Power Discourse and Heresy in al-Andalus: The Case of Ibn Masarra

By Kirstin Sabrina Dane

A Thesis submitted to The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research ln partial fulfillment of the requit'ements for

The degree ofMasters of AI1s

Institute of Islamic Studies Mcgill University

Montréal

August, 2006

© Kirstin Sabrina Dane 2006

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Author:

Title:

Department:

Degree:

Abstract

Kirstin Sabrina Dane

Power Discourse and Heresy in al-Andalus: The Case of Ibn Masarra

Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University

Master of Arts

This thesis is a study of zandaqa, or heresy, in the early medieval period of al­

Andalus. The goal of this work is to uncover subtexts between caliphal power and legal

authority through an analysis of the historiography of the Andalusian Muhammad ibn

'Abd Allah Ibn Masarra al-Jaball (d. 319/931). This is accompli shed by applying the

Foucauldian theories of limit and transgression on the scholarly reconstructions of his

life. The formation of the madhiihib in al-Andalus, the construction of Orthodoxy and

Heresy in Islam, and the historical-Iegal development of zandaqa col ours how scholars

have approached the subject, and leads to questions concerning the relationship that

marginal or subversive intellectual developments had with authoritative bodies. The

resulting play of divergent and authoritative discourses that emerge from a Post­

Modernist analysis of the Masarrian context have the capacity to illustrate intellectual

developments within early Andalusian society and provide an alternate explanatory

narrative for historical reconstruction.

11

Auteur:

Titre:

Département:

Niveau:

Résumé

Kirstin Sabrina Dane

Discours de Puissance et Hérésie en AI-Andalus : Le cas d'Ibn Masarra

L'Institute des etudes Islamique, McGill University

Maîtrise en Arts

Cette thèse est une étude de zandaqa, ou hérésie, dans la période médiévale tôt

d'AI-Andalus. Le but de ce travail est de découvrir des relations entre la puissance des

califes et l'autorité légale par une analyse de l'historiographie de l'andalou Muhammad

ibn 'Abd AlHih Ibn Masarra al-JabalI (D. 319/931). Ceci est accompli en appliquant les

théories de Foucault de limite et de transgression aux reconstructions savantes (scolaires)

de sa vie. La formation du madhëihib dans Al-Andalus, la construction de l'orthodoxie et

de la hérésie dans l'Islam, et le développement historique légal de zandaqa influencent

comment les disciples ont approché le sujet, et mène aux questions au sujet du rapport

que les développements intellectuels marginaux ou subversifs ont eu avec les corps bien

fondés. Le jeu résultant des discours divergents et bien fondés qui émergent d'une

analyse post-moderniste du contexte d'Ibn Masarra a la capacité d'illustrer des

développements intellectuels chez la première société andalouse et de fournir un récit

explicatif alternatif pour la reconstruction historique.

III

Table of Contents

Abstract

Résumé

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Considerations of Orthodoxy and Heresy in Islam

Conditions for Membership

The Concept of Orthodoxy

Definition of Heresy

Zandaqa

Heresy as Transgression

The Andalusian Context

Scholastic Representations of al-Andalus

The Rise of al-Andalus

The Development Zandaqa in al-Andalus

Cases of Heresy in al-Andalus

The Case of Ibn Masarra (d. 319/931)

Life and Activities

Scholarly Reconstructions

IV

8 -15

15 - 22

22-26

26-34

35 - 38

39-44

44-47

48 - 53

54-56

57 - 61

61 - 67

11

III

IV - V

VI

1-7

8 -38

39-67

Analysis

Transgression and Political Legitimacy

Ibn Masarra and Mu 'tazilism

Ibn Masarra and Batinism

Transgression and the Formation of the MaIikï Madhhab

RoIe of the Qiiç1ï in al-Andalus

Summary and Conclusions

Bibliography

v

71-73

74-78

78 -83

84 - 91

87 - 91

68 -91

92-99

100 -108

Acknowledgements

In the Name ofGod, the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent

AIl Praise and Thanks is to God, the Omniscient, the Most Wise, the One who grants knowledge and true understanding.

l am pleased to thank and recognize the many people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis. First on this list is my thesis supervisor and Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, Dr. Robert Wisnovsky. l am very grateful for his patience, guidance and invaluable help throughout the entire thesis writing process. l would like to ex tend thanks to Dr. Üner Turgay, who was an amazing resource and support in aIl of my academic ventures and Dr. Todd Lawson for offering advice during my initial interest in Ibn Masarra. Furthermore, l would also like to acknowledge Dr. A. Cooper for teaching me the importance of subversion.

Kirsty McKinnon and Ann Yaxley have helped me many times with the administrative side to academia, as weIl as offering innumerable discussions on fashion. A special thank-you goes to my friends and co-workers at the Islamic Studies Library, Heather Empey, Salwa Ferahian, and Wayne St-Thomas, who provided me with advice and debate, research resources, financial opportunities, emotional support, and comic relief that was often needed, and much appreciated.

Special recognition goes to Sajida Jalalzai, Bridget McGregor and Andréa SchneIl, for being my sounding boards and long-distance library wh en l needed sources from Montréal. Furthermore, l am much esteemed for having received the translation resources from Vahid Brown, also currently completing work on Ibn Masarra at Reed CoIlege.

FinaIly, l would like to thank my entire family, specifically my parents, for their emotional, financial and editorial support. l thank them for having patience, but above aIl, for believing in me. A special thank-you is reserved for my husband - l would have been lost without his strength and love.

VI

Introduction

Background

In medieval and present-day sources, al-Andalus is exemplified as a tolerant and

"modern" region - a cultural utopia that promoted the growth and development of

language, science, religion, mysticism, and philosophical thought within diverse

communities. Historiographies of intellectual trends that developed during the formative

period of al-Andalus have yet to be fully investigated. However, meaningful analysis

into key personalities and marginal figures aids in the understanding of trends that gained

popularity and survived to become authoritative bodies. These movements illustrate the

vanance within Islamic thought, culture and religious practice during the medieval

period.

The Andalusian Maliki scholar, Mu~ammad ibn' Abd Allah Ibn Masarra al-Jabali

(d. 319/931), exists within historical sources as a controversial figure. He has been

characterized as a Maliki jurist, an ascetic, and is among the first figures in al-Andalus to

expound esoteric mysticism and Empedoc1ean philosophical ideas. What is known about

Ibn Masarra's life and activities has been reconstructed from bibliographie and secondary

sources. l After 300/912 an accusation of heresy, zandaqa, coincided with reports of his

ri~la ta the maghrib and mashriq regions and upon his return to al-Andalus, he withdrew

Ilbn al-Faraqï, Tiirïkh 'ulamii' al-Andalus (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khânjï, 1954); Ibn ijayyân, al-Muqtabas (Madrid: Institute of Spanish-Arab Culture, 1979); Ibn Sâ'id al-Andalusï, Kitiib Tabaqiit al-Umam (Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, 1999).

to a hermitage on the Sierra of C6rdoba.2 In his Tabaqat al-Umam, Ibn $a'id al-AndalusI

(685/1286) refers to Ibn Masarra by both his epithet the Mountaineer, al-Jabalï, and the

descriptive the Esotericist, al-Bafinï. Modern historians such as Brockelmann and 'Umar

Riçla Kal)l)alah, actively describe Ibn Masarra as a $ufi and an Isma'm.3 When a closer

study of the sources is conducted, the list of possible factors contributing to the charge of

zandaqa includes the Mu 'tazilI ideas he inherited from his father, or from his encounters

with mashriqï thinkers during his travels and esoteric interpretation of the Qur' an.

Further possible factors that contribute to the charge of zandaqa include accusations of

Isma'Ilism or the harbouring of BatinI philosophical views and spiritual doctrines. The

bibliographie sources do not record the author of the charge, or the date of its issue.

However, it is noted that there was no trial and no action directly carried out against Ibn

Masarra, but that in 340/952 and 345/956, the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Ral)man III

published retroactive proclamations condemning his works and his followers. 4

The eventual rise of Malikism as a dominant legal school in al-Andalus, as weIl as

the historical-Iegal treatment of zandaqa, col ours the way historical scholars have

approached the subject of heresy in al-Andalus, and leads to questions concerning the

relationship that marginal or subversive intellectual developments had with authoritative

bodies. These questions, when coupled with the political, intellectuai and cultural

climate during this time, have led to wide scholarly speculation. An investigation into the

power discourses resulting from such relationships and an analysis of the varied

2 R. Amaldez, "Ibn Masarra," Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1971),868; see Miguel Asfn Palacios, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, (Leiden: Brill, 1978), 30 - 41. 3 See Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur (Leiden: Brill, 1942); 'Umar Riçla Ka~~alah, Mu 'jam al-Mu 'allifin, Vol. 9 (Dimashq: al-Maktabah al-'Arabiyah, 1961). 4 These royal decrees were addressed to the vizier 'Abd Allah ibn Badr and were read in the main mosques of C6rdoba and Madïnat-al-Zahra' respectively, see Ibn J:[ayyan, Al-Muqtabas V, in J.V. Bermejo, "The 'Zalmedina' of C6rdoba," The Formation of al-Andalus: Part 1 (Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Co., 1998), 416.

2

interpretations of the heresy of Ibn Masarra, provide further nuances to the understanding

of his role in the history of al-Andalus. As his place within the history of al-Andalus is

reasonably early, he is particularly important to the study of the intellectual developments

and religious practice during the formative period. Furthermore, based upon evidence

drawn out from historical sources, scholars have presented conclusions suggesting that

his concepts may have influenced Ibn al-'Arabïs (d. 637/1240) and the Spanish

Kabbalists,6 which further attests to his historical impact. Finally, as his case specifically

highlights heresy in medieval al-Andalus, an investigation into his life and activities

provides a point of departure for an exploration into the formation of the legal schools.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the historical sources dealing with Ibn

Masarra, specifically to synthesise and present an analysis of the external influences that

have constructed his history. Furthermore, an excavation of the internaI power discourses

will be performed, in light of the recorded accusation of zandaqa, by applying Michel

Foucault's theory of "transgression." The ultimate aim of this process is to present an

alternative historical investigation, particularly by looking at how heresy as transgression

may provide information on the formation of the madhiihib or legal schools.

5 See James Winston Morris, "Ibn 'Arabi and His Interpreters Part II: Influences and Interpretations," Journal of the American Oriental Society (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1986); Claude Addas, "Andalusï Mysticism and the Rise of Ibn 'Arabi," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992). 6 See, Ariel Bension, The Zohar in Moslem and Christian Spain (New York: Hermon Press, 1974); Gershom Sc ho lem, Kabbalah (New York: Penguin Books, 1974); Paul Fenton, The Treatise of The Pool: 'Obadayah b. Abraham b. Moses Maimonides (London: Octagon Press, 1987).

3

The foremost expert on Ibn Masarra, the Spanish Orientalist Miguel Asfn

Palacios, set the foundation on which alllater scholarship bases itself. Looking primarily

at the characterisations made by Ibn Masarra's contemporaries and later opponents, Asfn

reconstructs the life and activities of Ibn Masarra by assuming the dominant role of

Malikite orthodoxy,7 pitting the Greek-influenced "heterodox" philosophy of Ibn Masarra

against "Arab" cultural-political hegemony. Other widely influential scholars such as

Roger Amaldez, Ignaz Goldziher, Miguel Cruz Hemandez,8 and Dominique Urvol have

reconstructed the history of Ibn Masarra based on Asfn's scholarship. Others such as

Hussain Monès 1 0 and J anina M. Safran II have approached the subject from a discourse

based on Umayyad politicallegitimacy, arguing that Ibn Masarra was not a heretic during

an unstable caliphate, but that intolerance came with the consolidation of political power

and that heresy in al-Andalus is based on political developments. S. M. Steml2 and

Emilio Tomero l3 have restricted their dialogue to the actual nature of Ibn Masarra's

heretical views, exploring his potential influences from Greek philosophy, Sufism, or

Isma'm doctrine. Contemporary scholars such as Claude Addas,14 Maria Isabel Fierro ls

7 In this context l am referring to the Mlilikï madhhab in al-Andalus, and the classical impression that it existed cohesively in terms of ajuridical system. ~ Miguel Cruz Hemandez, "Islamic Thought in the Iberian Peninsula." The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill Publishers, 1992). 9Dominique Urvoy, "The 'Ulamli' of al-Andalus," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill Publishers, 1992). 10 Hussain Monès, "The Role of Men of Religion in the History of Muslim Spain to the End of the Caliphate." The Formation of the ClassicalIslamic World: Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998). Il Janina M. Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate: The Articulation of Caliphal Legitimacy in Al­Andalus (London: Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000). 12 S. M. Stem, "Ibn Masarra: Follower of Pseudo-Empedocles, an Illusion" Medieval Arabic and Hebrew Thought (London: Variorum Reprints, 1983). 13 E. Tomero, "A Report on the Publications of Previously Unedited Works by Ibn Masarra," The Formation of the Classical Islamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998). 14 Claude Addas, "Andalusï Mysticism and the Rise of Ibn 'Arabi," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992). 15 Maria Isabel Fierro, "Heresy in al-Andalus," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992).

4

and Manuela Marin,16 challenge past scholarship by exploring how zandaqa was defined

and employed in the medieval period, how Ibn Masarra' s actions have the potential to

speak to rural and urban religious practices, and how opposition to him may have come in

the form of scholastic debate, where "mutually exclusive" views of Islam competed with

one another.

The reported charge of zandaqa and Ibn Masarra's place as a marginal or

subversive figure has a varied understanding within the historical sources. By applying

the Fouauldian theory of transgression, this thesis hopes to flush out understudied

subtexts conceming caliphal power, legal authority, and creative tensions between

intellectuai spheres. AlI of these serve as direct loci for discussion on intellectuai and

legal developments within the formative period of al-Andalus.

Theoretical Framework

Divergences in the sources occur and stem from the points where historical

inquiries are conducted. This becomes reflected in the historical reconstructions of the

ex tant information on Ibn Masarra. The two areas of major debate conceming the life

and activities of Ibn Masarra and the world that produced him are polemics linked to the

understanding of heresy and the charge of heresy itself. The unknown nature of his

heresy has given scholars free expression in interpreting Ibn Masarra's life in the context

of medieval al-Andalus. In this way, the characterisation of heresy in relation to Ibn

Masarra has been employed to promote specific historical reconstructions. In the context

16 Manuela Marin, "The Early Development of Zuhd in al-Andalus," Shï'a Islam, Sects and Sufism, edited by Frederick DeJong (Utrecht: M.Th. Houtsma Sichting, 1992).

5

of the development of ~ufism, he is hailed as the first mystic in al-Andalus, while in the

context of philosophy, his case is used to illustrate the emergence of Neoplatonic thought

in Islamic philosophy. As an ex ample of heresy, his case is primarily used to illustrate

MalikI dominance or as an exercise in caliphallegitimacy.

Wael B. Hallaq argues that without an adequate awareness of the structures of

authority and power that lie beneath it, Islamic law cannot be properly understood. 17

Heresy in Islam has been seen as a form of rejection of the religion itself, and is a

demarcation, a dividing line which marks a limit between licit and illicit religious belief.

As a discourse, the interactions between transgression and limit display the fluidity of

societal development. When applied to an analysis of the historical sources and the

context of Ibn Masarra as a subversive figure, the marginal spaces that construct authority

and power are realised.

The first section of the thesis explores the construction of Orthodoxy and heresy

in Islam, and the various definitional issues related to these topics. Furthermore, it will

discuss the emergence of zandaqa in legal parlance, political application and will provide

a discussion on the methodology behind heresy as transgression. The second section

introduces al-Andalus through an analysis of the tradition al historical representations of

the region, and then presents zandaqa from within this context. The case of Ibn Masarra

is then introduced, synthesizing and providing an analysis of the historical sources.

Finally, in the third section, an analysis on the discourses of political legitimacy and the

formation of the MalikI madhhab is provided based upon an application of the

methodology highlighted above.

17 Wael B Hallaq, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).

6

Scholars have approached the topic of zandaqa through preconceptions of the

macrocosms of MalikI authority18 and Umayyad authenticity, and via microcosms

concerning legal definitions and societal context. This study will question this classical

position, and bring to light issues related to the MalikI madhhab formation as a prominent

trend in al-Andalus, which is analogous to CUITent trends within the study of madhhab

formation. This study will also endeavour to answer the following questions related to

the Masarrian context: Was Ibn Masarra's rural retreat based upon subtle opposition or

due to ascetic practices? What are the implications regarding intellectual developments if

the accusation of zandaqa was based upon scholarly refutations? What can this

exploration tell us of the religious, socio-political and intellectual context of Ibn MasaITa

and of his contemporaries, especially in light of the role of legalism and poli tics in the

formative period of Islam in al-Andalus?

18 See Jonathan E. Broekopp, "Competing Theories of Authority in Early Miïlikï Texts," Studies in Islamic Legal Theories (Boston: Brill, 2002); Monique Bernards and John Nawaz, "The Geographie Distribution of Muslim Jurists During the First Four Centuries AH," Islamic Law and Society 10.2 (Lei den: Brill, 2003), 169-180.

7

Considerations of Orthodoxy and Heresy in Islam

Conditions for Membership

The discussion of heresy in Islam necessitates a brief look at the conditions for

membership in the ummah, the Islamic community and world-wide association of

Muslim practitioners, linked historically to the very first Muslims through the concept of

kinship. The Qur'an states in chapter 3:110 that, "Ye are the best of Peoples, evolved for

mankind, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God."

Throughout antiquity and within contemporary dialogue, the conditions to judge and

define a conception of "the best of Peoples" or community, and determine the actions,

thoughts or deeds which are deemed "right" vary significantly and are affected by

historical, cultural and political contexts.

Indonesia, Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Turkey are

examples from approximately fifty predominantly Muslim countries. Minority Muslim

communities have also successfully settled, expanded, and are thriving within sorne

Asian countries, the Americas, Europe and the United Kingdom. As a result, culture

within the world-wide Muslim community is extremely diverse. Furthermore, religious

expression, practice and interpretation, are multifaceted by the fact that a practitioner' s

degree of commitment to Islamic faith varies individually. Determining conditions for

membership within these communities may depend on doctrinal differences, such as

between Sunn} and ShI'} Islam, or an allegiance to a specifie religious leader or spiritual

guide, or may be limited to and associated with tribal or family lineage. Others hold that

8

following a specific school of thought such as the legal schools, I:Ianafi, I:IanbalI, Ja'farï,

Malikï, or Shafi'ï; or for example, a particular transmission of teachings or political

influence, such Boq.rï, Naqshbandï, Salafi, TablIghï Jama'at, or Wahhabï, necessitate

conditions for membership. Other conditions, however might be broader, the most being

the basic Islamic creed, or shahada, and its potential interpretations. This holds that the

only condition needed to recognize aIl adherents as belonging to Islam, is following the

meaning of, "there is only one God, and Muq.ammad is the Messenger of God."

Within each of these categories there are further variances that determine what

actions, thoughts or deeds are considered "right." Conditions for membership within the

Islamic community may be highly inclusive, rigidly exclusive, and may be based upon

specific religious values and cultural cues. Within the early Islamic community, the

scope of these conditions based on the obligation 10 enjoin the "right" included simply

the dut y of enjoining belief in God and in the Prophet Muq.ammad. 1 Therefore, based

upon these potentially unlimited interpretations, it is thus an arduous task to determine

absolutely what conditions a community requires for membership, how a community has

constructed these conditions, and how a community relates itself to the Islamic context.

As such, it is first necessary to take on the task of situating this community within its

proper geographical, historical, economic and socio-political context.

Ultimately, it is arguabIe that an Islamic Culture or framework binds these groups

together, despite their perceivable differences. Muslim cultures may vary significantly,

but within each community one can find specific phenomena that are common elements,

practiced by aIl members irrespective of religious interpretation. Examples could include

1 Michael Cook, Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 22.

9

notions of personal cleanliness or ritual ablutions of wuç1ü', mode st y or attitudes toward

chastity, prayer or charity. Whereas the interpretation and implementation of these

notions may vary, they remain indicators of membership, in that at the very least they are

consistent with or hold elements of "tradition al" sources of Islamic teachings - namely,

the primary sources for authority, the Qur'an and the prophetie teaehings found in the

sunna.

Generally speaking, within the very early period of Islam, from the years 1/622-

10/632, it appears that conditions for membership as laid out by the Qur'an and the

Prophet MUQammad, were limited to the performance of ritualised prayer, ~aliit, 2 the

payment of the annual charity tax of zakiit,3 and the repetition of the testimony of faith,

known as the shahiida.4 The shahiida is found within the prophetic traditions and

although implied, it is not explicitly found in the Qur'an.5 A person who testified to the

absolute Oneness of God and, at the very least, offered an act of loyalty toward

MUQammad, was regarded as a Muslim and a member of the Islamic community.6

Membership was a guarantee of the rights and responsibilities that came with the

profession or faith.

