The Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam

457 Pages·1999·12.73 MB·English

by  F.E. Peters (ed.)

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The Formation of the Classical Islamic World
www.routledge.com(cid:15)aninformabusiness
THE FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL ISLAMIC WORLD
General Editor: Lawrence I. Conrad
Volume 3
The Arabs and Arabia
on the Eve of Islam
THE FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL ISLAMIC WORLD
General Editor: Lawrence I. Conrad
1
Byzantium on the Eve of Islam Averil Cameron
2 The Sasanian East on the Eve of Islam Sh ul Shaked
3 The Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam Frank E. Peters
4 The Life of Muhammad Uri Rubin
5
The Arab Conquests Fred M. Donner
The Articulation of State Structures Fred M. Donner
6
7 Problems of Political Cohesion R. Stephen Humphreys
8
Arab-Byzantine Relations Michael Bonner
9 The Turks in the Early Islamic World C.E. Bosworth
Patterns of Everyday Life David Waines
10
11 Agricultural Production and Pastoralism Michael G. Morony
12 Manufacturing, Mining and Labour Michael G. Morony
13 Trade, Exchange and the Market Place A.L. Udovitch
14 Property and Consumption Baber Johansen
15 Cities in the Islamic World Hugh Kennedy
16 Nomads and the Desert Hugh Kennedy
17 Society and the Individual
to be announced
18 Muslims and Others Albrecht Noth
19 Christian Communal Life Sidney H. Griffith
The Jewish Communities David Wasserstein
20
21 Archaeology and Early Islam Donald Whitcomb
22 Numismatics and Monetary History Michael Bates
23 Art and Architecture Jonathan Bloom
24 The Qur'an: Style and Contents Andrew Rippin
25 The Qur’an: Text and Interpretation Andrew Rippin
26 The Development of Ritual G.R. Hawting
27 The Formation of Islamic Law
to be announced
28 The Development of Hadith Harald Motzki
29 Historiographical Traditions Lawrence I. Conrad
30 Early Islamic Theology Josef van Ess
31 Eschatology and Apocalyptic Wiljerd Madelung
32 Visions of Community Wadad al-Qadt
33 Shrism Etan Kohlberg
34 The Khawarij Ridwan al-Saiid
35 The Emergence of Mysticism Bernd Radtke
36 The Philological Tradition Ramzi Baalbaki
37 Poetry and Poetics Suzanne Stetkevych
38 Arabic Prose Literature Fedwa Malti-Douglas
39 The Rise of Islamic Philosophy Everett Rowson
40 The Rise of Arab-Islamic Medicine Lawrence Conrad
/.
41 The Exact Sciences Jamil Ragep
42 Magic and Divination Emilie Savage-Smith
43 Education and the Transmission of Knowledge Claude Gilliot
44 The Islamic Manuscript Tradition Jan Just Witkam
45 Islamic North Africa Elizabeth Savage
46 The Formation of al-Andalus I Manuela Marin
47 The Formation of al-Andalus II Maribel Fierro/Julio Samso
THE FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL ISLAMIC WORLD
General Editor: Lawrence I. Conrad
Volume 3
The Arabs and Arabia
on the Eve o f Islam
edited by
F.E. Peters
First published 1999 in the series The Formation of the Classical Islamic World by Ashgate
Publishing
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British Library CIP Data
The Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam.
(The Formation of the Classical Islamic World: Vol. 3).
I. Arabs and Islam. 2.Arabian Peninsula - History.
3. Arabian Peninsula - Religious life and customs.
I.Peters, F .E.
953
US Library of Congress CIP Data
The Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam/ (edited by F.E. Peters)
p. cm. - (The Formation of the Classical
Islamic World: Vol. 3).
l. Arabs - History- to 622. 2.Arabian Peninsula - History.
I. Peters, F .E. (Francis E.). II. Series.
DS38.A73 1998 98-6040
939' .49-dc2 l CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-86078-702-0 (hbk)
THE FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL ISLAMIC WORLD-3
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
General Editor’s Preface ix
Introduction xi
1. The Nature of Arab Unity before Islam
G.E. von Grunebaum 1
2. The Role of Nomads in the Near East in Late Antiquity
(400-800 C.E.)
