Power Discourse and Heresy in al-Andalus

115 Pages·2012·5.77 MB·English

Power Discourse and Heresy in al-Andalus:
The Case of Ibn Masarra
By
Kirstin Sabrina Dane
A Thesis submitted to
The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
ln partial fulfillment of the requit'ements for
The degree ofMasters of AI1s
Institute of Islamic Studies
Mcgill University
Montréal
August, 2006
© Kirstin Sabrina Dane
2006
1+1 Library and Bibliothèque et
Archives Canada Archives Canada
Published Heritage Direction du
Branch Patrimoine de l'édition
395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington
Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4
Canada Canada
Your file Votre référence
ISBN: 978-0-494-32512-4
Our file Notre référence
ISBN: 978-0-494-32512-4
NOTICE: AVIS:
The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive
exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives
and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver,
publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public
communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter,
telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans
loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres,
worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, électronique
commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats.
paper, electronic and/or any other
formats.
The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur
ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse.
this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de
nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement
may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation.
reproduced without the author's
permission.
ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne
Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée,
forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires
from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse.
While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires
in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination,
their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant.
any loss of content from the
thesis.
•• •
Canada
Abstract
Author: Kirstin Sabrina Dane
Title: Power Discourse and Heresy in al-Andalus: The Case of Ibn Masarra
Department: Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University
Degree: Master of Arts
This thesis is a study of zandaqa, or heresy, in the early medieval period of al
Andalus. The goal of this work is to uncover subtexts between caliphal power and legal
authority through an analysis of the historiography of the Andalusian Muhammad ibn
'Abd Allah Ibn Masarra al-Jaball (d. 319/931). This is accompli shed by applying the
Foucauldian theories of limit and transgression on the scholarly reconstructions of his
life. The formation of the madhiihib in al-Andalus, the construction of Orthodoxy and
Heresy in Islam, and the historical-Iegal development of zandaqa col ours how scholars
have approached the subject, and leads to questions concerning the relationship that
marginal or subversive intellectual developments had with authoritative bodies. The
resulting play of divergent and authoritative discourses that emerge from a Post
Modernist analysis of the Masarrian context have the capacity to illustrate intellectual
developments within early Andalusian society and provide an alternate explanatory
narrative for historical reconstruction.
11
Résumé
Auteur: Kirstin Sabrina Dane
Titre: Discours de Puissance et Hérésie en AI-Andalus : Le cas d'Ibn Masarra
Département: L'Institute des etudes Islamique, McGill University
Niveau: Maîtrise en Arts
Cette thèse est une étude de zandaqa, ou hérésie, dans la période médiévale tôt
d'AI-Andalus. Le but de ce travail est de découvrir des relations entre la puissance des
califes et l'autorité légale par une analyse de l'historiographie de l'andalou Muhammad
ibn 'Abd AlHih Ibn Masarra al-JabalI (D. 319/931). Ceci est accompli en appliquant les
théories de Foucault de limite et de transgression aux reconstructions savantes (scolaires)
de sa vie. La formation du madhëihib dans Al-Andalus, la construction de l'orthodoxie et
de la hérésie dans l'Islam, et le développement historique légal de zandaqa influencent
comment les disciples ont approché le sujet, et mène aux questions au sujet du rapport
que les développements intellectuels marginaux ou subversifs ont eu avec les corps bien
fondés. Le jeu résultant des discours divergents et bien fondés qui émergent d'une
analyse post-moderniste du contexte d'Ibn Masarra a la capacité d'illustrer des
développements intellectuels chez la première société andalouse et de fournir un récit
explicatif alternatif pour la reconstruction historique.
