The Formation of the Islamic Understanding of Kalāla in the Second Century AH (718–816 CE) : Between Scripture and Canon

In The Formation of the Islamic Understanding of kalāla in the Second Century AH (718-816 CE), Pavel Pavlovitch studies traditions (ḥadīth) about the lexical and terminological meaning of the Quranic vocable kalāla. Attempts to understand kalāla began with acknowledging its unintelligibility but ultimately brought into existence a capacious body of interpretative ḥadīth, associated with early Islamic authorities. The analysis of these traditions affords insights into the changing conception of scripture during the first two Islamic centuries, the early history of Islamic exegesis and jurisprudence, and varying scholarly attitudes towards constituent sources of Islamic law. The book highlights the importance of coherent methodology of dating and reconstructing Muslim traditions according to their lines of transmission (isnāds) and their narrative content (matns). Biographical note Pavel Pavlovitch, Ph.D. (1994), is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” He has published in the fields of pre-Islamic history, early Muslim jurisprudence and exegesis, and methodology of studying Muslim traditions. Contents 5 Foreword 9 List of Witnesses, Tables, Matn-Composites, and Isnād Diagrams 14 Abbreviations 17 Abbreviated Book and Journal Titles 17 Abbreviated Personal Names of Transmitters in the Isnād Diagrams 17 Chapter 1 Vicissitudes of Interpretation 19 1.1 Kalāla in the Quran 19 1.2 Was the Meaning of Kalāla Known in the Jāhiliyya and Early Islam? 23 1.3 How to Make Sense of Kalāla? 25 1.4 Western Research on Kalāla 27 1.5 Methodology 40 1.5.1 Isnād-cum-Matn Analysis (ICMA) 40 1.5.2 Ḥadīth as Fictional Narrative 67 1.5.3 Sources of Kalāla Traditions 70 1.5.4 Matn-Composites, Isnād Diagrams, and Reconstructed Versions 72 Chapter 2 The Meaning of Kalāla is Unknown 75 2.1 Cluster 1: Kalāla is One of the Three Most Important Things in this World 75 2.2 Cluster 2: Kalāla and the Finest Camels 88 2.3 Cluster 3: The Khamr-cum-Kalāla Tradition 104 2.4 Cluster 4: ʿUmar Tells Ibn ʿAbbās that He Did not Issue a Decree about Kalāla 133 2.5 Cluster 5: ʿUmar Tells Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn ʿUmar, and Saʿīd b. Zayd that He did not Say Anything about Kalāla 145 2.6 Cluster 6: ʿUmar and the Presence of Captives in Medina 155 2.7 Cluster 7: Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī’s One-Thing Narrative 161 2.8 Cluster 8: Nothing Perplexed the Companions of the Prophet as Did Kalāla 168 2.9 Conclusion 174 Chapter 3 The Meaning of Kalāla is Hidden 180 3.1 Cluster 9: ʿUmar’s Suppressed Statement about Kalāla 180 3.2 Cluster 10: ʿUmar Erases His Decree about Grandfather and Kalāla 199 3.3 Cluster 11: ʿUmar, Kalāla, and the Ominous Snake 217 3.4 Cluster 12: Kalāla Was Not Made Clear to ʿUmar 232 3.5 Conclusion 262 3.5.1 The Historical Development of the Intermediate Traditions 262 3.5.2 The Relationship between the Undefined and the Intermediate Traditions 265 3.5.3 ʿAbd al-Razzāq the Exegete 268 Chapter 4 The Meaning of Kalāla is Defined in the Summer Verse 270 4.1 Cluster 13: The Medinese Version of the Kalāla-cum-Summer-Verse Tradition 270 4.2 Cluster 14: The Basran Version of the Kalāla-cum-Summer-Verse Tradition 279 4.3 Cluster 15: The Kufan Version of the Kalāla-cum-Summer-Verse Tradition 310 4.4 Cluster 16: The Prophet Defines Kalāla 325 4.5 ʿUmar, Ḥafṣa, and the Prophet: Between Masoretic Elucidation and Halakhic Exegesis 335 4.6 Cluster 19: ʿUmar’s Recollection about Kalāla 359 4.7 Cluster 20: The Prophet and the Importunate Man 373 4.8 Conclusion 380 4.8.1 Kalāla and the Codification of the Quran 383 4.8.2 Pre-Canonical vs. Canonical Kalāla 386 Chapter 5 Kalāla is Defined in Ḥadīth 394 5.1 The Kufan Definition of Kalāla 394 5.2 Hijazi Doctrines about Kalāla 410 5.3 Cluster 26: The Struggle over the Kufan Definition of Kalāla 445 5.4 Cluster 27: The Polemical Encounter between Yazīd b. Hārūn and ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī 459 5.5 Cluster 28: Dispensing with the Quran 476 5.6 Cluster 29: Kufan Inroads in Basra 494 5.7 Conclusion 502 Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusion 509 6.1 The Historical Development of the Kalāla Narratives 509 6.2 The Chronology of Kalāla Traditions: Specific Motifs and Attribution to Early Authorities 514 6.3 *Kalla or Kalāla? 526 6.4 The Breach between the Quran and the Sunna 531 6.5 Kalāla and Varieties of Exegesis 534 6.6 Methodological Challenges and Research Perspectives 535 Appendix 1. Chronology of Kalāla Traditions 538 The Undefined Traditions 538 The Intermediate Traditions 540 Kalāla and the Summer Verse 542 Traditions including Various Definitions of Kalāla 544 Appendix 2. Reconstructed Versions (RVs) of Kalāla Traditions 550 Bibliography 565 Index of Names and Subjects 578 Index of Quranic Verses 595 In 'The formation of the Islamic understanding of kalala in the second century AH (718-816 CE)', Pavel Pavlovitch studies traditions (hadith) about the lexical and terminological meaning of the Quranic vocable kalala. Attempts to understand kalala began with acknowledging its unintelligibility but ultimately brought into existence a capacious body of interpretative hadith, associated with early Islamic authorities. The analysis of these traditions affords insights into the changing conception of scripture during the first two Islamic centuries, the early history of Islamic exegesis and jurisprudence, and varying scholarly attitudes towards constituent sources of Islamic law. The book highlights the importance of coherent methodology of dating and reconstructing Muslim traditions according to their lines of transmission (isnads) and their narrative content (matns)