Sufism

"Exert Yourselves, O Banū Arfida!": Some Notes on Entertainment in the Islamic Tradition

arfida.pdf "EXERT YOURSELVES, 0 BANU ARFIDA!": SOME NOTES ON ENTERTAINMENT IN THE ISLAMIC TRADITION M.J. Kister The Hebrew University of Jerusalem In memory of Ilse Lichtenstadter I In the period of the Jahiliyya, recitation of verses containing satirical abuse of rival tribes was often accompanied by singing songs and beating tambourins. Such performances apparently continued in Islamic times, though the content and character of the songs changed in conformity with the new circumstances. A tradition concerning recitation of poetry and singing in 'A'isha's home in the presence of the Prophet became a subject of lively debate as to the permissibility of listening to such recitation and singing. Another tradition describing a meeting of the Prophet with a group of young Abyssinians who performed dances and plays in the presence of 'A'isha aroused a controversy concerning the presence of women at such performances and about the permissibility of singing, dancing and playing with javelins on the occasion of religious festivities. A report recorded by 'Abd al-Razzaq (d. 211 AH) in his Mu~annaf1 on the authority of Anas b. Malik says that the Abyssinians played with their javelins out of joy on the arrival of the Prophet in Medina. Another report has the event taking place in the court2 of the Prophet. The Prophet stood at the door of 'A'isha's chamber, covered her with his garment and allowed her to watch the Abyssinians' play in the mosque.3 A third tradition recorded by 'Abd al-Razzaq4 shows 'Vmar assaulting the Abyssinians who played in the mosque of the Prophet: he pelted them with pebbles, but the Prophet asked him to leave them alone. 1 'Abd al-Razzaq, Mu§annaJ, Ijabfbu l-Ral].man al-A'~amf, ed. (Beirut, 1392/1972), X, p. 466, no. 19723. 2 "Court" is a translation of the Arabic dar. Dar often denotes a compound building, sometimes of considerable dimensions, containing in somt: cases stores, workshops, storage spaces and even markets. See my "Some reports concerning Mecca," JESHO 15 (1972): 85-86 ; Ibn Ijajar, al-I§aba, V, p. 744 supra; Suhaylf, al-Raurf, al-unuJ, 'Abd al-Ral].man al-Wakfl, ed. (Cairo, 1970), VI, pp. 333-334 3 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Mu§annaJ, X, p. 465, no. 19721. 4 Ibidem, X, p. 466, no. 19724. 53 54 M.J. Kister An examination of the various versions of these traditions may elucidate the circumstances in which they originated and may help to gain insight into the development of the ideas concerning play and entertainment in early Muslim society. Ibn Khurdadhbih (d. 300 AH) records a report on the authority of <.A>isha:5 Abu Bakr entered

