Christians and Muslims Faced with the Wrath of Abū Marwān al-Yuḥānisī, a Thirteenth-Century “Friend of God”
2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/09503110.2012.727657
ISSN1473-348X
Autores Tópico(s)Hispanic-African Historical Relations
ResumoAbstract This article examines the nature of the wrath of Abū Marwān al-Yu[hdot]ānisī, a thirteenth-century Andalusi saint, and the protagonist of the Tuḥfat al-mughtarib of al-Qashtālī. I have divided the study into two main parts. The first sets out and analyses various occasions on which the saint committed violent acts against Christians. Two of them died as a consequence of these aggressions. All the cases in this first part took place in the Muslim East during the saint's stay in this area. The second part examines cases of violence committed against Muslim people from al-Andalus. The victims suffered the consequences of the wrath of the saint, although he was not directly involved in the aggressions themselves. The stories are narrated by al-Yu[hdot]ānisī himself, and we do not know whether they really took place. Regarding these manifestations of violence, the hagiographic sources not only justify all the violent acts committed by the saint, murder included, but they present the saint to society as an “example” to follow, and indeed as a “hero”. Keywords: Hagiography – in Islamal-Qashtālī, author al-Yu[hdot]ānisī, Abū Marwān, Muslim saintal-Andalus – religious lifeIslam – saintsChristian–Muslim relations Notes 1 The number of articles addressing religious violence is enormous, although most works have focused on Islam and Islamist terrorism. See for example: Islam and Political Violence: Muslim Diaspora and Radicalism in the West, ed. S. ´Akbarzadek and F. Mansouri (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2007); M.E. Meeker, Literature and Violence in North Arabia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979). Also of interest is De muerte violenta: política, religión y violencia en al-Andalus [E.O.B.A. volume XIV], ed. M. Fierro (Madrid: CSIC, 2004). Of less importance is Foro Ibn Arabí: Presencia de religiones en el diálogo y la violencia del ámbito mediterráneo, ed. J. Monleón (Toledo: Junta de Comunidad de Castilla-La Mancha-Fundación Instituto Internacional del Teatro del Mediterráneo, 2002). 2 De muerte violenta. See also the monographic section, dedicated to violence in legal sources, of the journal Al-Qantara 26 (2005): 381–498. See also David Nirenberg, Communities of Violence. Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996); Public Violence in Islamic Societies: Power, Discipline and the Construction of the Public Sphere, 7th–19th Centuries, ed. C. Lange and M. Fierro (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009); El cuerpo derrotado: ¿Cómo trataban musulmanes y cristianos a los enemigos vencidos? (Península Ibérica, ss. VIII-XIII), ed. M Fierro (Madrid: CSIC, 2008). 3 Al-Qashtālī, Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. F. de La Granja (Madrid: Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos, 1974). The study was translated by B. Boloix as Prodigios del maestro sufí Abū Marwān al-Yu[hdot]ānisī, (Madrid: Mandala, 2010). 4 He was buried in Rābiṭat A[hdot]jār al-Sudān, on the outskirts of Ceuta. See al-Qashtālī, Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, p. 4 of the notes. 5 There is another type of violence, for example that exerted by the mahdīs. On this topic see M. García-Arenal, Messianism and Puritanical Reform: Mahdis of the Muslim West (Leiden: Brill, 2006), esp. chapters 4 and 5. 6 See also R. El Hour, “El santo y los demás: la caridad en la Tuḥfat al-mughtarib de al-Qashtali”, in Caridad y compasión en las biografías islámicas, ed. A.M. Carballeira, Estudios Onomástico-Biográficos de al-Andalus 16 (2011). 7 Al-Qashtālī, Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, 4. 8 Al-Bādisī, Al-Maqṣad al-sharīf wa-l-manzaʿ al-laṭīf fī l-taʿrīf bi-ṣulaḥāʾ al-Rīf, ed. Saʿīd Aḥmad Aʿrāb (Rabat, Al-Matba`a al-Malakiyya, 1982). 