Muḥammad's Birthday Festival: Early History in the Central Muslim Lands and Development in the Muslim West until the 10th/16th Century 9004094520, 9789004094529

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MUl:IAMMAD'S BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL

MUHAMMAD'S . BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL Ear/y History in the Central Muslim Lands and Development in the Muslim West until the 1Oth/16th Century

BY

NJ.G. KAPTEIN

EJ. BRILL LEIDEN • NEW YORK • KOLN 1993

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaptein, N. J. G. Mu]:iammad's Birthday festival: early history in the central Muslim lands and development in the Muslim west until the 10th/16th century / by NJ.G. Kaptein. p. cm. A revision in English of the author's Dutch thesis (doctoral)Leiden University, 1989. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 9004094520 (alk. paper) I. Mawlid al-Nabr-History. 2. Islam-Africa, North-History. 3. Islam-Customs and practices. I. Title. BPl86.34.K37 1993 297'.36-dc20

ISBN

92-33004 CIP

90 04 09452 0

© Copyright 1993 by E.]. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval ~stem, or transmitted in any form or by a,ry means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or othenvise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by E.]. Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 2 7 Congress Street, SALEM .MA 01970, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

For Isabel

CONTENTS PREFACE

..........................................

IX

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

I. THE MA WLID UNDER THE FATIMIDS . . . . . . . . . . . 1. The sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2. Ibn al-Ma)mun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3. Ibn al-Tuwayr ............................... 1. 4. Other sources? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The mawlid al-nabt under the Fatimids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 .1. The beginning of the mawlid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. 2. The abolition and re-introduction of the four maw lids ....................................... 2.3. The ceremony of the mawlid al-nab'i .............. 3. The relation between the Fatimid and later Sunnite maw lid celebrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Conclusion ........................................

7 7 7 7 11 19 20 20 24 25 28 29

II. THE EARLIEST MAWLID CELEBRATIONS IN SUNNITE ISLAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Nur al-Din ........................................ 2. 'Umar al-Malla) ................................... 3. Mecca ............................................ 4. Mu:?affar al-Din Kokbiiri ............................ 5. Conclusion ........................................

31 31 34 38 40 41

III. DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE MA WLID WITHIN ISLAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The controversial character of the mawlid .............. 2 .1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2. Al-Suyuti on the mawlid ....................... 2. 2. 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2. The life of al-Suyuti ..................... 2.2.3. The /jusn al-maq~idfi 'amal al-mawlid ....... 3. Al-Suyuti's view on the origin of the mawlid ...........

44 44 44 44 45 45 46 47 67

VIII

CONTENTS

4. The view of Abu Sha.ma on the origin of the mawlid 71 5. Conclusion ........................................ 74 IV. THE MA WLID UNDER THE 'AZAFIDS . . . . . . . . . . 1. The 'Azafids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The Durr al-muna;;;;am Ji mawlid al-nabt al-mu'a;;;;am . . . . . . . 3. The introduction of the mawlid into Ceuta ............. 4. The role of Abu 1-Qasim al-'Azafi in the dissemination of the maw lid ........................................... 5. The mawlid celebrations of Abu Marwan al-Yul_ianisi .... 6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

76 76 77 89 92 95 95

V. THE MAWLID UNDER THE MARINIDS AND WATTASIDS ..................................... 97 1. The mawlid under the early Marinids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 2. The mawlid during the apogee of the Marinids ......... 104 3. The mawlid during the latter years of the Marinids ...... 111 4. The mawlid under the Wattasids ..................... 124 5. Conclusion ........................................ 127 VI. THE MAWLID UNDER THE NA$RIDS ........... 129 1. The earliest mawlid celebrations in al-Andalus .......... 129 2. The mawlid under the Na~rids ....................... 131 3. Conclusion ........................................ 139 VII. THE MAWLID UNDER THE 'ABD AL-WADIDS ... 141 1. The mawlid before Abu I:Iammu Musa II .............. 141 2. The mawlid under Abu I:Iammu Musa II .............. 141 3. The mawlid after Abu I:Iammu Musa II ............... 147 4. Conclusion ........................................ 151 VIII. THE MAWLID UNDER THE I:IAF$IDS ......... 153 1. The earliest mawlid celebrations in Ifri"qiya ............. 153 2. Debates arising from the mawlid ...................... 155 3. The mawlid under the I:laf~ids ....................... 161 4. Conclusion ........................................ 165 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................... 167 INDEX ............................................. 177