As Islam grew and moved across the Arabian Peninsula and into Syria, Iraq, and

North Africa, the community was influenced by diverse cultures and an influx of con verts

from Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Mandeanism, who carried their own

particular interpretive lenses and religio-cultural practices to the formation of the

2 See al-Qur'an, 2:238; 4:43; 5:6; 24:58; 62:9. 3 See al-Qur'an, 4: 162; 9: 103; 24:37; 33:33. 4 M. W. Watt, "Conditions of Membership of the Islamic Community," Studies in the History of Religions: Initiation (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1965), 195. 5 Ibid, 196. 6 Ibid.

10

community. The need to specifically outline what was theologically acceptable in

spheres of religion as weIl as everyday life thus became prominent. EventuaIly, with the

death of the Prophet Mul)ammad, this need was compounded by various political issues

linked to the process of succession for leadership of the early Islamic community.7

Without the guidance of the most authoritative figure, Mul)ammad, or his immediate

successors, the Rightly-Guided caliphs, al-khulafa' al-rashidiin, the religious scholars

began the process of interpreting the Qur'an and sunna.

The Qur'an itself provided a fair amount of source material for the early 'ulama,

as the text itself holds ethical and legislative guidelines concerning a variety of issues,

from the classification of permissible foods to theft and adultery. On topics where the

Qur'an is silent, the religious scholars turned to the life of the Prophet Mul)ammad. His

sïra, or biography, provided a source for established manners and courses of action in

everyday life and constituted a normative, exemplary mode1.8 The ways of the sunna,

meaning an exemplary mode of conduct, were gathered from transmitted Prophetie

material and later became known as lzadïth literature. In terms of authenticity, the Qur'an

is deemed to be wholly certain in terms of transmission, in part as the absolutely revealed

word of God and because it has been consistently transmitted by centuries of Muslims

who could not have conceivably conspired in the distortion of the text.9 The lzadïth

literature, on the other hand, generally includes instances of weak and sound reports. In

arder for a lzadïth to be deemed as an authentic and credible source, all of the report's

7 Namely, the initial disputed format of how the Rightly-Guided caliphs were chosen from among the prophet Mul)ammad's family and supporters, but also the sectarian differences that emerged between the initial Medinan community, the Shï'ïtes and Khârijites. 8 Wael B. Hallaq, The Origins and Evolution of [slamic Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005),47. 9 Ibid, 135.

Il

transmitters must be trustworthy and must have met the next link in the chain of

transmission. 10

As the meaning of sunna can additionaIly be applied to extra-Prophetie sources,

as the leadership of the early Muslim community changed hands and scholastic

institutions developed, the 'ulamii also turned to the sunna of the Rightly-Guided caliphs,

the Prophet Mul)ammad's family, as weIl as his trusted companions for sources of

guidance to answer the needs of the transforming community. To a large extent, these

scholars provided answers for and covered the legal aspect of every possible human need,

from social interaction between the sexes to ritual acts of devotion that had not been

explicitly outlined within the traditional sources of the Qur'an and sunna. This

intellectual activity not only addressed the changing cultural context of the Muslim

community, but also culminated in the formation of the Sharï'ah or the sacred, religious

legal guide for Muslims. Il Despite the fact that interpretations varied, because they were

drawn from the same authentic sources, they were accepted as normative Islamic

standards.

This determination to outline a social reality and religio-ethical guideline for

society, derived from the sentiments mentioned in 3: 110 of the Qur'an, is in part re1ated

to Religion's potential to nominize or socialize. Standards of ethics and morals, and

societal or religious norms have the capacity to construct a stable and interactive

guideline for living one's life, and may shield one from the unknown, the abnormal, and

exclusion from the community. Islam differentiated itse1f through the use of Arabie as a

standard in the religious text, and by developing specifie cultural practices, such as flijiib

10 Hallaq, Origins, 135. Il Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974), 73.

12

or veiling, clrcumclslon, amcomc approaches to art and architecture and forrnulaic

expressions and greetings identifiable only to Muslims. 12 This did two things for the

early Islamic community: it initiated the construction of culture from beneath the

umbrella of Islam, and promoted the tools necessary to distinguish participants as

belonging to the Muslim ummah. 13 That which is perceived as "foreign," "other," or that

which teaches contrary norms to the standard socially constructed reality, constitutes

anomy; 14 a threat to the standard, accepted order.

It is mentioned throughout the Qur'an, that divine rejection 15 and, by extension,

exclusion from the community, may be assured through the act of shirk, meaning the

association of partners with God, and outright disbelief in the message of Islam, or kufr.

These two categories represent spaces where action or belief within them, may be

translated into anomy against the Islamic standard of action and belief. Early scholars

were watchful for occurrences that were perceived as threats to acceptable religious

boundaries. Particular attention was paid to those who were perceived as teaching

against the "authentic" Islamic religious and ethical standards. These activities

threatened the stability of the community from within, and therefore, had the potential of

moving contrary to the revelation and divine rules of conduct, spiritual or otherwise.

12 e.g.: The Arabie greeting of, as-salamu 'alaikum, "peace be upon you," and the formulaic response, wa 'alaikum as-salam, "and peace upon you", is specifie to Islam - having explicit use in the Qur'an and the sunna as an acceptable and recognizable greeting between adherents. However, it is also acknowledged that greetings of peace exist in the majority of the worId's faiths, and modem Arab speakers, as weIl as non-MusIims, use the phrase outside of any religious context or connotation. Furthermore, it is interesting to note the polemical beginnings of this saying, with dissidents and opponents of Musli ms within the early community using the similar phrase, As-samu 'alaikum, "death be to you," and in the se cases the recorded response of, wa 'alaikum, "and upon you." See Bukhari, Vol. 8, 73.53. n Hodgson, Venture, 73. 14 Peter L. Berger, The Sacred Canopy (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1967),4. 15 It should be noted, that although the potential for divine rejection exists in Islam, the most common appellation and concept of God in the Qur'an, is as the "Most-Forgiving" and the "Most-Compassionate." See al-Qur' an, 39:53-61, which illustrates in the same passage how God will unconditionally forgive transgressors who believe and tum to worship, while divine rejection is guaranteed to those who reject the "signs" of God and who disbelieve, despite being forewamed.

13

However, it must be mentioned that recognizable boundaries within the

developing Muslim community were not necessarily mutually exclusive. As Islam

encountered different faiths, cultures, geographical regions, and itself divided into

various groups, sects, and interpretations, it was common for individuals to share and

participate in a variety of developing spheres, such as poetry and storytelling, legal

interpretation, philosophy, theology and mysticism. 16 For converts as weIl, it was

common for Arabs and non-Arabs to continue participating in cultural practices that were

found to be compatible with Islam. Moreover, it was acceptable for individuals to belong

to several identifiable, and even at times, opposing groups: such as an individual who

followed the Malikï legal school, dabbled in Mu'tazilite philosophy, and who also

followed mystical ~ufi teachings. Accordingly, individuals who were dedicated to

defining the conditions of membership within a specific community, intellectual sphere

or interpretation of Islam, would utilize these developments and influences as sources for

scrutiny to determine what actions wereconsidered righteous or transgressive of the

norm, and with deterrnining what actions led to exclusion from the community.

These developments have given historians and scholars access to general trends

within the history of Islam. They have the potential to illustrate how conditions for

membership were forrnulated, and how political, religious, or social factors influenced

the acceptance of certain members to the exclusion of others. Variances found within the

early community, based either on ethnicity, culture, norms of socialization, or the

interpretation of Islamic sacred texts, meant that the creation of authoritative positions on

membership generated points of creative tension and dialogue between these

communities. Moreover, this specifie intellectual and theological activity created

16 Hodgson, Venture, 85.

14

boundaries and norms as it reacted to developments that challenged the norm, and

defined absolutely what it meant to belong to the community of Muslims and to the faith

of Islam. Through the perception that these developments transgressed acceptable norms

resulted in the firm definition of religious boundaries. The impact that this activity had

on the formulation of religious law, as a source for providing theological norms, becomes

c1early highlighted when one examines the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy in Islam.

The Concept of Orthodoxy

A discussion of orthodoxy in Islam is complex as the term itself limits definition

to an absolute and statie religious norm and has roots in Judeo/Christian moral traditions

related to authoritative "right doctrine" or dogma. Sorne scholars of Islamic Studies

conventionally differentiate between the "genuine" Islam from the diverse forms that

emerged historically, by applying the term "orthodoxy" to the form of Islam that accepts

the religious law of the Sharï'ah. 17 AlI other Islamic communities who do not hold the

religious law as central to their religious world-view, are described as "deviations,"

"liberal," or are counted among the "sects" of Islam. Breaking from this trend, Marshall

Hodgson reserves the term "orthodoxy" for cases where a position is firmly established,

either officially or socially, and employs the term, "Sharï'ah-mindedness" for the

association of those who follow or had a hand in developing this sacred law. 18 Wilfred

Cantwell Smith proposes the term "orthopraxy" in response to the observation that

Muslims "have differed amongst themselves not on matters of theology so much as on

17 Hodgson, Venture, 350. 18 Ibid, 351.

15

questions of practice.,,19 For Smith, the Islamic faith finds expression in ritual practices

that follow an accepted moral code.20 Following Smith, Frederick Mathewson Denny

also employs "orthopraxy" in discussing the best term to use when characterizing the

sense of "right" religion in Islam.21 For Denny, the call for Muslims to have faith, ïmiin,

and to surrender to the will of God, and thereafter expressing both faith and the surrender

as designated acts of worship and a specific ordering of life, suggests that Islam is more

concerned with "right practice" and less concerned about dogma. 22

It appears that when scholars have looked at the intellectual and social history of

Islam, the traditional approach employed presupposes a two-fold opposition between an

absolute, homogeneous, and identifiable "orthodoxy" and a "heresy:.23 These

presuppositions assume a category of Orthodoxy based either upon religious, military or

political domination, or cultural superiority. In turn, each rationale is defined in absolute

opposition against a "heresy" or an "other." Furthermore, these categories form the

central precepts by which most historical investigation is conducted. Moreover, historical

reconstruction is supported by the speculation that these defined boundaries have a

crucial role to play in Islamic intellectual and social development. Examples inc1ude

exploring historical data from the assumption of an absolute Sunnï and Shï'ï split,

considering two separate and opposing homogeneous groups; Arab cultural and linguistic

domination versus non-Arab cultural influence, or the argument of non-Arab, foreign

19 WiIfred C. Smith, Islam and Modern History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957), 20. 20 Ibid; also, Wilfred C. Smith, The Meaning and End of Religion (New York: Macmillan Company, 1962), 178-179. 21 F. M. Denny, An Introduction to Islam (Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada, 1994), 113. 22 Ibid. 23 Alexander Knysh, "'Orthodoxy' and 'Heresy' in Medieval Islam: An Essay in Reassessment" Muslim World, 83.1 (Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1993),48.

16

contamination of Islam; and perhaps most common, the preconception of Islam as an

inferior, tribal Arab civilisation, as compared to a superior, Western Greek heritage.

For this group of scholars the development of Muslim societies is frequently seen

as a clash between the 1ettered, scripturalist religious tradition, defined as those

concerned with the source fundamentals of the Qur'an, Sunna, and Sharï'ah, and the

"popular" religious tradition, defined as a deviation from the norm, an abomination, or

"heterodox.,,24 For example, sympathetic to both the development and activities of

Islamic mystics and philosophers, Fazlur Rahman relies on this bifurcation as a source of

historical inquiry for his discussion on the development of ~ufism. When the dominant

Ash'arite SunnI theological school "cru shed" the Greek-inspired, rational-philosophical

metaphysics of the falsafa in the seventh/twelfth century, philosophy took refuge in "a

Shl'l intellectual-spiritual milieu ... transformed into intellectual ~ufism." He continues

this thought by stating that it was no wonder the "most creative minds gravitated into the

.sufi fold," particularly in light of the "barrenness of 'official' Islam.,,25 In a similar vein,

Nikki Keddie argues that "traditionalists" merged themselves with the legal scholars,

jurists, and were aligned with powerful secular governments in an effort to develop

theology as a "defence against heretical doctrines," and to "promo te orthodoxy,

acceptance of authority ... and social peace.,,26

These dichotomous approaches to historical inquiry, and the use of descriptive

narratives, such as "orthodox," "dominant," "traditionalist," or "official," can become

confusing and problematic when applied to medieval history and for contemporary

24 Knysh, "Orthodoxy and Heresy," 48. 25 Fazlur Rahman, Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982),3; 27. 26 Nikki R. Keddie, Scholars, Saints and Sufis: Muslim Religious Institutions Since 1500 (Berkeley: University of Califomia Press, 1972),2-3.

l7

historical inquiry. For example, Keddie's marking of an official Islamic trend

specifically aligned with schools of law during the development of theology is especially

problematic prior to the seventhltwelfth century, as at that time the Sharï'ah did not yet

exist in its mature form. 27 More specifically, the legal schools as cohesive institutions

were still developing and even when institutionalised, were just as diverse in opinion and

practice. As stated previously, within both the formative period of Islamic development

and even today, it is difficult to find a definitive homogeneous or even static Islamic

community. The syncretism of intra- and inter-religious and cultural dialogue, politics,

economics and geography have aIl affected the development of groups who identify as

being Muslim.

In this regard, it is also worth mentioning the scholars who have sought to avoid

applying Eurocentric or contextually Judaeo-Christian lenses upon the development of

Islamic consciousness.28 For ex ample, Ignaz Goldziher explores the fact that

"orthodoxy" as authority exists within Christianity, and is represented through the

institutions of theological councils and synods.29 He argues that in Islam, there is no

exegesis exclusively sanctioned by the Qur'an and hadïth literature upon which either

doctrinal method or the foundation of an Islamic "Church" rests. It is in consensus where

authority lies, and this in itself is difficult to specify and is diversely defined?O

Based upon a similar line of reasoning, Julian Baldick notes that there IS no

central authority in Islam to determine what an "orthodox" dogma would be, and

27 Hodgson, Venture, 350. 28 Knysh, "Orthodoxy and Heresy," 48. 29 In the same vein, George Makdisi states that the term "orthodoxy" itself, " ... implies the existence of an absolute norm as weil as an authority which has the power to excommunicate those whose doctrines are found to be false or heretical. Such an authority exists in Christianity, in its councils and synods. Il does not exist in Islam." Makdisi, "Hanbalite Islam," Studies on Islam (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981),251. 30 Ibid, 251-252.

18

specifically that, "the power to condemn someone as an unbeliever belongs to any

qualified jurist,,,31 not, as implied by Fazlur Rahman, from a sole authority. Montgomery

Watt explores the historical context of the term "orthodoxy" within Eastern Christendom,

stating that it applies specifically to designated authoritative bodies invested with the dut y

to define what was "orthodoxy," or "right be1ief' and what was "heresy.,,32 He further

notes that since there is no such authority in Islam, it is best to avoid the use of

"orthodoxy" in Islamic Studies, and instead investigate the existence of a "central body of

d .. ,,33 mo erate OpInIOn. --

Regard1ess of the efforts of scholars to move away from such terminology, it is

sometimes unavoidable to use the terms "orthodox" or "heterodox," particularly when the

historical persecution of sectarian groups is often cited as pro of that there was an

authentic religious position upheld by a majorÏty.34 One may wonder how to avoid the

application of "orthodox" whi1e continuing to explore the creative tensions between

various groups, or how to approach the theological works that were aiming to develop an

Islamic theology from the most "perfected" interpretation.

It should be noted that the enthusiastic efforts of various early Muslim scholars

that went into producing works dedicated to outlining Islam as the ultimate truth, and

setting guidelines for Muslims that would lead to success in this life and in the afterlife,

should not be only categorized as sources of Islamic "orthodoxy," but perhaps recognised

as competing theologies. The assumption of an "orthodoxy" in Islam supposes the

:11 Julian Baldick, Mystical Islam: An Introduction to Sufism (New York: New York University Press, 1989), 7. Baldick even goes so far to say that, "since there is no orthodoxy there can be no heresy." 32 W. M. Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), 19. 33 Ibid, 19. 34 "There is hardly a scho1arly work dealing with Islamic subjects that does not emphasize dramatic c1eavages between the "orthodox" and the "heterodox", between the "genuine" religious tradition and its "corrupted surrogate." Knysh, "Orthodoxy and Heresy," 49.

19

dominance of one group to the exclusion or persecution of aIl others. However, the

position that there is no absolute "orthodoxy" in Islam also presupposes that such an

emergence could only be established and sustained by an institution that was backed by a

formai authority.35 Indeed, many groups throughout the history of Islam have enjoyed

prominence and suc cess with the formai support of a caliph. Sorne, however, have grown

and developed through the support of mercenary armies, or through sheer numbers and

popular or cultural and socio-religious support. This suggests that the only power needed

to establish and sustain any 'orthodoxy' or theology is authority - formai or informa1.36

It is not uncommon for Muslim scholars and lay-people to develop a kind of

"checks and balance" system for the second sentiment found in 3: 110 of the Qur' an,

"enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong." Approaching others to correct error is

understood as an incumbent dut y, as seen by the oft-quoted lJadïth:

It is related that the grandsons of the Prophet, Imams al-Hasan and al­Hussein, once noticed an old man performing the ritual ablution incorrectly. They avoided stating this to him directly; hence, they agreed on making him the arbiter who should rule of the most accurate ablution between them. As the y performed the ablution before him, the old man said, "Sirs! You both have performed the very accurate ablution, but it seems that the old man can mas ter nothing. He now declares his repentance out of your blessing and mercy to the members of your grandfather's community.,,37

The dut Y for one to enjoin the good and forbid the wrong has its roots in the Qur'an itself,

especially in 103:1-3 which states, "By [the Token of] Time [through the ages], Verily

Man is in loss, Except those who have Faith, do righteous deeds, and Uoin together] in

the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy." This suggests that

35 Sherman A. Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abii Ifamid Al-Ghazalï's Fay.sal al-Tafriqa Bayna al-Islam wa al-Zandaqa (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 30. 36 Ibid. 37 Narrated by 'Uyoun ul-Mahasin, from Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 10 (Lubnan: Mu'assasat al-Wafii', 1983),89.

20

humanity is perpetually in a state of spiritual loss, except for those who join together in

the promotion of the "Good" and the "Truth.,,38 Accordingly, it is argued that this

position permits every Muslim to be invested with divine "executive power." Moreover,

the individual believer has the dut y to "issue orders pursuant to God' s law" and to

enforce them.39 Naturally, this dut y has the potential for interesting developments when

persons from different groups claim to have the correct method of religious practice and

idea of the "Good." The emphasis on a self-monitoring community suggests that the

threat of stigma, malicious gossip, ostracism or verbal attack, for improper behaviour or

incorrect thinking by respected members of the community can be far more effective and

damaging than the threat of formaI exclusion or "excommunication.,,40 Therefore the

definition of Orthodoxy or a dominant theology in Islam cannot be limited to the power

wielded by sources of formaI authority, such as within a Caliphate or the consensus of

jurists or the Imamate. Rather, individuals such as scholars, historians, philosophers, and

legalists were also invested with the authority to speak to the verification of "right" as

opposed to "wrong" belief and action. However, the power that these informaI sources of

authority had within communities outside of their own sphere of influence, would

possibly be reliant upon more formaI sources of authority, and their ability to be accepted

and supported by the people at large. Thus, whereas informaI authority would affect

power within its own sphere, an authority supported by an institution could have a wider

range of influence. It is however arguable that even within the range of influence of an

38 See Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'iin: Text, Translation and Commentary (New York: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'lin, 1988), 783, n. 6265 "If he Iived only for himself, he would not fulfil his whole duty. Whatever good he has, especially in moral and spiritual life, he must spread among his brethren ... " The lesson from this verse, being that through the mutual sharing of the "Good", ail may learn and attain internai, spiritual peace, and come together to form a bulwark against external stresses or threats. 39 Cook, Commanding Right, 9. 40 Jackson, On the Boundaries ofTheological Tolerance in Islam, 30.

21

authority supported by an institution, such as a caliphate, one would also find pockets of

informaI authority that had the power to inform people irrespective of the power held by

the formaI authority. Hence, sources for informaI authority could also be seen as a threat,

not only to the development of Islamic religious boundaries, but more so, to the authority

of the State. Accordingly, a creed, theological doctrine, or intellectual developments are

more likely to obtain the sanction of those who are instilled with, or have assumed the

right of, authority. AlI other positions which transgress boundaries, either religious or

1·· 1 . d d 'h ' 41 po ltIca , are JU ge as eresy.

Definition of Heresy

There are many terms that are used to refer to heresy as anomy, by both

academics and Muslim theologians. Arguably the mildest transgressive act, translated as

heresy, is innovation or bid 'a. Innovations that are instated or that develop naturally

through the vehic1e of culture have the potential to threaten a community' s notion of

religious acceptance, or be a danger to the standard of religious norms. For sorne

religious traditions, change is encouraged and we1comed - in others, change can be

frightening or may be threatening.