9 See the biographies of Ibrāhīm ibn Dāwūd (al-Bādisī, Al-Maqṣad, 5, 60). 10 Ibid., 101. 11 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 6. 12 The book is also similar to some Mashriq hagiographical sources. See for example Ibn Abī Manṣūr Ibn Ẓafīr, Risāla, ed. and trans. Denis Gril (Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire, 1986). The study is dedicated to Egyptian Sufism, with references to Maghrebi and Persian Sufism, late sixth/twelfth century and beginning of the seventh/thirteenth century. The author talks about his own spiritual experience and that of the people he met. 13 Al-ʿAzafī, Diʿāmat al-yaqīn, ed. A. Toufiq (Rabat, 1989). 14 See al-Sawmaʿī, Kitāb al-Muʿzā fī manāqib al-shaykh Abī Yaʿzā, ed. ʿAlī al-Jawī (Agadir, 1996). 15 See too the extensive list of the miraculous acts performed by Abū Yaʿzā in Diʿāmat al-yaqīn, ed. Toufiq, pp. 45-8, 52, 56. 16 Ibn Qunfuḍ, Uns al-faqīr, ed. M. al-Fāsī and A. Faure (Rabat: Al-Markaz al-Jāmiʿ li-l-Baḥth al-ʿIlmī, 1965). 17 See M. Rābiṭat al-Dīn Ibn Tiguillat, “Ithmād al-ʿaynayn fī akhbār al-akhawayn”, PhD Thesis, Mohamed V University, Rabat, 1985. 18 Al-Maghrī, Al-Minhāj al-wāḍiḥ fī taḥqīq karāmāt al-Shaykh Abī Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ (Cairo, 1933). 19 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 6. 20 Ibid., 67–75, 79–82, 116–118. 21 Ibid., 43–45, 148. See also al-Bādisī, al-Maqṣad, 99–100; al-Tamīmī, al-Muṣṭafad fī manāqib al-ʿubbād bi-madīnat Fās wa-mā yalīhā min al-bilād, ed. M. Cherif (Tetouane: Kulliyat al-Adab wa-l-ʿUlūm al-Insāniyya, 2002, 2 vols.), II: 174, 202. Some information about Jews is found in Ibn Qunfuḍ, Uns al-faqīr; 7. The case is discussed of a Jew who benefited from the baraka of the saint Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Sabtī, which means that even the blessing of the saints is universal, not being subject to cultural and spiritual frontiers. The ṣadaqa of the saint also broke religious barriers, and he included Muslims, Jews and Christians in his charity work (al-Tādilī, Al-tashawwuf ilā rijāl al-taṣawwuf, ed. A. Toufiq (Rabat: Kulliyat al-Âdâb wa-l-`Ulûm al-Insâniyya, 1984), p. 456). In turn, al-Tamīmī (al-Muṣṭafad, II: 178) speaks of the case of a saint, Abū ʿImrān Mūsā ibn Ibrāhīm, who interceded before the governor for the release of his Jewish neighbour's son, despite the poor relations they had. 22 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, p. 76. 23 See M. Marín, “Tres viajeros andalusíes en Bagdad”, Hesperia 15 (2010); F. Rodríguez Mediano, “Religiosidad en al-Andalus: el hombre santo en el Islam occidental”, Revista de Dialectología y Tradiciones Populares 54 (1999): 145–168, esp. 162. 24 Concerning homosexuality, see the work of C. Adang, “Ibn Hazm on homosexuality: a case-study of zahirí legal methodology”, Al-Qantara 24/1 (2003): 5–31. 25 Al-Shāfiʿī condemns to death those who engage in homosexual relationships, while other non-Shāfiʿīs and, it is believed, Mālikis and Ḥanbalis above all, condemn them to death by fire. In particular, see Mustaphà al-Khann, Mustaphà al-Baghâ and `Alî al-Shurayhî M. al-Jinn, M. al-Buga and ʿA. al-Sharyahi, al-Fiqh al-manhaji ʿalā madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī, volume VIII (Damascus: Dār al-Qalam, 1989), pp. 60–1, for a report that four caliphs gave condemned those engaged in homosexual relations to death by burning: Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr and Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. 26 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 40–1. 27 See M. Marín, “Viajeros magrebíes en Egipto: una mirada conflictiva”, in Entre Oriente y Occidente: Ciudades y viajeros en la Edad Media, ed. P. Monferrer Sala and M Rodrígues Gómez (Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2005), p. 215. 28 Adang, “Ibn Hazm on homosexuality”, 9, 31. See also al-Jinn, al-Buga and al-Sharyahi, al-Fiqh al-manhaji, 60–4. 29 H. Ferhat, Le soufisme et les zaouyas au Maghreb: Mérite individuel et paltrimoine sacré, (Casablanca: Les Editions Toubqal, 2003), p. 87. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid. 87–8. See also al-Tamīmī, al-Muṣṭafad, II: 150. Al-Tamīmī (ibid., 150–1) recounts an altercation provoked by the Almerian Abū l-ʿAbbās. 32 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 149. 33 This superiority is very evident in the testimonies of Maghrebi travellers, such as al-ʿAbdarī and Ibn Ṣaʾīd in Egypt. For example, Al-ʿAbdarī admitted that “the Maghrebis had an unbridled nature; accenting this character was a way of legitimising it, by contrast with the supposed moral lassitude of the Egyptians”. In particular, see M. Marín, “Viajeros magrebíes”, 228–9. See also al-Tamīmī, al-Muṣṭafad, II: 149. 34 The hagiographic sources also inform us about cases of violence exercised by saints in the fight for good. Al-Ṣadafī (al-Sirr al-masūn, ed. H. Ferhat [Beirut: Dāral-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1998], p. 86) recounts the case of a saint called Abū l-Walīd al-Shāṭibī (biography 15), who had to intervene to prevent a woman from being raped by a man. The saint killed the would-be rapist. Al-Ṣadafī justifies what happened, saying that God killed the man through the hands of the saint. 35 al-Bādisī, Al-Maqṣad, 99. 36 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 37. 37 I understand here that he is referring to his respect for the authorities but also his vigilance as regards their actions. 38 See, in particular, A. Hammoudi, Master and Disciples: The Cultural Foundations of Moroccan Authoritarianism (Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997) (Spanish translation by Patrick Lévy, Barcelona: Anthropos, 2007); R. El Hour, “L’éducation des saints: le témoignage des sources hagiographiques nord-africaines: le cas d’al-Tasawwuf ilà rijal al-tasawwuf de al-Tadili”, in Enfance et jeunesse dans le monde musulman, ed. F. Georgon, and K. Kreiser (Paris: Maisonneuve-Larouse, 2007). 39 al-Bādisī Al-Maqṣad al-sharif, 99, 100. 40 It is clear that both the priest and al-Yu[hdot]ānisī made very extreme readings of these comments. 41 There is a very similar story in Tuḥfat al-mughtarib (ed. F. de La Granja, 133–4), which is believed to be a second version of the same tale, despite locating the events in Alexandria (Egypt) rather than in Shām. 42 “Thanks to him the superiority of Islam over Christianity is attested.” See Ferhat, Le soufisme, 128. 43 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 148. 44 Ibid., 146–7. 45 See R. El Hour, “La alimentación de los santos en las fuentes hagiográficas magrebíes. El caso de Marruecos” in El banquete de las palabras. La alimentación en los textos árabes, ed. M. Marín and C. de la Puente (Madrid: CSIC, 2005). 46 On the concept of justice in the hagiographic sources, see for example F. Rodríguez Mediano, “L’amour, la justice et la crainte dans les récits hagiographiques marocains”, Studia Islamica 90 (2000): 85–105. 47 Rage is defined as a “condition that facilitates and induces violence, but it is not a primordial condition of violence” (B. Whitmer, The Violence Mythos [New York Excelsior Editions,1997], p. 62). 48 See in particular M. Fierro, “Andalusian ‘Fatâwâ’ on Blasphemy”, Extrait des Annales Islamologiques 25 (1990): 103–17. 49 See B. Whitmer, The violence mythos, Arabic trans. by M.Y. ʿImrān, Al-Anmāṭ al-thaqafiyya li-l-ʿunf, in ʿĀlam al-maʿrifa (Kuwait: March 2007): 33ff. 50 On more than one occasion Al-Yuhānisī, in adding to what has been said about his person, demonstrated his great generosity towards others. This generosity and solidarity is reflected in El Hour, “El santo y los demás”. 51 See R. El Hour, “¿Cómo se elabora un texto místico-hagiográfico?: el caso de la Tuḥfat al-mugtarib de al-Qastali”, in Legendaria medievalia. En honor de C. Castillo, ed. P.Monferrer Sala and M.J. Viguera (Córdoba, 2011). 