Islamic Fadā'il ("Excellences")
and associated literatures.
IN
PROGRESS AND CORRECTION 2007-8
Stephen N. Lambden (Ohio Unversity).
"There is a
voluminous literature in Islam called faḍā'il or manaqib ("virtues" or
"excellences") that praises the merits of reciting the Qur'an, of the
Companions of the Prophet, the performance of religious duties such as
hajj and jihad, and of sacred cities such as Makka, Madina, and
Jerusalem.1 Initially, faḍā'il tra-ditions were part of hadlth
compilations. Several of the sub-categories, such as faḍā'il al-sahāba
and faḍā'il al-buldān, have been studied in some depth; but
the faḍā'il al-Qur'an literature has not received similar attention" (Afsaruddin,
2002:1).
A
considerable body of Faḍā’il (“Excellences”) literatures,
often annotated Ḥadīth compendia, grew up in the early
and subsequent Islamic centuries. Such literatures grew up in the early Islamic
and later centuries centuries in celebration, for example, of the glory and excellence of Qur’an
and related divine revelations and of the merits of the pious companions of
the Prophet. Tracts and compilations came into being in celebration, for
example, of particular holy days, exalted persons and
geographical locations including Syria-Palestine and Jerusalem. The presence in these literartures of biblical texts and expository Islamo-biblical
texts and testimonia are much in evidence in the extant literatures.
Lists of major
faḍā’il works can be found in several Arabic and English works including,
for example, Hasson, 1979:9 10 (fourteen Arabic Faḍā’il and associated works
listed). See further the anthology of prophetic aḥādīth , Faḍā’il bayt al
maqdīs wa’l khalīl faḍā’il al Sham compiled in the 430s/1130s by Abū al
Ma`ālī al Maqdīsī (ed. Livne Kafri, 1995) and Eliad’s, Medieval Jerusalem ..
(1995).
Biblical references and Isrā’īliyyāt traditions can be found
within certain works that fall within the wide‑ranging lauditory literary
genre Fāḍil (pl. Faḍā’il `Excellences ’) (Sellheim EI2 II:728‑9).
In particular those texts relating to the historical, natural and spiritual
merits of sacred places, cities or provines and such prophets, worthies and
saints as have been associated with them (Sivan, IOS1:263). As Goitein
observed in describing one aspect of this literature, "there exists a vast
mass of literature on the faḍā’il al‑Quds, the religious importance
of Jerusalem and Palestine" (1968:141). These works are especially
associated with the `Holy Land’ (al‑arḍ al‑muqaddas cf. Q. 5:21 Zech
2:12[16]) or with al‑Sha`m (Syria, incorporating, Palestine, Lebanon
and Syria). Traditions contained within works entitled Faḍā'il bayt al‑madqis
[al‑quds] ("The Excellences of the Sacred House [Jerusalem]")
occasionally include traditions which have an apocalyptic Sitz im Leben
in a pre‑`Abbasid religio‑political situation when Syria‑Palestine was an
important centre of the `Umayyad Caliphate. Regional stability was partly
dependent upon the compilation and circulation of traditions upholding and
delighting in the sacredness of Jerusalem and other cities such as Askelon
and Acre (`Akkā’). Exhortations to dwell in these wondrous sacred places,
blessed by the presence or resting places of prophets are evident in these
literatures.1
Containing ancient tradition sometimes partly reworked or
engendered by the crusades Faḍā’il works flowered in the early
5th/11th‑12th centuries. They continued to be rich in Jewish and Christian
texts and legends (Sellheim, `Faḍīlā’ EI2:II:728f;
cf. Goldziher,1971:123f). The Faḍā'il bayt al‑madqis texts abound
in Isrā’īliyyāt often especially those messianic and apocalyptic traditions
(often transmitted by Ka`b al‑Aḥbār and Wahb b. Munabbih) that associate
Jerusalem, eschatological events and the Day of Judgemnent . Hasson
has stated that "so pronounced is this [Faḍā’il] phenomenon that it could
only have resulted from a steady incorporation of the traditions of the
Peoples of the Book (Jews and Christians) over a long period of time until
they formed an integral part of the ḥadīth literature, stories of
the prophets and even history books" (Hasson, 1981:170‑1). Only a few
examples of this literary genre can be registered here (see further
Sellheim EI2 II:728f;
Hasson ed. Al‑Wāsiṭī, Faḍā’il, 9‑10).