In the Islamic tradition, the severity of innovation can be illustrated by a report of

a sermon given by the Prophet MUQammad, in which he stated, "The best of speech is

embodied in the Book of Allah ... and the most evil affairs are their innovations; and every

innovation is error.,,42 In the extreme, bid 'a means the rejection of every idea and

amenity not known of or used by the Prophet Mul).ammad and his Companions at the

41 Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam, 3. 42 See Muslim, Book 4.1885. Also, Book 7.2883; Book 30.5686.

22

inception of Islam.43 The notion of innovation in Islam however, is not necessarily a

negative development, as seen in the creation of the additional communal prayers of

Tarawllz, held after the final evening prayer during the month of Ramadan. This

innovation introduced by the Caliph 'Umar,44 is today held as a normative practice

among the majority of Sunnï communities. The dividing line between accepted practices

and innovation may vary over time and place. Indeed, Muslim scholars such as lamaI

Badawi argue that the Islamic framework allows for innovations to occur freely, as long

as the y do not go against the basic tenants of Islam. This gives reason to how Muslim

practitioners can be from a myriad of cultures and not find any conflict with Islam.45 It is

only when bid 'a is excessive and aggressive that its followers are placed beyond the

boundary of the community.46

Two additional terms are also viewed or translated as acts of heresy. As

previously discussed, both shirk and kufr are mentioned in the Qur'an as potential

guarantees of divine rejection and possible exclusion from the Muslim community.

However, things become more complicated when considering that scholars have defined

both terms in relation to a number of categories, which in turn, are sub-designated as

either major or minor transgressions. Shirk, the ascribing of partners with God, is defined

on the grounds that it runs contrary to the fundamental Islamic principle of tawlzld, or the

"oneness" of God. Major shirk, ash-shirk al-akbar, is the act of directly associating

43 Bernard Lewis, "The Significance of Heresy in Islam," Islam in History (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, 1993), 283. 44 During the early career of the Caliph 'Umar, during the month of Ramaqan, he once found groups of people at the mosque praying voluntarily, but in separate groups. He ordered them to ail pray behind one prayer leader, and upon seeing the additional communal prayers occurring the next evening, he remarked, "What an excellent bid 'a this is." See Bukhari, Vol 3, 32.227. 45 lamaI Badawi, "Islam and Culture" (sermon preached at the Shatner Building, McGiIl University in Montréal on October 3,2003). 46 Lewis, "The Significance of Heresy in Islam," 284.

23

partners with God, such as idolatry. One who brags and performs the ritual prayer to

suggest to others that she is superior in piety, is engaging in minor shirk, ash-shirk al-

a.sghar. Naturally for the major forms of shirk, one's exclusion or inclusion from the

community would be based upon the severity of the transgression, while minor shirk

would be a matter strictly taken up between the believer and God, and is not a guarantee

of exclusion from the community.47 Despite the various categories, shirk IS

straightforward as a transgression of action, while kufr remains more vague, as it IS

gauged by one' s level of belief or unbelief.48

In juristic language, kufr signifies the rejection of God and all of the prophets of

Islam, and labels the transgressor as "unbeliever." It is also divided between the

categories of major and minor, and may be used to den ote transgressions that just fall

short of actual denia1.49 For example, sodomy with one's wife, the killing of a Muslim by

a Muslim, or seeking knowledge from fortune-tellers are illustrations of kufr, 50 as a

"believing Muslim" would never commit these errors. Kufr has the potential to lead one

to riç1çlah, apostasy, as does bid 'a, or innovation.51 What is interesting about these

categories is the level of potential involvement by the transgressor. A pers on may

commit a minor kufr by consulting a fortune-teller on the state of her future finances, but

this may not be grounds for absolute exclusion from the community. On the other hand,

47 See al-Qur'ân, 3:64; 3:151; 4:48; 22:31; especially 42:21, which discusses shirk further in terms of believing in false gods that have made permissible, what Islam made illicit. 48 See al-Qur'ân, 2:217; 3:90-91; 9:17; 49:7; especially 109:1-6; The term also means, "to co ver," as in a person "covering" their hearts from "the truth" i.e.: revelation. Additionally, it is associated with the act of "covering" such as a farmer covering seeds with fresh soil, as suggested in al-Qur'ân 57:20; Watt notes the difficulty in defining kufr. "It is that which characterizes non-Muslims or rather opponents of the Islamic community, and also that which changes a Muslim into an opponent of the community. Any article of belief or any activity which was felt to indicate that a man had broken away from the Islamic community would be an instance of kufr." See Watt, "Conditions," 200. 49 Yusuf al-QaradâwÏ, Islamic Awakening Between Rejection and Extremism (Virginia: American Trust Publication, 1991), 65 - 66. 50 Ibid, 66. 51 Ibid.

24

a person teaching that fortune-tell ers are superior to divine knowledge or revelation, may

be seen as going beyond the limits of the community. However, this is dependent upon

how broad or narrow the criteria are for determining the norms for the community, and

how objectively they are applied.52

A narrow example of this is seen in the conditions of membership introduced by

the Kharijites in the firstlseventh century. They asserted that one who had committed a

grave sin, such as kufr, shirk, or murder, was exc1uded from the community outright.53

While a more broad ex ample is given by AI-Ghâzan, who defines kufr as "to deem

anything the Prophet brought to be a lie," but further qualifies this by re1ating that the

"deeming" be in connection with one of the principle foundations of Islam, namely: the

existence and oneness of God; the Prophethood of Mul).ammad; and the reality of a day of

judgement. 54 Additionally, he warns against the arbitrary labelling of people as

'unbelievers', calling it misguidance, and he further argues that no one community has

the authority to lay daim to 'truth':

If he claims that the definition of 'Unbelief' is that which contradicts the Ash'arite school, or the Mu'tazilite school.. .or any other school, then know that he is a gullible, dim-witted fellow who is stifled by his enslavement to blind following ... Why should one of these parties enjoy a monopoly over the truth to the exclusion of the other?55

Logically, it would seem that outright disbelief in the fundamentals of the religion

would lead one to simply leave Islam on their own accord. However, recognising kufr as

an absolute rejection of Islam and likening the act of unbelief to apostasy, riddah,

compounds the situation, especially if the charge is based on polemics. Joel Kraemer

52 Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam, 3. 53 Watt, "Conditions," 197. 54 Jackson, On the Boundaries ofTheological Tolerance in Islam, 92; 46-47. 55 Ibid, 88-89.

25

argues that in the early formation of Islam, apostasy was seen as a political act of

abandoning the Muslim community.56 Given that the Prophet MUQammad brought his

message and challenged the Meccans over points of mIe and religion, naturally, one

leaving the Muslim community would be making an instant change of political alliance.

Although riddah can be associated with heresy, it differs in a significant way. Apostasy

is the open rejection of belief, while heresy is the promotion of ideals or actions that go

beyond the accepted religious norm.

Zandaqa

Zandaqa is the term most often used to refer to heresy, while zindlq is the heretic,

and zaniidiqa is the plural, referring to groups of heretics. The term itself is not found in

the Qur'an, however in his Fay~al al-Tafriqa Bayn al-Islam wa al-Zandaqa, AI-Ghazalï

relates two versions of a popular ~adlth, and one version mentions the term zandaqa

directly. The popular ~adlth in mention quotes the Prophet MUQammad as saying, "My

community will divide into seventy-odd sects, only one of which will be saved.,,57 The

other two ~adlth are notably different. The first is quoted as, H ••• only one of them will

perish" and the second as, H ••• aIl of them are in Paradise except the al-zanadiqa.,,58 For

al-Ghazalï, zanadiqa were heretics who hid their disbelief in and opposition to the

Prophet MUQammad by hiding behind figurative interpretation, or ta 'wll. These so-called

heretics submitted interpretations of the Qur' an that compromised the literaI meaning of

56 Joel L. Kraemer, "Apostates, Rebels and Brigands," Israel Oriental Studies X (Tel Aviv: University Publishing Projects, 1980), 38. 57 Emphasis mine. Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam, 125; See also, Abu Dawud, Book 40.4579. 58 Jackson, On the Boundaries ofTheological Tolerance in Islam, 127.

26

the fundamental tenets of faith. 59 For al-Ghiizalï, the main problem was that they sought

to disguise their rejection of the Prophet through figurative interpretation.60 Essentially

one who engages in zandaqa disguises her disbelief while continuing to profess belief in

Islam.

This religious legal definition of heresy appears prior to al-Ghazalï's usage, and is

found in Miilik's Muwa!!a' under the heading devoted to apostasy. According to the

Muwa!!a', apostasy refers to people who leave Islam for something el se, generally

another religion, and includes heretics and "those whom [their heresy] is known.,,61 It

specifically outlines that a zindïq is one who conceals their disbelief, while publicly

proclaiming Islam, and it is on this basis that their repentance should not be accepted and

the death penalty be upheld. Determining the sincerity of their intention to repent would

be tainted by their prior action of concealment.62 However, if one leaves Islam publicly

for something else and repents, their repentance is accepted and re-conversion is granted

in lieu of the death penalty.63 Outside of the legal definition of the term, scholars link the

usage of the word to an Arabized form of the Pahlavï term, zandig, which means, "one

who distorts exegesis.,,64

It interesting to note that the Arabie term zaniidiqa was first used to designate

followers of Manichean dualism, but later took on a more generic connotation of

"heretic" to refer to people whom accusers saw as having stepped outside the boundaries

of Islam. In its original context, zaniidiqa characterized Manicheans as followers of

59 Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam, 55. 60 Ibid, 56. 61 A. A. Bewley, al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas (New York: Kegan Paul International, 1989),303-304. 62 Ibid, 304. 63 Ibid. 64 Jackson, On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam, 56.

27

Gnostic spirituality, who upheld belief in the existence of two equal, but opposing divine

powers, and who's pietistic and ascetic outIook rejected the material world for entrance

into an elite realm of "truth" and "spirit.,,65 The movement developed during the third

Gregorian century and had never received the protection afforded to the more established

religious traditions, and as such, throughout the Roman and Sasanian66 empires, its

followers had found persecution under both Christian and Mazdean rulers.67

It is argued that this attitude was continued under Muslim leadership, primarily

based upon the Islamic rejection of dualism, the refusaI to ascribe any partners with God,

and its severe insistence on monotheism and the absolute oneness of God. As the

'ulama' refused to admit that the tradition's founder ManI, was one of the "true

prophets,,,68 followers of the Manichean faith were therefore differentiated from those of

the "people of the book" or those with protected status. The status of dhimmï, afforded

certain religious groups "official" recognition as tolerated, non-Islamic religions and

were given the right of protected status under Islamic rule. Traditionally, these groups

have included the other Abrahamic faiths of Judaism and Christianity, but have also been

expanded to include Mandeanism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. Essentially, the

designation included religions that were seen as being in line with the prophetic

inheritance of Islam, which was not recognized in ManI or in the religion of

Manicheanism. During the reign of the third 'Abbasid caliph Mul}ammad ibn Man~ür al-

MahdI (r. 158/775 - 168/785) there was a rigorous persecution of the Manicheans, which

65 Hodgson, Venture, 290. 66 The second Persian Empire (410 B.H./226 - 30/651). 67 Hodgson, Venture, 289. 68 Ibid, 290.

28

eventually led to the persecution and accusations of heresy against those who became

classified as "Muslim Manicheans" or zaniidiqa.

The established intellectual centres found within the Byzantine, Sasanian and

Persian Empires became platforms for Islamic intellectualism through the political

climate and theology that developed under the' Abbasids. The' Abbasids came to power

in 132/750, and as the empire saw itself growing, encountering and incorporating new

cultures and directorial structures, people of diverse backgrounds, religious and political

influences entered a range of court positions and intellectual spheres. Eventually, the

barri ers separating the various cultural regions fell beneath Islamic political rule.69

Cultural unification was thus achieved by way of a common government. The centers of

learning within the newly constructed Islamic empire were united politically and

administratively, and therefore the new political situation enabled an intellectual culture

based on multiculturalism.7o

With the transfer of the seat of the caliphate to 'Iraq, the region's cultural

orientation developed into a demographic made up of Aramaic-speakers, Christians, and

Jews who formed the majority of the "sett1ed" population; Persian-speakers concentrated

in the cities; Arab Christian and Arab Muslim nomads and traders; and Arab Muslims

rulers within the capital.71 The 'Abbasids therefore relied on the local Persian, Christian

Arab, and Aramean populations for their administration positions, and this resulted in the

inclusion of population-specifie culture within Islamic tradition. For example, Syriac and

PahlavI, along with Arabie, continued to be major vehic1es of high culture. Inclusion of

the Hellenistic intellectual tradition into Islamic intellectual developments was promoted

69 Hodgson, Venture, 235. 70 Dimitri Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabie Culture (New York: Routledge, 1998), 15; 19. 71 Ibid, 19.

29

by the translation of Greek scholarly texts into Syriac as weIl as into Arabic.72 The peak

of this translation movement saw the expansion of Gondeshapur, the great centre of

Greek Byzantine learning, and the Bayt al-lfikma, the "Hou se of Wisdom," a scientific

institution founded in Baghdad. It is interesting to note, that at the height of this

intellectual pursuit in philosophy and science, came the transmission of both Hellenistic

and Persian elements into Islamic thought - and involved exposing Muslims to

Manicheanism.73

The translation movement was not a simple transfer from one source to a target

language, but included a cultural transfer that not only was transformed by the lens of the

translator, but also by the new Islamic context. The same can be said for the adoption

and not assimilation of the administrative systems the 'Abbasids encountered. The

relocation of the caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad resulted in a transfer of

administrative logistics into the hands of the secretary, or civil servant class, that existed

in Iraq before the advent ofIslam, thus the 'Abbasids' administrative framework retained

much of the governing techniques used under the Sasanians. 74 It is argued that this

secretary group was comprised of Christians and Zoroastrians who were the bearers of

Hellenistic and Persian culture, and when they saw most of the prestigious posts being

assigned to Muslim civil servants, many accepted Islam outwardly.75

72 Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabie Culture, 19. 73 Majid Fakhry remarks, " ... the most profound Persian influence stemmed from the religious doctrines of Manicheanism, which had an all-pervasive influence on poets, philosophers, and politicians, incIuding sorne Caliphs." Fakhry, Islamie Philosophy, Theology and Mystieism (Boston, Oneworld, 2000), 10. 74 Watt, Islamie Phi/osophy and The%gy, 33. 75 Ibid.

30

The translation movement from Greek into Pahlavï under the Sasanians, and then

from Pahlavï into Arabic under the' Abbasids is significant, in that the initial translation

may have been motivated by a Zoroastrian imperial ideology that saw aIl learning as

being derived from the Zoroastrian scriptures of the A vesta, and that this ideology may

have been maintained when the carriers of this intellectual pursuit converted to Islam.76

Under the 'Abbasids, sorne translations of Pahlavï literary and historical sources

addressing Arabized Persians and Persianized Arabs were sponsored by Persian groups

who held a social and ideological agenda, to return to the Sasanian past.77 Scholars have

also argued that the spiritual world view of the Manicheanism appealed to the Muslim

intellectuais and courtiers who found peace in the ascetic and pietistic attitudes and not in

the opulence of the court or in the legalism of the 'ulama,.78 It is at this point, where we

find accusations of Manicheanism or zandaqa being apply to Muslim authors and

scholars, seemingly by way of further interpretation of the legal definition outlined

previously.

Sources mention that those accused of zandaqa, via Manicheanism, inc1ude the

Baghdadi poet Bashshar Ibn Burd (d. 166/783); the early thinker and polemicist Abü 'Isa

al-Warraq (d. 296/909); the Persian translator and author Ibn al-Muqaffa' (d. 142/760);

and the Umayyad caliph Marwan II (r. 126/744 - 132/750).79 The reasons are not often

c1ear as to why certain individuals were charged in this manner. In part, it is related to

the theological development of kufr, in that many 'ulama' saw the outward profession of

76 Gutas, Greek Thought, Arabie Culture, 25. 77 Ibid, 27. 78 Hodgson, Venture, 291. 79 Fakhry, lslamie Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism, 10.

31

Islam and the adoption of Manichean attitudes as a conflict of interest for belief in the

religious tenants of Islam.

Later accusations however, reflect different criteria. For example, Ibn al-

Muqaffa'(d. ca. 141/759) expressed a dislike of the dominant Islamic and Arab

tradition,80 and illustrated his dissent by adopting a position that may be labelled

heretical. Regarded as one of the originators of Arabic prose through his Persian

translations, he best is known for Kalïla wa Dimna, a collection of Indian fables and that

his list of works includes a tract attacking the Qur'an. 81 Philosopher Ibn al-Rawandi (d.

289/911) argued that the concepts of Prophethood and the miraculous nature of revelation

were irrational, based in part on the notion that both were rooted in and developed from a

notion of Arab linguistic and cultural superiority, to the exclusion of aIl others.82 Both

authors were eventuallY labelled with the charge of zandaqa. To sorne extent this was

based on suspicions of their philosophical atheism and irreconcilable theological

interpretations, but may have also been based on a trend within the community of civil

servants, to employ Manicheanism as a useful way of expressing their unique culture and

'd . 8:1 1 entIty .. One the ory supports the idea that Persians engaged in a religious and

"nationalist" stmggle against Arab mIe, and to sorne extent, against Islam as an Arab

80 Aeeording to Watt See Watt, "Conditions," 34. 81 Ibid. 82 See Fakhry, Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism, 34 -35. Ibn al-Râwandi suggests that it is impossible in reason, "that one Arab tribe (i.e.: Quraysh) should excel ail other tribes in eloquence, that a group of this tribe should be more eloquent than ail the rest and that finally one member of that group (i.e. Mu~ammad) should surpass ail the others in eloquence. However, even if we grant that he exeeeds ail the Arabs in eloquence, what eompelling force will this have where Persians (also: "foreigners") who do not understand the (Arabie) tongue are eoncemed, and what probative evidence ean he advance?" from Al­A' sam, Tiirikh Ibn al-Riwandi, p. 128, as quoted in Fakhry. 83 Watt, "Conditions," 34.

32

religion, by turning to themes and ideas found In ancient Persian religions including

Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism.84

The difference between labelling zanadiqa as adherents of Manicheanism, and the

labelling of Muslim secretaries who employed Manichean themes to promote Persian

culture, became more c1ear with official persecution from 162/779 - 169/786.

Persecutions of zanadiqa, defined as "dualistic heretics," were largely directed against

the secretary class, while members of traditional Manicheanism seem to have been

affected little.85 In response, sorne secretaries found a less overt way of expressing their

dissent, by developing a literary genre known as shu 'übiyya, a type of politically

motivated product aimed at deprecating Arab culture.86 Regardless, by the thirdlninth or

fourthltenth century, Manicheanism lost ground as a thriving religious tradition, and the

Arabic name associated with it, zandaqa, became applicable for aIl kinds of perceived

heresy and the original application was forgotten. 87

Beyond Manicheanism, we find zandaqa broadly employed to signify a multitude

of groups, from non-Muslim, to any group that was seen by an authority as being outside

the norm. For example, Goldziher notes that the Mu'tazilite belletrist al-JaQi~ (d.

255/868) described a specifie group of wandering monks, who did not belong to either

Christianity or Islam, as ruhban al-zanadiqa.88 Goldziher also suggests that scholastic

theologians regarded the "freethinking" Sufis as zanadiqa.89 Sarah Stroumsa, extends the

understanding of "freethinker," as an early-modern, European intellectual term, used to

84 Fakhry, Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism, 35. 85 Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, 34. 86 Ibid. 87 Hodgson, Venture, 29l. 88 W. M. Watt, A History of Islamic Spain (Edinburgh: University Press), 1965, 67; Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law (Princeton: University Press, 1981), 142. 89 Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, 155.

33

suggest independent thought outside of ecc1esiastic authority, to inc1ude rational and neo-

platonic Muslim philosophers.9o She notes that not only were aIl manner of heretic

loosely labelled zaniidiqa in the Early and Middle Ages, but that there is a trend in

modem Islamic scholarship to apply "freethinker" in a similarly general manner,

resulting in the indiscriminate labelling of the Mu'tazila, the faliisifa, and even various

Isma 'nI groups such as the ijashIshiyya, as "freethinkers.,,91

The discussion of and understanding of heresy within the development of Islam is

necessarily limited by social, political and historical context. Compounding this

understanding is determining the criteria for heresy, particularly in light of academic

inquiries that form the basis of these criteria through a specifie lens. A further difficulty

lies in determining what group or person holds a monopoly on the formation of power,

authority and truth, particularly where competing theologies appeal toward the same ideal

of truth. A general question raised by these concems, asks what types of power are

capable of producing discourses of truth and inducting this truth into the normative

understanding of religion? The discussion of heresy enables us to highlight the

discourses that emerge from the interplay between sources for authority and movements

that challenged the limit of religious ethics and norms.

