 14.05.14 17:43 CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY Cultura.
    [Show full text]