ISLAMIC
EXCELLENCES (Fadā'il)
(1) THE QUR'AN
Fadā'il al-Qur'ān ("The Excellences
of the Qur'an")
Among the Fadā'il al-Qur'ān ("The Excellences of the Qur'an")
Sunni Hadith -- Muslim =
http://www.tanzeem.org/quran/Muslim/content30.html
al-Qāsim ibn Sallām ibn `Abd-Allah Abī `Ubayd al-Harawī (d.
157/224). Sunni Hadith scholar and philologist.
al-Qāsim ibn Sallām ibn `Abd-Allah Abī `Ubayd al-Harawī
(d. 157/224) was an early Sunni Hadith scholar and philologist
who authored the Gharīb al-Ḥadīth,
Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn
Sallam (ca. 773-ca. 837 ???
-
Kitab Fadā'il al-Qur'an. ed.
Marwān al-‘Atīyah, Muhsin Kharābah, Wafā' Taqī al-Dīn, Damascus:
Dar Ibn Kathir, 1995
Ibn Kathīr
= 'Imād
al-Dīn
Abu'l-Fiḍā' Ismā'il ibn 'Urnar
ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373).
Nasā'ī, Ahmad ibn
Shu‘ayb (d. c. 830 / 915).
General articles
Afsaruddin, Asma :
___________________
Fadā'il al-Sham ("The Excellences
of Syria")..
Anonymous.
-
Fadā'il al-Shãm wa-fadā'il mudunihā wa-Bayt al-Maqdis
Bibliothèque de Tübingen. mss.
-
Tuhfat al-Anam fi Fadā'il al-Sham by Shaykh Jalal al-Din
al-Basri al-Dimashqi who composed it in 1002... Check this...
[Pseudo-] al-Wāqidī, Abi `Abd-Allah
Muhammad ibn `Umar ibn Wāqidī (d.207/822).
-
Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi ("Book of History and
Campaigns")
-
-
Futūḥ al-Shām ("The Conquest of Syria")..
2 vols. in 1 . Cairo: XXX., 1373/1954.
-
Futūḥ al-Shām ("The Conquest of Syria").
2 vols. in 1 . Beirut : al-Maktabah al-Ahliyah,
138X/1966
-
Futūḥ al-Sham ("The Conquest of Syria")..
2 vols. in 1 . Beirut: Dar al-Jīl. n.d.. 312+310+2pp.
-
Futūḥ al-Sham ("The Conquest of Syria")..
2 vols. in 1 . Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya. 2005. 696pp.
-
-
The Islamic Conquest of Syria, A
translation of the Futuhusham: The inspiring history of Sahabah's
conquest of Syria. Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi, 1426 AH/2005
CE. ISBN 1-84200 06-7 5. 584pp.
-
The Islâmic conquest of Syria : a translation of
Futûhushâm : the inspiring history of the Sahabâh's conquest of Syria /
as narrated by the great historian of Islâm al-Imâm al-Wâqidî ;
translated by Mawlânâ Sulaymân al-Kindî. London : Ta-Ha, 2005. xiv, 584
pp + maps.
al-Maqdisi, Muhammad ibn
Ahmad (1306-1344).
Malake Abiad,
- Culture et education Arabo-Islamiques au Sam pendent
les trois premier siecles de l'Islam. Damascus: Institut Francais de
Damas, 1981.
`Abbas, Ihsan.