90 Sarah Stroumsa, Freethinkers of Medieval Islam (Boston: Brill, 1999),5; 7. 91 Ibid, 7.

34

Heresyas Transgression

The continuaI historical interplay between the definition of "right" and

"deviating" actions and beliefs has resulted in an amazing output of human activity,

where the religious norm is constantly redefined in light of changing socio-political and

cultural contexts. To illustrate this, Foucault posits that human creativity begins from

limitation and the definition of societallines, and recognizes, "there is not a single culture

in the world where everything is permitted ... humanity does not start out from freedom

but from limitation and the line not to be crossed.,,92 How the world or society is

constructed is related to the meaning society gives itself. A tree may be signified by the

English term tree, and bec orne objectified by the act of identifying it and placing a limit

on it. The tree is recognised by specifie signifiers, su ch as branches, a trunk, a root

system and leaves. Other categories are created from the initial limit, differentiating a

tree from a shrub or a bush, or even a plastic model of a tree or a visual representation of

a tree through a painting. In the same way, scholars have defined the limit of religion and

the boundary of Muslim communities, and determine absolutely what is Islamic and what

is not, taking a multitude of like categories into consideration. Thus, the boundaries of

the community are constructed from the idea of the limit, and actions that subvert the

norm, are identified as transgressive.

Foucault argues that transgression challenges the limit through an "esoteric

structuralism" - where the transgression articulates something else beneath it, but

presents itself within a form that is in accordance with societal norms as set out by the

92 M. Foucault, "Madness, the Absence of Work," Criticallnquiry Vol. 21.2 (Chicago: University Press, 1995),293.

35

limit.93 Therefore transgression has the capacity to subvert the dominant power structure

from within. Transgression challenges the normative ideology from the very position of

the limit, and therefore, is threatening based on its potential to alter what is accepted as a

norm - it is, "transgressive not in its meaning, not in its verbal property, but in its play.,,94

Transgression and limit are interrelated and regulate each other, as each position is

defined in relation to the other, and their discourse can be found within the space that is

created when these creative tensions meet. In this sense, esoteric writings, politically

suspect philosophies, and heresies that suggest alternatives to the standard norm are

transgressive, and are demarcated to the margins of acceptable society, because they

constitute a perceived threat. This subversion creates space where the transgression and

norm face each other from within the limit, and where discourses between power

structures take place.95 Therefore, subversion is necessary in the definition of the norm,

and locations where subversion takes place and enters into "play" denote spaces where

d· 96 power lscourses emerge.

The conception of a Muslim "orthodoxy," or in other words authority, that has

emerged as a result of the theological disputes over what is labelled "heretical" or

transgressive, can be seen as a product of the collective effort and creative tension

between thinkers of various religious, philosophical and political orientations.97 Heresy

is not necessarily transgressive in the teachings or ideas it projects. Outright blasphemy

may speak out against the religion, while heresy transgresses via "esoteric structuralism,"

91 Foucault, "Madness," 294 - 295. 94 Foucault, "Preface to Transgression," Language, Counter-memory, PraclÎce (New York: Comell University Press, 1977),33-34; Foucault, "Madness," 294. 95 Foucault, "Madness," 296. 96 Foucault, "Preface to Transgression," 35. 97 Knysh, "Orthodoxy and Heresy," 52.

36

whereby it maintains the essential elements or framework of the religion, and

transgresses a boundary from within. Interestingly, it appears that the medieval scholars

were more preoccupied with determining what constitutes "right" belief. One's actions

may not necessarily cause one to be expelled from the fold of Islam, however, one's

belief and its potential to influence others is the root of the discussion for religious legal

scholars.

ln the discussion of heresy as transgression, it is necessary to identify which

processes initially define the limit. In his discussion on the history of sexuality, Foucault

refers to an "apparatus of sexuality" as a tool within discourse. This apparatus is the

system of relations that can be established between institutions, architectural forms, laws,

administrative measures, philosophical, moral and philanthropie propositions, et cetera,

within the discourse of sexuality.98 The same may be applied to religion as a discourse.

If heresy is identified as a discursive tool, then within the apparatus of authority,

discourses between individuals, politics, legalism, or intellectualism may be identified.

"Thus a particular discourse can figure at one time as the programme of an institution,

and at another it can function as a means of justifying or masking a practice which itself

remains silent.,,99

Often time, approaches to the study of heresy in Islam have involved viewing the

said authority based on the assumption of a uniformity. It is imagined, constructed,

perhaps even as Foucault suggests, fictionalised, that authoritative groups were

homogeneous and held the same views and virtues. Furthermore, the sources for this

authority, although rooted in the Qur'an and sunna, are interpreted through a myriad of

98 Foucault, "The Confession of the Flesh," Power/Knowledge (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980), 194. 99 Ibid.

37

OpInIOn. Thus, a government supported doctrine, any well-informed qiiçlï or judge, or

disgruntled writer; aIl have the legitimacy to give the charge of "heresy" - either in the

official capacity of a caliphal decree, a legal ruling, or by way of personal attack in a

philosophical treaty.

By investigating history from the viewpoint of the dissenters, we can better

understand how authority was constructed. The variety of voices we find in the medieval

period illustrates how intellectual developments occurred though dissent. As a discourse,

the interactions between transgression and limit display the fluidity of societal

development. When applied to an analysis of the historical sources, the context of Ibn

Masarra as a subversive figure and the context of heresy as a transgressive act, marginal

spaces become highlighted allowing for an investigation into the emergence of heresy

and the construction of authoritative legal and political positions in al-Andalus.

38

The Andalusian Context

Scholastic Representations of al-Andalus

The construction of the history of al-Andalus necessarily affects the

understanding of how culture, poli tics, religion, and law developed in this reglon.

Moreover, it affects how we discover the manner by which zandaqa was applied by

medieval Andalusian scholars, and how that application is understood contemporarily.

Each paradigm of historical inquiry has specific methodologies, assumptions, definitions,

and arguments that are employed in the valuable construction of historical events.

Variations within each are affected by the locus of inquiry and context of the scholar.

There are three general pictures of medieval al-Andalus that scholars tend to

promote when discussing the role that Islam had in influencing the culture and religious

development of the region. One is a society built on tranquility, diversity and

multiculturalism, where free-thought and dialogues between different religious and

cultural groups were encouraged, which furthered understanding of science, philosophy

and developed a rich culture in al-Andalus. The second presents nearly the opposite

view, namely that pre-Muslim Iberia had not developed the infrastructure needed to

promote intellectual activity, and upon their emergence into the faith of Islam, the

"innate" conservatism of the indigenous population promoted the dominance of a strict

Malikï legal rule encouraging a culture of intolerance. The third further suggests that it

was only by the participation of the indigenous population, and the influence of mashriq"i

intellectual thought, that allowed for the emergence of philosophy, mysticism, and other

39

intellectual activities in the Iberian Peninsula. This is based on the view that the tribal

Arabs and Berbers who had conquered the region were devoid of any such capabilities,

and needed to turn to external influences.

For the most part, navigation through this history must begin with the recognition

of variances within investigative methodologies. For example, Orientalism is

traditionally defined as a methodology based upon distinguishing the "Orient" from the

"Occident." It can take the form of "othering" or the artful exotification of cultures,

geographies, languages, or people in general, that follow a specifie agenda. It may also

initiate historical inquiry by setting up bifurcations between a perceived Orthodoxy and

deviations, though as we have seen, this method is not limited to Orientalism.

Specifically, it is the labelling, imagining, restructuring of Western authority over the

Orient. l This paradigm is characterized by a preference for Western culture through the

Hellenistic intellectual heritage, assumptions based on an understanding that Islam is

statie or is an adaptation of Christian and Judaic religion, the characterization of Muslim

culture as tribal, Arab and inferior, and a reliance on essentialist theories.

Spanish Orientalism is further coloured, on one level, by the national-political

developments of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and responses to totalitarianism and

economic strife during the early modern and modern periods. This has resulted in

scholastic endeavours that approach the Iberian Peninsula as a conquered nation

surrounded by a "free Europe" and that search for the authentic Spanish soul from

1 Edward W. Said, Orientalism, (New York: Random House, 1978), 1-2; see also, L.P. Harvey, "British Arabists and al-Andalus," Al-Qan,tara, 2.13 (Madrid: Instituto Miguel Asfn de Estudios Arabes, 1992).

40

beneath the influences of Arab and Berber conquerors.2 While other scholars approach

the history by way of a celebration of these influences. When applied to the Islamic

context, this has the potential result of emphasizing the perceived inferiority of Islamic

culture, or of diminishing examples of opposition and tension.

One example includes the Spanish philologist and literary critic Américo Castro,

who wrote The Structure of Spanish History with the intention of chronicling the history

of Spain from a specific Spanish-national frame of reference. More specifically, it

explores the Spanish reaction, adaptation and survival of the Islamicization of Spain. He

argues that Islam was incapable of constructing stable political structures and maintains

the classical position that secular institutions are necessary for the development of

notable intellectual activity within the mystical-philosophical traditions, "the totally

religious character of [Islam's] vital structure kept her from surrounding her leaders with

people capable of creating secular forms of communal life.'" For Castro, searching for

the Spanish soul within its history coloured the way he approached the Islamic rule of

Spain. Accordingly, he argues that the climate of early Medieval Spain was primarily

intolerant. Any development in the intellectual or spiritual realms, which he sees as

positive, came from the influence of Hispanic-Christian literature, not from within Islam.

A modern argument presented by George Hourani promotes the position that

Spain was geographically isolated from the major intellectual centers in the mashriq, and

therefore, had a slower development in intellectual spheres.4 He argues that prior to the

2 See Henry Kamen, "Limpieza and the Ghost of Américo Castro," Hispanie Review 64.1 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996); see also, Maria Isabel Fierro, "Spanish Scholarship on Islamic Law," Islamic Law and Society 2.1 (New York: Brill Academic Publishers, 1995). , Américo Castro, The Structure of Spanish History (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1954), 81. 4 George F. Hourani, "The Early Growth of the Secular Sciences in Andalusia," Studia Islamica, No. 32 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 1970), 144.

41

Islamic presence, Christian Spain had little support for scientific inquiry, and when their

scholars entered into the faith of Islam, they turned more towards theological inquiry.

Hourani separates the mashriqï region from the Mediterranean by bifurcating culture and

intellectual activity, measurable in terms of exposure to the philosophical Greek-Western

tradition, and the creation of secular institutions. From this line of argumentation, the

urban centers in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt gave a warm welcome to the Greek sciences

and philosophy, however, because the evidence of a similar trend in Spain is lacking,

Hourani concludes that when the Arabs and Berbers entered the region, they did not

encounter a rich and accessible heritage of institutes of learning, and therefore whatever

culture they were to acquire would have been imported from the mashriq.5 However, this

argument assumes that culture may only be measured by the establishment of secular

institutions, and not for example, in historiographies captured in song and myth or in

theological pursuits.

W. Montgomery Watt represents an alternate trend for the exploration of cultural

institutions. In his A History of Islamic Spain, he charts the development of institutions

by relating their development to how secondary geographical, cultural, and theological

factors, guided and created pockets of intellectual activity - discounting the notion that

Spain was isolated from developments in other areas of the Islamic empire. He states that

the study of mystical and philosophical trends in Spain cannot be studied without

recognizing that they are intertwined, and are dependent on analogous developments in

North Africa and in other areas of the Islamic empire.6 Furthermore, related to the

possible distrust that the Andalusian amïrs and Umayyad caliphs had of the' Abbasids, he

5 Hourani, "The Early Growth of the Secular Sciences in Andalusia," 144. 6 Watt, A History of Islamic Spain, 142.

42

notes that when travelers to the mashriq adopted developments in intellectual thought,

they were often regarded as foreign or "suspect." These so-called "imported" ideas not

only aided in the transfer of knowledge between Spain and other areas of the Islamic

world, but often had the potential to draw negative attention from authoritative bodies.

Further examples of differences within locations of historical inquiry are

illustrated by the contemporary scholar Goran Larson and contemporary Spanish scholar

Mariabel Fierro. Larson introduces the idea that while the Iberian Peninsula was often

regarded scholastically as an area without conflict, an analysis of the source material

clearly demonstrates the occurrence of open conflict and indirect tensions.7 His main

premise is that heretical movements, rebellions and theological disputes were directly

related to the question of how rulers and groups went about to legitimize power, and thus,

he initiates his inquiry from a political point of departure. Fierro maintains many

conclusions made by modem scholars, but starts from a "ground" levellocus - intending

to discover how social realities shaped the way ideas flowed between groups. For

ex ample, she argues that in the urban regions of al-Andalus, pious men who were still

rooted in the former religion, developed special social statuses, as having the overt power

to perform miracles and the ability to have their prayers answered; while city men

attempted to cultivate asceticism strictly within the bounds ofIslamic models.8

Irrespective of differences, aIl historical inquiry is valuable, as it allows us to

explore extant evidence with a variety of scholastic opinion and historical construction.

The reality of Muslim rule in Europe generates a unique situation, and the context of the

7 Goran Larson, Ibn Garcia's Shu 'übiyya Letter: Ethnie and Theologieal Tensions in Medieval al-Andalus, (Boston: Brill, 2(03), 1. 8 Maria Isabel Fierro, "Opposition to Sufism in AI-Andalus," Islamie Mysticism Contested (Boston: Brill, 1999),178.

43

scholar will influence their analysis. In the same respect, how medieval historians

recorded Islamic historiography, and the relationship between historical events and the

development of political and intellectual c1imates must also be contextualised and

explored if we are to discuss heresy specifically in the Andalusian context.

The Rise of al-Andalus

The first Umayyad caliphate was established from 40/661 to 132/750, with the

conquest of al-Andalus occurring between the years 92/711 and 97/716. This conquest

and the development of culture under Islamic rule is hailed by sorne historians and

scholars as indicating the high point of the expansionist successes of the Islamic Empire,

and the historical accounts of the Muslim armies moving from the invasion of Gibraltar

toward Toledo and establishing C6rdoba as the capital are at times, highly romanticised.9

In his Al-dhakhïra al-saniyya, Ibn Abi Zara exc1aims,

The capital city of C6rdoba, since the peninsula of Andalus was conquered, has been the highest of the high, the furthest from the far, the place of the standard, the mother of towns; the abode of the good and the godly, the homeland of wisdom, its beginning and its end; the heart of the land, the fount of science, the dome of Islam ... Hardly a town lacks a skilled writer, a compelling poet, who, had he praised it, the least would have been great. lO

It is generally argued that the impetus for the entrance of the Muslims into this

region arose from the expansionist agenda initiated by the Rightly-Guided caliph 'Umar

(r. 12/634-24/644). This agenda witnessed the defeat of the Byzantine and Persian

Empires, as the Islamic Empire moved from the Arabian Peninsula into Iran, Iraq, Syria,

9 Watt, A History of Islamic Spain, 5. 10 As quoted in Robert Hillenbrand, "Medieval Côrdoba as a Cultural Center," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992), 112.

44

Egypt and further westward into Northern Africa. 11 By 49/670 the city of Qayrawan was

founded in Tunisia, and within thirty years of this event, the Muslim forces drove the

Byzantines from their center in Carthage. Although initially met with resistance, as the

Muslims moved into Algeria and Morocco, their forces were reinforced by the

conversions of many from the nomadic Berber tribes. 12 The consolidation of Muslim mIe

in North Africa was accomplished by the work of Müsa ibn Nu~ayr. In 891708 he was

appointed governor and became directly responsible to the seat of the caliphate 10

Damascus. By the time the Umayyad forces invaded Leon, Astorga, and Aragon 10

961715, al-Andalus was left in the hands of ibn Nu~ayr's son, 'Abd al-'Azlz. 13

It appears that the Umayyad caliphate was able to overtake much of the region

and to recognize it by the title of al-Andalus with relative ease and in a timely fashion.

Political internaI weakness is one reason historians have given for this swift success. The

Visigoths who had taken the Iberian Peninsula in 414 according to the Gregorian

calendar, maintained their mIe over the populace through the use of various political

arrangements, such as a reliance upon an ecclesiastical hierarchy, with archbishops and

bishops playing a considerable raIe in administration and governance; the fusing of the

Visigothic aristocracy and the Hispanie-Roman nobles into a single privileged class and a

further class division of serf peasantry; and mIe over all groups by the King and his

advisors. 14 The monarchy itself was decided through an electoral process from among

the noble houses, leading to instability caused by political alliances and various court

intrigues.

II Watt, A History of lslamic Spain, 5. 12 Ibid, 8. l3 Ibid, 9. 14 Ibid, 10 - Il.

45

Further political weakness is attributed directly to the discontent of the sections of

society which were disadvantaged based upon divisions of ethnic, religious and class

lines. The general population of the lberian Peninsula comprised a large proportion of

serfs, slaves and peasants, free Hispano-Romans, and a Jewish merchant class. Harsh

decrees in 73/693 made it nearly impossible for the Jewish population to continue as

merchants, and a further decree in 694 caIled for the enslavement of aIl subjects who did

not accept baptism. 15 With the estrangement of both the Jewish population and the

discontent of other classes at the privileges of the noble houses, the general population

may have looked to the Umayyads as a liberating force, as displayed by examples of

assistance that were given to the invading Muslims. 16

However, the rule of the Umayyads did not endure much longer after the conquest

of al-Andalus. The political structure of the Umayyad caliphate was based upon its

ability to rule al-Andalus from Damascus by establishing a system of communication,

administration, and legal and military institutions, through the use of govemors,

administrators, and garrison cities. 17 The administrative foundations of the caliphate

were strengthened through the use of Arabized coinage and the standardization of Arabic

as the language of administration. Within the so-caIled "frontier" land of al-Andalus

however, Muslim rule was established through the leadership of Arab amïrs, or

govemors, and Syrian and Berber generals, both holding the land in the name of the

15 Watt, A History of Islamic Spain, 12. 16 Ibid,12-13. 17 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2003), 119; see also Mahmoud Makki's article, "The Political History of al-Andalus," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992), especially, 3-13.

46

caliph. Soon however, the Umayyads began to lose the support of many Muslims, and

their legitimacy to rule from a religious standpoint was put into question. 18

Much of the population l9 considered the Umayyads to be Arab rulers, and

resentment grew among the non-Arab clients, man y of them Persian, who had embraced

Islam. Sorne initial prote st began under the banner of Shï'ism, but it was not until an

uprising from the followers of Banii 'Abbas, led by the Persian general, Abü Muslim in

132/750, that the faH of the Umayyad caliphate occurred in Damascus. Subsequent

killings of aH of the ruling Umayyads, except for the young 'Abd al-Ral}man 1 al-Dakhil,

who took refuge in North Africa, were initiated.20 There 'Abd al-Ral}man gained support

from Syrian and Berber forces, and in 138/756, entered Cordoba and took the command

away from the ruling amïr.21 Despite his successes, 'Abd al-Ral}man remained ruler only

through the position as governor. With the official recognition of the 'Abbasid caliphate

in Baghdad, he was little more than a caliph in exile. It was not until 319/932, that a

second seat of the caliphate was established in Cordoba by 'Abd RaQman III al-Na~ir li-

Dïn Allah (r. 300/912-350/961), and al-Andalus was "united" and Muslim rule solidified

under an official Umayyad politicallegitimacy.

18 Nasr, Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization, 119. 19 Miguel Cruz Hemandez identifies that the social structure during the "occupation" comprised a minority group of Arabs, who held their position as "masters and lords" by right of conquest; Berbers, who held proportionately less power and influence bec au se of how they were regarded socially inferior by the Arabs; larger in number were the Muwallads, who either converted to acquire social prestige, to marry, or to free themselves from the poli tax; and the Mozarabs, Iberian Christians whose numbers progressively dwindled through emigration, deportation or absorption into the new demographic reality in al-Andalus. See Miguel Cruz Hernandez, "The Social Structure of al-Andalus During the Muslim Occupation (711-55) and the Founding of the Umayyad Dynasty," The Foundation of al-Anda/us (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998), 54-55; 61-67. 20 Ibid, 120. 21 Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World (New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2002), 7-9.

47

The Development of Zandaqa in al-Andalus

Zandaqa originated in al-Andalus through the vehicle of legal texts, and was

eventually employed freely by scholar, author, and jurist, and encompassed a wide

application; based on the interpretation of the legal definition of the term, political

realities, and elements related to intellectual progresses. Many Andalusian MâlikI legal

scholars are described in the biographical references as being "resolute in their stance

against innovation.,,22 However, what fell under "innovation" was not always clear, and

different concepts for religious deviation or transgression could include "great sin"

(kabïra), "unbelief' (kufr), "innovation" (bid 'a), and "Godlessness" as "secret apostas y"

(zandaqa).23

It should be noted that the usage of the term zandaqa in al-Andalus was ne ver

officially standardized. This is based in part, on the reality that different legal schools

approached the elements needed to verify a claim of heresy, as weIl as the punishment for

this transgression, in different forms and based upon specifie criteria. Regardless, there

has been a standard assumption by scholars, that al-Andalus was primarily influenced by

the Millikï Sunnï school of legal thought, and much of historical inquiry has been based

on the assumption of a Millikï dominance, to the exclusion of ail other opinion.

