al-Imam al-Mansur ‘Abdullah b. Hamzah b. Sulayman (d. 614/1217): a biography by his disciple Al-Faqih Humayd b. Ahmad al Muhalli (d. 652/1254) in his work Al-Had’iq al-Wardiyyah fi Manaqib A’immah al- Zaydiyyah, v. 2: a critical edition. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6835/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The University of Glasgow Faculty of Arts AI-Imam al-Man~flr 'Abdullah b. I:Iamzah b. Sulayman (d. 614/1217) A biography by his disciple AI-FaqTh I:Iumayd b. Ahmad al-Mu}:tallI (d. 65211254) in his work Al-lfadii'iq al-Wardiyyahfi Maniiqib A 'immah al-Zaydiyyah, v.2 A Critical Edition Submitted by Abdulla al-Shamahi As a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arabic and Islamic Studies September 2003 (Section A) Contents Table of Contents Dedication 1 Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 3 Transliteration Table 4 Methodology 5 SECTION A CHAPTER ONE: The Introductory Chapter 10 1.1. Essential Background to the Text 11 1.1.1. Arabia and its People 11 1.1.2. History and Society in Pre-Islamic Yemen 13 1.1.3. Conflict Over Winning Control 15 1.1.4. Islam and the Extension of Conflict 17 1.1.5. Divine Right as a New Ideology Tool in the Conflict 20 1.1.6. Yemen and the Expansion of the New Ideology Conflict 22 Notes 30 1.2. The Zaydiyyah 46 1.2.1. The Post of Imamate 47 1.2.2. The Zaydis and the Divine Right Theory 50 1.2.3. The Zaydis and Extremism 52 1.2.4. The Zaydis and the Companions of the Prophet CSa1;tabah) 53 1.2.5. The Mutarrafiyyah 54 1.2.6. The Zaydiyyah and the Mu'tazilah 56 Notes 59 CHAPTER TWO: The Author and his Era 70 2.1. Yemen Approaching and During the Sixth-Seventh Century HijrI 71 2.2. The ZaydI Imams 71 2.3. Imam 'Abdullah b. Ijamzah 72 2.4. Imam AJ:.nnad b. al-Ijusayn and the Conflict over the Post ofImamate 73 2.5. The Author: Ijumayd al-Mul;tam 74 Notes 77 CHAPTER THREE: The Manuscript 80 3.1. AI-Ijada'iq al-Wardiyyah 81 3.1.1. Copies ofal-Ijada'iq 82 3.1.2. Abbreviations 82 3.1.3. AI-Ijada'iq Titles 84 3.2. Description of the Manuscripts used 86 3.2.1. TheViennaManuscript(w) 86 3.2.2. The Chester Beatty Manuscript (Ji) 86 3.2.3. The San'a' Manuscript (~) 87 3.2.4. The British Library Manuscript (J) 88 3.2.5. The British Library Manuscript ('i) 89 Notes 91 CHAPTER FOUR: The Text Translated 92 Notes 240 Conclusion 243 Some Manuscript Images 245 Bibliography 259 11 Dedication This work is dedicated to the memory of my parents and to my family for their help and patience. 1 Acknowledgements I wish to express my deep appreciation to my original supervisor the late Professor John Mattock, The head of The Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, for the long hours that I spent with him discussing the primary material of this thesis. I also wish to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr. M. Siddiqui, the head of Theology and Religious Studies and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam, for her constant guidance, patience and encouragement during the final part of my writing up this thesis. I also seize this opportunity to thank Ms. Eileen O'Neil, The Clerk of the Faculty of Arts for her support during this crucial time. The list of acknowledgements is far too long to mention. To aU those prominent scholars, individuals and institutions all around the world; the UK, Europe, USA, Yemen and a number of Arab countries, who were all of tremendous help in the preparation of this thesis, to them all, I convey my greatest respect and gratitude. 2 Abstract This is the biography of the Zaydi Imam, 'Abdullah b. I:Iamzah, who stood against the Ayyfibid's rule in Yemen, of his time. The biography covers the Imam's life, family background and relations with other sects. These include the Shi'ah and the Zaydis, particularly those of the Mutarrafis. The biography also gives a detailed picture of the Imam's relations and conflicts with the local Ayyfibids in Yemen. As the author considered the Imam a great authority in the field of religion and thinking, we find a large amount of quotations from the Imam's works, both poetry and prose. The author, as the Imam did, gave special attention to the authority of the Fatimi 'Alawid's