- Ta'rikh bilad al-sham fi'l-`asr al-`abbasi,
132-255 /750-870 . Amman: Lajnat Ta'rikh bilad al-sham, 1992.
- Ta'rikh bilad al-sham fi'l-'asr al- Umawi, 41-132
/661-750. 'Amman : Lajnat Ta'rikh bilad al-sham, 1995.
- Ta'rikh bilad al-sham, 255-490 H/870-1097 M. Amman:
Lajnat Ta'rikh bilad al-sham, 1995.
- Ta'rikh bilad al-sham min ma qabla al-Islam hatta
bidayat al-'asr al-Umawi, 600-661. Amman: Lajnat Ta'rikh bilad al-sham,
1990
Baydun, Ibrahim.
Donner, Fred M.
- The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1981.
- The Problem of Early
Arabic Historiography in Syria," in Muhammad
`Andan al-Bakhit, ed. Proceedings of the Second Symposium on the History
of Bilad al-Sham during the Early Islamic Period up to 40 A.H./640 A.D.
The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilad al-Sham
(English and French Papers) (Amman: University of Jordan, 1987), 1-27.
Ghaleb, Anabseh.
-
The Sanctity of the City of 'Asqalan in the 'Merits
Literature' of Palestine: An Examination of Mamluk and Ottoman Sources
Holy Land Studies: A Multidisciplinary Journal - Volume 5, Number 2,
November 2006, pp. 187-197 Edinburgh University Press : "Abstract The
purpose of this study is to analyse the sanctity of the Palestine city
of 'Asqalan through manuscript sources from Mamluk and Ottoman times,
mainly from a religious and political perspective, in light of the
struggle between Muslims and Crusaders. Relevant traditions are often of
a local nature, expressing concepts completely at odds with normative
Islamic practice and belief. No separate compositions have been compiled
about 'Asqalan, in contrast to Jerusalem and Damascus, for example.
Pilgrimage to the city was frowned upon by the Hanbali school of
jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, represented by Ibn Taymiyya in the
Mamluk period. Relevant traditions deal with war against the infidels,
the city's cemetery, the city as gateway to Paradise, and more. For this
study I have used the relevant traditions in the genre known as 'Merits
of the Holy Land', in Arabic from Mamluk and Ottoman times. These
traditions reflect the...".
Ali ibn al-Ḥasan ibn
Hibat Allah ibn `Abd Allah, Thiqat al-Din, Abū al-Qasim =
Ibn `Asākir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari
(499-571/ d. 1175)
Ta'rīkh Madīnat Dimashq (=TMD).
Important papers and details of the publications history
of this extensive and extremely important Arabic work can be read in
James E. Lindsay (ed), Ibn `Asakir And Early Islamic History, Princeton, New
Jerdey: The Darwin Press, 2001. See especially, Suleiman A. Mourad,
`Appendix A. Publication History of the TMD' pp.127-133.
-
Ta'rīkh Madīnat Dimashq.
ed. `Umar ibn Gharama al-`Amrawi and `Ali Shiri. 80
vols. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1995-2001.
-
CDRom version of the above was
published in Amman (Jordan), Dar al-Turath, 200?.
-
Ta'rīkh Madīnat Dimashq.
ed. `Alī Āshūr (76 vols. in) 40 vols. . Beirut: Dar
al-Ihya al-Turath al-`Arabi, 2001.
Fadā'il ashab al-hadith
i (11 vols); Fadl al-Jumu`a; Fadl Quraysh; Fadā'il al-Siddiq,
Fadā'il Makka; Fadā'il al-Madina; Fadā'il Bayt al-Muqaddas, Fadā'il `Ashura';
Fadā'il al-Muharram; Fadā'il Sha`ban.
Little, Donald P.