However, this assumption may be substantiated, if only in part, when one compares the

presence of Mâlikï jurists against the presence of the other Sunnï legal schools. In their

recent study on the geographic distribution of Muslim jurists, during the firstlfifth to

fourth/tenth centuries, Monique Bernards and John Nawas examined data derived from

22 Frank Griffel, Apostasie und Toleranz im Islam (Brill: Boston, 2000), 376. 23 Ibid.

48

over seven thousand biographical entries, and illustrated that until 250/864, the

percent age of jurists identifiable by the Malikï madhhab in al-Andalus was the largest out

of the four Sunnï schools, at eighteen percent. 24 However, this percentage must be seen

within the context that it is also affected primarily by the large number of "independent"

jurists, who followed their own school of thought and dominated the first two centuries at

fifty-four percent.25 Therefore, despite the data supporting the Malikï dominant presence

in the early formation of al-Andalus, it should only be recognized within the context of

the presence of the four major Sunnï legal schools. A more significant trend within this

study, further illustrates that during the two centuries after this period, the number of

"independents" drops sharply, and in the area of al-Andalus, we see a larger and more

significant presence of Malikï jurists, although both Shafi 'ïs and "independents" were

still clearly present.26

The Malikl school of thought moved from Medina to centers in Egypt, Ba~ra,

Qayrawan and al-Andalus, and upon first glance, its achievements in growth in the

Iberian Peninsula appears to be linked to the jurists' success at courting political favour.

The initial spread of the school into al-Andalus tends to be linked to the names of Ziyad

Ibn 'Abd al-Raq.man (d. ca. 200/815) and Abü 'Abd Allah Ziyad Ibn Shab~ün (d. 193/808

or 199/814). Both are reported to have been the first to introduce Malik's Muwa.t!a' to

the area. 27 However, political support and the resulting influence in al-Andalus came

later with the efforts of Yaq.ya Ibn Yal}.ya al-Laythï (d. 234/849), as it is believed that he

24 M. Bernards and J. Nawas, "The Geographie Distribution of Muslim Jurists During the First Four Centuries AH," lslamic Law and Society, 10.2 (Leiden: BriIl, 2003),171-172. 25 Bernards and Nawas, "The Geographie Distribution of MusIim Jurists," 171 - 172. 26 Ibid, 180. 27 Hallaq, Origins, 175.

49

convinced the amïr 'Abd al-Raqman II (r. 206/822-238/852) to adopt the school's

doctrine as the officiallaw of the Umayyad caliphate.28

Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn 'Amr al-A~baqï (d. 178/795), a Medinese legal

scholar, spent a lifetime collecting the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muqammad, and

analysed and elucidated opinions from these a~iidïth to offer legal guidance for the

community in Medina. His M uwa.t!a " The Approved, is a collection of both the prophetic

sayings and Malik's juristic rulings, and includes his transmission of other opinions

which originated from other identifiable authorities, and furthermore, includes the later

opinions of his students. This work was continuously revised before and after his death,

and became the foremost authority for the then emerging Malikï school.29 What this

implies for the development of this school, was that Malik himself was recognised as the

foremost authority, irrespective of the plethora of voices within his legal anthology.

For instance, as previously discussed on the treatment of zandaqa m the

Muwa!!a', the term appears under the heading devoted to apostas y, and is a serious

enough religious transgression to warrant the ~add punishment. lfudüd, meanmg

"limits," is the word often used m Islamic legal literature to denote the bounds of

acceptable behaviour and refers specifically to the punishments for serious crimes. lfadd

punishments vary in each school of jurisprudence, and can only be carried out under

certain conditions and requirements, such as taking into consideration if the offender was

mentally incapacitated in any way, either by way of drunkenness or insanity, or if there

are four witnesses who can attest to the transgression.

28 Hallaq, Origins, 175. 29 Wael B. Hallaq, Authority, Continuity and Change in Islamic Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 36.

50

In the Muwa.t.ta', the indirect voice connected to the definition of zandaqa, is an

unnamed student of Malik, who relates the following J:tadïth from a specific chain of

narrators, which includes Malik as the third narrator:

Yal).ya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If someone changes his dïn [religion] - strike his neck!,,3o

The opinion which follows the J:tadïth is most likely from Malik himself, despite the fact

that the narration is re1ated by his student. Malik remains the direct voice connected with

each opinion laid out in his work, precisely because his students bestowed that authority

upon him and the work itse1f. Therefore, each juristic ruling is substantiated by the

Qur' an or Sunna and by the authority of Malik. On this point, scholar Wael B. Hallaq

points out that the doctrinal legal schools were based upon the creation of an "axis of

authority" around which an entire methodology of law was constructed.31 Through the

recognition of authority, this axis is characterized as the school' s leader, and it is

purported that all substantive law, including the opinion of later students and various

interpretations of the law itself, originates from him?2 Subsequently, the position that it

is indeed Malik's own opinion is further suggested by the observation that he was a

contemporary of the zanadiqa persecutions under the caliph al-MahdI.33 Therefore, he

would be familiar with the precedent set toward the "Muslim Manicheans."

To recount the opinion in the Muwa!!a', it outlines that a zindïq is one who

publicly expresses faith in Islam, but conceals her disbelief. Since the word of a zindïq

30 Bewley, al- Muwa!!a', 304. 31 Hallaq, Origins, 156. 32 Ibid, 156; 163. 33 Fieffo posits that when Malik wrote about the transgression of zandaqa, he must have had in mind the Manicheans of his age who were secretly unfaithful while openly professing Islam. Maria Isabel Fieffo, "Accusations of 'Zandaqa' in al-Andalus," Quaderni Di Studi Arabi, 5-6 (Venezia: Università Degli Studi Di Venezia, 1986),251-252.

51

cannot be trusted, as the sincerity of any repentance would be tainted by the prior act of

concealment, the ruling Malik gives for general cases of zandaqa, is that it is a crime

punishable by death. However, he differentiates between hidden and public heretics. If it

is discovered that the former is a heretic, and that she is known for her heresies and

disbelief, she is killed outright. Or, if the former hides her disbelief and proclaims Islam,

then she is given a trial and is charged with zandaqa. The latter on the other hand, is one

who changes her religion from Islam to something else, and is offered a chance for

repentance?4 Known as istitaba, the invitation to repent and therefore return to the

community of Muslims is the most important legal element in relation to heresy?5 It

determines absolutely if individuals who transgress along the lines of innovation,

disbelief, or "secret heresy" are eligible for forgiveness, and therefore gives a definite

definition to the boundary of Islam. The istitaba constitutes a right of the accused heretic

to be reinstated to her previous status as a Muslim, with no punishment.36 However, as

seen from the position in the Muwa,t,ta', the zindïq on the basis of her hidden heresy, is

guaranteed absolute expulsion from the community, while others are guaranteed the right

to istitaba.

The application of this opinion in the Muwa,t,ta' takes on various complexities,

particularly in light of the variances within juristic interpretation. For example,

compounding the potential for multiple opinions to emerge from the Muwa,t,ta', is that the

definition of apostate and heretic are conflated, along with munafiqün or hypocrites.

Their description in the Qur'an are groups who professed to accepting the Prophet

34 Bewley, al- Muwa!!a', 304. 35 Frank Griffel, 'Toleration and Exclusion" Bulletin of SOAS, 64,3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 342. 36 Ibid.

52

Mul).ammad in public while denying him in private.37 These variances and similar

definitions open the possibility of having any apostate labelled a zindïq. Mâlik's subtle

differentiation between hidden and public heresies is lost in later Andalusian Mâlikï

works, such as, Ibn Abï Zayd al-Qayrawanï's (d. 386/996) Risiila and Ibn Farl).ün's (d.

799/1397) Tab.sira, where zindïq is applied to every Muslim that has apostatized and who

does not admit to their new, or lack of, belief.38 Sal).nün ibn Sa'ïd (d. 249/864) also spoke

out against the position on istitiiba, and successfully argued that Muslims accused of

disbelief in God or in the Prophet Mul).ammad should not be given the opportunity to

recant. 39 This becomes problematic especially if "belief' is related to supporting a

divinely inspired caliphate, in that any opponent to any source of power or authority

could be labelled zindïq and be dealt with through the badd punishment. The later MaIikï

doctrine that emerged presumably opens the way to rid oneself of a doctrinal or scholastic

opponent, simply by application of a legal nuance.40 Furthermore within the Andalusian

context, despite their perceivable numbers and presence, not only were Mâlikï jurists

varied in their opinion, but also they were not the only legal presence. These variations

also influenced which persons or groups were accused of zandaqa, and it should be

recognized, that although there were varieties in opinion, each school or jurist had the

opportunity to enact this accusation and to proclaim someone to be a zindïq.41

37 Griffel, "Toleration and Exclusion," 346. 38 Fierro, "Accusations of Zandaqa in Al-Andalus," 252. 39 Griffel, Apostasie und Toleranz im Islam, 376. 40 Fierro, "Accusations of Zandaqa in Al-Andalus," 252. 41 This became more pro minent as the school crystallized into a guild during the fourth/tenth century and eventually became universally recognized as an authoritative body. See, Hallaq, Authority (Cambridge: University Press, 2001), 61.

53

Cases of Heresy in al-Andalus

There are several medieval historical texts that provide us today with an excellent

account of the social, cultural and intellectual climate of al-Andalus, and although few in

number, collections recounting the history of heretical movements also exist. One of the

earliest sources is found in 'Abd al-Malik ibn I:Iabïb's (d. 238/853) Kitiib wa$f al-firdaws,

where an explicit opinion of what he considered to be heretical, is outlined in his

statement that anyone who states that spirits die, is either ignorant or a zindïq kiifir

mukadhdhib, an unbelieving, deceiving heretic.42 The Kitiib al-bida ' by Mul}ammad ibn

WaçlçHitI (d. 287/900), a Malikï jurist and the transmitter of the most important works of

the Malikï school,43 is an illustration of the various religious practices in al-Andalus

related to worship, 'ibiidiit, that ibn Waçlçlal} objected to on the basis of innovation. Ibn

I:Iazm (d. 456/1064), in his Kitiib al-fi.sal fi al-milal wal-ahwii' wal-nibal, mentions the

existence of Kharijïs, Mu'tazilïs, Ash'arïs and Slifis as heretical movements, and offers

refutations of their doctrines and practices.44 Later still, Rüb al-Quds, by the Andalusï al-

Fakhkhar (d. 723/1323), the eighth/fourteenth century text on the virtues of al-Andalus,

recounts that sectarian or heretical groups only appeared briefly and rarely, and states that

whenever these groups appeared, God saved al-Andalus by destroying them.45

Moreover, biographical entries in the historical dictionaries provide descriptive

information about the intellectual activities of many Andalusian scholars. Fieffo and

42 Maria Isabel Fierro, "Religious Beliefs and Practices in al-Andalus in the third/ninth century," Rivista Studi Orientali, Vol 66. 1-2, (Roma: Bardi Editore, 1993), 18. 43 Ibid, 24. 44 Maria Isabel Fierro, "Heresy in al-Andalus," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992), 895. 45 Ibid, 895.

54

Samso note that the largest number of individuals recorded in the biographical

dictionaries of scholars were the experts in Islamic jurisprudence, or fuqaha'.

These dictionaries constituted the medium by which the ·ulema' left a record of their existence as a group and perpetuated the memory of their characteristics, the rules by which they were governed, the quarrels that took place among them and their relations with political power.46

Many include a variety of terms related to heresies, and any given biographical entry

could list the scholar as being a Süfi, Ba~inI, Mu'tazilI, or as one who commits bid 'ah.

Usually, these descriptive adjectives are not elaborated on, such as the nature of the

scholar's innovation, and are usually not presented in a very positive light.

One of the first accusations of zandaqa was made during the reign of the am"ir

'Abd al-Ral;1man II (d. 238/852), between 230/844 and 234/848.47 The three accusers

were Malikl jurists, including Yal;1ya Ibn Yal;1ya al-LaythI, and the accused was another

Malikite, 'Abd al-A'la' ibn Wahb (d. 261/874). There is no mention of a trial taking

place, however, it is recorded that the charge was based upon his association with

Mu'tazilite literature and for maintaining that spirits die.48 It would seem that the charge

was directly linked to the opinion of 'Abd al-Malik ibn J:Iabib, and could possibly have

been related to a scholarly attack, as with the death of 'Abd al-Ral;1man II, Ibn Wahb

became one of the more influential jurists in C6rdoba.49 Another accusation was made

against Mu~arrif (d. 282/895), one of the sons of the am"ir 'Abd Allah, also by a group of

Malikï jurists. According to the source found in Ibn al-Qütlya's chronicle, Mu~arrirs

46 Maria Isabel Fierro and Julio Samso, "Introduction," The Formation of the Classicallslamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus, (Brookfield: Ashgate, 1998), XIX-XX. 47 Fierro, "Accusations of 'Zandaqa' in Al-Andalus," 253. 48 Fierro, "Religious Beliefs and Practices in al-Andalus," 18. 49 Fierro, "Accusations of 'Zandaqa' in Al-Andalus," 253.

55

only cnme was to have ansen the suspicion of his father into thinking he wished to

overthrow the amïr50 - and ultimately he faced the death penalty.

Other accusations of zandaqa include: BaqI ibn Makhlad (d. 276/889), who

introduced the science of I}adïth into al-Andalus, had a trial but escaped capital

punishment for his supposed independence of the MalikI school; Maslama ibn Qasim (d.

353/964), for suspected Batinism; also, under the caliphate of Hisham II, several poets,

and scholars interested in theology, philosophy and logic, such as Ibn al-Iflm (d.

44111050), Sa'Id ibn Fatl}ün al-SaraqusF, and an Umayyad prince, were given trials on

the charge of zandaqa; and Abü al-WalId al-BajI (d. 47411081), was accused for his

reliance upon a ~adïth that suggested the prophet Mul}ammad wrote on the day of

I:Iudaybiyya.51 From this list, we can see that there is a different legal reasoning, political

motivation and outcome for each accusation. Out of context, they suggest that heresy in

al-Andalus may have been related to scholastic or academic competition, dependent upon

intrigue related to the maintenance of political rule, or based upon deviation from the

MalikI school of thought. However, in order to properly situate these cases, one must

look at the accusers, the nature of the accusation, as weIl as the related social and

historical developments.

50 Fierro, "Accusations of 'Zandaqa' in AI-Andalus," 254-55. 51 Fieffo, "Heresy in al-Andalus," 898-900. The day of l:Iudaybiyya commemorates a treaty signed between the Muslims and the Meccans. In 6/628 the Muslims attempted to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca but were stopped before they could reach the city. In order to avoid bloodshed between the unarmed Muslims and the Meccan forces, the Prophet Mul).ammad entered into a treaty that vowed non-violence for ten years if the Muslims did not reattempt to enter Mecca. The controversy in acknowledging that the prophet Mul).ammad "signed" the treaty, is Iinked to his miraculous nature of being an "unlettered" prophet who was inspired by God to reveal the Qur'iin. If one acknowledges that the Prophet Mul).ammad physically signed the treaty, then it places his rniraculous nature into question.

56

Life and Activities

The Case of Ibn Masarra (d.319/931)

Nearly ail of the information that we have on Ibn Masarra cornes from the

bibliographical dictionary entries or from references to and opinions on his life and

doctrine found in secondary accounts. The biographical entries generally recount

eguivalent records of his life history. The controversy in the scholarly accounts of his

actions and thought is generated by the charge of zandaqa, in that none of the historical

sources discuss which aspects of his doctrine or his personal religious practice were

overtly heretical, but instead, offer personal opinion characterising Ibn Masarra in a

certain light to provide explanation for the charge. It is the source of his heresy that has

initiated a century of imaginative history, reconstructed in order to fill in the blanks left

by his contemporary historians.

The bibliographic sources, namely, Ibn al-Fara(F's (d. 403/1012) Tarïkh 'ulama'

al-Andalus, Ibn I:Iayyan's (d. 469/1076) al-Muqtabas, and Ibn ~a'id al-Andalusï's (d.

685/1286) Kitab Tabaqat al-Umam, describe him as a Malikï jurist, an ascetic, a Ba~inï

and as a teacher expounding Empedoclean philosophical ideas. The authors do not offer

much information, and guote from each other verbatim, as one will find Ibn I:Iayyan

using al-FaraQï's entire entry within his own entry. The sources agree on the following

points: Ibn Masarra was born in C6rdoba, during the reign of 'Abd al-Raqman in

269/883. His father 'Abd Allah ibn Masarra was a transmitter of badïth and twice made

extended visits to the mashriq, where he came in contact with Mu'tazilite teachers. He

57

died when his son was approximately fifteen years old. For Muqammad Ibn Masarra, not

only did he study under his father, but he was also exposed to the teachings of

Muqammad ibn WaQçlaq (d. 287/900), and that he most certainly learned something of

the ascetic, zuhd,52 during his education. Ibn ijayyan also states that Ibn Masarra had

knowledge of medicine, philosophy and astrology.53 At sorne point in his life, it is

recorded that a charge of zandaqa against him, coincided with another trip to the

mashriq. Describing the event as Ibn Masarra simply following in the footsteps of his

teachers, or as his "fleeing" from a charge of heresy is a choice that individual authors

tend to make. They do make it clear however, that he maintained relations with

theologians and Mu'tazila in the mashriq, and that on his return, he retired to his qarya in

C6rdoba, secluding himself as a pious and devout teacher, only disseminated his

knowledge to students, or as Ibn ijayyan states, to his "propagandists and companions,,,54

who were willing to learn from him.55 Ibn ijayyan also records that in 340/952, and

again in 345/956, additional royal decrees were issued by the caliph 'Abd al-Raqman III

addressed to his vizier 'Abd Allah ibn Badr, condemning the doctrine of Ibn Masarra and

urged the vizier to take aIl necessary measures to eradicate "said heresy," arrest Ibn

52 The appellation zuhd or ziihid is an adjective encountered frequently in the biographies of the 'ulamii' of al-Andalus, and while the Iink between an ascetic life and the secondary appellation of al-~ufi have at times been made, both labels tend to only reflect the pietistic character or adherence to a way of life within a set of devotional and austere activities practiced by scholars who chose that path. See Manuela Marin, "Zuhhlid of al-Andalus," The Formation of the Classical Islamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998), especially, 104, 106, 129. 53 Claude Addas, "Andalusï Mysticism and the Ride of Ibn' Arabï," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992),914. 54 Fierro, "Religious Beliefs and Practices in al-Andalus in the Third/Ninth Century," 30. 55 Addas, "Andalusï Mysticism and the Ride of Ibn 'Arabï," 915.

58

,-

Masarra's followers and pass summary judgement on them if they "persisted in the errors

of their ways.,,56

Other information conceming the lifestyle, religious practices, beliefs and

doctrines that are missing from the bibliographie entries, can be supplemented by the

opinions and items mentioned about Ibn Masarra in the works of others. One of the

earliest known works that mentions him is the Akhbar aljuqaha' wa-al-mu~addithïn by

judge and scholar, Mul}ammad ibn Barith al-Khushanï (d. 360/971). From al-Khushanï's

appreciation of Ibn Masarra, we leam that,

The way of Muhammad ibn Masarra with regard to his acts was asceticism and seclusion; intellectually, he followed the path of reflection and discovery; ... He was habituated to the rectification of acts in accord with the path of fear [of God]; to the constant examination of conscience in accord with the reality of sincerity; to the cautioning against the signs of hypocrisy and the gates of imposture in accord with the inner meanings of unveiling and elucidation; ... similar to the discourses of the predecessors among the people of esotericism [ahl al-'ilm al-ba.tin] ... 57

Further, he offers a personal observation stating,

... The people are divided into two camps [with regard to Ibn Masarra]; one camp holds him up as an authoritative teacher of knowledge and asceticism on account of what has been manifested to them of the broad scope of his learning and the sincerity of his asceticism. The other camp den ounces him as a heretic on account of what has been manifested to them of his theological disputation on the issue of reward and punishment and his esoteric interpretations [ta 'wïl] of verses of the Q ' 58 ur an ...

56 Joaqufn YaHvé Bermejo, "The 'Zalmedina' of C6rdoba," The Formation of the Classicallslamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998), 416; See also Ibn !:layyan, Muqtabas V, 20-36. 57 MuJ:tammad ibn !:larith al-Khushan"i, Akhbar al-fuqaha' wa'l-mulJaddithïn (Madrid: Conejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientfficas, Instituto de Cooperaci6n con el Monde Arabe, 1992), 178. Translation by Vahid Brown. 58 Ibid.

