Islamic Piety in Medieval Syria: Mosques, Cemeteries and Sermons Under the Zangids and Ayyubids (1146-1260) (Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture) (Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture)

A study of religious thought and practice across a broad social spectrum, but within a well-defined historical context, this book is an interdisciplinary endeavor that incorporates the tools of philology, social-history and historical-anthropology. Focusing on the mosques, public assemblies, cemeteries and shrines of Syrian Muslims in the period of the crusades and the anti-Frankish jihad, the book describes and deciphers religious rites and experiences, liturgical calendars, spiritual leadership, and perceptions of impiety and dissent. Working from a perspective that breaks down the dichotomization of religion into 'official' and 'popular,' it exposes the negotiation, construction and dissemination of hybrid forms of religious life. The result is an intimate and complex presentation of the texture of medieval Islamic piety Brill Academic Publishers Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 14 List of Maps 16 Introduction 18 Historical Background 22 Sources 30 Methodological Approach 37 PART ONE MOSQUES 44 Chapter One Mosques in Society 46 1.1. The Spread of Mosques 48 1.2. Communal Ties and the Administration of Mosques 62 1.3. Public and Charitable Functions of Mosques 68 1.4. The Mosque as Reliquarium 72 Chapter Two Society in Mosques 76 2.1. Daily Prayers and Special Devotions 76 2.2. Qur'an Recitation 83 2.3. Study-Circles 86 2.4. Sufis and Ascetic Recluses (zuhhad) 95 Chapter Three Preachers (khatibs) and Prayer Leaders (imams) 104 3.1. Friday Preaching (khataba) 105 3.2. Profiles of Khatibs 108 3.3. Khatibs as Communal and Spiritual Leaders 113 3.4. Themes of Friday-Sermons 117 3.5. Imams 125 3.6. Profiles of Imams 128 Chapter Four The Assembly of Exhortation (majlis al-wa'z) 132 4.1. The 'Event' of the Assembly 135 4.2. Rulers and Preachers 140 4.3. Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (d. 654/1257) 145 4.4. Less Known Preachers 156 4.5. Manner of Preaching 158 4.6. Conclusions 161 PART TWO THE CEMETERY (AL-MAQBARA), MAUSOLEUM (TURBA) AND SHRINE (MASHHAD) 166 Chapter Five The Cemetery 168 5.1. Funeral and Burial 169 5.2. Strife in the Cemetery 178 5.3. Shrouds and Tombstones 180 5.4. Grief and Mourning 185 5.5. Visitation of Graves and Intercession for the Dead 189 Chapter Six Shrines (mashhads and maqamat) 196 6.1. Ziyaras (visitations) 197 6.2. Transformation of Sites 201 6.3. Establishment of New Shrines 207 6.4. Sites shared with non-Muslims 216 6.5. Relics of the Prophet 220 6.6. Discussion and Conclusions 222 PART THREE PIETY, IMPIETY AND RELIGIOUS DISSENT 228 Chapter Seven Piety 230 7.1. Piety of Military and Scholarly Elites 231 7.2. Commoners 235 7.3. Trends in Religious Life 239 Chapter Eight Impiety and Religious Dissent 242 8.1. Recourse to Occult Sciences (al-'ulum al-ghaybiyya) 245 8.2. Claims to Prophecy and Wondrous Powers 247 8.3. Occupation with the 'Sciences of the Ancients' ('ulum al-awa'il) and Other Types of Doctrinal Dissent 250 8.4. Antinomian Forms of Asceticism and Sufism 256 Conclusions 260 Appendix I: The Liturgical Calendar 270 Appendix II: Dynastic Tables and Maps 281 Bibliography 288 General Index 304 ISBN-13:,9789004158092 A Study Of The Religious Thought And Practice Of Muslims Of All Social Echelons In Syria During The Crusades And The Anti-frankish Jihad, This Book Offers An Intimate And Complex Analysis Of The Texture Of Medieval Islamic Piety. Mosques in society Society in mosques Preachers (khaṭībs) and prayer leaders (imāms) The assembly of exhortation (majlis al-waʻẓ) The cemetery Shrines (mashhads and maqāmāt) Piety Impiety and religious dissent. Presents a study of the religious thought and practice of Muslims of various social echelons in Syria during the crusades and the anti-Frankish jihad. This book analyzes the texture of medieval Islamic piety