motzki (1991, review) - german origins of islamic jurisprudence 2

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Review Author(s): Irene Schneider Review by: Irene Schneider Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 114, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1994), pp. 684-685

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 114.4 (1994) Journal of the American Oriental Society 114.4 (1994)

as they shall have to be, if properly done, in one way or an- other indebted to it.

Daniel Gimaret, in a paper presented to the inaugural meet- ing of the Societe Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques in 1989 (since published under the title "Pour un r6equilibre des etudes de la th6ologie musulmane," Arabica 38 [1991]: 11-18), voiced a serious and well-founded complaint regarding the disproportionate number of studies dedicated to the earliest period of kalam and the conspicuous neglect of the great theologians of Islam's matu- rity, on the part of European scholars.2 The present work is not, however, to be viewed as one more study on the beginnings of Muslim theology, for the origins and evolution of the various major and minor trends of religious thought in Islam during the second century A.H. are here presented together and displayed in their integral relationship to the various aspects of the broader historical matrix in which they arose and either underwent metamorphosis and developed or withered away, in a process out of which a number of distinctly Muslim genera of systematic theology were ultimately to take shape and ma- ture. These two volumes are hardly to be classed as light read- ing; they offer no tidy, linear account of the early emergence of Muslim theology. They do, however, succeed in opening to the reader who has the patience to work his way through them a view of the multifaceted religious history-or, better perhaps, of the turmoil and confusion of a multitude of religious histories and subhistories-of the second century A.H. in their irreducible complexity and so of a very important part of the historical past as plausibly it actually was.

RICHARD M. FRANK THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

2 One must keep in mind, however, that the authors of the best of these studies were trained for the most part in phi- lology and history, not in philosophy and theology as such, wherefore they are not likely to be fascinated by the subtlety and elegance which Abu Hasim, CAbd al-Gabbar, al-Guwayni, or Fahruddin al-Rfzi and the like may bring to the analysis of the major issues of theology.

Die Anfange der islamischen Jurisprudenz: Ihre Entwicklung in Mekka bis zur Mitte des 2./8. Jahrhunderts. By HARALD MOTZKI. Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes, vol. 50.2. Stuttgart: FRANZ STEINER VERLAG, 1991. Pp. ix + 292. DM 96.

Since the publication of Schacht's The Origins of Muham- madan Jurisprudence in 1950 various contributions to the sub-

as they shall have to be, if properly done, in one way or an- other indebted to it.

Daniel Gimaret, in a paper presented to the inaugural meet- ing of the Societe Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques in 1989 (since published under the title "Pour un r6equilibre des etudes de la th6ologie musulmane," Arabica 38 [1991]: 11-18), voiced a serious and well-founded complaint regarding the disproportionate number of studies dedicated to the earliest period of kalam and the conspicuous neglect of the great theologians of Islam's matu- rity, on the part of European scholars.2 The present work is not, however, to be viewed as one more study on the beginnings of Muslim theology, for the origins and evolution of the various major and minor trends of religious thought in Islam during the second century A.H. are here presented together and displayed in their integral relationship to the various aspects of the broader historical matrix in which they arose and either underwent metamorphosis and developed or withered away, in a process out of which a number of distinctly Muslim genera of systematic theology were ultimately to take shape and ma- ture. These two volumes are hardly to be classed as light read- ing; they offer no tidy, linear account of the early emergence of Muslim theology. They do, however, succeed in opening to the reader who has the patience to work his way through them a view of the multifaceted religious history-or, better perhaps, of the turmoil and confusion of a multitude of religious histories and subhistories-of the second century A.H. in their irreducible complexity and so of a very important part of the historical past as plausibly it actually was.

RICHARD M. FRANK THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

2 One must keep in mind, however, that the authors of the best of these studies were trained for the most part in phi- lology and history, not in philosophy and theology as such, wherefore they are not likely to be fascinated by the subtlety and elegance which Abu Hasim, CAbd al-Gabbar, al-Guwayni, or Fahruddin al-Rfzi and the like may bring to the analysis of the major issues of theology.

Die Anfange der islamischen Jurisprudenz: Ihre Entwicklung in Mekka bis zur Mitte des 2./8. Jahrhunderts. By HARALD MOTZKI. Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes, vol. 50.2. Stuttgart: FRANZ STEINER VERLAG, 1991. Pp. ix + 292. DM 96.

