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History and Memory: Khārijism in Early Islamic Historiography Hannah-Lena Hagemann PhD The University of Edinburgh 2014 Thesis Abstract The Khārijites are usually regarded as the first faction to separate from the early Islamic community. They are viewed as rebels and heretics, constituting the first sect within early Islam. This thesis seeks to examine the narrative role and function of Khārijism in the historiographical tradition of the formative period of Islam. To that end, it looks at the major Islamic chronicles of the 3rd and 4th centuries AH/9th and 10th centuries CE and investigates their portrayal of Khārijite history. The analysis covers the period from the apparent emergence of the Khārijites at the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 37 AH/657 CE until the death of the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān in 86 AH/705 CE. The thesis’ methodological approach is based on the premise that the historiographical works under study need to be approached as literary artefacts, as texts rather than databanks that can be mined for hard facts in order to reconstruct early Islamic and thus Khārijite history ‘as it really was’. This literary analysis of the source material on Khārijism leads to two major conclusions: first, there is hardly any narrative substance to the Khārijites as presented in the sources. Instead, the reports on Khārijite activities are mostly made up of structural components such as names and dates on the one hand, and topoi and schemata on the other. Consequently, no distinct and tangible identity, literary or otherwise, emerges from the material, pointing out the pitfalls of positivist approaches to Khārijite history and by extension early Islamic history in general. This phenomenon is directly connected to the second conclusion: the historiographical sources approach Khārijism not as an end in itself, but as a narrative tool with which to illustrate, discuss and criticize other actors and subject matters. The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapters One and Two address those characteristics of and topoi in the representation of Khārijism that pervade the source material across the entire period investigated here. It emerges that the historiographers’ major concern in the depiction of Khārijism is the discussion of the perils of the rebels’ militant piety that threatens the unity and stability of the Islamic community. Chapters Three to Five look at the periods of ʿAlī’s caliphate, Muʿāwiya’s rule and the second fitna as well as the reign of ʿAbd al-Malik, respectively, and identify the specific narrative purposes of Khārijism in the portrayal of each period. Chapter Six offers a number of observations on the early historiographical tradition as derived from the analysis over the preceding five chapters, addressing issues such as whether it makes sense to distinguish between proto-Sunnī and proto-Shīʿī sources. The Conclusion summarizes the main findings of this thesis and provides some suggestions regarding future research on Khārijite history and thought as well as early Islamic history in general. Declaration This is io certify that the work contained within has been composed by me and is €ntirely my own work. No part of this thesis has been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. signed: \1a.rnel"-h**, HY,*"* U Contents Note on Conventions ............................................................................................................................3 Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................5 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................6 Historical Overview: Khārijite History from the Battle of Ṣiffīn to the Death of ʿAbd al-Malik ...9 Khārijites in the Islamic Tradition and Western Scholarship ........................................................24 Research Interests and Sources ......................................................................................................33 Literary Approaches to Khārijite History ......................................................................................41 Awāʾil ........................................................................................................................................47 Topoi in the Source Material .....................................................................................................50 Why a Literary Approach to Khārijite History? ............................................................................53 Chapter One: The Imperceptible Identity of Khārijism .....................................................................59 1.1 The Use of ‘Khārijite Language’ Among Non-Khārijites .......................................................60 1.2 Replication and Repetition ......................................................................................................65 1.3 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................71 Chapter Two: Recurring Themes and Topoi in the Portrayal of Khārijism .......................................73 2.1 The Piety of the Khawārij ........................................................................................................73 2.2 The Union of Piety and Violence in Khārijite Thought and Deed ..........................................76 2.3 “A Word of Truth With an Evil Intention!” – Khārijism in the Estimation of the Early Historians .......................................................................................................................................85 The Use of the Qurʾān in the Condemnation of Khārijism .......................................................90 Excessive Piety in the Ḥadīth ....................................................................................................94 The Murder of Non-Khārijite Muslims .....................................................................................96 2.4 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................99 Chapter Three: Narratives of Khārijite Origins ...............................................................................102 3.1 Analysis .................................................................................................................................103 3.1.1 Apologia for ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib ............................................................................................103 Accusing the Caliph ................................................................................................................104 Excusing the Caliph ................................................................................................................106 Religious Justifications ...........................................................................................................106 Pragmatic Justifications ...........................................................................................................111 Moral Justifications .................................................................................................................117 The Battle of Nahrawān ..........................................................................................................121 3.1.2 “Ibn ʿAbbās wa-anta sawāʾun” – The Relationship between ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbās ............123 1 3.2 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................127 Chapter Four: Khārijites During the Caliphate of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān ...................................134 4.1 Analysis .................................................................................................................................135 4.1.1 “No Folk are Worse Enemies of God” – al-Ṭabarī on Khārijism During the Reign of Muʿāwiya I. .................................................................................................................................138 Al-Ṭabarī’s Criticism of Activist Khārijism ...........................................................................141 Direct Intervention in the Narrative ........................................................................................142 Condemnation by Proxy ..........................................................................................................144