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The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Ira M. Lapidus
Ira M. Lapidus
Affiliation:
University Of California, Berkeley
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Extract

Islamic studies progress. In recent years a great deal of work has been done on the Umayyad period, on the early history of Shi‘ism, and on the origins of the Muslim schools of law. A broader current of research has yielded numerous studies of the ‘ulamâ’ and their place in Muslim religious and communal life. New historical information and new points of view are gradually modifying received perspectives on Muslim religious movements and on the nature of Muslim religious elites.

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Articles
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International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , October 1975 , pp. 363 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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References

page 363 note 1 This paper has gone through several stages of preparation, in the course of which it has been much improved by the generous help of friends and colleagues. Professors Michael Dols and Franz Rosenthal have read the paper with great care, correcting points of detail and commenting on the larger implications and problems of the essay. Professor Wilfred Madelung has been especially helpful in correcting errors of fact and interpretation, and has offered me an important correction of perspective, putting the Hanbalî movement in the context of several parallel developments. Conversations with Dr Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Richard Bulliet, and Emmanuel Sivan have also helped refine my thinking on this point. Preliminary presentations at Princeton University and at the International Congress of Orientalists have elicited other helpful comments too numerous to mention in detail. I am grateful for this generous assistance, and gratified to be part of a community of scholars willing to share so generously of their time and knowledge. I would also like to thank Lisa Gerrard for her tasteful editorial assistance.Google Scholar

page 364 note 1 For new studies on the period of the early Caliphate, see Shaban, M.A., The ‘Abbâsid Revolution (Cambridge, 1970),Google Scholar and Islamic History A.D. 600–750 (Cambridge, 1971);Google ScholarOmar, F., The Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad, 1969).Google Scholar For the early history of Shi'ism, see also Cahen, C., ‘Points de vue sux la Révolution ‘Abbâside’, Revue Historique, 230 (1963), 295–338;Google ScholarHodgson, M., ‘How did the Early Shî'a become Sectarian?’ Journal of the American Oriental Society, 75 1–13.Google Scholar For the place of the ‘ulamâ’ in the post-'Abbâsid period and the schools of laws, see Bulliet, R., The Patricians of Nishapur (Cambridge, 1973)Google Scholar and my essays, ‘The Early Evolution of Muslim Urban Institutions’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 15 (1973), 21–50,Google Scholar and ‘Muslim Cities and Islamic Societies’, Middle Eastern Cities (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1970), pp. 47–76.Google ScholarMore general works on the ‘ulamâ’ in Muslim societies now include Keddie, N. (ed.), Scholars, Saints and Sufis (Berkeley and Los Angeles,1972);Google ScholarBaer, G. (ed.), The ‘Ulamâ’ in Modern History (Jerusalem, 1971).Google Scholar

page 365 note 1 Gibb, H. A. R., ‘Constitutional Organization’, in Law in the Middle East, Khadduri, M. and Liebesney, H. (eds.) (Washington, 1955), pp. 3–27.Google Scholar

page 367 note 1 Wellhausen, J., The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall (Calcutta, 1927), pp. 397. ff,Google Scholar and Shaban, M. A., The ‘Abbâsid Revolution (Cambridge, 1970).Google Scholar

page 368 note 1 In the long run, however, ithnâ 'asharî Shi'ites would, by accepting the doctrine of the hidden Imâm, rupture the traditional conception by allowing a new religious community to develop without real concern for the union of religious and political authority.Google Scholar

page 369 note 1 See Schacht, J., Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (Oxford, 1953).Google Scholar

page 370 note 1 Gabrieli, , Al-Ma'mûn e gli 'Alîdi (Leipzig, 1929);Google ScholarSourdel, D., ‘La politique religieuse du Calife ‘Abbâside al Ma'mûn’, Revue d'Études Islamiques, 30 (1962), 27–48.Google Scholar