-
Fadā'il Bayt al-Maqdis wa al-Khalil
wa-fadal'il al-Sham. Reviews the book `Fadā'il Bayt al-Maqdis wa al-Khalil
wa Fadā'il al-Sham,' by Abu al-Ma ali al-Musharraf Ibn al-Murajja Ibn
Ibrahim al-Maqdis, edited by Ofer Livne-Kafri. in Journal of the
American Oriental Society; Jul-Sep 1999, Vol. 119 Issue 3, pp. 549.
Morray, David
-
Review of `Fadā'il Bayt al-Magdis
wa-al-Khalil wa-fadal'il al-Sham,' edited by Ofer Livne-Kafri in
Journal of Semitic Studies; Autumn 96, Vol. 41 Issue 2, pp. 360,-3.
ISSN: 0022-4480
Kennedy, Hugh (Review)
Abu 'l-Ma'ali al-Musharraf b. al-Murajja b.
Ibrahim al-Maqdisi
-
Fadā'il bayt al-maqdis wa al-khalil wa-Fadā'il al-sham by Ofer Livne-Kafri, Review in Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), Vol. 62,
No. 1 (1999), p. 206.
Lindsay, James E.
Mourad, Soleiman A.
Fadā'il al-Quds ("The Excellences
of the [Jerusalem] House") and the Fadā'il al-masjid al-aqsar.
An important category of Islamic works are
the Faḍā'il al-Quds ("The Excellences of the [Jerusalem] House") which
are particularly rich in Isrā’īliyyāt and Islamo-biblica. Biblical texts
celebratory of Jerusalem and its tumultuous history are registered as
are biblical prophets who visited this sanctified place located in the
“Holy Land” (Q. ).
Kitāb / Faḍā'il al-Quds
/ Bayt al-maqdis [Jerusalem]
Kāmil Jamīl `Asalī (1925 - 1995)
-
Makhtūtāt faḍā'il Bayt al-Maqdis.
Study + bibliography Kāmil Jamīl `Asalī. Amman [Jordan] :
Majma‘ al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah al-Urduni, 1981.
*
-
http://home.t-online.de/home/jerusalem/asali.htm#Books
-
On Fadā'il Beit al-Maqdis Manuscripts
(A study and a bibliography). Amman: Dar al-Bashir, 1981, 142 p. (second edition, Amman 1984),
Arabic.
An annotated and
detailed bibliography of 49 books on Faḍā'il al-Quds and its place in Islam,
citing in each case the location of their existing manuscripts all over the
world. The bibliograhy is introduced by a general study of the Fadā'il
literature with special reference to Jerusalem.
Ibrahim Mahmud (ed.)
-
Fadā'il Bayt al-Maqdis fī makhtūtāt ‘Arabīyah qadīmah :
dirāsah tahlīlīyah wa-nusūs mukhtārah muhaqqaqah . ed. Mahmūd Ibrāhīm
al-Safāh, al-Kuwayt : Ma‘had al-Makhtūtāt al-‘Arabīyah, al-Munazzamah
al-‘Arabīyah lil-tarbīyah wa-al-Thaqāfah wa-al-‘Ulūm, 1985 (631pp.).*
_________________________
Abū al‑Ma`ālī al‑Musharraf b. Ibrahīm al‑Maqdisī (5th/11th
cent.)
The Faḍā’il bayt al‑maqdīs wa’l‑Khalīl wa faḍā’il al‑Shām
(The Excellences of the sanctified House [Jerusalem], Hebron and
Syria) of Abū al‑Ma`ālī al‑Musharraf b. Ibrahīm al‑Maqdisī
(5th/11th cent.) is laden with Isrā'ī līyāt and citations from the
Bible. Here Deut. 33:2 which allegedly predicts the advent of Muhammad
is cited as transmitted by Ibn Qutayba (d.276/889). According to Hasson
"whole sections of the Bible appear here in Arabic translation"
including "quotations from Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as traditions
about Joshua, King David, King Solomon and others" (1981:171; GALS1:567;
Livne‑Kafri [ed.] 1995). It is a
collection of 594 raditions which, among other things praise Jerusalem,
Syria, and Hebron.
al-Maqdisi, Abu l-Ma'ali al-Musharraf b.
al-Murajja b. Ibrahim,
-
Fadā'il Bayt al-Maqdis wa l-Khaalil wa
Fadā'il al-Sham [The Merits of the Holy House, Hebron, and Syria],
Edited with an introduction by Ofer Livne-Kafri, Shafa 'Amr: Dar al-Mashriq,
1955, 419 pp. + 9 page English introduction.