Since the publication of Schacht's The Origins of Muham- madan Jurisprudence in 1950 various contributions to the sub-

ject have appeared in the West, most of them in support of Schacht's views on the formation of Islamic jurisprudence. Motzki's Anfdnge poses a challenge to some of these generally accepted views.

Motzki sets out to investigate the beginnings of Islamic jurisprudence and its development in Mecca up to the 2nd/8th century. The book is divided into four chapters, an epilogue, a bibliography and an index of names and important terms.

The first chapter contains a historical account of the contributions to the study of the development of Islamic law, mainly focusing on Schacht's theories and the subsequent discussions it generated. Already at this juncture Motzki makes clear that he will try to revise in part Schacht's account of the formation of Islamic jurisprudence. While, for Schacht, only racy ('per- sonal opinion') produced legal solutions up to the emergence of Islamic law in the middle of the 2nd century, Motzki is convinced that the beginning of Islamic law should properly be dated some 50 to 75 years earlier. He criticizes Schacht's theory of the artificial growth of the asdnid, which implies that the most complete asanid going back to the Prophet and the Companions are always the latest ones. Schacht had thus been led to the conclusion that it is idle to try to reconstruct the tendencies and characteristics of the doctrine of any par- ticular Companion and of the Prophet from the traditions at- tributed to them.

Motzki's book is an attempt to show that in spite of the well known problems of authenticity stated by Schacht it is possible to reconstruct the early history of Islamic law from somewhat later sources. To substantiate his claim he proposes to investigate the Musannaf, an earlier hadit-book, by the Yemenite author CAbdarrazzaq al-Sancani (d. 211), which was not available to Schacht, and was published later.

Chapter two is devoted to a careful consideration of CAbdar- razzaq's work. Motzki examines the main transmitters of this book: Macmar, Ibn 6uraig, Tauri and Ibn CUyaina, identifying also their sources. He comes to two important conclusions. First, the Musannaf itself is based on older reliable sources, none of which have survived but can be reconstructed through the asdnid; and second, the edited version (Beirut 1972, 19832) should be considered as being nearly identical with that originally compiled by CAbdarrazzaq himself (pp. 66ff.). The proof of the authenticity of these traditions is pursued in the next chapter.

In chapter three, Motzki develops two main sets of formal criteria which he calls criteria for authenticity, namely, the external and the internal (pp. 70ff.). He applies both sets of criteria to the traditions which Ibn Guraig reports from cAta' and CAmr b. Dinar. The external criteria consist in examining the transmitters from whom Ibn Guraig reports his traditions. Motzki dis- covers, for example, that Ibn Guraig takes only 38.5% of his transmissions from CAt', 25% from a group of five scholars, 20.5% from 86 other scholars. This distribution, Motzki argues, shows an individual profile which is unlikely to be forged. Be-

ject have appeared in the West, most of them in support of Schacht's views on the formation of Islamic jurisprudence. Motzki's Anfdnge poses a challenge to some of these generally accepted views.

Motzki sets out to investigate the beginnings of Islamic jurisprudence and its development in Mecca up to the 2nd/8th century. The book is divided into four chapters, an epilogue, a bibliography and an index of names and important terms.

The first chapter contains a historical account of the contributions to the study of the development of Islamic law, mainly focusing on Schacht's theories and the subsequent discussions it generated. Already at this juncture Motzki makes clear that he will try to revise in part Schacht's account of the formation of Islamic jurisprudence. While, for Schacht, only racy ('per- sonal opinion') produced legal solutions up to the emergence of Islamic law in the middle of the 2nd century, Motzki is convinced that the beginning of Islamic law should properly be dated some 50 to 75 years earlier. He criticizes Schacht's theory of the artificial growth of the asdnid, which implies that the most complete asanid going back to the Prophet and the Companions are always the latest ones. Schacht had thus been led to the conclusion that it is idle to try to reconstruct the tendencies and characteristics of the doctrine of any par- ticular Companion and of the Prophet from the traditions at- tributed to them.

Motzki's book is an attempt to show that in spite of the well known problems of authenticity stated by Schacht it is possible to reconstruct the early history of Islamic law from somewhat later sources. To substantiate his claim he proposes to investigate the Musannaf, an earlier hadit-book, by the Yemenite author CAbdarrazzaq al-Sancani (d. 211), which was not available to Schacht, and was published later.

