The History of al-Ṭabarī, Vol. 2: Prophets and Patriarchs

220 Pages·1987·9.84 MB·English

by  Tabari

The
History of al-Tabarl
TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM M. BRINNER
Volume II
Translated by William M. Brinner
This volume records the lives and efforts of some of the prophets
proceeding the birth of Mohammad. It devotes most of its message to two
towering figures-Abraham, the Friend of God,and his great-grandson,
Joseph. The story is not, however simply a repetition of Biblical tales in a
slightly altered form, for Tabarl sees the ancient pre-Islamic Near East as
an area in which the histories of three different peoples are acted out.
occasionally meeting and intertwining. Tbus ancient Iran, Israel, and
Arabia serve as the stages on which actors such as Biwarasb, the semi-
legendary Iranian king, Noah and his progeny, and the otherwise
unknown Arabian prophets Hud and Salih appear and act.
In the pages of this volume we read of the miraculous birth and early life
of Abraham, and of his struggle against his father's idolatry. God grants him
sons-Ishmael from Hagar and Isaac from Sarah-and the conflicts between
the two mothers, the subsequent expulsion of Hagar, and her settling in the
vicinity of Mecca, all lead to the story of Abraham's being commanded to
build God's sanctuary there. Abraham is tested by God, both by being com-
manded to sacrifice his son(and hereTabari shows his fairness by presenting
the arguments of Muslim scholars as to whether that son was Ishmael or
Isaac)and by being given commandments to follow both in personal behavior
and in ritual practice.The account of Abraham is interlaced with tales of the
cruel tyrant Nimrod, who tried in vain both to bum Abraham in fire and to
reach the heavens to fight with God.The story of Abraham's nephew Lot and
the wicked people of Sodom also appears here, with the scholars once again
arguing-this time over what the exact crimes were for which the Sodom-
ites were destroyed.
Before proceeding to the story of Joseph,which is recounted in great detail,
we linger over the accounts of two figures associated with ancient Arabia in
Muslim tradition: the Biblical job, who despite his trials and sufferings does
not rail against God, and Shu`ayb, usually associated with the Biblical
Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses. Finally we meet
Joseph, whose handsome appearance, paternal preference, and subsequent
boasting to his brothers lead to his being cast into a pit and ending up as a
slave in Egypt. His career is traced in some detail: the attempted seduction
by lk tlphar's wife, his imprisonment and eventual release after becoming
able to interpret dreams, and his rise to power as ruler of Egypt.The volume
ends with the moving story of Joseph's reunion with his brothers, the tragi-
comic story of how he reveals himself to them, and the final reunion with
his aged father who is brought to Egypt to see his son's power and glory.
This is proto-history told in fascinating detail, of us in different contexts,
as well as of others completely unknown to Western readers.
SUM' Series in Near Eastern Studies ISBN 0-88706-313-6
Said Amir Arjomand,Editor 90000
The State University of New York Press
9 780887 063138
THE HISTORY OF AL- TABARI
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
VOLUME II
Prophets and Patriarchs
e
The History of Al-Tabari
Editorial Board
Ihsan Abbas, American University of Beirut
C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester
Jacob Lassner, Wayne State University, Detroit (Supervising Editor)
Franz Rosenthal, Yale University
Ehsan Yar-shater, Columbia University (General Editor)
SUNY
SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
0
Bibliotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
The History of al-Tabari
(Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk)
VOLUME II
Prophets and Patriarchs
translated and annotated
by
William M. Brinner
University of California, Berkeley
State University of New York Press
The preparation of this volume was made possible by a grant from
the Translation Program of the National Endowment for the Hu-
manities, an independent federal agency; and by the Persian Heri-
tage Foundation.
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
® 1987 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tabari, 838?-923.
Prophets and patriarchs.
(The history of al-Tabari = Ta'rikh al-rusul wa1-muluk; v. 2)
(Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY series in Near Eastern studies)
Translation of extracts from: Ta'i kh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
Bibliography: p.
1. Prophets, Pre-Islamic. I. Brinner, William M. II. Title.
III. Series: Tabari, 838?-923. Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
English; v. 2. IV. Series: Bibliotheca Persica (Albany, N.Y.)
v. Series: SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies.
BP137.T33 1987 84-97
ISBN 0-87395-921-3
ISBN 0-88706-313-6 (pbk.)
10987654321
Acknowledgements
In 1971 the General Editor proposed to the UNESCO to
include a translation of al-Tabari's History in its Collection
of Representative Works. UNESCO agreed, but the Com-
mission in charge of Arabic works favored other priorities.
Deeming the project worthy, the Iranian Institute of Trans-