Fred M. Donner 21
3. The Bedouinization of Arabia
Werner Caskel 34
4. Trans-Arabian Routes of the Pre-Islamic Period
Daniel T. Potts 45
5. Al-Hlra: Some Notes on its Relations with Arabia
M.J. Kister 81
6. Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion
Joseph Henninger 109
7. Idol Worship in Pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib)
Michael Lecker 129
8. The Origin of the Jews of Yathrib
Moshe Gil 145
9. Haram and Hawtah, the Sacred Enclave in Arabia
R.B. Serjeant 167
10. Pre-Foundations of the Muslim Community in Mecca
Fazlur Rahman 185
CONTENTS
VI
11. Mecca before the Time of the Prophet—Attempt of an
Anthropological Interpretation
Walter Dostal 205
12. The “Sacred Offices” of Mecca from Jàhiliyya to Islam
Gerald R. Hawting 244
13. Hanifiyya and Ka‘ba: an Inquiry into the Arabian
Pre-Islamic Background of Din Ibrahim
Uri Rubin 267
14. Pre-Islamic Monotheism in Arabia
Hamilton A.R. Gibb 295
15. Belief in a “High God” in Pre-Islamic Mecca
W. MontgomeryWatt 307
16. The Ka‘ba: Aspects of its Ritual Functions and Position
in Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Times
Uri Rubin 313
17. The Role Played by the Organization of the “Hums” in the
Evolution of Political Ideas in Pre-Islamic Mecca
Ugo Fabietti 348
18. The Campaign of Hulubàn: a New Light on the Expedition
of Abraha
M.J. Kister 357
Index 369
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The chapters in this volume are taken from the sources listed below. The
editor and publishers wish to thank the authors, original publishers or other
copyright holders for permission to use their material as follows:
Chapter 1: G.E. von Grunebaum, “The Nature of Arab Unity before Islam”,
Arabica 10 (Leiden, 1963), pp. 4-23. Copyright © 1963 by E.J. Brill.
CHAPTER 2: Fred M. Donner, “The Role of Nomads in the Near East in Late
Antiquity (400-800 C.E.)”, in F.M. Clover and R.S. Humphreys, eds., Tradition and
Innovation in Late Antiquity (Madison, 1989), pp. 73-88. Reprinted by permission
of the University of Wisconsin Press.
Chapter 3: Werner Caskel, “The Bedouinization of Arabia”, American Anthro­
pologist 56:2, Pt. 2, Memoir no. 76 (Arlington, 1954), pp. 36-46. Copyright © 1954
by the American Anthropological Association.
Chapter 4: Daniel T. Potts, “Trans-Arabian Routes ofthe Pre-Islamic Period”,in
Jean-François Salles, ed., LyArabie: ses mers bordières, I. Itinéraires et voisinages
(Paris, 1988), pp. 126-62. Copyright © 1988 by G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose.
Chapter 5: M.J. Kister, “Al-Hïra: Some Notes on its Relations with Arabia”,
Arabica 15 (Leiden, 1968), pp. 143-69. Copyright © 1968 by E.J. Brill.
CHAPTER 6: Joseph Henninger, “Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion”, in Merlin Schwarz,
ed. and trans., Studies on Islam (New York, 1981), pp. 3-22. Copyright © 1981 by
Oxford University Press.
CHAPTER 7: Michael Lecker, “Idol Worship in Pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib)”, Le
Muséon 106 (Leuven, 1993), pp. 331-46. Copyright © by Peeters S.P.R.L.
CHAPTER 8: Moshe Gil, “The Origin of the Jews of Yathrib”, Jerusalem Studies
in Arabic and Islam 4 (Jerusalem, 1984), pp. 203-24. Copyright © 1984 by the
Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation, Institute of Asian and African Studies,
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 9: R.B. Serjeant, “Haram and Hawtah, the Sacred Enclave in Arabia”,
in A. Badawi, ed., Mélanges Taha Husain (Cairo, 1962), pp. 41-58.
CHAPTER 10: Fazlur Rahman, “Pre-Foundations of the Muslim Community in
Mecca”, Studia Islamica 43 (Paris, 1976), pp. 5-24. Copyright © 1976 by Maison­
neuve et Larose.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Vlll
Chapter 11: Walter Dostal, “Mecca before the Time of the Prophet—Attempt
of an Anthropological Interpretation”, Der Islam 68 (Berlin, 1991), pp. 193-231.
