The subject of the present paper is a prophetic tradition found in some compendia of eschatological aḥādīth which has received considerable scholarly attention since Wilferd Madelung dedicated an article to it in 1981. Whereas Madelung shares the opinion of earlier scholars that only some of the incidents “prophesied” by this tradition are historical, this study aims to show that it is a wholly ex post facto composition which, in its various strata, remarkably captures episodes from the Zubayrid war of propaganda against their rivals as well as their later attempts to redeem the memory of their lost cause as a just one. The discussion closes by producing a highly singular Syrian tradition most certainly put into circulation with the intent of countering these Zubayrid propaganda efforts.

The Türk ve Islam Müzesi in Istanbul possesses a hitherto unpublished ewer (Inv. No. 217) signed by a Mawṣilī artist (Pl. I). This is an unpretentious vessel, made of beaten brass and sparingly decorated with inlaid designs. It stands 37 cm. high without the lid (which is a later addition) and measures 20 cm. in its widest diameter.

Throughout the history of Indo-Aryan the tendency towards a particular sound-change might continue to be active over a long period of time, being manifested first in words of frequent use or lesser import or where other surrounding phonetic conditions favoured the change and subsequently appearing in particular areas throughout the general vocabulary.

Among the peoples of Mongolia at the advent of Chingiz Khān the Karaits () stand out for several reasons. First, We can trace them for more than three centuries, roughly A.D. 1000 to 1300. Second, in them we have the unusual phenomenon of a Far Eastern nation professing Christianity. Third, they have the interest of being connected with the story of Prester John, of Which the attraction has not altogether vanished. In what follows the attempt is made to give a connected account of these Karaits. From the nature of the sources it will be confined largely to the history of their ruling house.

The following chant, one of a series recorded in central Morocco in the summer of 1967, exemplifies a type of oral tradition found among the Imazighen, the Berbers of that region. It is a socio-religious poem, called a tanšhat: (plural tinšhadri). The poet-performer is an anšhad (pl. inšhadn), although like other musical performers he is addressed as ‘Shaykh’. The genre, known by other names in other regions, is characterized by its form and language, its composition and execution, its subject-matter and the poet's attitude toward it, and finally by its role in the life of the community.

Islamic metalwork has in recent years been the subject of several important new publications. James W. Allan has written a lavishly illustrated guide to a recently acquired private collection whose pieces attest to the high quality of objects available to the discriminating collector. The 27 pieces span the variety of wares produced in the medieval Islamic world: bowls, ewers, candlesticks, inkwells, incense burners, and other objects produced in Egypt, Syria, the Jazira, Iran, and India from the tenth to the seventeenth century. Multiple photographs in both colour and black and white accompany a lengthy discussion of each piece. In the introduction the author offers a brief summary of the Islamic metalware tradition (its origins, expansion, and decline) and discusses the symbolism inherent in its decoration, particularly the imagery of light and darkness and the sun.

L'emploi des Psaumes en dehors de l'usage liturgique est bien attesté aussi bien dans la tradition juive que dans la tradition chrétienne. Il y a d'abord la bibliomancie à proprement parler. Comme tous les livres bibliques, les Psaumes peuvent servir à la divination. La méthode la plus courante dans la bibliomancie est celle où l'on ouvre le livre au hasard et l'on prédit l'avenir d'après le passage que le doigt touche ou bien on cherche à répondre à une question posée au préalable.

The comparative Altaic phonology recently published by Professor Poppe is the third post-war attempt to give body to the theory of the genetic relationship of Altaic languages. In the recent spectacular renascence of Altaic studies two similar works have been published: one by Kotwicz, the other by Ramstedt. It is interesting to note that these surveys were published at a time when the genetic relationship of the Altaic language had already been tacitly admitted for about a century.

Four fourth-century ad inscriptions of Ezana, first Christian king of Aksum (Ethiopia), are surveyed, with special attention to Ezana's only known post-conversion inscription, written in Greek. Greek syntax and terminology in Ezana's inscription point to an anti-Arian Christology which may be associated with Frumentius, first bishop of Aksum, and his connection with Athanasius of Alexandria. The inscription's trinitarian formula “the power of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit” is structured in such a way as to assert the identity of the three members of the Trinity. The phrase “in the power of God Christ” further equates Christ with God. This christological language stands in contrast to the Arian imperial policy of the time, and is historically significant in light of Constantius's attempt to force Frumentius's recall to Alexandria. This inscription serves as the first internal documentary evidence for an anti-Arian Christology in the earliest developments of Ethiopian Christianity.