59

In Kitiib al-bida', Muqammad ibn Waçlçlaq condemns the innovation of

"following the foots teps of the Prophet," or the act of transforming places where the

Prophet Muqammad used to pray into sanctuaries. This practice is attributed to Ibn

Masarra through an unknown source, which claims he buiIt a replica of a room belonging

to one of the Prophet's wives in his own Andalusian home.59 Also attributed to Ibn

Masarra, is his claiming of prophecy and of claiming to be a prophet, as mentioned by the

Malikï jurist, al-Talamankï (d. 42911037) who wrote a refutation of the doctrines of Ibn

Masarra.60 More explanatory in his opinion of Ibn Masarra's doctrines, is the

characterisation made by Ibn I:Iazm (d. 45611064), who states that Ibn Masarra's

promotion of Mu'tazila theology is reprehensible based on the incorrectness of the

doctrine:

Ibn Masarra was in agreement with the Mu'tazila on qadar [divine preordinance]. He stated that the knowledge of God and His power are two created temporal productions and that God has two types of knowledge: the one which He created long ago as a whole and by one single act, and the knowledge of the universal realities which cannot be grasped by the perception of the senses ... The reason which led Ibn Masarra to support this thesis is that really pushed the principles of the Mu'tazi1ïs to their extreme conclusions... This [thesis] is an abominable contradiction!61

~a'id of Toledo (d. 40211070) is one of the first to directly connect Ibn Masarra to

the philosophical system of Ba~inism, and states,

59 Fierra, "Religious Beliefs and Practices in al-And al us in the ThirdlNinth Century," 25-26. 60 Maria Isabel Fierro, "Batinism in al-Andalus," Studia Islamica No. 84 (Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 1996), 103. 61 F~sal IV, 198, as quoted in Roger Amaldez, "Ibn Masarra" Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1971), 870.

60

Muryammad ibn 'Abd Allâh ibn Masarra al-Jabalï, the Bârinite, an inhabitant of C6rdoba, was greatly attached to [Empedocles'] philosophy and made a deep study of it.62

Following the same characterisation, the Andalusï Mâlikï-Ash'arï Abü Bakr Ibn al-'Arabï

(d. 543/1148) informs us explicitly that Ibn Masarra was a heretic based upon his

deviation from Islam being the suspicion of Bârinism and illustrates him as "one who has

go ne astray.,,63 Alternatively however, we hear great praise concerning Ibn Masarra from

Muryy al-Dïn Ibn al-'Arabï (d. 637/1240), who describes him as, one of the "greatest

masters of the way in terms of knowledge, spiritual state and revelation.,,64 He is also

mentioned in Ibn al-'Arabi's Kitab al-mïm, where with regard to the "secrets of the

science of letters" he states that he will tackle the subject "in the manner of Ibn

Masarra. ,,65

Scholarly Reconstructions

The late nineteenth century Spanish scholar Miguel Asfn Palacios wrote the most

comprehensive singular work on Ibn Masarra' s world, life and thought, and set the tenor

which aIl later scholarship bases itself upon. A philosopher and professor of Muslim-

Christian relations in Spain, Asfn looks at the history of the philosophical and theological

systems of the Spanish-Muslim thinkers. The school of Ibn Masarra is characterized as

having neo-Platonic, mystical, and pantheistic elements, with roots in Christianity and

62 S. M. Stem, "Ibn Masarra: Follower of Pseudo-EmpedocIes: an Illusion" Medieval Arabie and Hebrew Thought (London: Variorum Reprints, 1983), V -326. 63 Fierro, "Heresy in a1-Anda1us," 900. 64 Ibn al-'Arabï, Futûftat l, p. 147 as translated in Claude Addas, Quest For the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn 'Arabi (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1993),58. 65 Ibn al-'Arabï, Kitab al-mïm wa l-waw wa l-nûn in Rasa 'il, p.7, as translated in Claude Addas, Quest For the Red Sulphur (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1993),58.

61

Hellenistic culture. Using the evidence found in the bibliographic sources, and what he

could reconstruct from the opinions collected from secondary sources, namely Ibn I:Iazm

and Ibn al-'ArabI, Asîn reconstructs Ibn Masarra's activities and works from the point of

view of his contemporary historians and later opponents.66 The scene for dealing with

the term zandaqa is set from beneath an assumed MalikI orthodoxy, by pitting the Greek-

influenced "heterodox" philosophy of Ibn Masarra against an 'Arab' cultural-political

hegemony.

His work, The MysticaZ PhiZosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, begins

with a brief survey of the history of "oriental" thought, and outlines how Greek ideology

scattered throughout Syria and Persia and became an essential part of the theosophic,

ascetic, Gnostic, and pantheistic fodder for culture and religion in the se areas. A product

of his time, the new prophet of Islam combined the nomadic contemplative nature, with

Christian and Judaic ritual practices, but was unable to produce a scripture rich in the

spheres of philosophy, dogma or ethics. Asîn makes a further conjecture that the Islamic

creed was not sufficient for the Persians, Syrians and Copts, who had a deep cultural

grounding in the speculative realm, because of the historical influence of Greek

philosophy. Therefore, as Islam spread, the se new con verts grafted earlier religions and

Hellenistic culture onto the Islamic framework, and thus, the heresies of Islam were

bom.67 According to Asîn, a powerful philosophical inquiry existed in the areas of the

mashriq, and was championed by a select group of independent thinkers among the

66 See Miguel Asfn Palacios, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers (Leiden: BriIl, 1978), 37, 41; For the opponents oflbn Masarra, Asfn names Abü Sa'ïd Ibn al-A 'rabï (d. 341/952) and Abü al-I:Iasan Aqmad of Tustar (d. 356/967); while Fierro also cites Aqmad b. Khalid Ibn al-Jabbab al-Ququbï (d. 322/934), and Abü 'Umar al-Talamankï (d. 429/1037), see her "Opposition to Sufism in AI-Andalus," 179. 67 Asfn, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, 4.

62

groups of Mu'tazilIte, ShI'ite, Ba~inï, and Christian-influenced ascetics. However, as

"official" encouragement waxed and waned, thinkers tended to couch their offensive

ideas in esoteric terminology, to ward against theological intolerance.

However, philosophical and mystical trends developed differently in the Iberian

Peninsula. Asin argues that because the Visigoths were lacking in the speculative Greek

sciences and that the Berbers were uncultured warriors, Arab culture took root and with it

came Mâlikï orthodoxy.68 Geographical isolation aiso made for a unique situation for

intellectual development in al-Andalus, as Asfn argues that during the early period of

Musiim Spain, it was the most "orthodox" and the furthest away from the "center of the

faith," or the seat of the Caliphate, and that through the unit y of dogma, the intolerant

Muslim "clergy" managed to suppress aIl attempts at innovation, and rival schoois of

thought.69 However, philosophy, mysticism and ascetic practices entered Spain through

the travels of individuals who longed for spiritual fulfillment and who became exposed to

Mu'tazilite thought in the mashriq:

If the independent thinkers were going outside the country to seek satisfaction for their ideal longings of the spirit, it was preeisely beeause under the ... artifieial surface of the new religion there stiIl existed ... the ethnie aptitudes of a people who, before submitting to Islam, had ... examined other dogmas ... the profound Neo-Platonic imprint of Christian theology and Neo-Pythagorean and Gnostie traditions of Prieillianism had sent deep roots down into their souls. It was this ethnie psychology ... that survived and renewed Spanish

70 thought. ..

In his assessment of the life of Ibn Masarra, Asfn puts forward his essentialist theory of

mystieism. Perhaps one of his more eontroversiai theories, Asfn argues that a universai

spiritual tie to the divine lies beneath the surface of Religion itself - namely that of the

68 Asfn, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, 15. 69 Ibid, 15 70 Ibid, 30.

63

neo-platonic imprint of Christian theology. The non-Arab lineage of Ibn Masarra and his

father's interest in Mu'tazilite thought, become examples of an ethnic psychology

retaining Spain's pre-Islamic ideological history, and is used to characterize Ibn Masarra

as one of these few individuals who were driven by the natural state of their spirituality to

actively engage in the speculative sciences. In Astn' s assessment, this becomes an

activity prohibited by the Islamic society and legal institutions of the time.

According to Asin, during the reign of 'Abd Allah (r. 247/888-300/912), a rumour

was spread that Ibn Masarra was teaching his disciples the pantheistic philosophy of

Pseudo-Empedocles, and before long, the rumour grew to become a legal accusation of

atheism.71 Compounding this situation, was the politically hostile environment towards

mystics and Ba~inI philosophers, as the caliph began to suspect that these "rebels" against

the "official religious authority" would form alliances with the semi-independent Berber

and Spanish "national" lords, and conspire against the central caliphal power in

C6rdoba.72 Regardless of the accusation's veracity, Ibn Masarra left C6rdoba before the

political environment could become more repressive, as Astn argues that his

philosophical ideas would more th an likely be seen as an attempt to graft indigenous

Christian ideas into Islam.73 Ibn Masarra returned to C6rdoba during the less repressive

reign of 'Abd al-Raqman (r. 300/912-350/961), who se policies are said to be more

friendly to scholarship.74 Cautious, he withdrew from the public eye and taught from the

outskirts of C6rdoba, where he espoused secret teachings and mystical paradoxes to his

71 Asfn, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, 33. 72 Ibid, 34. 73 Ibid, 34-35. 74 Ibid, 38.

64

pupils.75 However, when the publication of his writings gained circulation outside of

C6rdoba, his works were refuted and opponents labelled him a heretic. Asfn notes that

no judicial action was taken directly against hi m, that there is no positive proof his books

were burned during his lifetime, and that the refutations to his works were limited to

1· . 76 lterary mterest.

The legacy of Ibn Masarra, as maintained by Asfn, is that: " ... under the Muslim

appearances of Mu'tazilism and Ba~inïsm, Ibn Masarra was the defender and propagator

within Spanish Islam of the Plotonian system of pseudo-Empedocles ... ,,77 Asfn's work is

important to the understanding of the development of philosophy and mysticism in the

Andalusian context, however, it is interesting to note that his reconstruction of the

contents of two of Ibn Masarra's works, Kitiib al-lfurnj, The Book of Letters, and Kitiib

al-Tab.sirah, The Book of Clear Explanation, were drawn entirely from fragments and

opinions found in secondary sources. The works themselves were only just discovered in

1972 by Dr. Kamal Ibrahïm la'far, having being previously assumed lost.

However, even before the facts as presented by Asfn, could be verified by

comparing his assessment to reviews of Ibn Masarra's discovered works, scholars found

issue with his reconstruction. Prior to his death in 1968, S. M. Stern argues that Asfn' s

point of departure was a passage from the eleventh century historian, ~a'id of Toledo (d.

402/1070), who when writing on Empedocles and his influence on Muslim Batinï

philosophers, cited Ibn Masarra only as an example.78 However, Stern identifies ~a'id's

original source from a chapter on the Greek philosophers, by the tenth century

75 Asfn, The Mystical Philosophy of Ibn Masarra and His Followers, 38-9. 76 Ibid, 41. 77 Ibid, 94. 78 S. M. Stem, "Ibn Masarra: Follower of Pseudo-EmpedocIes: an Illusion" Medieval Arabie and Hebrew Thought (London: Variorum Reprints, 1983), V-325.

65

philosopher al- 'ÂmirI (d. 381/992), in which he writes a general observation that the

Muslim BarinI thinkers were influenced by Empedocles. It is argued by Stem that the

word biifinï is historically applied either to the Isma 'III philosophical structures, which

teach that the outward meaning of the Qur' an and religion, covers an "inner" meaning; or

to the $ufi mystics, who stress personal esotericism?9 Stem's criticism rests on the belief

that al-'ÂmirI was probably referring to the Isma'IIIs, who had indeed adopted neo-

Platonic philosophical structures. In copying al-'ÂmirI's rem ark , Stem further argues

that $a'id wrongly associates the BarinIsm of Ibn Masarra with the neo-Platonic

structures of the Isma'III philosophers, and further, that Asfn misrepresents this opinion.so

More light was shed on this issue with Dr. Kamal IbrahIm Ja'far's discovery of

two of Ibn Masarra's treatises, which has since been supplemented by previously

unedited works. In his review of the Kitiib khawii.s~ al-~urüf wa-~aqii'iqihii wa-u~ülihii

("Book of the Properties of Letters, Their True Nature and Their Principles") and the

Risiilat al-i 'tibiir ("Epistle on Reflection"),Sl Emilio Tomero conclu des that it is still not

clear if Ibn Masarra's influences originated in neo-Platonism at large or are specifically

from pseudo-Empedocles. What is clear from Ibn Masarra's works, Tomero argues, is

that he, "cornes across as a good philosopher who is familiar with the Neo-Platonic

system and as a biifinï philosopher who investigates the esoteric meaning of the Qur'an

with the help of Neo-Platonism."s2

79 Stem, "Ibn Masarra: Follower of Pseudo-Empedocles," V -326. 80 Ibid. 81 Previously known as Kitiib al-lJuriif("Book of the Letters") and Kitiib al-Tab.sirah ("Book of Perspicuous Explanation"), respectively. 82 Emilio Tomero, "A Report on the Publications of Previously Unedited Works by Ibn Masarra." The Formation of the Classical Islamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998), 135.

66

Fierro's discussion of Ibn Masarra provides several scenarios for the basis of his

charge of heresy. Ibn Masarra's travels allowed him to come in contact with Sufi ideas,

however, because there is no solid evidence that he held Sufi beliefs before his trip, the

accusation of heresy may have been related to his penchant for Mu'tazilite ideas - and

these ideas may have been passed to him by his father. 83 However, more note-worthy is

her observation that the criticisms of Ibn Masarra's doctrines were not only limited to

scholarly activities, but were based on the mistrust that sorne felt towards the actual

mystical experience. Within the development of legal hermeneutical tools, the mystical

experience is seen as sidestepping the important narrative tie to prophetic authority,

which is provided by ~adïth interpretation and application.84 For example, the mystical

experience relies on an esoteric interpretation of text, or gains knowledge through an

internaI, and personal communication with the divine - instead of relying on a collection

of juridical rulings that have been derived from the time of the Prophet in Medina, or

elaborated upon by respected jurists.

Fierro points to Ibn Masarra' s retreat outside of C6rdoba to teach, as evidence that

he was not prohibited from teaching and proselytizing. However, she also recognizes

that this evidence is drawn from the context of describing the state and character of his

followers, and is therefore an interpretation of his behaviour based upon later

circumstances.85 She also muses that his relative seclusion may not have been based

solely on a desire to escape persecution or to avoid intellectual competition with his

contemporaries. Instead, his actions may have been based on his own doctrinal beliefs,

namely that of seclusion and ascetic withdrawal along the mystic path.

83 Fierro, "Opposition to Sufism in AI-Andalus," 178. 84 Ibid, 179. 85 Ibid, 180.

67

Analysis

The division of scholarly opinion mentioned by al-KhushanI has certainly been

illustrated, and continues into the modem reconstruction of Ibn Masarra's life and

thought. The unknown nature of his heresy has given scholars the most difficulty, or

perhaps freedom, in interpreting Ibn Masarra's life in the context of medieval al-Andalus.

What we know absolutely about the case of Ibn Masarra, is that there was a charge of

heresy laid against him, and several caliphal decrees condemning his followers and

teachings. Furthermore, Ibn Masarra never stood trial, and moved freely to the

countryside to teach for approximately two decades, while his books were destroyed and

his students persecuted within an additional two decades after his death.

The bibliographic sources themselves offer interesting characterisations of Ibn

Masarra, attacking his actions or presumed belief system by offering proof of the charge

of zandaqa, but are not explicit in connecting the two or of explaining how his actions fit

into the legal definition of heresy. Innovation and blasphemy are attributed to him, but if

these connections are valid, they cannot explain how he escaped execution, particularly

for allegedly c1aiming to be a prophet. Ibn I:Iazm describes Ibn Masarra's belief in

Mu'tazilite doctrine to be reprehensible, but does not relate this position back to heretical

ideology. Ibn Waqçlai) and al-KhushanI mention his esoteric interpretations ofthe Qur'an

and link him to the ahl al- 'ilm al-ba!in, while Sa'id of Toledo makes a passing remark

connecting Ibn Masarra to the philosophical doctrines of Ba~inism and Empedocles. It is

Abü Bakr Ibn al-' ArabI' s characterisation that identifies Ibn Masarra' s Ba~inism as being

the source of his heresy, however, this position is based largely on opinion.

68

The modern scholastic historical reconstructions use the caliphal decrees against

Ibn Masarra retroactively, and draw conclusions about the nature of his heresy from

assumptions made concerning the caliphal motivation behind the decrees. Additionally,

the characterizations made by the contemporaries of Ibn Masarra concerning his life and

beliefs, are projected onto the decrees and are used as evidence to support the same

assumptions. For example, the decrees do not specify what the heresy was, and yet,

scholars rightly use what we know of issues related to political legitimacy an in the

development of law, or assumptions based on mysticism and philosophy, and the opinion

of the historiographers from which to draw their conclusions. If however, we take

historical inquiry from the point that heresy itself is an act of transgression, and is

necessary for the development of the norm, then we are able to highlight the various

power discourses that occurred within medieval al-Andalus.

With the theory of transgression, cornes the identification of power, authority and

the discourses that construct them. Within the apparatus of authority, heresy as a

discursive tool illuminates the discourses between individuals and those invested with the

authority and power to create the norm. Foucault identifies two limits within this

structure: the rules of "right" that provide a formaI delineation of power, and the effects

of truth that this power produces and transmits, and which in turn, reproduces this

power. 1 As illustrated in the discussion on Orthodoxy in Islam, when a formaI or

informaI authority is invested with the power to speak on behalf of the religion or

community, a truth is constructed, and the propagation of this truth in turn, reinforces the

power of the authority. Foucault explains:

1 Foucault, "Two Lectures," PowerlKnowledge (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980),93.

69

.. .in any society there are manifold relations of power which permeate, characterise and constitute the social body, and these relations of power cannot themselves be established, consolidated nor implemented without the production, accumulation, circulation and functioning of a discourse. There can be no possible exercise of power without a certain economy of discourses of truth ... 2

Depending on relations of power and notions of truth, at any time Mu 'tazilism, Batinism,

philosophy or asceticism may be labelled as heretical because in sorne way they

transgress a limit as defined by an authority. Or conversely, an authority sets a limit in

response to an action or mode of belief that is identified as transgressive. Thus when

explored contextually, the different characterisations of Ibn Masarra, in light of the

caliphal decrees accusing him of heresy, illustrates the various discourses in the

construction of authority between the caliphate and the formation of the Malikï legal

school.

2 Foucault, "Two Lectures," Power/Knowledge (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980),93.

70

Transgression and Political Legitimacy

The majority of historical reconstructions of Ibn Masarra's life, rest on the

assumption that 'Abd al-Raqman III was maintaining politicallegitimacy when he issued

the decrees against Ibn Masarra. The two characterizations of Ibn Masarra that are linked

to the argument of political legitimacy, are the accusations or observations that he was a

Mu'tazilite and a Ba~inI. In this case, the discourse of political legitimacy is used to

define religious boundaries.

Until the middle of the second/eighth century the Umayyad caliphs tended to see

themsel ves as the direct agents of God, bearing titles such as, "God' s Deputy on Earth"

(khalifat Allah) and "The Commander of the Faithful" (amïr al-mu 'minïn)? In 319/932,

'Abd al-Raqman III retumed to this powerful symbol and rec1aimed the title, khalifat

Allah. By doing so, he effectively c1aimed divinely ordained authority, promoted himself

as the focus of political and religious identity, and identified his ruIe with the initial

Umayyad seat of the caliphate and with the prophetie institution of caliphal rule.4 The

daim of political legitimacy cornes through the succession of Umayyad caliphs,

beginning with the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya (r. 40/661 - 60/680), who saw himself

as extending from the chain of authority from the Rightly-Guided caliphs. Furthermore,

divine or religious authenticity is realised through the familial connection between the

Prophet Muqammad and Mu'awiya, who both belonged to the Quraish tribe and were

related through a distant grandfather. Therefore, by appealing to the traditional title of

3 Hallaq, Origins, 43; For further discussion on the use of the title within the Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties see Patricia Crone and Martin Hinds, God's Caliph: Religious Authority in the first centuries of Islam (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986), especially, 4 - 42. 4 Janina M. Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate: The Articulation of Caliphal Legitimacy in al-Andalus (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2000), 9.

71

the Umayyads, God's new "Deputy on Earth" gained political legitimacy and religious

sanction through association with the Prophet MuQammad.

One reason as to why the seat of the caliphate was made official during his reign

may have been due to the perceived weakening of the 'Abbasid caliphate. During the

fourth/tenth century, the Umayyad dynasty had become formidable political opponents of

the 'Abbasids, particuiarly in light of 'Abd ai-RaQman III's military strength, his gaining

of more territory within ai-Andalus, as weIl as in the substantial revenues of his

administration.5 However, the main catalyst for legitimating the seat of the caliphate,

tends to be Iinked to the emergence of the Fa~imIds.