page 374 note 1 The fullest account of the movements of Khâlid and Sahl is found in al-Tabarî, Ta'rîkh al-rûsul wal-mulûk, Husayniyya edition, X, 241–3, 248–9.Google ScholarAbbreviated accounts with occasional supplementary detail may be found in Athîr, Ibn al, al-Kâmil fîl- Ta'rîkh Cairo, 1357 A.H.), V, 182–3, 191;Google Scholar‘Uyûn al-Hadâ'iq fî Akhbâr al-Haqâ'iq, de Goeje, M. J. and de Jong, P., eds. (Leiden, 1869), pp. 352–3 – an account that stresses the connections between the ayyârûn and the army;Google ScholarMiskawayh, Tajârib al-Umum, de Goeje, M. J. and de Jong, P., eds. (Leiden, 1869), pp. 433–5, 440–1;Google ScholarKathîr, Ibn, al-Bidâya wal-nihâya (Cairo), x, 248;Google Scholaral-Mas'ûdî, , Murûj al-Dhahab (Cairo, 1958), IV, 29, points out that the volunteers, the mutawwi'a, were the chiefs of the common people and of their followers. Al-Ya'qûdî says that al-Ma'mûn ‘also gave amnesty to Sahl b. Salâma al-Mutawwi'î who used to clothe himself in a woollen garment, drape a copy of the Qur'ân about his neck, and urge the people to depose al-Ma'mûn; but no one ever paid any attention to him’. Or so al-Ya'qûbî might have wished.Google Scholar See Millward, W., ‘The Adaptation of Men to Their Time: An Historical Essay by al-Ya'qûbî’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 84 (1964), 329–44.Google ScholarFor events in general, the main source is al-Tabarî, Ta'rîkh, years 198–204; Miskawayh gives valuable details about the ‘Alid—'Abbâsid feud, pp. 424–5. See also Ibn al Athîr and ‘Uyiûn al-Hadâ'iq for the same years. Muttalib had a long history of changes of political heart. He was, as al-Ma'mûn is reputed to have remarked, the first and the last to be involved in every political dispute. As governor of Mosul in 809–10 Muttalib supported al-Ma'mûn rather than al-Amîn, who had appointed him. Between 813 and 816 he held two short terms as governor of Egypt, during the second of which he was driven from the country by the outbreak of civil war. In Baghdad he declared support for Sahl although this proved to be only a holding action for al-Ma'mûn, but he would soon oppose al-Ma'mûn by temporarily supporting the anti-Caliph Ibrâhîm ibn al-Mahdî before returning once again to his original allegiance.Google Scholar See al-Kindî, , al-Wulât wal-Qudât (Leiden, 1912), pp. 152–61;Google Scholaral-Azdî, , Ta'rîkh Mawsil (Cairo, 1967), pp. 325, 342;Google ScholarTayfûr, Ibn, Ta'rîkh Baghdâd (Baghdad, 1968), p. 32;Google ScholarGabrieli, Al-Ma'mûn e gli 'Alîdi, p.49;Google ScholarTaghrîbirdî, Ibn, al-Nujûm at-Zâhira (Cairo), II, 157, 162–3.Google Scholar

page 375 note 1 al-Baghdâdî, Al-khatîb, Ta'rîkh Baghdâd (Beirut, 1966), XII, 350–1.Google Scholar

page 376 note 1 For Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ahmad ibn Nasr, see below.Google Scholar

page 376 note 2 See the Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, III, 487. The Hanbalî school holds that al-amr bil-ma'rûf is a religious duty, but counsels against the use of violence.Google ScholarBatta, Ibn, La Profession de Foi, Laoust, H., ed. (Damascus, 1958), pp. 53–4. Later authors such as al-Mâwardî, al-Ahkham al-Sultâniyya, treat the injunction to command the good as the responsibility of the muhtasib. Al-Ghaza1î gives the religious basis of the obligation in Qur'ân and hadîth.Google Scholar See Bercher, L., ‘L'obligation d'ordonner le bien et d'interdire le mal selon al-Ghazali’, Institut de Belles Lettres Arabes, 18 (1955), 53–91, 313–21Google Scholar

page 377 note 1 al-Muqaffa, Ibn’, ‘Risâla fî al-sahâba’, Athâr Ibn al-Muqaffa’ (Beirut, 1966), pp. 348–9. The phrase lâ tâ'a lil-makhlûq fî ma'siyat al-khâliq is often translated ‘No obedience to the creature who disobeys God’, but Ibn al-Muqaffa's discussion makes it clear that the moderates interpreted the issue as whether commands contrary to God's law are to be obeyed.Google Scholar

page 377 note 2 For the use of the slogan ‘amal bil-kitâb wal-sunna, see Omar, F., The Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad, 1969), pp. 86, 87, 95, 137, 159. Omar derives most of his materials from the Akhbâ al-'Abbâs. See also al-Tabarî, de Goeje edition, II, 1931–1989. For Abû Sarâyâ,Google Scholar see al-Athîr, Ibn, Kâmil, 5, 273–4;Google Scholar‘Uyûn al-Hadâiq, p. 345;Google ScholarMiskawayh, Tajârib, p. 419;Google Scholarvan Arendonk, C., Les Débuts de l'Imâmat Zaidite (Leiden, 1960), pp. 96–7. With this tradition in mind, al-Ma'mûn also promised to deal with his subjects according to the Qur'ân and sunna.Google Scholar See al-Jashiyârî, , Kitâb al-wuzarâ' wal-kuttâb (Cairo 1938), p. 279.Google Scholar