Chapter two is devoted to a careful consideration of CAbdar- razzaq's work. Motzki examines the main transmitters of this book: Macmar, Ibn 6uraig, Tauri and Ibn CUyaina, identifying also their sources. He comes to two important conclusions. First, the Musannaf itself is based on older reliable sources, none of which have survived but can be reconstructed through the asdnid; and second, the edited version (Beirut 1972, 19832) should be considered as being nearly identical with that originally compiled by CAbdarrazzaq himself (pp. 66ff.). The proof of the authenticity of these traditions is pursued in the next chapter.

In chapter three, Motzki develops two main sets of formal criteria which he calls criteria for authenticity, namely, the external and the internal (pp. 70ff.). He applies both sets of criteria to the traditions which Ibn Guraig reports from cAta' and CAmr b. Dinar. The external criteria consist in examining the transmitters from whom Ibn Guraig reports his traditions. Motzki dis- covers, for example, that Ibn Guraig takes only 38.5% of his transmissions from CAt', 25% from a group of five scholars, 20.5% from 86 other scholars. This distribution, Motzki argues, shows an individual profile which is unlikely to be forged. Be-

684 684


Reviews of Books Reviews of Books

sides this, one finds the same random pattern by examining the dicta, acta and responsa, i.e., utterances and actions.

The internal criteria consist in the manner in which Ibn 6uraig presents his material. And here too Motzki finds support for his claim of authenticity because Ibn Guraig's com- ments show his criticisms of individual traditions, express his own opinions, and make clear that he is uncertain about the exact content of the sayings of CAta' and CAmr.

He concludes that especially the material which Ibn Guraig received from 'Atia and 'Amr really does go back to them and partly even one generation earlier, i.e., to the sahaba (e.g., to Ibn CAbbas); therefore, we can gain insight into the early history of Meccan jurisprudence.

Motzki's methodological approach suits the purpose of ana- lyzing the traditions of Ibn Guraig. His arguments are plausible. His external criteria show that Ibn Guraig was not a conscious forger; the internal criteria confirm that he was sincere in ad- mitting his ignorance and doubts regarding certain traditions. But one should always keep in mind that this does not automat- ically point to the authenticity of all the traditions transmitted by Ibn 6uraig, as Motzki seems to conclude. Ibn Guraig may have transmitted some genuine, but also some forged material, perhaps being subjectively convinced of its authenticity, and his name may have been used by someone else to confer legitimacy. So Motzki seems too bold when he writes that CAbdarrazzaq's Musannaf contains "undoubtedly authentic material" (p. 66).

Motzki then attempts, through a detailed analysis of Meccan transmitters and with the help of examples taken from family law, i.e., the K. an-nikah and K. at-talaq (pp. 67ff.), to show that many traditions can safely be assumed to be genuine, stem- ming from the time of the Companions and Successors. He is convinced that traditions originating from the Prophet existed and were known. In one case he even convincingly argues that a Prophetic hadit was known but was not cited at first to support a legal rule (p. 115). This can be seen as a very interesting criticism of Schacht's argumentum e silentio, which, Motzki concludes, should be used with extreme caution.

In the fourth chapter summarizing his results, Motzki con- cedes that Schacht's theory regarding the formation of Islamic jurisprudence, namely that it was originally based on ra'y rather than on the Qurdan and the sunna, is corroborated for the early history of law in Mecca. Motzki rejects, however, Schacht's opinion that during the first century no Islamic jurisprudence in the technical meaning of the term existed. According to him there are authentic traditions going back to the Prophet and the Companions, related by the fuqaha' of Mecca, while the deci- sions of Umayyad judges and governors did not play an important role in the early history of Meccan civil law.

Motzki's work must be considered a fruitful attempt to throw light upon a hitherto obscure area of early Islamic law, namely its development in Mecca-which Schacht did not look at very closely. His critique of Schacht invites further investigations in this area. This book must be seen as an

sides this, one finds the same random pattern by examining the dicta, acta and responsa, i.e., utterances and actions.

The internal criteria consist in the manner in which Ibn 6uraig presents his material. And here too Motzki finds support for his claim of authenticity because Ibn Guraig's com- ments show his criticisms of individual traditions, express his own opinions, and make clear that he is uncertain about the exact content of the sayings of CAta' and CAmr.

He concludes that especially the material which Ibn Guraig received from 'Atia and 'Amr really does go back to them and partly even one generation earlier, i.e., to the sahaba (e.g., to Ibn CAbbas); therefore, we can gain insight into the early history of Meccan jurisprudence.