The Fa~imIds were an Isma'm ShI'I dynasty that ruled mu ch of North Africa from

296/909 to 566/1171. In 296/909 the y established themselves in Tunisia, where the

Immamate-caliphate was declared. The rule of the Fa~imId caliph or Imam, the lawful

temporal leader of the Muslim community, was based on a legitimacy of direct

decadency from the Prophet MUQammad, through his daughter Fa~ima and 'An, the

Prophet's son-in-Iaw and the fourth Rightly-Guided caliph. 6 Furthermore, it was based

on a conception of the imam as divinely inspired. Therefore, during the lifetime of Ibn

Masarra, a tense political and religious situation developed, whereby the Umayyads in al-

Andalus, the Fa~imlds in the maghrib, and the 'Abbasids in the mashriq aIl claimed

political and religious authenticity through divinely ordained authority. It is in this

context, with the growing theological divisions between SunnI and Sh!'1 sectarian

5 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 12. 6 Ibid, 13.

72

communities, and ideological and political divergences between the two SunnI caliphal

seats, that 'Abd al-Rahman III claimed to be the defender of the faithfu1. 7

Politically, this move by the Umayyad caliphate is generally interpreted as an

isolationist tactic to insulate al-Andalus from external political threats, and to contain

internaI religious developments. As the caliph became more identified with holding the

power of "maintainer of the faith," he essentially claimed to embody the unit y of the

SunnI community in opposition to other belief forms. 8 The 'Abbasids posed a threat to

the Umayyads, based on doctrinal differences and the old political grudge between the

two dynasties, while the Fa~imlds posed a threat with their growing power base in the

maghrib and in their supposed secret missionary activities in al-Andalus.9 Therefore, the

characterisation of Ibn Masarra as espousing Mu'tazilite doctrine, and of holding Ba~inI

practices, becomes directly linked to the political climate of his time.

7 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 26. 8 Ibid, 12. 9 Ibid, 26.

73

Ibn Masarra and Mu 'tazilism

Ibn Masarra's contemporary Al}mad ai-Razl (d. 343/955) records that in the

caliphal decrees against Ibn Masarra and the activities of his followers, 'Abd al-Ral}man

III presents himself as the "champion of faith against deviation," and as the "guardian of

the community againstfitnah," or religio-political issues that divide the community from

within. 10 Al-Raz! describes Ibn Masarra as a "man of great erudition and persuasive

powers who deviated from the faith in his beliefs of the createdness of the Qur' an, human

free will and his rejection of the intercession of the Prophet on behalf of the repentant

sinner." Furthermore, that he "seduced many believers from the true path of the Sunna",

and that after his death his followers continued to propagate his beliefs, thereby

"undermining the unit y of the community."ll It is obvious from al-RazI's

characterization that he is alluding to the possible Mu'tazilite beliefs he1d by Ibn Masarra,

and when this opinion is conflated with Ibn I:Iazm's similar position, scholars have

concluded that Ibn Masarra was condemned primarily for being a Mu'tazilite. 12 If this

conclusion is seen within the discourse of political legitimacy, it is arguable that through

the caliphal decrees 'Abd al-Ral}man III, or perhaps the vizier who penned the mandate,

used his position to define the boundaries of the community. Therefore, it is the symbol

of the authoritative power that determines which specific beliefs are considered deviant

or heretical and therefore, transgressive.

10 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 33. Il Ibid. 12AI-Razï refers to these Mu'tazilite doctrines, without specifically naming them as such. See the description of the se tenants below.

74

This position, as maintained by Goldziher, Stroumsa and Fierro, is tenable when

one presumes that either the caliph or a politically motivated vizier were wary of

Mu'tazilite doctrines supported by the 'Abbasid caliphate. Mu'tazilite theology

developed in the second/eighth century and for a number of years, became the official

school of the' Abbasid court, under the rule of the caliph Abu J afar al-Ma' mlin ibn Harun

(r. 197/813 - 217/833).13 Their tenets inc1ude: belief in absolute tawhïd, monotheism, in

that God could not be conceived by humans and any anthropomorphic description of God

in the Qur'an is entirely allegorical; the createdness of the Qur'an, meaning that although

it is described as being the eternal word of God, an eternal Qur'an compromises the

uniqueness of God as an eternal and singular entity; the free will of humans, to answer

the philosophical question on the problem of evil, as God does no evil, and therefore evil

is defined as the errors that come from human action; belief in God's method of reward

and punishment on the Last Day; taking the middle path, or a moderate position between

two extremes on the question of the gravely sinning Muslim, jfisiq; and enjoining the

good and forbidding the evil. In particular, the doctrine of the createdness of the Qur'an

was a central issue during the mibna, the theological-doctrinal "inquisition," where from

216/832 - 233/848 persecution comparable to the Inquisition was carried out against

scholars who did not adhere to Mu 'tazill thought. 14 The most notable target was A};lmad

Ibn ijanbal (d. 240/855), who was later credited as the founder of the ijanball SunnI legal

school.

The crux of the argument of political legitimacy and Mu'tazilite thought rests on

the belief that the Umayyad caliphate was essentially wary of any sort of knowledge or

13 Denny, Introduction to Islam, 180. 14 Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, 35.

75

content that came from the mashriq. It is often assumed that when "imported" or

"foreign" ideas entered al-Andalus, the se doctrines were held to be suspect or heretical,

particularly if they were aligned politically to the 'Abbasid caliphate. This argument

illuminates the dis course that political tensions were used to define religious boundaries

when it came to the development of theological doctrine.

However, this position may be problematized when one notes that both 'Abbasid

and Mu'tazilite influences had an early entrance into al-Andalus. Mu'tazilite theology

was introduced as early as circa 204/820 by a C6rdoban doctor, Abü Bakr Farij ibn Salam

and a BaghdadI author, AQmad ibn Harun. 15 Furthermore, we know that Ibn Masarra's

father was a Mu'tazilite and that through frequent trips to the mashriq, Ibn Masarra

himself was exposed to the se doctrines. However, it must be recognized that al-Andalus

was not isolated, and the currents of Islamic cultural life as it developed in al-Andalus,

were constantly informed by the steady flow of pilgrims, merchants, and occasional

immigration movements between al-Andalus and the mashriq.16 Furthermore, we know

that the new Umayyad caliph spent considerable resources in the glorification of his mIe

and in the promotion of his prestigious reign, which included the admission of both

'Abbasid and Fa~imid elements into the growing pomp of the court, its ceremonies, and in

the elaboration of protocol. 17 Therefore, even if an authoritative power feared the

dissemination of "foreign" ideology and attempted to restrict this flow of information,

15 Rourani, "The Early Growth of the Secular Sciences in Andalusia," 146. 16 Ibid. 17 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 10-11; For specifie practices, court protocol and formalities, and influences of 'Abbasid and Farimid practices within the Umayyad court structure, see Miquel Barcel6, "The Manifest Caliph: Umayyad Ceremony in C6rdoba, or the Staging of Power," The Formation of the Classicallslamic World: The Formation of al-Andalus (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998).

76

doing so would prove to be an impossible task to control absolutely - particularly if the

solution was through the persecution of a few scattered groups.

However, this in itself may speak toward a further element in the apparatus of

authority. In the construction of truth, mainly the production, accumulation and

circulation of a discourse, it is plausible that the caliph wished to support the members of

the administration, legal schools and intellectual centers, who naturally fell in line with

the Umayyad world view. The persecution of a few scattered groups in turn supports a

majority of unified groups (or at least causes groups to band together for strength), in the

construction and propagation of support for the recognised authority of the Umayyad

caliphate. Despite the fact that in al-Andalus there existed a diverse nature and flow of

cultural exchange and information - from merchants and scholars to court procedures, it

is still plausible that Ibn Masarra and his followers were persecuted because their

mashriqi ideas could spread sympathy for the 'Abbasid caliphate and cause internaI

rebellion.

The discourse of political legitimacy and its use to define religious boundaries is

supported when one looks at the religious and legal offices behind the symbol of the

caliphate. AI-Razï describes 'Abd al-Ral)man III as the guardian of the religious

community, particularly in reference to the case, judgement and heresy of Ibn Masarra.

However, because the cali phal decrees are not extant, we have no way of knowing if the

decrees stated if the caliph ruled over this specific case within the office of caliphal

judge, or if this is an excessive observation made by al-Razï, to further promote his

opinion that Ibn Masarra was one who had fallen from the "true path." Since al-Razï

explicitly notes Ibn Masarra' s possible Mu 'tazilite views, and attributes the power of

77

religious authority to the caliph, it can be assumed that the Umayyad caliph was invested

with the religious and legal power to determine community boundaries between faith and

heresy.

Ibn Masarra and Bafinism

The second most common characterisation of Ibn Masarra is that he practiced

Ba~inism. Often Ba~inism is employed to refer to his interpretive methodology, as we

have seen in the source provided by Khushanï. It is also used to used to suggest that he

was one of the first Süfis in al-Andalus, introducing esotericism into the area, as

maintained by Stern and Addas. Moreover, it is argued by Asin and Tornero that he

employed bafinl methods in order to disguise the Neoplatonic influence from pseudo­

Empedocles in his writings and teachings. FinaIly, when the characterisation of Ba~inism

is employed in the discourse of politicallegitimacy, invariably a conclusion is drawn that

Ibn Masarra might have been an Isma'ï1ï or a Fa~imid sympathizer.

Bafin generally refers to an esoteric, hidden or inner meaning found within a text.

Represented through highly allegoricallanguage, esoteric writing is what scholar William

James identifies as noetic, or a simultaneous feeling and knowing, where a deeper truth

transcends rational thought and is spontaneously revealed. 18 Mystical or specific Sufi

texts that employ this style of writing, use language written with noetic and esoteric

undertones an attempt to illuminate the text with obscure and intricate accounts of the

mystical experience. This is primarily based upon the idea that only the initiate or one

18 Robert S. Ellwood, Mysticism and Religion (New York: Seven Bridges Press, 1999), 3.

78

who has already experienced the divine, can comprehend the true nature of the esoteric

matter at hand. 19 Common among mystical developments, regardless of origin or

context, is the unavoidable reality that the instructor only has the power to relay her

experience in words. Furthermore, it is held that the religious experience itself primarily

rests upon an individual' s direct and unmediated encounter with the divine.

Traditionally, it has been argued that expressions of the unmediated experience have been

viewed with suspicion by Islamic theologians.

It was the Batinïyyah who gaveprimacy to an "inner meaning," particularly in the

interpretation of the Qur'an. This methodology is often associated with theological

methodological developments in the maghrib, with Isma'ïlï teachings emphasizing that

the Qur' an had an internaI, hidden and esoteric meaning, and that this meaning could be

learnt only from the Imam or his agent, the da 7.20 By extension, esoteric exegesis can

also be applied to rituals, as weIl as the understanding of existential reality. Within the

maghrib, the method and use of this hermeneutical tool was not lirnited to religious world

views, but was also ideologically and textually elaborated upon by Isma'ïlï thinkers such

as Ja'far ibn Man~ür al-Yaman (d. ca. 345/957) and AI-Qaqï al-Nu'man (d. 363/974).

19 Dhawq, for example, is a common ~ufi term and can be translated as, "that which can be grasped through the mystical experience," as the "taste" of a thing, or as al-GhazaIï understood it, an experimental yet, personal understanding and experience. See AI-GhazaIï, Kitiïb al-adhkiïr wa'l-da'awiït (Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society, 1990), xvi. 20 Watt, Islamic The%gy and Philosophy, 126. Literally the term da 7 means, "he who summons." It is a term used by several Muslim groups but is particularly associated with Isma'ïIï groups to designate people who engage in proselytising activity. According to Farhad Daftary, the term was adopted by the 'Abbasid da \va, or mission, in Khurasan and by the early Mu'tazila. Further, the term has its widest application in connection with the Isma'I1ïs, which came to be applied to any authorised representative of the Ismiï 711 aI­da \va al-hiïdiya (rightly guiding mission), responsible for spreading Isma'ï1ï doctrine and winning practitioners. See the entry of Daftary, "Da'i," Enclyclopedia lranica (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982).

79

The wide application of bâfin lends itself to being associated with ~üfism,

philosophy and Isma'Ilism, separately or together. 21 Furthermore, what makes the

discussion of Ibn Masarra interesting is that on one hand, scholars such as Marin, Addas

and Stern tend to use this association to discuss the ascetic and esoteric practises of Ibn

Masarra, while on the other hand, scholars like Astn, Goldziher and Stroumsa, promote

the position that philosophical inquiry during this period necessitated covert measures to

avoid detection by sources for "orthodoxy." Thus it is argued that Ibn Masarra employed

esoteric writing because be was an ascetic, or because philosophers often hid their

speculative lines of thought in allegory to avoid being labelled heretical, or simply

because he relied on metaphor. 22

In light of the associations of Ba~inism, in the discourse of political legitimacy all

three associations of bâfin, ~üfi, and Isma'ïlï may be treated in a similar fashion to

illustrate Ibn Masarra' s motivation to retire in the rural area of C6rdoba. If he were a

~üfi, Batinï or an ascetic, it is logical to assume that he would retire to the countryside if

only to fully immerse himself in ascetic practises of withdrawing from the world.

However, if one considers that he was indeed an Isma'ïlï sympathiser it is also

conceivable that he removed himself from C6rdoba for political reasons.

If based on political motivations, the act of Ibn Masarra moving to the rural area

enables us to perhaps find evidence of power structures based on geography in the

medieval period of al-Andalus. Medieval cartography displays extremely interesting

evidence of these power structures. An example is found in one of the major

representatives of the Balkhï school of Muslim cartography, Muqammad 'Abd al-Qa~ïm

21 Fierro, "Biitinism in al-Andalus," 106. 22 Joel L. Kra~mer, "Maimonides and the Spanish Aristotelian School," Christians, Muslims and Jews in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000), 47.

80

ibn l:lauqal (d. 358/969). Out of his twenty-three maps in his major treatise, $ürat al-arçf,

"The Face of the Earth," twelve displayed no boundaries between different states.23

Labelled boundaries were included on the remaining eleven maps, however, what is

shown under these designations are clearly devoid of geographical significance. For

example, each region is subdivided into a series of rectangular boxes, sorne containing

smaller marks to denote capital areas, not unlike a cross section of plant cells and nuclei

as seen under a microscope. The detailed map sketches are encased in calligraphie

frames, such as "~add al-fars", marking the region, li mit, or boundary of Persia.

Ralph Brauer argues that these boundaries "cannot bear any relation to real

borderlines separating one of these states from another on the ground.,,24 The

arrangements of the cells in relation to each other, noted by each boundary label, appear

random in relation to the actual physical location of the state or province.25 From this

evidence, Brauer argues that during the fourthltenth century, geographers recognised the

existence of political boundaries in the sense that as a traveller progressed away from the

center of the state, she would slowly pass from one sovereignty to another.26 Political or

state boundaries during this period were not sharply defined, but were transition zones of

uncertain administrative power between two states.

The image thus projected would seem to imply that these authors considered any given state as composed of a central core, the focus of its power and identity, and a peripheral zone where the force of sovereignty and identity of that state grew progressively feebler as one moved away from the capital, to be replaced gradually ... by the sovereignty and identity of the adjoining state.27

23 Ralph W. Brauer, Boundaries and Frontiers in Medieval Muslim Geography (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1995),3. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid, 3 - 5. 26 Ibid, 5. 27 Ibid, 5 - 6.

81

The world of Ibn Masarra was not one of political or unified political boundaries. The

fact that the caliph had reinstated the seat of the caliphate in no way suggests that he was

the sole ruler in al-Andalus. 'Abd al-RaQman III ascended the throne in 299/912, but

only after thirty yearS of rebellion had reduced the Umayyad's effective power to the

capital of C6rdoba.28 As a new amïr, he spent the first two decades of his reign fighting

to impose sovereignty over the "frontier" region in the north, which held powerful

families that traditionally took advantage of each opportunity which allowed them to

maximize their autonomy and expand their territory.29 For ex ample, in the 256/870s the

Banu Marwan and the Banu Qasï expanded their domains in defiance of Umayyad

authority, and even captured Umayyad governors and commanders. Then shortly before

the amïr 'Abd Allah (r. 274/888 - 299/912) came to the throne, a rebel from Ronda,

'Umar ibn I:Iaf~un, raided the heartlands of al-Andalus and came to dominate the region

around Malaga, and when the amïr proved ineffective, other numerous towns and rural

districts also revolted against C6rdoba?O It was only after 'Abd al-RaQman III had

defeated the Banu I:Iaf~un, that he began to initiate his policies aimed at consolidating

Umayyad rule.

This study, when applied to the case of Ibn Masarra, gives credible evidence for

his withdrawal from the city of C6rdoba, if his motivation was indeed political. Even

when 'Abd al-RaQman III c1aimed the seat of the caliphate and had every congregational

mosque in his domain invoke God's blessings upon the "Commander of the Faithful"

28 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 8. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid.

82

after the Friday prayers,31 the land he commanded was still filled with garrison cities that

were ruled at the locallevel by generals, govemors, or the appointed qiidï. The division

of his power was such that there were most likely differences in tax collection,

particularly between the Muslim region and the northem power bases. Furthermore,

there were most certainly community and doctrinal differences, differences between the

policies and methods of his appointed govemors, and cultural differences within the

population itself, including demographic distribution, economic status and religious

affiliation. Therefore, if Ibn Masarra had indeed, been an Isma'm Ba~inï, a

"propagandist,,32 or a Fa~imid sympathiser, moving away from the main power center of

C6rdoba would provide him an opportunity to work undetected. If formaI caliphal

authority was recognized only within the urban areas, then Ibn Masarra would be able to

teach undisturbed in the liminal power zone found in the rural areas, where informaI

authority may have been free to develop. Moreover, this argument provides a credible

reason as to why Ibn Masarra himself was not persecuted, but that after his death when

his students retumed to C6rdoba, they proved to be a direct threat to the caliph's power.

31 Safran, The Second Umayyad Caliphate, 19. 32 Also a pejorative term used to refer to the missionary work ofIsma'iiTs.

83

Transgression and the Formation of the Malikï Madhhab

There is no dispute that the Mâlikï madhhab was a dominant presence in al-

Andalus. Often however, it is assumed that the school itself had crystallised and was

based upon a monolithic legal cannon. In the case of Ibn Masarra, this assumption is

used to argue that the Mâlikï school persuaded the caliph to quell doctrinal differences, in

order to rid the land of opposition, thus assuring their dominance. In fact, both Fierro and

Samso recognise that following the claim to the caliphate by 'Abd al-Ral)mân III, the

Mâlikï school was publicly proclaimed to be the official doctrine of al-Andalus, taking

place in the specific context of the persecution of Ibn Masarra's followers?3

Furthermore, it is also recognised by Dominique Urvoy, that both the am"ir MUQammad 1

(r. 237/852 - 272/886) and the caliph al-J:Iakam II (r. 349/961 - 365/976) found it fitting

to favour other juridical schools in arder to, "release the ruling power from the grip of

Mâlikï hierarchy.,,34 This toleration of the legal schools, as well as the climate of

intellectual and cultural toleration linked to the traditional description of al-Andalus, has

been explained as being a political move to provide a counterweight to Mâlikï hegemony.

However, this balance became unstable as theological rhetoric placed the caliph in a

position where the persecution of so-called heretical movements became a necessary

policy, through which the caliph could stress his own power as maintainer of the faith. 35

Therefore, a picture of the legal situation in al-Andalus is promoted as being an extreme

33 Fierro and Sams6, "Introduction," XXIV. 34 Dominique Urvoy, "The 'Ulama' of al-Andalus," The Legacy of Muslim Spain (New York: Brill, 1992), 852. 35 Larson, Ibn Garcia's Shu 'übiyya Letter, 115.

84

"orthodoxy" held by the Miilikï school, and that this monopoly was jeopardised when a

few individuals, such as Ibn Masarra, challenged the accepted religious norm.

As exemplified by Astn, this opinion is often linked to an ethnie argument, stating

that the indigenous population of the Iberian Peninsula had an "innate tendency toward

orthodoxy," and that the Arab conquerors brought with them the "strict" and "intolerant"

Miilikï school from Medina.36 However, upon investigation, it is realised that this

concept of an "innate orthodoxy" is based upon circular logic. Namely, that the

indigenous people leaned toward orthodoxy, and in turn, orthodoxy is explained by

confirming the prevention of other religious currents by Miilikism?7 This essentially

leads one to a controversial ethnical composition of the region. Firstly, it assumes that

both Arab and Berber culture had limited impact, and secondly, it assumes that Islam

itself had an immediate and total immersion with the indigenous population.