III
Table of Contents
Abstract 11
Résumé III
Table of Contents IV - V
Acknowledgements VI
Introduction 1-7
Considerations of Orthodoxy and Heresy in Islam 8 -38
Conditions for Membership 8 -15
The Concept of Orthodoxy 15 - 22
Definition of Heresy 22-26
Zandaqa 26-34
Heresy as Transgression 35 - 38
The Andalusian Context 39-67
Scholastic Representations of al-Andalus 39-44
The Rise of al-Andalus 44-47
The Development Zandaqa in al-Andalus 48 - 53
Cases of Heresy in al-Andalus 54-56
The Case of Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931)
Life and Activities 57 - 61
Scholarly Reconstructions 61 - 67
IV
Analysis 68 -91
Transgression and Political Legitimacy 71-73
Ibn Masarra and Mu 'tazilism 74-78
Ibn Masarra and Batinism 78 -83
Transgression and the Formation of the MaIikï Madhhab 84 - 91
RoIe of the Qiiç1ï in al-Andalus 87 - 91
Summary and Conclusions 92-99
Bibliography 100 -108
v
Acknowledgements
In the Name ofGod, the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent
AIl Praise and Thanks is to God, the Omniscient, the Most Wise, the One who
grants knowledge and true understanding.
l am pleased to thank and recognize the many people who have contributed to the
completion of this thesis. First on this list is my thesis supervisor and Director of the
Institute of Islamic Studies, Dr. Robert Wisnovsky. l am very grateful for his patience,
guidance and invaluable help throughout the entire thesis writing process. l would like to
ex tend thanks to Dr. Üner Turgay, who was an amazing resource and support in aIl of my
academic ventures and Dr. Todd Lawson for offering advice during my initial interest in
Ibn Masarra. Furthermore, l would also like to acknowledge Dr. A. Cooper for teaching
me the importance of subversion.
Kirsty McKinnon and Ann Yaxley have helped me many times with the
administrative side to academia, as weIl as offering innumerable discussions on fashion.
A special thank-you goes to my friends and co-workers at the Islamic Studies Library,
Heather Empey, Salwa Ferahian, and Wayne St-Thomas, who provided me with advice
and debate, research resources, financial opportunities, emotional support, and comic
relief that was often needed, and much appreciated.
Special recognition goes to Sajida Jalalzai, Bridget McGregor and Andréa
SchneIl, for being my sounding boards and long-distance library wh en l needed sources
from Montréal. Furthermore, l am much esteemed for having received the translation
resources from Vahid Brown, also currently completing work on Ibn Masarra at Reed
CoIlege.
FinaIly, l would like to thank my entire family, specifically my parents, for their
emotional, financial and editorial support. l thank them for having patience, but above
aIl, for believing in me. A special thank-you is reserved for my husband - l would have
been lost without his strength and love.
VI
Introduction
Background
In medieval and present-day sources, al-Andalus is exemplified as a tolerant and
"modern" region - a cultural utopia that promoted the growth and development of
language, science, religion, mysticism, and philosophical thought within diverse
communities. Historiographies of intellectual trends that developed during the formative
period of al-Andalus have yet to be fully investigated. However, meaningful analysis
into key personalities and marginal figures aids in the understanding of trends that gained
popularity and survived to become authoritative bodies. These movements illustrate the
vanance within Islamic thought, culture and religious practice during the medieval
period.
The Andalusian Maliki scholar, Mu~ammad ibn' Abd Allah Ibn Masarra al-Jabali
(d. 319/931), exists within historical sources as a controversial figure. He has been
characterized as a Maliki jurist, an ascetic, and is among the first figures in al-Andalus to
expound esoteric mysticism and Empedoc1ean philosophical ideas. What is known about
Ibn Masarra's life and activities has been reconstructed from bibliographie and secondary
sources.l After 300/912 an accusation of heresy, zandaqa, coincided with reports of his
ri~la ta the maghrib and mashriq regions and upon his return to al-Andalus, he withdrew
Ilbn al-Faraqï, Tiirïkh 'ulamii' al-Andalus (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khânjï, 1954); Ibn ijayyân, al-Muqtabas
(Madrid: Institute of Spanish-Arab Culture, 1979); Ibn Sâ'id al-Andalusï, Kitiib Tabaqiit al-Umam
(Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, 1999).