Motzki's methodological approach suits the purpose of ana- lyzing the traditions of Ibn Guraig. His arguments are plausible. His external criteria show that Ibn Guraig was not a conscious forger; the internal criteria confirm that he was sincere in ad- mitting his ignorance and doubts regarding certain traditions. But one should always keep in mind that this does not automat- ically point to the authenticity of all the traditions transmitted by Ibn 6uraig, as Motzki seems to conclude. Ibn Guraig may have transmitted some genuine, but also some forged material, perhaps being subjectively convinced of its authenticity, and his name may have been used by someone else to confer legitimacy. So Motzki seems too bold when he writes that CAbdarrazzaq's Musannaf contains "undoubtedly authentic material" (p. 66).

Motzki then attempts, through a detailed analysis of Meccan transmitters and with the help of examples taken from family law, i.e., the K. an-nikah and K. at-talaq (pp. 67ff.), to show that many traditions can safely be assumed to be genuine, stem- ming from the time of the Companions and Successors. He is convinced that traditions originating from the Prophet existed and were known. In one case he even convincingly argues that a Prophetic hadit was known but was not cited at first to support a legal rule (p. 115). This can be seen as a very interesting criticism of Schacht's argumentum e silentio, which, Motzki concludes, should be used with extreme caution.

In the fourth chapter summarizing his results, Motzki con- cedes that Schacht's theory regarding the formation of Islamic jurisprudence, namely that it was originally based on ra'y rather than on the Qurdan and the sunna, is corroborated for the early history of law in Mecca. Motzki rejects, however, Schacht's opinion that during the first century no Islamic jurisprudence in the technical meaning of the term existed. According to him there are authentic traditions going back to the Prophet and the Companions, related by the fuqaha' of Mecca, while the deci- sions of Umayyad judges and governors did not play an important role in the early history of Meccan civil law.

Motzki's work must be considered a fruitful attempt to throw light upon a hitherto obscure area of early Islamic law, namely its development in Mecca-which Schacht did not look at very closely. His critique of Schacht invites further investigations in this area. This book must be seen as an

exceedingly valuable contribution to the understanding of the formation of Islamic law.

IRENE SCHNEIDER

UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

The Composition of Mutanabbi's Panegyrics to Sayf al-Dawla. By ANDRAS HAMORI. Studies in Arabic Literature, Supple- ments to the Journal of Arabic Literature, vol. 14. Leiden: E. J. BRILL, 1992. Pp. viii + 128. DM 75.

Studies on the composition and style of classical Arabic po- etry are rare, and even a major poet like al-Mutanabbi, and an important genre like the madlh are still insufficiently known as to techniques of composition and thematic patterns. Andras Hamori's book fills a gap in our knowledge of the poet and his favorite genre, and, at the same time, opens up new lines of enquiry, which may prove valuable for the study of other poets as well. The basis of his analysis is a sample of 22 texts, the more elaborate sayfiydt, i.e., the panegyrics addressed by al-Mutanabbi to his patron, Sayf al-Dawla of Aleppo, during the years between 337/948 and 345/956. Hamori concentrates on textual analysis, aiming at an identification of recurrent de- vices and thematic patterns, some of them already noted by medieval critics, others defined by him with an evident predi- lection for terms from the sphere of music, e.g., 'cadence', or 'crescendo motif'. Historical questions, problems of content, and comparison with other poets are excluded, except for a short illuminating chapter on the relation of al-Mutanabbi's technique to that of al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani. The analysis is limited to the panegyrical sections of the odes, although some of the sayfiyat are composed with a lengthy amatory prologue. On this point I tend to deplore the limitations Hamori set for himself. The relation of nasib and madlh is an intriguing ques- tion, and the inclusion of the amatory prologue in the investi- gation might have provided valuable results. The book has an appendix containing diagrams of selected poems, a list of "ca- dential occurrences of conditional sentences," and the Arabic texts of the poems quoted in the study.

Hamori begins his analysis with a chapter on closing lines or clausulas (pp. 1-5), which are often gnomic, as already observed by medieval critics with regard to other poets, and are frequently connected with or cast as a conditional sentence. In the next chapter ("Getting to the Chronicle," pp. 6-18) a number of techniques are pointed out which are used by al-Mutanabbi when leading up to narrative sections referring to Sayf al-Dawla's cam- paigns. There follows a discussion of the phenomenon termed by Hamori "cadence" (pp. 19-34), defined as a type of utterance marking the end of a theme or providing "a threshold before the

exceedingly valuable contribution to the understanding of the formation of Islamic law.