-
Reviewed by Robert Schick in al-'Usur
al-Wusta: the Bulletin of Middle East Medievalists, vol. 7, no. 2,
October 1995, 45-46.
G. F Haddad (trans.)
- Merits of al-Sham al-Sharif. Forty Narrations on The
Immense Merits of al-Shâm Compiled and Translated by G. F Haddad...
Fadā'il al-Quds ("The Excellences
of the Sanctified Place [Jerusalem]")
- Fadā'il al-Quds ("The Excellences
of the [Jerusalem] House") including
Faḍl Bayt al-Maqdis
al-Wāsiṭī = Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad
al-Wāsiṭī (fl. 12th cent CE).
A preacher (khāṭib) at the Aqṣā mosue in
Jerusalem, Abū Bakr Muhammad b. Aḥmad al‑Wāsiṭī (d. 12th cent. CE) was
the author in the 430s/1130s of the Faḍā’il bayt al‑maqdīs (The
Excellences of the sanctified House [Jerusalem], Hebron and Syria), a
compilation of over 500 items of prophetic ḥadīth (ed.
Hasson,1979; cf. GALS1:565). It contains such traditions as that from
Ṣafwān b. Amr asserting that it says in the Torah that "Jerusalem is a
golden goblet, full of scorpians" and another from Ka`b al‑Aḥbar to the
effect that "Those buried in Jerusalem are held to have crossed the
"bridge of Hell" (ṣirāt ) (tr. Hasson 1981:179, 181).
III. Auteurs citant le recueil
La plus ancienne des citations, du moins à notre sens, prise aux
Fadā'il, est celle d'al-Rumaylî, tué 80 ans après la lecture du traité.
Voici une liste des Docteurs qui disent avoir cité notre recueil dans
leurs oeuvres: 15
1. Abu al-Qasirn b. 'Alî b. al-Ḥasan b. Hibat Allah b. 'Abd Allah al-Shāfi'ī,
plus connu sous le nom d'Ibn 'Asākir (mort en 571/1175) dans son oeuvre
monumentale Ta'rîkh madinat Dimashq. Il est probable aussi
que son oeuvre perdue Faḍl Bayt al-Maqdis16 contienne des
citations d'al-Wãsiṭî.
2. Abu al-Faradj 'Abd al-Rahmān b. 'Alî b. al-Djawzî (mort en 597/1201)
dans son traité Fadā'il al-Quds al-sharïf.
3. al-Qasim b. 'Aiï b. al-Hasan b. Hibat Allah (mort en 600/1203), fils
du grand Ibn 'Asakir, dans son traité al-Djami' al-mustaqsâ fî fada'it
al-Masdjid al֊Aasa.
4. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Husayn al-Kandjī al-Sūfī (mort en 682/1283)
dans son traité Fadā'il Bayt al-Maqdis wa-fadl al-Sha'm fîha.
5. Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Wahhãb al-Nuwayrî (mort en 732/1332) dans son oeuvre
encyclopédique Nihayat al-arab fī funūn al-adab.
6. al-Sahib Ahmad b. Amîn (mort en?) dans son traité Silsilat al-'asdjad
f î şif at al-Sakhra Wa-l-Masdjid (d'après les citations d'Ibn Fadl
Allah al-'Umari.)
7. Ibn Fadl Allah al-'Umari (mort en 755/1354) dans son livre Masalık
al-absār fī mamālik al-amsār.