lation and Publication, which collaborated with UNESCO,
agreed to undertake the task. After the upheavals of 1979,
assistance was sought from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. The invaluable encouragement and support of
the Endowment is here gratefully acknowledged.
The General Editor wishes to thank sincerely also the par-
ticipating scholars, who have made the realization of this
project possible; the Board of Editors for their selfless assis-
tance; Professor Franz Rosenthal for his many helpful sug-
gestions in the formulation and application of the editorial
policy; Professor Jacob Lasner for his painstaking and me-
ticulous editing; and Dr. Susan Mango of the National En-
dowment for the Humanities for her genuine interest in the
project and her advocacy of it.
Preface
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-
muluk) by Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (839-923),
here rendered as the History of al-Tabari, is by common con-
sent the most important universal history produced in the
world of Islam. It has been translated here in its entirety for the
first time for the benefit of non-Arabists, with historical and
philological notes for those interested in the particulars of the
text.
Tabari's monumental work explores the history of the an-
cient nations, with special emphasis on biblical peoples and
prophets, the legendary and factual history of ancient Iran, and,
in great detail, the rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet
Muhammad, and the history of the Islamic world down to the
year 9 15. The first volume of this translation will contain a bi-
ography of al-Tabari and a discussion of the method, scope, and
value of his work. It will also provide information on some of
the technical considerations that have guided the work of the
translators.
The Historyhas been divided here into 38 volumes, each of
which covers about two hundred pages of the original Arabic
text in the Leiden edition. An attempt has been made to draw
the dividing lines between the individual volumes in such a
way that each is to some degree independent and can be read as
such. The page numbers of the original in the Leiden edition
appear on the margins of the translated volumes.
Al-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces
the chain of transmission (isndd) to an original source. The
chains of transmitters are, for the sake of brevity, rendered by
only a dash (-) between the individual links in the chain.
viii Prophets and Patriarchs
Thus, According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq means
that al-Tabari received the report from Ibn Humayd who said
that he was told by Salamah, who said that he was told by Ibn
Ishaq, and so on. The numerous subtle and important differ-
ences in the original Arabic wording have been disregarded.
The table ofcontents at the beginning of each volume gives a
brief survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume.
It also includes the headings and subheadings as theyappear in
al-Tabari's text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the
translator.
Well-known place-names, such as, for instance, Mecca,
Baghdad, Jerusalem, Damascus, and the Yemen, are given in
their English spellings. Less common place-names, which are
the vast majority, are transliterated. Biblical figures appear in
the accepted English spelling. Iranian names are usually tran-
scribed according to their Arabic forms, and the presumed Ira-
nian forms are often discussed in the footnotes.
Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but
some, such as gadi and imam, have been retained in Arabic
forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient preci-
sion have been retained and italicized as well as footnoted.
The annotation aims chiefly at clarifying difficult passages,
identifying individuals and place-names, and discussing tex-
tual difficulties. Much leeway has been left to the translators
to include in the footnotes whatever they consider necessary
and helpful.
The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the an-
notation.
The index in each volume contains all the names of persons
and places referred to in the text, as well as those mentioned in
the notes as far as they refer to the medieval period. It does not
include the names of modern scholars. A general index, it is
hoped, will appear after all the volumes have been translated.
Ehsan Yar-Shater
e
Contents
40
Translator's Foreword / xi
An Account of Biwarsb, that is, al Azdahaq / r
Noah and his Progeny / io
An Account of Events Between Noah and Abraham / 28
`Ad and the Prophet Hud-Thamud and the Prophet Salih / 28
Abraham, the Friend of the Merciful / 48
The Command to Build the House / 69
God's Testing Abraham with the Sacrifice of His Son / 82
Concerning Those Who Said It was Isaac / 83
As for Those Who Said it was Ishmael / 86
The Story of the Sacrifice of Isaac / 9o
The Story of the Sacrifice of Ishmael / 92
God's Testing Abraham with Commandments / 98
Nimrod b. Cush / 105
Lot b. Haran / I I1
The Death of Sarah and of Hagar / 125
The Death of Abraham / 129
The Account of the Descendants
of Ishmael and Isaac / 132
Job / 140 Shu'ayb / 143
Joseph / 148
Bibliography / 186
Index / 189