THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Closest in Friendship? Al-Jah̄ ̣iz’̣ Pro#le of Christians in Abbasid Society in “The Refutation of Christians” (Al-Radd ʿala ̄ al-Nasạ rā )̄ A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures School of Arts and Sciences Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Ful#llment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Nathan P. Gibson Washington, D.C. 2015 Closest in Friendship? Al-Jah! "iz’" Pro#le of Christians in Abbasid Society in “The Refutation of Christians” (Al-Radd ʿala ̄ al-Nasạ rā )̄ Nathan P. Gibson, Ph.D. Director: Sidney H. Gri$th, Ph.D. Abbasid society in ninth-century Iraq faced the challenge of reconciling the role of its many non-Muslim citizens with Islamic norms and governance, as seen in “The Refutation of Christians” by al-Jah! "iz " (d. 868/869 [255 A.H.]). Al-Jah! "iz " moved in circles only one step removed from those of the Christian and Jewish intellectuals he came to criticize in the work, and he likely composed it just prior to Caliph al-Mutawakkil’s watershed reforms in non-Muslim policy. Thus, the “Refutation” is a primary source for understanding shifting Muslim sensibilities toward Christians’ societal role in a religiously diverse realm, but its polemic approach makes it problematic to analyze historically. This dissertation seeks to make “The Refutation of Christians” more accessible as a historical source by performing a contextual analysis of its argumentation. Al-Jah! "iz’" rhetorical strategy is to explain away factors behind popular Muslim preferences for Christians over Jews, and then to advance positive reasons for considering Christians more harmful than Jews. Argumentation analysis using the pragma-dialectical approach highlights salient social points at issue between Christians and Muslims of the time. First, al-Jah! "iz’" dispute is not directly with Christians, but with Muslims who show them too much respect and liberality. Second, he must reframe certain facts about Christians that are too generally accepted to contradict, including memories of Arabs’ pre-Islamic and early Islamic contacts with Christians, and Christian intellectuals’ crucial role in perpetuating Greek scienti#c works. He turns these favorable perceptions into liabilities, arguing that Christians’ intellectualism diverts weak Muslims from the faith and their social position violates Christian-Muslim agreements. Finally, in contrast to the jurists’ approach, he argues for enforcing the original intention of these agreements rather than trying to demonstrate speci#c historical stipulations. Al-Jah! "iz’" ideology aligns with al-Mutawakkil’s Qur%anically charged edicts, in that Christians, far from being “closest in friendship” (5:82), are those with whom believers must not make any alliance (5:51). As such, the “Refutation” reveals the battle lines between more lenient, popular Muslim attitudes and a stricter position promoted by al-Jah! "iz " and enforced by al-Mutawakkil. This dissertation by Nathan P. Gibson ful#lls the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures approved by Sidney H. Gri$th, S.T., Ph.D., as Director, and by Shawqi N. Talia, Ph.D., and Wilhelmus Valkenberg, Ph.D., as Readers. ______________________________________________________ Sidney H. Gri$th, Ph.D. ______________________________________________________ Shawqi N. Talia, Ph.D. ______________________________________________________ Wilhelmus Valkenberg, Ph.D ii To my family, with gratitude for their un$agging support— especially my wife, who cheered me on every step of the way iii Contents Chapter ILLUSTRATIONS .......................................................................vii ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................ix CONVENTIONS ...........................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...........................................................xii INTRODUCTION .........................................................................1 Theology & Culture..........................................................1 Literature Review ............................................................3 Textual History, Editions, and Translations ..........3 The “Refutation” as Theology ...............................6 The “Refutation” as Literature, History, and Argumentation ...............................................7 Overview of Chapters ....................................................11 PART I: AL-JA!H"IZ" AND HIS WORLD ONE AL-JA!H"IZ"’ LIFE .........................................................................18 Sources...........................................................................19 Education.......................................................................20 Writings and Patronage .................................................26 Conclusions....................................................................34 TWO DATING THE “REFUTATION” ..................................................35 The Dilemma .................................................................35 Animals (Kitab" al-H#ayawan" ): Before or After 847? .........38 One or Two “Refutations”?............................................41 Extant “Refutation” Equal to ... ?...................................43 Conclusions....................................................................49 THREE CRAFTING THE “REFUTATION” ..............................................50 I. Introduction................................................................54 A. Invocation (Praise) .........................................54 B. Acknowledgement of Letter ............................54 C. Presentation of Christian Arguments ..............59 iv Chapter B’. Intended Response to Letter...........................61 A’. Invocation (Prayer)........................................63 II. Response to Muslim Preferences toward Christians...........................................................64 A. Presentation and Rebuttal of Muslim Preferences toward Christians.............................64 B. Counterargument about Muslim Preferences toward Christians.............................66 III. Response to Christian Arguments.............................73 A. Response to Argument that Jesus Did Not Speak in Cradle......................................75 B. Response to Argument that if God Could Take a Friend He Could Take a Son..........75 C. Response to Argument that Muslims Inaccurately Accuse Other Religions...................76 D. Response to Argument that Qur%an Di&erentiates Jesus from Ordinary Humans .......77 IV. Conclusion................................................................79 PART II: THE PROFILE OF CHRISTIANS IN THE “REFUTATION” FOUR UNDERMINING THE BIASES....................................................83 Introduction and Methodology ......................................83 Polemic as Historical Source Material?...............86 Argumentation Analysis......................................89 The Opposing Standpoints .............................................92 Christians and Jews in Muslim Memory ........................95 Christians and Jews in Medina and Abyssinia ....95 Christians and Jews in al-Ma"%ida.........................99 Respect for Christians among Arab Tribes ........102 Implications of the Historical Argument...........111 A Qur%anic Reading of Christians’ “Sovereignty” (Mulk) ...................................................113 Christians’ Contemporary Relationship to Muslims .....116 Christian Intellectualism ...................................117 Christians’ Hereditary Traits .............................126 Conclusions..................................................................132 FIVE REVERSING THE BIASES........................................................136 Turning the Tables.......................................................136 Christians Transgressing their Stipulated Role ............139 Comparative Perspectives on Dhimm&" Regulations...........................................143 v Christians in Muslim Courts..............................170 The Arguments about Christians as Dhimm&"s ....180 Christians Confusing Weak Muslims with Heresy........185 Christians Outnumbering the Other Communities.......191 Christians Practicing Castration...................................194 Christians De#ling Society...........................................198 Conclusions..................................................................202 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................205 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................210 Primary Sources...........................................................210 Secondary Sources .......................................................219 vi Illustrations Figures 1. The structure of “The Refutation of Christians” 53 2. Detailed structure of Part I of “The Refutation of Christians” 66 3. Detailed structure of Part II of “The Refutation of Christians” 74 4. Diagramming argumentation using the Pragma-Dialectical Approach 91 5. Example argumentation diagram 92 6. Distance from the #rst Muslims as a deciding factor 97 7. Christians’ help to Muslim refugees as a factor 99 8. Disassociation of contemporary Christians from the Nasa# ra" " of Q. 5:82-85 102 9. Arabs’ historical preference for Christians 105 10.Arabs’ historical