Waving the Mantle of the Prophet The journey of Umm Salama’s narration of Ḥadīth al-kisāʾ over six centuries

Waving the Mantle of the Prophet

The journey of Umm Salama’s narration of Ḥadīth al-kisāʾ over

six centuries 

Yasmin AminExeter University

The Authors, Editors, and Audiences of Medieval Middle Eastern Texts

University of CambridgeSeptember 1, 2014

What's in a ḥadīth? That which we call a ḥadīthBy any other name would be just as confusing.

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The early versions(219 AH) -(235 AH)

• Rather short • Core text• Location

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The emergence of more detail(241 AH)

• Shahr Ibn Ḥawshab• Linking to verse [33:33]: “Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.”

• Asbāb al-nuzūl (reasons for revelation)• Dramatic effects (curses)• Emotions (kisses)

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A different narrator offered(256 AH)

• Terminology added: saḥīḥ ḥasan ḥadīth

• Also narrated by ʿAʾisha.

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The disappearance of ʿAlī(285 AH)

• NeitherʿAlī nor the kisāʾ• Mawlā - walāyah

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Short versions (307 AH)- (310 AH)

• No food• Fadak. No Fadak. Fadak. No Fadak. Fadak

• Burda, khamīṣa or kisāʾ?• Female servant not male servant• Prophet kissed and hugged his family

• Umm Salama included among ahl al-bayt.

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Al-Ṭabarī’s rich details(310 AH) -

• ʿAlī disappears again• Asbāb al-nuzūl explicitly mentioned

• Umm Salama can cook• A nap is needed• Kisāʾ becomes velvet ʿabāʾa then thawb.

• Fāṭima is left out8

New development(321 AH)

• ʿAmra al-Hamdāniya • Philosophical questions• Jibrīl appears• Disappointment• Declaration of love • It gets crowded as angel Mikāʾīl joins in

• Peace be upon him9

Ahl al-bayt(340 AH)

• Inclusion into or exclusion from the mantle not necessarily an indication of being one of ahl al-bayt.

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New story line(346 AH)

• Drama• News is required• Al-Ḥusayn’s martyrdom in Karbalāʾ. • Curses • Fāṭima disappears again• All male crew• Furniture emerges (sarīr) and (dukkān).

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Shorter Versions(345 AH)- (350 AH)

• Less dramatic• Earlier philosophical question changes

• Umm Salama’s status is elevated • Amongst the best of his women (saliḥ nisāʾihī).

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Confused versions(350 AH)

• Grammatical changes• Umm Salama’s is the Prophet’s wife (in the singular form)

• Kisāʾ is a bedspread

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War Drums(387 AH)

• The Prophet is sad• ʿAlī’s presence is requested• Kisāʾ becomes a cover throughout• Watch the hand• Verse [33:33] supplemented with - the Prophet would be an enemy to those who make enemies of them, wage war on those whom they wage war against

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Versions from 400-410 AH

• Comparison - more deserving (aḥaq)• Șaḥīḥ according to al-Bukhārī’s conditions

• Kisāʾ becomes thawb again• Neither kisāʾ nor supplication• Lesson in ḥadīth science: ṣaḥīḥ, thiqāt, shawāhid, Ṣaḥābī, isnād

• Objectionable narrations• Verse [33:33] revealed exclusively for these four.

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New Details(463 AH)

• Very short • “Where am I?” • Kisāʾ was under the Prophet • Dark like ink

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More details and information(491 AH) – (516 AH)

• Shahr Ibn Ḥawshab again• Accusation of treason• The name “ḥadīth al kisāʾ”• Definition of ahl al-bayt• Prohibited from receiving charity (ṣadaqa)• Fadak re-emerges• Detailed description of the kisāʾ, a khamīṣa

• Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

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Ibn ʿAsākir’s versions(571 AH)

• 27 different versions• Șaḥīḥ ḥadīth also narrated by others

• Narration from a companion by a companion

• ‘And Allah knows best’• Prophet is not inside the kisāʾ• Umm Salama is invited to enter the kisāʾ

• Cold night18

Final versions(630 AH) – (807 AH)

• Ḥadīth meets the conditions of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

• Very early in the morning before sunrise

• Different isnāds• Ḥadīth included in al-Tirmidhī’s collection

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The plot thickens• Plot 1: oldest and also the shortest: Prophet covers Fāṭima, ʿAlī, al- Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn with his cloak as his ahl al-bayt, offering a supplication (du’a).

• Plot 2: A servant announces the visit• Plot 3: food is shared by all• Plot 4: Shahr Ibn Ḥawshab visits and condolences are offered for the martyrdom of al-Ḥusayn

• Plot 5: revelation of verse [33:33] in Umm Salama’s house

• Plot 6: woman/man asking about ʿAlī • Plot 7: Umm Salama sends slave girl or servant out to obtain news and she returns with the announcement of al-Ḥusayn martyrdom

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Single, Double or Triple?

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Juggling Plots

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A mantle is just a mantle?

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Umm Salama• To be ahl al-bayt or not to be?• 28% of the versions name her as a member of ahl al-bayt

• Implications of that for the Sunni and Shi'a disputes

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Common themes• Angels – raise status – mythical element

• Numbers – odd versus even• Emotions• Canonization• Supplication (duʿa) change possibly due to asbāb al-nuzūl (reasons for revelation) or fadāʾil al-Qurʾān

• Food• Furniture, texture, time

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Conclusion• Oral transmission • Permission to transmit narrations by meaning (bil maʿnā)

• Ḥadīth study circles are akin to storytellers • embellishments, dramatic enhancements and emotional tools used by the muḥaddithūn (traditionists)

• Differences reflect the choices of the compilers• Interference and manipulatiion of the text • Sectarian ideologies• Political developments• Theological frameworks • New genres or new disciplines

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The truth is still out there!

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Thank you

Any questions?