IRENE SCHNEIDER

UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

The Composition of Mutanabbi's Panegyrics to Sayf al-Dawla. By ANDRAS HAMORI. Studies in Arabic Literature, Supple- ments to the Journal of Arabic Literature, vol. 14. Leiden: E. J. BRILL, 1992. Pp. viii + 128. DM 75.

Studies on the composition and style of classical Arabic po- etry are rare, and even a major poet like al-Mutanabbi, and an important genre like the madlh are still insufficiently known as to techniques of composition and thematic patterns. Andras Hamori's book fills a gap in our knowledge of the poet and his favorite genre, and, at the same time, opens up new lines of enquiry, which may prove valuable for the study of other poets as well. The basis of his analysis is a sample of 22 texts, the more elaborate sayfiydt, i.e., the panegyrics addressed by al-Mutanabbi to his patron, Sayf al-Dawla of Aleppo, during the years between 337/948 and 345/956. Hamori concentrates on textual analysis, aiming at an identification of recurrent de- vices and thematic patterns, some of them already noted by medieval critics, others defined by him with an evident predi- lection for terms from the sphere of music, e.g., 'cadence', or 'crescendo motif'. Historical questions, problems of content, and comparison with other poets are excluded, except for a short illuminating chapter on the relation of al-Mutanabbi's technique to that of al-Nabigha al-Dhubyani. The analysis is limited to the panegyrical sections of the odes, although some of the sayfiyat are composed with a lengthy amatory prologue. On this point I tend to deplore the limitations Hamori set for himself. The relation of nasib and madlh is an intriguing ques- tion, and the inclusion of the amatory prologue in the investi- gation might have provided valuable results. The book has an appendix containing diagrams of selected poems, a list of "ca- dential occurrences of conditional sentences," and the Arabic texts of the poems quoted in the study.

Hamori begins his analysis with a chapter on closing lines or clausulas (pp. 1-5), which are often gnomic, as already observed by medieval critics with regard to other poets, and are frequently connected with or cast as a conditional sentence. In the next chapter ("Getting to the Chronicle," pp. 6-18) a number of techniques are pointed out which are used by al-Mutanabbi when leading up to narrative sections referring to Sayf al-Dawla's cam- paigns. There follows a discussion of the phenomenon termed by Hamori "cadence" (pp. 19-34), defined as a type of utterance marking the end of a theme or providing "a threshold before the

685 685


Article Contentsp.684p.685

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 114, No. 4, Oct. - Dec., 1994Volume Information [pp.i-xiii]Front MatterDoing Business for the Lord: Lending on Interest and Written Loan Contracts in the Mlasarvstivda-vinaya [pp.527-554]The Calligrapher Chung Yu (ca. 163-230) and the Demographics of a Myth [pp.555-571]Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta [pp.572-582]Notes on Eastern anafite Heresiography [pp.583-598]Review ArticlesOn the Lives of kyarbhadra (?-?1225) [pp.599-616]Iranians in Babylonia [pp.617-624]

Brief CommunicationsA Late-Achaemenid Lease from the Rich Collection [pp.625-627]Some Old Chinese Words [pp.628-631]Topos and Entelechy in the Ethos of Reclusion in China [pp.632-638]Modern Persian Verb Stems Revisited [pp.639-641]An Ancient dra Account of the Origin of Castes [pp.642-644]

Book Reviewsuntitled [pp.645-647]untitled [pp.647-649]untitled [pp.649-651]untitled [pp.651-653]untitled [pp.653-654]untitled [pp.654-655]untitled [pp.655-656]untitled [p.656]untitled [pp.656-657]untitled [p.658]untitled [pp.658-659]untitled [pp.659-661]untitled [pp.661-662]untitled [pp.662-663]untitled [pp.663-664]untitled [pp.664-665]untitled [pp.665-666]untitled [pp.666-667]untitled [pp.667-668]untitled [pp.668-669]untitled [pp.669-671]untitled [pp.671-672]untitled [pp.672-674]untitled [pp.674-676]untitled [pp.676-677]untitled [pp.677-678]untitled [pp.678-679]untitled [p.680]untitled [pp.680-682]untitled [pp.682-684]untitled [pp.684-685]untitled [pp.685-686]untitled [pp.686-687]untitled [pp.687-688]untitled [pp.688-689]untitled [pp.689-690]untitled [pp.690-691]untitled [p.691]untitled [p.692]untitled [pp.692-693]untitled [pp.694-695]

Back Matter [pp.697-708]

motzki (1991, review) - german origins of islamic jurisprudence 2

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