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The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia
A Reconstruction Based on the Safaitic Inscriptions
Series: - Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1
Author:
This book approaches the religion and rituals of the pre-Islamic Arabian nomads using the Safaitic inscriptions. Unlike Islamic-period literary sources, this material was produced by practitioners of traditional Arabian religion; the inscriptions are eyewitnesses to the religious life of Arabian nomads prior to the spread of Judaism and Christianity across Arabia. The author attempts to reconstruct this world using the original words of its inhabitants, interpreted through comparative philology, pre-Islamic and Islamic-period literary sources, and the archaeological context.
Ahmad Al-Jallad, Ph.D. (2012), Harvard University, is Universitair Hoofddocent in Islamic Origins at the University of Groningen. He has published on inscriptions, writing cultures, and religions of Ancient Arabia and their reception in Islamic-period literary sources, as well as on the comparative grammar of the Semitic languages.
Preface
List of Illustrations
Sigla
1 Introduction
â1âReligion and the Inscriptions of the Pre-Islamic Nomads: From Thamudic B to Safaitic
â2âScope and Methodology
2 Rites
â1âAnimal Sacrifice
â2âErection of the ná¹£b Stone
â3âThe Ritual Shelter
â4âThe Pilgrimage
â5âRitual Purity
â6âOfferings
â7âVows and Oaths
â8âSacred Water
3 Divinities and Their Roles in the Lives of Humans
â1âLocation of the Deities
â2âThe Gadds
â3âThe Gods and Their Worshippers
â4âSin, Obedience, and Repentance?
â5âMalignant Magic
4 Fate
5 Afterlife
â1âBurial Installations
â2âInvoking the Names of the Dead
6 Visual Representation of Deities and the Divine World
7 Amplification and Why Write
8 WorldviewâA Reconstruction
Appendix 1: Glossary of Divinities
Appendix 2: Previously Unpublished Inscriptions
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
Sigla
1 Introduction
â1âReligion and the Inscriptions of the Pre-Islamic Nomads: From Thamudic B to Safaitic
â2âScope and Methodology
2 Rites
â1âAnimal Sacrifice
â2âErection of the ná¹£b Stone
â3âThe Ritual Shelter
â4âThe Pilgrimage
â5âRitual Purity
â6âOfferings
â7âVows and Oaths
â8âSacred Water
3 Divinities and Their Roles in the Lives of Humans
â1âLocation of the Deities
â2âThe Gadds
â3âThe Gods and Their Worshippers
â4âSin, Obedience, and Repentance?
â5âMalignant Magic
4 Fate
5 Afterlife
â1âBurial Installations
â2âInvoking the Names of the Dead
6 Visual Representation of Deities and the Divine World
7 Amplification and Why Write
8 WorldviewâA Reconstruction
Appendix 1: Glossary of Divinities
Appendix 2: Previously Unpublished Inscriptions
Bibliography
Index
Anyone interested in the religion and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ancient Near East.