Violence in Islamic Thought from the Quran to the Mongols (Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence in Islamic Thought)

How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed by an international range of eminent authors through both general accounts of types of violence and detailed case studies of violent acts drawn from the early Islamic sources. Violence is understood, widely, to include jihad, state repressions and rebellions, and also more personally directed violence against victims (women, animals, children, slaves) and criminals. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our comprehension of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer. István Kristó-Nagy is a Lecturer in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. He is the author of La pensée d'Ibn al-Muqaffa' (2013). Robert Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Exeter and was Director of the Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence Project 2010-13. His most recent publications include Islam and Literalism: Literal Meaning and Interpretation in Islamic Legal Theory (Edinburgh University Press, 2012). From Its Earliest Times, Islam Has Had An Ambivalent Relationship With Violence. For Many Early Muslim Authors, Violence Was A Simple Fact Of Life. In The Qur'an And In The Later Muslim Tradition, Some Forms Of Violence Are Condemned, While Some, Including The Waging Of Holy Warfare, Are Extolled. What Is Clear From The Early Islamic Period Is That There Is No Single Muslim Attitude Towards Violence. Instead, There Were Many Different Portrayals And Evaluations Of Violence In Theology, Law, Poetry And Prose. In This Collection, You Will Find Out How Muslims Processed Violence As A Social Fact And How They Interpreted Its Role In The Early Muslim Community. This Background Is Essential To Understanding Current Muslim Thinking About When Violence Is, And Is Not, Justified. Introduction / Istvan T. Kristo-nagy And Robert Gleave; Part I. Jihaad And Conquest: Attitudes To Violence Against The External Enemies Of The Muslim Community. The Question Of Divine Help In The Jihad / Dominique Urvoy -- Reading The Qur'an On Jihad: Two Early Exegetical Texts / Andrew Rippin -- Ibn Al-mubarak's Kitab Al-jihad And Early Renunciant Literature / Christopher Melchert -- Shaping Memory Of The Conquests: The Case Of Tustar / Sarah Bowen Savant -- Part Ii. The Challenged Establishment: Attitudes To Violence Against The State And In Its Defence Within The Muslim Community. Who Instigated Violence: A Rebelling Devil Or A Vengeful God? / Istvan T. Kristo-nagy -- Attitudes To The Use Of Fire In Executions In Late Antiquity And Early Islam: The Burning Of Heretics And Rebels In Late Umayyad Iraq / Andrew Marsham -- 'abbasid State Violence And The Execution Of Ibn 'a'isha / John A. Nawas -- The Sultan And The Defiant Prince In Hunting Competition: Questions Of Legitimacy In Hunting Episodes Of Ṭabaristan / Miklos Sarkozy -- Part Iii. Lust And Flesh: Attitudes To Violence Against The Defenceless, Intra-communitarian Violence By Non-state Actors -- Violence Against Women In Andalusi Historical Sources (third/ninth-seventh/thirteenth Centuries) / Maribel Fierro -- Sexual Violence In Verse: The Case Of Ji'thin, Al-farazdaq's Sister / Geert Jan Van Gelder -- Bandits, Michael Cooperson -- Eating People Is Wrong: Some Eyewitness Accounts Of Cannibalism In Arabic Sources / Zoltan Szombathy -- Animals Would Follow Shafi'ismz; Legitimate And Illegitimate Violence To Animals In Medieval Islamic Thought / Sarra Tlili. Edited By Robert Gleave And István Kristó-nagy. 'the Legitimate And Illegitimate Violence In Islamic Thought Project (www.livitproject.net) Funded By The Rcuk Global Uncertainties Programme, Administerd Through The Economic And Social Research Council' (title-page). Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. 1. Violence, Our Inherent Heritage: Introduction, Istvan T. Kristo-Nagy and Robert Gleave Section I. Jihaad and Conquest: Attitudes to Violence against the External Enemies of the Muslim Community 2. The Question of Divine Help in the Jihad, Dominique Urvoy 3. Reading the Qur'an on jihad: two early exegetical texts, Andrew Rippin 4. Ibn al-Mubarak's Kitab al-Jihad and early renunciant literature, Christopher Melchert 5. Shaping Memory of the Conquests: The Case of Tustar, Sarah Bowen Savant Section II. The Challenged Establishment: Attitudes to Violence against the State and in its Defence within the Muslim Community 6. Who Instigated Violence: A Rebelling Devil or a Vengeful God?, Istvan T. Kristo-Nagy 7. Attitudes to the use of fire in executions in late antiquity and early Islam: the burning of heretics and rebels in late Umayyad Iraq, Andrew Marsham 8. 