The rise and development of Persian poetry in Transoxiana and Khurāsān coincided with the growth in influence of the Turkish element in the Sãmãnid state. Although Turks had alredy been living in these regions at the time of the Arab conquest, it was under the Sāmānids especially that emerged into political and military prominence, having risen form the status of slaves to the highest ranks of power. In the fragmentary survivals of the Persian poetry of this period we not only find mention of Turks but even the occasional word of Turkish origin:

‘This cloud is like a crazed Turk, shooting arrows; the lightning his shafts, and the rainbow his bow.’

Sěrat Cabolek is a problematical but very interesting work concerning the court of Kartasura in the reign of Pakubuwana II. It tells of a religious controversy which became the subject of debate at the court, involving some of the most important figures in the realm, including the young king himself.

This article is a description and analysis of the twelve-day renovation ritual or kumbha¯bhiseka (‘water-pot bathing ritual’) celebrated in the Mi¯na¯ksi¯ Temple in the south Indian city of Madurai in 1995. After briefly discussing the historical background, the article describes the priests' division of labour at the kumbha¯bhiseka, the preliminary rituals—including the transfer of the deities' power from their images into water-pots—and the most crucial rituals: the series of ya¯gapu¯ja¯ (‘sacrifice-worship’) rituals, which mainly consisted of fire-sacrifices to enhance the power in the water-pots, and the culmination of the entire event, when the pots were emptied over the Temple's towers and images, so that the power flowed back in. The article concludes that despite its extreme elaborateness, the kumbha¯bhiseka's symbolic logic and purpose, especially as displayed in the spectacular destruction of the fire-sacrifices and then the final water-pouring, are unusually transparent compared to many other temple rituals.

The term ‘verbal piece’ is applied here to any utterance stretch defined initially by one of the particles listed in paragraph 6 and finally either by sentence-closing intonation or by a marker indicating the onset of another piece. Investigation of the order in which forms appear within these limits leads to the recognition of a number of sequential positions within the verbal piece. Forms are classified according to their distribution over these positions and commutability within them.

The expression taḥannuth mentioned in some traditions in connexion with the first revelation of the Prophet was variously interpreted by Muslim philologists and commentators of ḥadīth. Several meanings have been attached to it by modern scholars. A re-examination of the material seems to give us a clue for elucidation of the meaning of taḥannuth and the ideas connected with it. This may also be helpful towards understanding the circumstances of the ‘Call to Prophecy’ of Muḥammad.

Baptist missionaries were the first to operate effectively in northern India. William Carey arrived in 1793, and worked for six years mainly in North Bengal, moving in 1800 to the Danish settlement of Serampore to join Joshua Marshman and William Ward. From the beginning they were concerned with education, starting schools at first in their immediate vicinity and eventually throughout the province of Bengal, from Dacca and Chittagong in the east to Suri in the west; meanwhile other Baptist missionaries in connexion with Serampore ranged south-east as far as the Moluccas and north-west to Ajmer, with many intermediate stations. The climax of their educational efforts in Bengal was reached in the years 1816–18, when over 100 elementary schools were established, and also Serampore College for higher education. During these same years, however, a group of younger Baptist missionaries broke away to form a separate mission based on Calcutta, and simultaneously disputes developed between the Serampore Trio and the officials of the Baptist Missionary Society in London, which resulted in a complete separation between them in 1827. But in December 1837 the Serampore Mission found it impossible to continue, for financial reasons, and had to agree to a reunion with the BMS; Joshua Marshman, the last survivor of the original Trio—and the one mainly responsible for their educational work—died in the same month.

Neither of the terms commonly used to describe the seventh-century expansion of the movement that comes to be called Islam – “the Islamic conquests” or “the Arab conquests” – is satisfactory; both terms are anachronistic and in some ways misleading; yet there is, at present, no clear candidate for an alternative terminology. This article discusses the weaknesses of existing nomenclatures, with reference to relevant primary sources, and the conceptual problems the traditional nomenclatures pose in the context of an extensive review of scholarly literature from roughly 1900 to the present. It offers a few suggestions for possible new terminologies, but essentially opens the question for further discussion.