8. Mughulţay b. Qalîdj (mort en 762/1361), le hanafite le plus illustre
de son époque, dans son livre encore manuscrit: al-Zahr al-bāsim fī
sirat Abī al-Qasim."
9. Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Maqdisĩ (mort en
765/1364) dans son livre Muthīr al-gharām bi-fadā'il al-Quds wa-l-Sham.
10. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allāh al-Zarkashī (mort en 794/1391) dans son livre
I'lãm al-sadjid bi'ahkām al-masādjid.
11. Muhammad b. Shams al-Dīn al-Suyuţî al-Minhādjī (mort en 880/1475)
dans son livre Ithāf al-akhissā bi-fadā'il al-Masdjid al-Aqsã.
12. Djalāl al-Dīn al-Suyuţî (mort en 911/1505) dans son exégèse du Coran
intitulé al-Durr al-manthūr fi-l-tafsīr bi-l-ma'thūr.
13. Mudjïr al-Dïn al-'Ulaymï al-Hanbalī (mort en 927/1520) dans son
livre al-'Uns al-djalīl bi-tārīkh al-Quds wa-l-Khalîl.
14. L'auteur du traité anonyme Fadā'il al-Shãm wa-fadã'il mudunihã
wa-Bayt al-Maqdis dont le manuscrit est à la Bibliothèque de Tübingen.
Cette liste, bien évidemment, est loin
d'être exhaustive. Elle constitue tout au plus une simple indication.
Makkî ibn 'Abd al-Salām
al-Rumaylī (tué en 492/1099).
Abu al-Qasirn b. 'Alî
ibn al-Ḥasan b. Hibat Allah b. 'Abd Allah al-Shāfi'ī (d. 600/1203).
al-Qasim ibn `Abd al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah
(d. 600/1203),
Abu al-Faraj 'Abd al-Rahmān
ibn 'Alî ibn al-Jawzî (d. 597/1201)
Abū’l‑Farrāj Ibn al‑Jawzī ( 597/1201) in his Faḍā`il
al-quds al-sharīf (Excellences of Noble Jerusalem) also cites Deut
33:2 as a proof text and registers traditions about Jerusalem and the
"holy land* (al‑arḍ al‑muqaddas), its foundational Sakhrā
("rock") and, among other things, its association with Muhammad during
his Mi`rāj (al‑Jawzī, Faḍā’il, 67ff).
Abu al-Faraj 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn
`Ali Ibn al-Jawzi (d. c. 597/1201)
-
Faḍā'il al-Quds. ed. and
introd. Dr. Jibra'il Sulayman Jabbūr. Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah,
XXXX/1979 (167pp.).*
-
Faḍā'il al-Quds. ed. and
introd. Dr. Jibra'il Sulayman Jabbūr. Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah,
1400/1980 (167pp.).*
-
Muhammad ibn Muhammad
ibn Husayn al-Kanj' al-Sufi (d. 682/1283)
al-Sahih Ahmad b. Amm (d.?)
Silsilai al- asjad
fi sifat al-sakhra wa'l-masjid (cited lbn Fadl Allah al-'Umar)
Ibn Fadl Allah al-'Umctn
(d. 755/1354)
Mughulţay b. Qalîdj (d.
762/1361)
Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad ibn
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisĩ (765/1364)
Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-Zarkashi
Muhammad b. 'Abd Allāh al-Zarkashī (794/1391)
Muhammad b. Shams al-Din al-Suyuti al-Minhadj' (d. XXX/1475)
Djalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505)
Ibn 'Asakir,
Mujlr al-Din al-'Ulaymx al-Hanbali (d. 927/1520)
Fadā'il al-masjid al-aqsar
(
The isrā’ (Q. 17:1f) (night ) and or mi`rāj
( lit. “ladder”, “night ascent”) traditions are including
_________________________________
Kister, M.J.
-
The early Sī'a and Jerusalem in
Arabica ISSN 0570-5398 Vol, 48, No.1, January, 2001
Mourad, Soleiman, A.