'Abbasid State Violence and the Execution of Ibn 'A'isha, John A. Nawas 9. The Sultan and the Defiant Prince in Hunting Competition: Questions of legitimacy in hunting episodes of Tabaristan, Miklos Sarkozy Section III. Lust and Flesh: Attitudes to Violence against the Defenceless, Intra-Communitarian Violence by Non-State Actors 10. Violence against Women in Andalusi Historical Sources (third/ninth-seventh/thirteenth centuries), Maribel Fierro 11. Sexual Violence in Verse: The Case of Ji'thin, al-Farazdaq's sister, Geert Jan van Gelder 12. Bandits, Michael Cooperson 13. Eating People Is Wrong: Some Eyewitness Accounts of Cannibalism in Arabic Sources, Zoltan Szombathy 14. Animals Would Follow Shafi'ism: Legitimate and illegitimate violence to animals in Medieval Islamic Thought, Sarra Tlili Bibliography Index Title page 3 Copyright 4 Contents 5 Dates and Abbreviations 8 Figures and Tables 9 Chapter 1 Introduction 11 PART I JIHAD AND CONQUEST: ATTITUDES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST THE EXTERNAL ENEMIES OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY 35 Chapter 2 The Question of Divine Help in the Jihad 37 Chapter 3 Reading The Qurʾan on Jihad: Two Early Exegetical Texts 43 Chapter 4 Ibn Al-Mubarak’s Kitab Al-Jihad and Early Rununciant Literature 59 Chapter 5 Shaping Memory of the Conquests: The Case of Tustar 80 PART II THE CHALLENGED ESTABLISHMENT: ATTITUDES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST THE STATE AND IN ITS DEFENCE WITHIN THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY 101 Chapter 6 Who Instigated Violence: A Rebelling Devil or a Vengeful God? 103 Chapter 7 Attitudes to the Use of Fire in Executions in Late Antiquity and Early Islam: The Burning of Heretics and Rebels in Late Umayyad Iraq 116 Chapter 8 ʿAbbasid State Violence and the Execution of Ibn ʿAʾisha 138 Chapter 9 The Sultan and the Defiant Prince in Hunting Competition: Questions of Legitimacy in Hunting Episodes of Tabaristan 151 PART III LUST AND FLESH: ATTITUDES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST THE DEFENCELESS, INTRA-COMMUNITARIAN VIOLENCE BY NON-STATE ACTORS 163 Chapter 10 Violence Against Women in Andalusi Historical Sources (Third/Ninth-Seventh/Thirteenth Centuries) 165 Chapter 11 Sexual Violence in Verse: The Caseof Jiʿthin, Al-Farazdaq's Sister 185 Chapter 12 Bandits 201 Chapter 13 Eating People is Wrong: Some Eyewitness Reports of Cannibalism in Arabic Sources 210 Chapter 14 Animals Would Follow Shafiʿism: Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence to Animals in Medieval Islamic Thought 235 Bibliography 255 Index of Qurʾanic Citations 282 General Index 283 This book examines how violence was described and evaluated in the foundational texts of Islam. How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed in this book by an international range of eminent authors. By examining not only who perpetrates violence, but also the victims, the studies describe different arena and contexts where violence takes place, and how this is incorporated into Muslim thinking in the first 5 centuries of Islam. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our understanding of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer. It examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of different intellectual contexts. It takes a broad understanding of violence - from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence. It enables a better informed debate about the nature of violence in early Islam. It includes contributions from leading international experts How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed by an international range of eminent authors through both general accounts of types of violence and detailed case studies of violent acts drawn from the early Islamic sources. Violence is understood widely, to include jihad, state repressions and rebellions, and also more personally directed violence against victims (women, animals, children, slaves) and criminals. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our comprehension of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer. Key Features. Examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of different intellectual contexts Takes a broad understanding of violence - from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence Enables a better informed debate about the nature of violence in early Islam The topic of Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence in Islamic Thought (LIVIT) calls for an interdisciplinary, comparative and historical approach. This has been the underlying methodological assumption within the project which bore this name. Amongst the products of that three-year project is a series of collected studies by established and emerging scholars in the field, examining how Muslim thinkers have conceptualised violence and categorised (morally and legally) acts of violence. In this opening chapter, István Kristó-Nagy first explores how violence in Islamic thought can be set against a wider consideration of violence in human history. It is this comparative perspective which contextualises not only this volume, but also the two subsequent volumes in the LIVIT series. In the second half of this chapter, Robert Gleave explains how this volume is structured, addressing the different approaches used by the contributors, and examines the different ways in which violence can be categorised. This volume brings together some of the leading researchers on early Islamic history and thought to study the legitimacy of violence. How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are explored through both general accounts of types of violence and detailed case studies of violent acts drawn from the early Islamic sources. Violence is understood widely, to include jihad, state repressions and rebellions, and also more personally directed violence against victims (women, animals, children, slaves) and criminals. From these, the diverse interpretations of violence and its role in Muslim society can be delineated and we can understand better the origins of legitimate and illegitimate violence in Islamic thought.