descendants in the field of religion, and in particular how the post of Imamate should be aquired only by them. The importance of this work comes from the fact that it is the only surviving complete biography of this Imam, written by one of his well known and distinguished contemporaries. The highly classical Arabic which the author used to write the biography, increased the prestige of the work, and added importance to it. This reflects AI-Mu1;lalli's authority in the fields of Arabic language, literature and history. The thesis consists of two main parts; Section A (or 1) is a short introduction and study to the text and its author, followed by the English translation of the Arabic text, while Section B (or 2) is the edited Arabic text (the biography). Finally the conclusion, will illustrate the main points in the whole work. I hope the work I produce can represent a valuable addition to Yemeni history, literature and beliefs. 3 Transliteration , D ~ ~ T .h B y Z j; T w , t TR I..:.... J - GR t J ~ F '--lI I:I e:: Q '-' KH e:: K ~ D ..:l L J DR ..:l - M R .J ~ N U Z .J R '" S (,,).I.l W j SR (,,).:I..l y S r..? ~ a \ I r..? U j 4 The Methodology Used in Verifying the Text As the text in the second volume of al-lfada'iq (that dealing with Imam Ibn I:Iarnzah), is the only surviving complete biography of this Imam, written by one of his well known and distinguished contemporaries, it is very important from an academic view point to verify the authenticity of it's contents. Also the text contains an extensive amount of highly classical Arabic in poetry and prose, along with a substantial amount of material dealing with history and beliefs, making it essential to make this work available to readers, in a modem academic style, in both the Arabic and English languages. In order to fulfil these aims I focused on the following: 1. Comparing the part of the text that deals with the Imam by use of the Vienna Manuscript (as the Principle Copy), along with the other copies to be described later, and with use of the Diwan's copies if necessary. 2. Describing in the footnotes all significant differences between the Principle Copy and the other copies. 3. Recopying the manuscript, usmg modem standard spelling in place of obsolete spelling practices, without indicating so in the notes. For example; scripto deflective of alif in words like "Hamn", "al-Qasim", "salam", "thalathmi'a"; substitution ofya' for hamza, etc. 4. As the script in most of the manuscripts is only sparsely provided with diacritical dots, variants of pointing have been fully indicated in the notes, especially where the correct reading seems doubtful. 5. All glosses in the manuscript are quoted in the footnotes, if they are contributing further historical or linguistic information. 5 6. Explaining the meanings of some words in the footnotes, particularly those in verse, and clarifying some phrases, with reference in some cases to their origins in dictionaries and language books. The following references and dictionaries were consulted for this purpose, and often no note of them was made, as they were extensively used: Lisan al-'Arab, Ibn MaI@ir Taj al-'Aros, al-Zabidi Mujamal al-Lugh.ah, Ibn Faris Asas al-Balagh.ah, al-Zamakhshari al-Kamil fi al-Lugh.ah, al-Mubarrid al-Qamiis al-MuQlt, al-Fayruzabadi Shams al-'Uliim, Nashwan al-I:Iimyari 7. Mentioning both the Slims of the Quaranic verses and the numbers of these verses. 8. Noting the transmission of I:Iadiths and traditions, usmg the I:Iadith's indexed dictionaries and computer programmes and referring to both Sunni and Shi'i sources. 9. Exploring the meanings of the proverbs and aphorisms mentioned in the text and referring them to their 0rigins in the different collections, such as Majma' al-Amthal by al-Maydani and al-Mustaq$afi Amthal al-'Arab by al Zamakhshari. 10. Attributing the verses of poetry in the text to their poets, and to the sources in which they were cited, as much as possible. All the qa~idas said by the Imam Ibn I:Iamzah, were referred to their places in his poetry collection (Diwan), in both copies (P) and (2~). On some occasions I also referred them to the Imam's other two Diwan copies, (San'a') and (London). 6