Notes on Three Arabic Manuscripts in the British Museum

Three_MSS.pdf NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM 1. MS Or. 7698, entitled Adab al-muridin, was attributed by A. G. Ellis and E. Edwards 1 to 'Ubaidullah b. Mul}.ammadb. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Samarqandi. The text begins on fol. 13a and is preceded in the MS by the 'Aja'ib al-qulUb of al-Samarqandi. A rather late note on the front page, by a hand different from that of the scribe of the two treatises, gives the contents of the MS as , Risala fi 'aja'ib al-qulub Ii-'Ubaidillah b. Mulj,ammad b. 'AM al-'Aziz alSamarqandi quddisa sirruhu: Kitab Adab al-muridin '. Ellis and Edwards erroneously assumed that like the 'Aja'ib al-qulub the Adab al-muridin was also by al-Samarqandi. In fact, however, the author of the Adab al-muridin is J;>iya'aI-Din Abu'lNajib 'Abd al-Qiihir al-Suhrawardi (A.H. 490-563). Comparing the explicit of the British Museum MS with the explicit ofMS Tiibingen 89 i, and the contents of the MS with the description of al-Suhrawardi's work given by H. Ritter in Der Islam, xxv, 1939, 35, the authorship of al-Suhrawardi can be established with certainty. The explicit of the British Museum MS reads as follows: ... wa-'a~amana min aijawahish mii ~aharaminha wa-mii batana wa-waffaqana li-talab marifiitihi mii khafiya minha wa-mii 'aluna wa-nafa'ana wa-jami'a'lmuslimina bimii jama'nii wa-la yaj'aIhu 'alayna man na~ra fihi waoolan wa-la yaj'al lj,a~~na min dhalika jama'h wa-hif~h duna isti'miiIih wa-mutaba'atik bijildih wa-si'at rahmatih innah 'azza ismuh qarib mujib. A few folios are missing at the beginning; the text begins on fol. 13a as follows: ... wa-in quita ayna fa-qad taqaddama hua 'ala'l-makiin .... The MS (16 X 12 cm.) was copied by Hibatulliih b. Mul}.ammadaI-Ants i in A.H. 743, as stated at the end of the MS (fol. 56b). Ritter writes that the Adab al-muridin is an important treatise and is the most famous work of al-Suhrawardi.2 Fr. Meier classifies it as a comprehensive description of f;!iifismfrom the point of view of the adab 3 (contrary to Kubrii., who deals only with manners of behaviour). 2. The MS of the Kitab al-FarJil, Or. 6499 (fols. 94a-143b), was described by Ellis and Edwards as ' a book of witty utterances in prose and verse, compiled about A.H. 300 '. The title of the book is indicated in the MS, fol. 93b, as follows: 'Hadha'lkitab al-musammii bi-K itab al-FarJil4fi funun al-balaghawa-'I-bara'a wa-anwa' aZ ijaz wa-'Ija~aha '. The title mentioned at the end of the book (fol. 143b) differs, however, from the title on the front page: al-Kitab al-musammii biU A descriptive list of the Arabic MSS in the British Museum, London, 1912. In Der Islam, xxv, 1939, 35, as quoted above. 3 Fr. Meier, 'Ein Knigge fur $ufi's', Rivista di Studi Orientali, XXXII, 1957, 491; cf. the quotations given in Meier's article. , In the MS: al-Fuzil. 1 2 391 NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS Kitiib al-Fai/iIfi §iJat al-adab al-kamil. The title given on fol, 93b is connected with the description of the book given by the author in his preface: ... fa~ana'tu laka kitiiban ji-'I-baliigha wa-'I-iJaz wa-'I-bara'a (fol, 94a). The title at the end of the book is apparently derived from the statement of the author on fol, 94b, 1. 1: .. , wa-tarjamtuhu bi-Kitiib al-Fai/iIIiJaijIihi 'ala kulli kitiibin kamil. The MS (29 X 19 cm.) was copied in A.H. 1217 in Basra in a clear, legible script. It is divided into two parts and contains 25 lines on every page. The MS begins as follows: A(ala Allah fi 'fill afya'l-salama baqdka, walJ,ajaba'an ghiyar nawa'ib al-dahr na'miika, wa ja'alaka Ii-mutawakhkhi subUgh al-ni'am ma'kilan. The MS is identical with the MS mentioned by Muhammad Abu'l-Fa<;llIbrahlm in his introduction to the Kitiib al-Fai/il of al-Mubarrad.' The al-Fai/il of Mubarrad is, however, quite different from the book al-Fai/il preserved in the British Museum and the Istanbul MSS. The BM and Istanbul texts are identical with the text contained in the MS described in Lughat al-'Arab, IX, pp. 282, 337, 674.2 After an examination of the BM MS and its comparison with the description in the Lughat al-'Arab it may be stated that the author of the book is al-Washsha' (d. A.H. 325), the author of the Kitiib al-Muwashshii. The variants of the title may be mentioned: al-Fai/i1min al-adab al-shamil3 and al-Fai/il min al-adab al-kiimil.4 3. The MS of the Makarim al-akhlaq, Or. 7598, attributed in the descriptive list of Ellis and Edwards to Ibn Abi'l-Dunyii, contains in fact the text of Radt al-Din Abu'I-Nasr b. Amin aI-Din al-Tabarsl's Makarim al-akhlaq.5 The MS begins as follows: AI-bab al-awwalfi khaIqihi wa-khuIuqihi,' khamsat fu~ul. A11a~1 al-awwal fi khaIqihi wa-khuIuqihi wa-siratihi ma'a juIasa'ihi bi-riwiiyat al-lJasan wa-'I-lJusayn, corresponding to p. 5 of the printed edition, Cairo, A.H. 1300. Thus the contents of the first five pages of the printed edition are missing in the MS. On fol. 85b the copyist, Mirza 'Ali al-Sultanl, states that he copied nine chapters of the book Makarim al-akhlaq by al-Tabarsl in the month of Muharram 966; the three chapters forming the rest of the book are found in fols. 97a-llOb and 115a-201a. The copyist states that he finished the copying of the whole book on the day of Nayruz 966, while he was far from his family and relatives. On fol. 89b the copyist mentions that he carried out his work in the' town of the Unitarians (baidat al-muwahhidin), Qazwln '. Fols. 86a-96 and 111-14 contain interesting Shi'ite traditions, the sources of which are supplied. These traditions are scattered all over the book in the printed editions. Fo1. 86a contains quotations from Qutb al-Dln alRawandj's Tafsir and his al-Khara'iJ wa-'I-jara'ih. Fols. 87a-89b contain traditions about the behaviour of a man on his journey. Fol. 90a contains a tradition Ed. al-Maymani, Cairo, 1956, p. 'd '. • cf. also Brockelmann, GAL, I, 124, Suppl., I, 189. 3 Brockelmann, GAL, I, 124. , Brockelmann, Suppl., I, 189. • Brockelmann, GAL, I, 405 (al-Tabarsl, 5), Suppl., I, 709. 1 NOTES ON THREE ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS 392 read by AbU Dii'iid al-Sijistiini in Baghdad in A.H. 307 in a public assembly. The tradition is quoted on the authority of al-Asbagh b. Nubata and records the orders of 'Ali about the fate of Ibn Muljam. The tradition is copied from the book al-Riyarf, al-?iihira. Fol. 91 contains 'Ali's remarks about merchants in the markets and is told on the authority of Ibn Nubiita. Fol. 92 deals with qualities of different fruits and vegetables and is copied from Kitiib al-Firdaws (by Abu Shujii' Shirawaih al-Dailami I). Fol. 93 contains details about the manners of the Prophet and is copied from the K itab al-N ubuwwa. The tradition about manners of dining is given on the authority of Muhammed b. Ja'far al'Ai?imand is copied from the Kitab al-Ba§a'ir (fol. 94). The tradition about 'Ali on fol. 95 is taken from the book of ' Zuhd ' of the Commander of the Faithful. Fol. 96 contains traditions about blessings of sheep, cocks, and hens. Fol. 112 deals with begging forgiveness from God for sins and advice to the believers. Fol. 114 is about values of food and vegetables. Fols. 202-10 contain a treatise about prayers and invocations; the script is somewhat different, but is signed by the same copyist, Mirza 'Ali al-Sultani. The treatise was copied from the Manahij al-§alah fi-mukhta§ar al-Mi§bah. The last fols. (211-13) are a beginning of a treatise about repentance. The small MS (9 X 17 cm.) is written in a nice, clear miniature Persian script. On the margin the copyist added explanations of words and expressions. M. J. KISTER
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