Copyright © 1991 by Walter de Gruyter & Co. and Walter Dostal.
CHAPTER 12: Gerald R. Hawting, “The ‘Sacred Offices’ of Mecca from Jâhiliyya
to Islam”, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 13 (Jerusalem, 1990), pp. 62-
84. Copyright © 1990 by the Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation, Institute of
Asian and African Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 13: Uri Rubin, “Hanïfiyya and Ka‘ba: an Inquiriy into the Arabian Pre-
Islamic Background of Din Ibrâhîm”, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 13
(Jerusalem, 1990), pp. 85-112. Copyright © 1990 by the Max Schloessinger Memo­
rial Foundation, Institute of Asian and African Studies, the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem.
Chapter 14: Hamilton A.R. Gibb, “Pre-Islamic Monotheism in Arabia”, Harvard
Theological Review 55 (Cambridge, MA,, 1962), pp. 269-80. Copyright © 1962 by
the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission.
Chapter 15: W. Montgomery Watt, “Belief in a ‘High God’ in Pre-Islamic Mecca”,
Journal of Semitic Studies 16 (Oxford, 1971), pp. 35-40. By permission of Oxford
University Press.
Chapter 16: Uri Rubin, “The Ka‘ba: Aspects of its Ritual Functions and Position
in Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Times”,Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 13
(Jerusalem, 1986), pp. 97-131. Copyright © 1986 by the Max Schloessinger Memo­
rial Foundation, Institute of Asian and African Studies, the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 17: Ugo Fabietti, “The Role Played by the Organization of the ‘Hums’
in the Evolution of Political Ideas in Pre-Islamic Mecca”, Proceedings of the Sem­
inar for Arabian Studies 18 (London, 1988), pp. 25-33. Copyright © 1988 by the
Seminar for Arabian Studies.
CHAPTER 18: M.J. Kister, “The Campaign of Hulabàn: a New Light on the Expe­
dition ofAbraha”,Le Muséon 78 (Paris, 1965), pp. 425-36, and Studies in Jâhiliyya
and Early Islam (London, 1980), no. XVIII. Copyright © 1965 by Le Muséon and
copyright © 1980 by Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any
have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make
the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.
GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE
Since the days of Ignaz Goldziher (1850-1921), generally regarded as the
founder of Islamic studies as a field of modern scholarship, the formative
period in Islamic history has remained a prominent theme for research. In
Goldziher’s time it was possible for scholars to work with the whole of the
field and practically all of its available sources, but more recently the in­
creasing sophistication of scholarly methodologies, a broad diversification
in research interests, and a phenomenal burgeoning of the catalogued and
published source material available for study have combined to generate an
increasing “compartmentalisation” of research into very specific areas, each
with its own interests, priorities, agendas, methodologies, and controversies.
While this has undoubtedly led to a deepening and broadening of our un­
derstanding in all of these areas, and hence is to be welcomed, it has also
tended to isolate scholarship in one subject from research in other areas, and
even more so from colleagues outside of Arab-Islamic studies, not to mention
students and others seeking to familiarise themselves with a particular topic
for the first time.
The Formation of the Classical Islamic World is a reference series that
seeks to address this problem by making available a critical selection of the
published research that has served to stimulate and define the way modern
scholarship has come to understand the formative period of Islamic history,
for these purposes taken to mean approximately 600-950. Each of the
AD
volumes in the series is edited by an expert on its subject, who has chosen a
number of studies that taken together serve as a cogent introduction to the
state of current knowledge on the topic, the issues and problems particular
to it, and the range ofscholarly opinion informing it. Articles originally pub­
lished in languages other than English have been translated, and editors have
provided critical introductions and select bibliographies for further reading.
A variety of criteria, varying by topic and in accordance with the judge­
ments of the editors, have determined the contents of these volumes. In some
cases an article has been included because it represents the best of current
scholarship, the “cutting edge” work from which future research seems most
likely to profit. Other articles—certainly no less valuable contributions—
have been taken up for the skillful way in which they synthesise the state of
scholarly knowledge. Yet others are older studies that—ifin some ways now
superseded—nevertheless merit attention for their illustration of thinking
or conclusions that have long been important, or for the decisive stimulus