Although we know little conceming the social conditions of the region, we do

know that conversion of the Hispanie population to Islam was a slow process, that the

conquered country was largely broken up into garrison cities and regional govemments,

and furthermore, that the existence of Christian kingdoms in the North allowed

discontented subjects the opportunity to emigrate.38 Furthermore, if we accept that by the

year 300/912 the Miilikï school had crystallised, we also have to recognise that at this

time, only one-third of the indigenous population had converted to Islam and that the

boundaries of al-Andalus enclosed no more than approximately two-thirds of the total

36 Jorge Aguade, "Sorne Rernarks about Sectarian Movernents in al-Andalus." Studia Islamica, No. 64 (Paris: Mainsonneuve & Larose, 1986), 54-55. 37 Ibid, 55-56. 38 Ibid, 71-72.

85

area of the peninsula?9 Moreover, it is the case that the physical social structure of al-

Andalus at the time of the conquest included a large mix of Arabs, Berbers, Muwallads,

Mozarabes and Jews. Therefore, given the diversity of the population and political

realities and boundaries, it is not warranted to conclude that the dominance of the Malikï

school in al-Andalus was due to an argument based upon ethnicity or "innate orthodoxy."

The most convincing argument given for Malikï dominance seems to come from

the Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun (d. 80811406), who argues that the reason was largely

geographical. Accordingly, when it came time to perform the religious pilgrimage of the

IJajj, Andalusian scholars came into contact with the Medinese Malikites, who also had

obligatory pilgrimage centers in Egypt and Ifrïqiyya.4o This also provides reason for the

emergence of Shafi'ites and Z;ahirites in al-Andalus, who were active in the afore-

mentioned areas.

In light of the dominance of the Malikï madhhab in al-Andalus, how are we to

understand the initial charge of zandaqa against Ibn Masarra, particularly given the

absence of a trial? As Hallaq has argued, the activity of the early Islamic judicial system,

carried out by the judge, or qiiçlf, may be considered the best yardstick by which we can

measure the evolution of Islamic legal and religious ethics.41 The sources record that the

earliest role of the qiiçlf was as a political administrator through the office of military

commander, sent to newly acquired lands as arbitrators and as political mouthpieces.42

Indeed, from what we have discussed conceming the development of Islamic law, in the

early period there was no mature form of the Sharf 'ah to establish in newIy acquired

39 Aguade, "Sorne Rernarks about Sectarian Movernents in al-Andalus," 56; 62. 40 Ibid, 59; 61. 41 Hallaq, Origins, 34. 42 Ibid, 34-35.

86

lands. In fact, it was policy from the onset that the conquered communities were to

foIlow their own traditional legal ethic, as exemplified in a letter from the second

Rightly-Guided caliph, Abü Bakr to his generals which instructed them to, "establish a

covenant with every city and to give these people assurances and to let them live

according to their laws.,,43 It was not until the start of the Umayyad caliphate that the

office of the qëiçlï began to take on more religious and legal duties. For the individual

judge, this meant possessing a reasonable amount of knowledge of the legal stipulations

found in the Qur'an as weIl as socio-religious values.44

Role of the Qëiçli in al-Andalus

By the fourth/tenth century the personal legal schools began to crystallize and

identification of the four Sunnl schools of law as authoritative structures becomes

possible. Variations in opinion took place, and it is recognized that these changes were a

fundamental and structural feature of Islarnic law.45 With the crystallization of the

schools, came specific roI es and specializations within the legal discourse for jurists.

HaIlaq identifies four important juristic typologies or roles that dominated Islarnic legal

culture: the qëiçlï, the mufti, the author jurist and the professor.46 Outside of the roI es of

the qaçlï and the muftï, the career of the author-jurist included the writing of treatises,

while the Iegal professor gathered students and taught his Iegal methodology. A jurist

normally attained proficiency in aIl four roI es for the maintenance for a successful career,

43 HalIaq, Origins, 36. 44 Ibid, 38. 45 Hallaq, Authority, 166. 46 Ibid, 167.

87

however as Hallaq notes, the fact that sorne jurists wrote treatises on law while being

engaged in teaching, should in no way mean that the treatise was a part of their

professional role as a professor, but that it remained a part of the office of the au thor-

juriSt.47 In a similar fashion, a legal opinion made within a treatise, should not be seen as

coming from the office of the qiu;fï. According to the strict definition of the profession, a

qaçlï heard cases, determined the relevant facts, and reached a verdict in accordance with

the larger skeletal legal narrative that was based upon the authoritative opinion of his

schoo1.48 But it was not within the office of the qaçlï to assess or evaluate this

authoritative opinion; this instead, belonged to the office of the muftï.49

In al-Andalus these divisions among the legal offices are nuanced by population,

geographical and political influences. The interesting element about the administration of

the Andalusian 'ulama' is that they formed a part of society that included formation

within the spheres of legal and political culture. We have evidence of members of the

'ulema' rejecting a political affiliation with the caliphate, or rejecting administrative

positions, in favour of a career solely dedicated to asceticism or of the study of law with

pietistic motivations.50 Without explicitly stating it, this evidence illustrates that there

were cases of 'ulama' gaining positions of power. The .saf:tib al-madïna, for ex ample,

was an administrative position that ensured the strict implementation of the law in

matters of extreme gravit y and that involved the security of the state and the maintenance

47 HalIaq, Aurhority, 167-168. 48 Ibid, 171. 49 Ibid. 50 Manuela Marin, "Inqibàç! 'an al-Sul~àn," Saber Religioso Y Poder PoUrico en el Islam (Madrid: Agencia Espanola de Cooperaci6n Intemacional, 1994), 127; See further, p. 132, where Marin argues that the refusaI to hold office could be seen at different levels: from the active dislike of being associated with unjust or illegitimate rulers, to the distrust of other 'ulema' who performed these duties without any problem of conscience.

88

of public order.51 In the case of Ibn Masarra, it was viziers in the position of these

"zalmedina" who read the caliphal decrees in the main mosques of COrdoba. Subordinate

to this position were the chief of police, .sa~ib al-shw:ta, and the market judge, .saMb al-

suq.

Shedding further light on the diversity of the position of the qaçlï in al-Andalus is

thefatwa collection, al-A~kam al-kubra, by the Andalusian qa~lIbn Sahl (d. 486/1093).

He provides us with a detailed description of about fifty court cases that were heard in

Cordoba between the years 456/1 064 and 464/1 072: thirteen were ruled by one or two

qa~ïs; twenty-three were ruled by a sa~ib al-shu~ta; and three were ruled by the sa~ib al-

madïna.52 In his analysis of this text Christian Müller notes that the dut y of the qa~ï sat

in judgment over lawsuits brought forward by claimants, and that no qa~ï could pass a

binding judgment without first consulting a board of muftïs for their legal opinion.53

Keeping aIl of these points in mind, it seems unlikely that Ibn Masarra fled al-

Andalus explicitly to escape a trial due to a charge of zandaqa. If a lawsuit had indeed

been brought against him, he would have been summoned to Cordoba for a trial, and

judged according to the standards laid out by the MalikI jurisconsults. Moreover, the

varied role of the qa~ï in fourth/tenth century al-Andalus points to a strong possibility

that the charge of zandaqa was more of a scholarly refutation, than a literaI "charge of

heresy."

51 Bermejo, "The Zalmedina of Cordoba," 389. 52 Christian Müller, "Judging with God's Law on Earth: Juridical Powers of the Qiiç1ï al-lama 'a of Cordoba in the fifthlEleventh Century," Islamic Law and Society 7.2 (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 160. 53 Hussain Monès notes however that according to Ibn Fari)ün, the Mâlikï qadï is not obliged to consult other fuqaha' ; See Hussain Monès, "The Role of Men in Religion in the History of Muslim Spain," The Formation of the Classicallslamic World (Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998),59.

89

During this time period, divisions were occumng within the group of MâlikI

'ulema between supporters of legal hermeneutics that relied on personal opinion, ahl al-

ra 'y, and those who supported a strict reliance on the prophetie traditions, ahl al-~adïth.

Up to the middle of the third/ninth century the ahZ al-ra 'y was the driving trend in legal

reasoning, however after this period, supporters of the ahl al-~adïth had gained

substantial authoritative support, and by the middle of the third/ninth century, had

succeeded the ahl al-ra 'y.54 From what we know of his contemporary al-KhushanI, Ibn

Masarra was a supporter of the ahl al- 'ilm al-bqtin and his interpretive method was

related to the esoteric reading of the Qur' an. From this evidence and what we know of

the development of the legal schools, it is probable that a fellow MalikI scholar felt that

Ibn Masarra's interpretive method transgressed the bounds of the skeletal formation of

the MalikI madhhab, and wrote a scholarly refutation to this opinion. Therefore, it would

seem more likely that the initial accusation of zandaqa against Ibn Masarra was not made

within the office of the qiiçlï or the muftï, but was a scholastic refutation with the intention

of excluding Ibn Masarra from the community of legal culture. In addition, exclusion

from the community was not restricted to trials or execution for transgressive behaviour

or doctrine. Exclusion could stem from the accusation itself, be related to terms of abuse,

and result in social isolation or the destruction of books or in the publishing of public

refutations.55

Accusations of heresy in al-Andalus only led to trial and execution when the ruler

saw, or was made to see a political danger in the accused.56 When rulers intervened, their

54 Hallaq, Origins, 123. 55 Maria Isabel Fierm, "Religious Dissention in al-Andalus," al-Qantara, 22.2 (Madrid: Instituto Miguel Asfn de Estudios Arabes, 2001), 465. 56 Ibid.

90

action was prompted by fear of social and political upheaval and was most likely to

happen at times when they were attempting to keep a hold on political legitimacy.57

This is supported by the evidence of retroactive persecution of Ibn Masarra. If indeed,

the accusation was limited to a scholastic refutation, it is conceivable that it was later

used as affirmation of heretical views or to substantiate a later political threat when the

caliph and his legal supporters were attempting to outline a unified religious norm.

57 Fierro, "Opposition to Sufism," 183.

91

Summary and Conclusions

Accusations of heresy are effective means of supporting a particular notion of

truth and of demarcating or signifying the boundary of a community. An exploration into

the scholarship on Ibn Masarra reveals much about his life and works, and raises many

questions concerning structures of authority and power, the ex change of ideas, instances

of intolerance, political, intellectual and religious climates, and the role that al-Andalus

played in the medieval Islamic world.

The discussion of heresy and orthodoxy in Islam rests traditionally on an

unfortunate bifurcation between the identification of a dominant group and a sub-group.

NaturaIly, the conditions for membership related to any group within the community of

Islam allows for this identification to occur. By determining absolutely the criteria by

which one is judged to belong to any group, aIl others are immediately excluded.

Prob1ems occur when external parties attempt to determine these conditions for

membership from without. As we have discussed, many scholars make preconceptions

about which groups are labelled to be "orthodox" Islam. These groups range from ones

that have enjoyed historical dominance by way of politics, or sheer numbers, such as in

the assumption that SunnI Islam is "orthodox." Other groups include a descriptive base

related to the Judeao-Christian tradition, such as assuming that aIl three Abrahamic faiths

may be defined "orthodox" by how closely any given community adheres to its

authoritative scriptures. In the case of Islamic history, this requires an assumption that

"orthodox" Muslims follow the Sharï 'ah, while heretics, deviants, and sects are

differentiated from the "norm" by following something different.

92

This results in a historical polemical battle between opposing groups. Thus,

Süfism is seen as a struggling heresy, desperate to survive the constant onslaught of

intolerant, legalist Islam; philosophy is claimed as unbelief, as the "atheistic rationalism"

attempts to circumvent the prophetic process; and finally, all groups outside of the

perceived norm are labelled as sects or heresies, that challenge a dominant, united and

rigid legal school. Within the tradition of Islam itself, there have been attempts to define

"right belief' and "right action" to facilitate a working model of an Islamic community,

and to identify definitively, what is Islamic and what is not Islamic. Thus, we have seen

instances in history where the definition of conditions for membership and grounds for

identifying the disbeliever or apostate are outlined specifically to safeguard the integrity

of the religion. These definitions necessarily create identity of the "other" and a culture,

be it theological, legal or popular, based upon the exclusion or tolerance of the "other."

As Foucault identifies, there is not one culture that permits everything, and that humanity

does not emerge from freedom, but from limitation and the identifiable line that is not to

be crossed. Therefore, to better understand the development and history of a culture, one

should look at the structures that create these rules and limits.

In the development of Islamic 1egal culture, variances between the definitions

between "right belief' and "right action" are nuanced by the limits of the community.

Therefore, for ex ample, we have seen that although there is no overt conflict between

rational Mu 'tazilism and Islarnic theology for the' Asharites, other communities identify

the methodology as atheistic philosophy, and label it as a form of kufr. While al-Ghazalï

on the other hand looks to define kufr as that which states whatever the Prophet said or

did to be a lie. The definition of the conditions for membership in the community later

93

becomes grounds for accusations of heresy, and is further complicated by historical

reconstruction of the scholars, and this is exemplified by the varying interpretation and

implementation of zandaqa.

As we have seen in the discussion of the scholarly reconstructions of Ibn Masarra,

each characterisation of his work and activities were made from a specific point of

departure for historical inquiry and to support a specific argument. Within the Orientalist

paradigm, distinctions must be made between British and European Orientalists on the

one hand, and Hispanic Studies on the other. Orientalism is characteristically a Western

exploration into the East, therefore, the reality of an "Oriental" power in Europe

generates a unique situation, and the context of the scholar will influence analysis. Asfn

created an argument based on contrary divisions: The eastern Islamic world allows

philosophy to bloom, because Greek thought lies beneath the cultural surface; while al­

Andalus was invaded by "non-cultured" Arabs, who do not have this cultural thread.

However, because Ibn Masarra is of Spanish descendent, Asfn argues that his cultural

memory, which had possibly been influenced by Hellenism, guided Ibn Masarra toward

seeking out the speculative trends. Therefore, Ibn Masarra can be claimed as one who

resisted Arab dominance and the dry starkness found in religious legalism.

Other scholars have formulated their definitions in static and monolithic terms,

and by romanticising intellectual trends in the mashriq. In sorne examples, the

emergence of philosophy and mysticism can only be validated with the rise of

institutions, as folk-culture is not a valid example of "Culture." Furthermore, it is argued

that philosophy cannot develop within a religious framework, therefore, secular-Greek

thought is a more superior intellectual base. These assumptions lead to comparisons

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between the "tolerant" and "cultured" life of the 'Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad, and the

"intolerant" and "uncultured" existence of the fledgling Umayyad Dynasty in al-Andalus.

The historiography of the life of Ibn Masarra is generally drawn from what we

know of the political, geographical and religious climates of his time and depends upon

reconstructions based upon the bibliographic sources. For ex ample, sorne scholars

discuss the frequency of trials against heretics and "free thinking" individuals. "Free

thinkers" is a contemporary construction that has been placed upon medieval realities,

and its roots are found within in the classical notion that philosophy cannot develop

within a religious context. When the definition of "Mu'tazila" becomes conflated with

"free-thinker," this construction becomes compounded. In the medieval period, the term

"Mu'tazila" was a blanket term to refer to any suspect ideas. Therefore, the only textual

evidence we have ofIbn Masarra holding Mu'tazilite doctrine is found in the opinions of

his opponents. However, a modem reconstruction of his life is able to conclude that he

was persecuted specifically for his philosophical ideals or rationalism, wh en "Mu'tazila"

is conflated with "free-thinker." The same situation occurs when one approaches Ibn

Masarra from the argument that he was a ~üfi, and when a comparison of heresy is made

from the bifurcation between independent thought and the notion of a static legal or

religious context. Past scholarship has often been conducted with the assumption that

developments in philosophy or mysticism have gained negative attention from sources of

authority or power.

The intellectual climate in al-Andalus in terms of heresy and the construction of

law however, reflects that there was a wide variety of religious practice and belief.

Furthermore, that within the legal sphere itself, there was a spectrum of opinion and

95

juristic roles. By looking at the point of law from the point of the dissenters, we are

better able to explore the discourses that emerge. As transgression, heresy is essentially

needed in the construction of the norm or the limit. Transgression and limit regulate each

other, as each position is defined in relation to the other. As societies and contexts grow

and change, the fluidity of law allows jurists to answer these changes.

At the time of the caliphal decrees against Ibn Masarra, Mu'tazilism had already

been an aspect of the intellectual landscape of al-Andalus for over one hundred years.

Furthermore, out of the eight general cases of zandaqa cited by scholars and historians,

only two were related to the accused holding Mu 'tazilite ideals. Both Ibn Masarra and

Ibn Wahb were suspected of this, and while both were accused of heresy, neither had a

trial. Moreover, both were permitted to teach, and specifically in the case of Ibn Wahb,

attained an influential political position as a judge in C6rdoba. In light of these

considerations for the case of Ibn Masarra, Mu'tazilism as an opposing religious doctrine,

may not have been the explicit motivation behind the caliphal decrees. In fact, it may be

considered that the charge of zandaqa is related to political legitimacy and a change

within the legal opinion. That with the establishment of the caliph as the divine

representative on Earth, and a policy of enforcing this belief through the propagation of

"truth", differences in legal opinion may have been written by specific scholars wanting

to distance themselves from what was no longer politically supported. Again, one's

actions may not necessarily cause one to be expelled from the fold of Islam, however,

one's belief and its potential to influence others is the root of the discussion for religious

legal scholars. In the case of Ibn Masarra, this potential is two-fold. Not only was his

96

thought potentially threatening for the legal scholars, but also was perceived as being a

threat to the politicallegitimacy of the caliphate.

The second charge of heresy, in the form of the caliphal decrees, was directed

from the seat of the caliphate. It is possible, as it has been argued, that the caliph fell

under pressure from a Malikï orthodoxy. However, as we have seen, although the Malikï

school of thought was dominant in al-Andalus, it was not a unified norm. Within the

juridical structure, there was a skeletal frame of jurisprudence that can be identified as

Malikï and of holding the authority of Malik himself. However, interpretation and

application of this framework was case-specifie. Furthermore, as we have discovered

from the hierarchy of legal roles, dramatic changes to the legal framework could only be

accompli shed by the group of jurisconsults. Therefore, the caliph himself could not rule

over the existence of a given heresy, and nominize it within the sphere of law. However,

the caliph could most certainly charge a person or group on the basis of heresy if he felt

they were a direct threat to his authority. In the case of Ibn Masarra, it is probable that

the caliphal decrees were directed specifically at the suspected activities ofIbn Masarra's

followers after the y returned to the capital of Côrdoba, and that the later characterizations

by his opponents, were seen in light of these decrees.

The initial charge of zandaqa provides the most information concerning the

discourse of law in al-Andalus. Namely, it suggests that the law was not absolute, and

that the role of the early jurists varied. There were a variety of contemporary cases of

heresy - sorne resulted in execution, were based on the holding of Mu'tazilite doctrine,

were based on the accused claiming prophesy, and sorne merely resulted in exclusion

from the community. It is here that Foucault' s theory of transgression is best

97

exemplified. As the limit or norm is defined, transgressive thoughts, actions or deeds are

identified. With the emergence of each, there is a new reassessment of the limit, and it is

made more clearly defined. Initially, the charge against Ibn Masarra may have been

based on a variety of issues - either because of his association with the mashriq, for

being an ascetic, or for transgressing the bounds of the Malikï legal school. However, in

the end, this evidence speaks again to the fluidity of the law, and its capacity to also

reflect popular opinion.

As accusations of heresy led to trial only when the ruler saw, or was made to see a

political danger, the fact that Ibn Masarra had no trial, speaks to the possibility that the

charge itself remained a scholarly refutation. His move to the rural areas may have been

based upon his desire to live out his ascetic beliefs, or may also be related to community

exclusion. Again, the clearest and earliest source we have, by al-Khushanï discusses Ibn

Masarra' s methodology of ta 'wïl, or esoteric interpretation. Ibn al-' Arabï' s later

appreciation of him along this same thread provides a further source. It is more probable

that his methodology was viewed as going beyond the limit of Malikï legal interpretation,

and the initial charge was a fellow jurist voicing this opinion.

This position would be further substantiated and aided through a tex tuaI analysis

of Ibn Masarra's extant works, in order to compare the text with what we know of the

intellectual climate of al-Andalus during this time. Furthermore, discovery of the initial

refutation, juridical records, or even the caliphal decrees themselves would greatly

support further research in this area. Finally, an exploration into the Massarites and their

works and activities is needed to illustrate how later implementation of Ibn Masarra's

teaching became a threat to the caliph, outside of potential arguments that they were

98

based on mashriql teachings. AIso, that an investigation of this kind would be useful for

reconstructing the initial formation of the legal school is al-Andalus and for legal

formation studies and that it is necessary to pay attention to the power of authority on an

individual basis. It is not absolutely certain what aspect of the nature of Ibn Masarra's

heresy led to the persecution of his followers, or the destruction of his works. However,

as a subversive figure, he remains a key element in the investigation into the emergence

of heresy and the construction of authoritative legal positions in al-Andalus.

99

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