52 Fierro, “Andalusian ‘Fatâwâ’ on Blasphemy”, 114ff. 53 There are also others terms, such as laʿn (to curse), ṭaʿn (to criticise, attack), idhāʾ (to steal) or nayl (to malign). Concerning the issue of blasphemy, see in particular the work of Lutz Wiederhold, “Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions (sabb al-rasūl, sabb al-ṣaḥābah): The Introduction of the Topic into Shafi‘i Legal Literature and its Relevance for Legal Practice under Mamluk Rule”, Journal of Semitic Studies 42/1 (1997): 39–70; M. Fierro, “Andalusian “Fatâwâ” on Blasphemy”, 103–17; R. Peters and G.J.J. Vries, “Apostasy in Islam”, Die Welt des Islams 17/1–4 (1976–1977): 1–25. 54 It is necessary to take into account the circumstances in which punishment for blasphemy was legislated, not only against the person of the Prophet but also against his Companions. Maribel Fierro says that “blasphemy against God and his followers, when done by Muslims, was discussed by the Doctors within the context of apostasy (riddah) and infidelity (kufr). In both cases, in some circumstances the perpetrators were punishable by death. However, in the most relevant chapters of the texts of the schools blasphemy against the Prophet or his companions is not mentioned among the punished acts constituting a riddah or kufr” “Andalusian ‘fatâwâ’ on Blasfemy” (pp. 103 and ff). See Wiederhold, “Blasphemy against the Prophet”, 43–4, 49. See also Peters and Vries, “Apostasy in Islam”, 5ff. 55 See M. Fierro, “Decapitation of Christians and Muslims in the Medieval Iberian Peninsula: Narratives, Images, Contemporary Perspective”, Comparative Literature Studies 45/2 (2008): 137–64; eadem, “Castigo de los herejes y su relación con las formas del poder político y religioso en al-Andalus (siglos II/VIII-VII/XIII)”, in El cuerpo derrotado. Cómo trataban musulmanes y cristianos a los enemigos vencidos (Península Ibérica ss. VIII-XIII), ed. M. Fierro and F. García Fitz (Madrid: CSIC, 2008). 56 See Ibn Sahl, Wathāʾiq fī aḥkām qaḍāʾ ahl al-dhimma, ed. M.A. Jallāf (Cairo, 1980), p. 71. Ibn al-Qāsim (ibid., 72) is also of the same opinion. 57 Ibn Sahl, Wathāʾiq, 70. See also Fierro, “Andalusian “Fatâwâ” on blasphemy”, 109–10. 58 Fierro, “Andalusian “Fatâwâ” on blasphemy”, 109ff. 59 See J. Monferrer, “Mitografía hagiomartirial: De nuevo sobre los supuestos mártires cordobeses Al-Markaz al-`Arabî lil-l-Duwal wa-l-I`lâm del siglo XI”, in De muerte violenta, 415–50 and the bibliography in notes 7 and 8. See also M. Fierro, Al-Andalus: Saberes e intercambios culturales, (Barcelona: CIDOB, Icaris, 2001), p. 20. 60 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 77. 61 Many of those who arouse the ire of the saint end up dead, as can be seen in the story recounted by al-Ṣadafī (Al-sirr al-masūn, 79–80, 86). 62 See De muerte violenta. 63 See al-Tādilī, Al-tashawwuf. 64 See Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, introduction, p. 7; El Hour, “¿Cómo se elabora un texto místico-hagiográfico?”. On the relationship between saints and political authorities see the excellent studies by H. Ferhat. “L’organisation des soufis et ses limites à l’époque almohade”, in Los almohades: problemas y perspectivas, volumen II, ed. M. Fierro, P. Cressier and L. Molina (Madrid: CSIC, 2005); and “Tribus mystiques et souverains: l’enjeu du pouvoir”, in Le Maghreb au XIIème et XIIIème siècles: les siècles de la foi, ed. H. Ferhat (Casablanca, 1993); see also M. Cherif, Al-taṣawwuf wa-l-sulṭa bi-Maghrib al-muwaḥḥidīn: al-qarnān 6–7 h/12–13 m: musāham fi dirāsat tumāʿiyāt al-ḥukm wa-l-dīn fi-l-nasaq al-maghribī al-wāṣiṭ (Tetuán: al-Jamʿiyya li-l-Dirāsāt al-Andalusiyya, 2004). 65 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 79. 66 It is believed that refers to the Friday preacher of the mosque in the city (Guadix). 67 We know of other stories in which those who aroused the anger of the saint or behaved badly towards him came to a sticky end. SeeTuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 113, 130, 132. 68 Tuḥfat al-mughtarib, ed. de la Granja, 116. 69 Ibid., 117. 70 See similar stories in al-Ṣadafî, al-Sirr al-masūn, 53, 78.
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