Christians in Medieval ShÄ«âÄ« Historiography: From Legend to History
In: Medieval EncountersHistory Department, University Hall Building 3050, University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703-5407 USA
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Abstract
Over the course of the early medieval period, ShÄ«âÄ« authors collected historical reports of conversations with Christians and included them in their compilations. Beginning as legendary accounts transmitted via oral tradition, the reports and stories of imams were later compiled in âhistoricalâ collections as a way to promote the ShÄ«âÄ« historiographical tradition. Utilizing motifs from the Qurâan as well as their own interpretive traditions, medieval ShÄ«âÄ« writers collected, adapted, and/or composed these encounters in order to connect past leaders with the historical vision of their community. The texts were also a method for shaping ShÄ«âÄ« communal identity within the religiously plural society of the early Islamic Middle East. This article uses examples from some dialogues with Christian participants to illustrate these key features. Some texts promoted ShÄ«âÄ« historical claims about the imams by producing hagiographical memories of the past for contemporary communities. Other reports utilized polemical strategies of biblical polemics and dialectical reasoning to construct Islamic historiographies of Christianity. It appears that most ShÄ«âÄ« historical reports about Christian figures were not interested in contrasting ShÄ«âÄ« faith with Christianity, but sought rather to highlight ShÄ«âÄ« concepts of prophetic succession, legitimate authority, and authentic community against SunnÄ« historical views. While this feature appears to be the consensus among the reports, some dialogues may reflect real religious encounters. In sum, the historical reports made use of Christian figures and beliefs as a vehicle for ShÄ«âÄ« historical and theological projects in the medieval Middle East.
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6
See Robert Hoyland, ed., Muslims and Others in Early Islamic Society (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), xiii-xxx, esp. xviii; Joshua Finkel, âA RisÄla of Al-JÄḥiáº,â Journal of the American Oriental Society 47 (1927), 311-334, esp. 331; and A-S. M. Harun, RasÄâil Al-JÄḥiáº, 4 vols. (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1964-1979), 3: 320.
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9
Robert Hoyland, âIntroduction,â in Muslims and Others in Early Islamic Society (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), xiii-xxxiv, especially xviii-xix. See also Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early Abbasid Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th Centuries) (London: Routledge, 1998).
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19
Lawrence Conrad, âHeraclius in Early Islamic Kerygma,â in The Reign of Heraclius (610-641): Crisis and Confrontation, eds. Gerrit Reinink and Bernard Stolte (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), 113-156.
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20
Stefan Leder, âHeraklios erkennt den Propheten: Ein Beispiel für Form und Entstehungsweise narrativer Geschichtskonstrucktionen,â Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 151 (2001), 1-42. See especially pp. 1-4 for his theoretical description of the historical reconstruction of Heraclius legends. The four types of stories he analyzes include Heracliusâ discussion with AbÅ« SufyÄn (two versions), the version of Diḥya al-KalbÄ«, and the discussion between Heraclius and HishÄm ibn al-âÄá¹£.
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21
Nadia Maria El-Cheikh, âMuḥammad and Heraclius: A Study in Legitimacy,â Studia Islamica 89 (1999), 5-21. El-Cheikh notes stories that Heraclius kept the Prophetâs letter to him asking him to convert to Islam, which acted ask a divine protection for the Byzantines.
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35
See Ella Landau-Tasseron, âZaydÄ« Imams as Restorers of Religion: IḥyÄ and TajdÄ«d in ZaydÄ« Literature,â Journal of Near Eastern Studies 49 (1990), 247-263, esp. 259-263.
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37
al-DaylamiÌ, IrshÄd al-qulÅ«b, 2:165. The interpretation of Jews related to monkeys and swine is based on elaborations of Q 2:65, 5:60, and 7:166.
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58
See Thomas, âTwo Muslim-Christian Debates,â 65-80; Steven Wasserstrom, Between Muslim and Jew: The Problem of Symbiosis under Early Islam (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), 113-116.
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63
See David Bertaina, âá¹¢afwÄn ibn YaḥyÄ,â in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Vol. 1 (600-900), eds. David Thomas and Barbara Roggema (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 535-539.
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68
For instance, see Claude Gilliot, âChristians and Christianity in Islamic Exegesis,â in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Vol. 1 (600-900), eds. David Thomas and Barbara Roggema (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 31-56; David Cook, âChristians and Christianity in ḤadÄ«th Works Before 900,â in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Vol. 1 (600-900), eds. David Thomas and Barbara Roggema (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 73-82.
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Christians in Medieval ShÄ«âÄ« Historiography: From Legend to History
In: Medieval EncountersHistory Department, University Hall Building 3050, University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703-5407 USA
Search for other papers by David Bertaina in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Over the course of the early medieval period, ShÄ«âÄ« authors collected historical reports of conversations with Christians and included them in their compilations. Beginning as legendary accounts transmitted via oral tradition, the reports and stories of imams were later compiled in âhistoricalâ collections as a way to promote the ShÄ«âÄ« historiographical tradition. Utilizing motifs from the Qurâan as well as their own interpretive traditions, medieval ShÄ«âÄ« writers collected, adapted, and/or composed these encounters in order to connect past leaders with the historical vision of their community. The texts were also a method for shaping ShÄ«âÄ« communal identity within the religiously plural society of the early Islamic Middle East. This article uses examples from some dialogues with Christian participants to illustrate these key features. Some texts promoted ShÄ«âÄ« historical claims about the imams by producing hagiographical memories of the past for contemporary communities. Other reports utilized polemical strategies of biblical polemics and dialectical reasoning to construct Islamic historiographies of Christianity. It appears that most ShÄ«âÄ« historical reports about Christian figures were not interested in contrasting ShÄ«âÄ« faith with Christianity, but sought rather to highlight ShÄ«âÄ« concepts of prophetic succession, legitimate authority, and authentic community against SunnÄ« historical views. While this feature appears to be the consensus among the reports, some dialogues may reflect real religious encounters. In sum, the historical reports made use of Christian figures and beliefs as a vehicle for ShÄ«âÄ« historical and theological projects in the medieval Middle East.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 405 | 101 | 15 |
| Full Text Views | 58 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 62 | 11 | 0 |