to a hermitage on the Sierra of C6rdoba.2 In his Tabaqat al-Umam, Ibn $a'id al-AndalusI
(685/1286) refers to Ibn Masarra by both his epithet the Mountaineer, al-Jabalï, and the
descriptive the Esotericist, al-Bafinï. Modern historians such as Brockelmann and 'Umar
Riçla Kal)l)alah, actively describe Ibn Masarra as a $ufi and an Isma'm.3 When a closer
study of the sources is conducted, the list of possible factors contributing to the charge of
zandaqa includes the Mu 'tazilI ideas he inherited from his father, or from his encounters
with mashriqï thinkers during his travels and esoteric interpretation of the Qur' an.
Further possible factors that contribute to the charge of zandaqa include accusations of
Isma'Ilism or the harbouring of BatinI philosophical views and spiritual doctrines. The
bibliographie sources do not record the author of the charge, or the date of its issue.
However, it is noted that there was no trial and no action directly carried out against Ibn
Masarra, but that in 340/952 and 345/956, the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Ral)man III
published retroactive proclamations condemning his works and his followers.4
The eventual rise of Malikism as a dominant legal school in al-Andalus, as weIl as
the historical-Iegal treatment of zandaqa, col ours the way historical scholars have
approached the subject of heresy in al-Andalus, and leads to questions concerning the
relationship that marginal or subversive intellectual developments had with authoritative
bodies. These questions, when coupled with the political, intellectuai and cultural
climate during this time, have led to wide scholarly speculation. An investigation into the
power discourses resulting from such relationships and an analysis of the varied
2 R. Amaldez, "Ibn Masarra," Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1971),868; see Miguel Asfn Palacios,
The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, (Leiden: Brill, 1978), 30 - 41.
3 See Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur (Leiden: Brill, 1942); 'Umar Riçla Ka~~alah,
Mu 'jam al-Mu 'allifin, Vol. 9 (Dimashq: al-Maktabah al-'Arabiyah, 1961).
4 These royal decrees were addressed to the vizier 'Abd Allah ibn Badr and were read in the main mosques
of C6rdoba and Madïnat-al-Zahra' respectively, see Ibn J:[ayyan, Al-Muqtabas V, in J.V. Bermejo, "The
'Zalmedina' of C6rdoba," The Formation of al-Andalus: Part 1 (Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Co., 1998),
416.
2
interpretations of the heresy of Ibn Masarra, provide further nuances to the understanding
of his role in the history of al-Andalus. As his place within the history of al-Andalus is
reasonably early, he is particularly important to the study of the intellectual developments
and religious practice during the formative period. Furthermore, based upon evidence
drawn out from historical sources, scholars have presented conclusions suggesting that
s
his concepts may have influenced Ibn al-'Arabï (d. 637/1240) and the Spanish
Kabbalists,6 which further attests to his historical impact. Finally, as his case specifically
highlights heresy in medieval al-Andalus, an investigation into his life and activities
provides a point of departure for an exploration into the formation of the legal schools.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the historical sources dealing with Ibn
Masarra, specifically to synthesise and present an analysis of the external influences that
have constructed his history. Furthermore, an excavation of the internaI power discourses
will be performed, in light of the recorded accusation of zandaqa, by applying Michel
Foucault's theory of "transgression." The ultimate aim of this process is to present an
alternative historical investigation, particularly by looking at how heresy as transgression
may provide information on the formation of the madhiihib or legal schools.
5 See James Winston Morris, "Ibn 'Arabi and His Interpreters Part II: Influences and Interpretations,"
Journal of the American Oriental Society (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1986); Claude Addas,
"Andalusï Mysticism and the Rise of Ibn 'Arabi," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992).
6 See, Ariel Bension, The Zohar in Moslem and Christian Spain (New York: Hermon Press, 1974);
Gershom Sc ho lem, Kabbalah (New York: Penguin Books, 1974); Paul Fenton, The Treatise of The Pool:
'Obadayah b. Abraham b. Moses Maimonides (London: Octagon Press, 1987).
3