NARRATING EARLY ISLĀMIC HISTORY by Karim Samji A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Near Eastern Studies) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Michael David Bonner, Co-Chair Associate Professor Gottfried J. Hagen, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Hakkı Erdem Çıpa Assistant Professor Ellen Muehlberger Many fail to grasp what they have seen and cannot judge what they have learned, although they tell themselves they know. Heraclitus Copyright © Karim Samji 2013 All Rights Reserved. No quotation and/or information whatsoever derived from this dissertation may be published, circulated, distributed, transmitted, stored, and/or translated without the prior written consent of the author. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Maps...................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... v Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Narrating History Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 Research Questions Research Summary Historiography ........................................................................................................ 2 Historical Criticism Ridda Criticism Problems ................................................................................................................. 6 Source Limits Narrative Processes Approach............................................................................................................... 16 Marginalities Ridda Proto-Islām............................................................................................................ 26 Periodization Subject Narrative Reconstruction ...................................................................................... 36 Function of a Narrative Comparative Method Chapter Two: Early Proto-Islām Crisis ..................................................................................................................... 51 Transformations Imbalance Reform .................................................................................................................. 59 Mediator Sage Milieu.................................................................................................................... 67 From Poet to Prophet The Muslim Movement Hegemony............................................................................................................. 71 Centralization Monopoly ii Chapter Three: Middle Proto-Islām Reform Preacher................................................................................................... 84 Dissonance Call for Social Justice Opposition............................................................................................................. 93 Makkan Neutrality Exodus Resistance ........................................................................................................... 101 The Mu’min Movement From Prophet to Rebel Leader Conflict ............................................................................................................... 111 Conflagration Subjugation Chapter Four: Late Proto-Islām Consequences...................................................................................................... 129 Decline of Makka Restoration Confrontation ...................................................................................................... 137 Trade Wars Politics Insurrection ......................................................................................................... 145 Counter-Ideology Incursions Endgame ............................................................................................................. 154 Final Stage Clash Historiographical Conclusion............................................................................. 164 Skepticism Narrative Method Research Prospects Bibliography Primary Sources.................................................................................................. 173 Secondary Sources.............................................................................................. 175 iii LIST OF MAPS Map 2.1 Sphere of Influence............................................................................................... 74 2.2 Trade Vortex ......................................................................................................... 76 4.1 Trade Circle........................................................................................................ 137 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Ideal Series............................................................................................................ 10 1.2 Fallacy of Presentism............................................................................................ 10 1.3 Fallacy of Tunnel History ..................................................................................... 11 1.4 Comparative Method............................................................................................ 40 1.5 Comparative Type................................................................................................. 41 v ABBREVIATIONS AQ Anthropological Quarterly BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies CSSH Comparative Studies in Society and History EA Encyclopedia of Anthropology EI1 Encyclopaedia of Islam. 1st ed. EI2 Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2nd ed. EI3 Encyclopaedia of Islam. 3rd ed. EIS Encyclopaedia Islamica EQ Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān ER2 Encyclopedia of Religion. 2nd ed. HT History and Theory JAL Journal of Arabic Literature JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JH Jewish History JJIS al-Jāmi‘ah Journal of Islamic Studies JMEMS Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies JPR Journal of Peace Research JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland JSAI Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam JSAMES Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies JSS Journal of Semitic Studies M/Medina Muhammad at Medina M/Mecca Muhammad at Mecca M/Prophet Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman Q Qur’ān SAI Studia Arabistyczne i Islamistyczne SI Studia Islamica SJA Southwestern Journal of Anthropology TS Theory and Society vi 1 CHAPTER ONE NARRATING HISTORY Introduction Research Questions Despite the overwhelming global presence of Islām – in its multiple religious, political, social, cultural, and intellectual forms – the history of early Islām continues to elude historians. Written over a century after the death of Muḥammad, extant Arabic sources reveal little about the history of early Islām. In the last century, source-critical, tradition- critical, and skeptical historians have grappled with the sources without reaching a consensus. Recent studies demonstrating the unreliability of sources once held to be foundational have only further compounded the problem. As a result, early Islāmic historiography has reached an impasse. Narrating Early Islāmic History tackles the central methodological questions looming behind the problem. This research project thoroughly answers three questions: (i) How is the problem of early Islāmic history framed? (ii) What is the entry point into the past? (iii) How can early Islāmic history be reconstructed? Consequently, this dissertation mainly addresses methodological issues in order to rethink past approaches and develop new ones. To this end, the dissertation incorporates authoritative primary and secondary sources from Arabic, Persian, German, and Italian that have long been neglected by specialists in the field. 2 Research Summary The significance of this doctoral research rests in the fact that it has discovered fresh approaches to the entrenched problem of historical reconstruction. (i) In terms of framing the problem of early Islāmic history, this dissertation has formulated the concept of ‘proto-Islāmic’ history. This concept bypasses the negative false dichotomies perpetuated by current chronological divisions. (ii) This dissertation has identified in the annals of Islāmic history a unique entry point into the proto-Islāmic period, namely, the ridda or so-called Apostasia Arabum. (iii) Based upon these findings, this dissertation has developed the ‘narrative method’ for reconstructing the damaged, fragmentary history of proto-Islām. In particular, it restores the socio-economic, political, and geographic context of late antique Arabia. The results produced by this boundary- breaking method prove to be astounding. Narrating Early Islāmic History is organized into two sections: Historiography and Historical Reconstruction. Chapter 1 advances solutions to longstanding historiographical problems surrounding early Islāmic history. Chapters 2 through 4 reconstruct proto-Islāmic history with special reference to the Musaylima movement in central Arabia and the Muḥammad movement in western Arabia. Historiography Historical Criticism Julius Wellhausen’s “Prolegomena zur ältesten Geschichte des Islams” inaugurated the source-critical phase in Islāmic historiography.1 This groundbreaking work sought to accomplish for Islāmic studies what Wellhausen’s influential documentary hypothesis had done for biblical studies