page 379 note 1 The fullest treatment and interpretation of al-Ma'mûn's religious policy is Sourdel, ‘La politique religieuse…’ See also Watt, W. M., ‘The Political Attitudes of the Mu'tazilah’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, n.5. (1963), 38–57;Google Scholarvan Ess, J., ‘Ibn Kullâb und die Miha’, Oriens, 18–XIX (1967), 92–142;Google ScholarPatton, W. M., Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and the Mihna (Leiden, 1897), pp. 52–5;Google ScholarTayfûr, Ibn, Ta'rikh, Baghdad, pp. 30, 42, 50;Google ScholarTaghrîbirdî, Ibn, al-Nujum, II, 187, 201, 203, 213;Google Scholaral-Tabarî, Ta'rîkh, Husayniyya edition, X, 278–9, 281;Google Scholaral-Mas'ûdî, al-Murûj, IV, 40–1;Google Scholaral-Bayhaqî, , Kitâb al-Mahâsin wal-mâsawî, Schwally, F., ed. (Giessen, 1902), p. 151;Google Scholaral-Murtadâ, Ibn,Die Classen der Mu'taziliten, Diwald-Wilzer, S., ed. (Weisbaden, 1961), pp. 64–5;Google ScholarMiskawayh, Tajârib, p. 463;Google Scholar‘Uyun al-Hadâ'iq, p. 370.Google Scholar

page 379 note 2 For the mihna in the reign of al-Ma'mûn, see Patton, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Tabarî, Ta'rîkh, Husayniyya edition, X, 284. ff;Google Scholaral-Athîr, Ibn, Kâmil, v, 222–6;Google ScholarMiskawayh,Tajârib, pp. 465. ff,Google Scholar‘Uyûn al-Hadâ'iq, pp. 376. ff;Google Scholaral-Kindî, p. 451.Google Scholar See also al-khatîb, , Ta'rîkh Baghdâd (Beirut, 1966), V, 177; XII, 349, for a few additional comments about people involved in the mihna.Google Scholar

page 380 note 1 al-Murtadâ, Ibn, Die Klassen der Mu'taziliten, Diwald-Wilzer, S., ed. (Wiesbaden, 1961), p. 124. Al-Jahîz reports that the mobs that fought for al-Amîn against al-Ma'mûn in 813 were anti-Mu'tazilite. This may be an anachronism.Google ScholarSee Sourdel, ‘La politique religieuse… ’, p. 32.Google Scholar

page 381 note 1 The biographical sources for people involved in the mihna include al-Dhahabi, , TaDhkirat al-Huffâz (Hyderabad, 1955);Google Scholaral-‘Asqalanî, Ibn Hajar, TaDhhîb al-TaDhhîb, 12 vols. (Hyderabad, 1328 A.H.).Google Scholaral-khatîb, Ta'rîkh Baghdâd, 14 vols.;Google Scholaral-‘Imâd, Ibn, shadhart al-Dhahab (Jerusalem, 1350 A.H.), II, 44, 46–8, 56, 64, 68–72, 8, 94–8.Google ScholarSa'd, Ibn, al-Tabaqât, Sachau, E., ed., 9 vols. (Leiden, 1905–1921);Google ScholarTaghrîbirdî, Ibn, al-Nujum al-Zâhira, II, 222, 229, 252, 254, 260, 272, 276–7, 303, 306;Google Scholaral-Subkî, , Tabaqât-Shâfi'iyya (Cairo, 1964), II, 162–5;Google Scholaral-Sam'ânî, , al-Ansâb (Hyderabad, 1966), II, 366–7; III, 73–4; v, 392–393;Google Scholaral-Waki', , Akhbâr al-Qudat (Cairo, 1947–1950), III, 191, 291–2, 272–3, 326. Whenever page numbers have not been listed, the sources maybe consulted alphabetically or by convenient tables of contents.Google Scholar

page 382 note 1 Al-Tabarî, Ta'rîkh, Husayniyya edition, XI, 15–17;Google Scholarde Goeje ed., III, 1343;Google ScholarIbn Kathîr, al-Biâcya, XI, 303–6;Google ScholarMiskawayh, Tajârib, p. 529;Google Scholaral-Azdî, Ta'rîkh Mawsil, p. 341;Google ScholarIbn al-Athîr, Kâmil, V, 273–4;Google ScholarIbn Taghrîdî, al-Nujum II, 259;Google Scholaral-khatîb, Ta'rîkh Baghdâd, v, 173.ff.;Google ScholarIbn Hajar, TaDhhîb, I, 87.Google Scholar

page 383 note 1 Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., article Ahmad ibn Hanbal.Google Scholar