PREFACE The present book is an English translation of my Dutch doctoral dissertation which I prepared during my appointment as research assistant in the Faculty of Theology of Leiden University from September 1984 to January 1989 and which I defended at Leiden University on 8 June 1989. Apart from some minor alterations and new bibliographical references, the content of the book has essentially remained the same. It is my pleasure to thank here Prof. Dr. L. Leertouwer who acted as promotor. My thanks are especially due to my friend Prof. Dr. P.S. van Koningsveld who was co-promotor and was reponsible for the academic day-to-day guidance. Furthermore I would thank Prof. Dr. H. Daiber from the Free University in Amsterdam for his readiness to act as external examiner, as well as the other members of the examination committee, viz.: Prof. Dr. B.H. Flemming, Prof. Dr. K. van der Toorn and Prof. Dr. H.L. Beck. Next I would like to thank R. Robson-McKillop B.A. (Hons.) for the accurate way in which she improved my English. Last, but not least, I gratefully acknowledge the generous support of Prof. Dr. W.A.L. Stokhofwho encouraged me time and again to finish the publication of this book. Nico Kaptein Leiden, June 1992

INTRODUCTION Nowadays the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Mul;tammad (Arab. mawlid al-nabz) on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal ( = Rabi' I) is one of the three major Muslim festivals 1 . Although the mawlid, in contrast to the other two festivals, the Festival of Breaking the Fast ('"id alji(r) and the Sacrificial Festival ('"id al-ac/¥i,), is not a canonical festival, and its celebration is not prescribed by the Law 2 , it is celebrated throughout almost the entire Muslim world, Also the Muslim communities outside the Muslim world celebrate this festival, for instance in The N etherlands3 , Although several Western scholars have been engaged in studying the history of the mawlid, none of them has discussed the subject at length, At the beginning of this century, upon the advice of his teacher, C.H. Becker, the young and promising orientalist Erich Graefe (1886 - 1914) already worked on a history of this festival, but before Graefe had put his thoughts into writing, he succumbed on 25 September 1914 to the injuries he had received in the Battle of the Marne on 11 September4 . In his obituary of Graefe, C.H. Becker makes the following remarks: Leider liegen dariiber (on the history of the mawlid, N.K.) nur Zettelunziihlige Zettel-vor, ( ... ); gliicklicherweise kenne ich seinen Gedankengang-der iibrigens zu ganz anderen Zusammenhiingen fiihrte, als ich sie erwartet hatte-, so classes mir wohl moglich sein wird, seine Zettel zu einem Aufsatz oder Buche zusammenzufassen 5 .

1 That is to say in Sunnite Islam. In Shi'ite Islam the mawlid is also celebrated, but other festivals are more important. Cf. H. Lazarus-Yafeh, "Muslim Festivals", in: Numen 25 (1978), pp. 52-64, pp. 62, 63. (repr. in: Idem, Some religious aspects of Islam. A collection of articles, Leiden 1981, pp. 38-47). 2 Th.W. Juynboll, Handleiding tot de kennis van de Mohammedaansche Wet, Leiden 1930, p. 109. 3 See e.g. "Harderwijk ta}:itafilu bi-1-mawlid al-nabawi:", in: Al-Bustii.n 2 no. 1 (1985), pp. 4-5. 4 C.H. Becker, "Erich Graefe", in: Der Islam 6 (1916), pp. 88-90 ( = C.H. Becker, Islamstudien, vom Werden und Wesen der islamischen Welt, 2 vols. Leipzig 1924-1932, II, pp. 466-469). 5 O.c., p. 89. Because Becker announced a publication on the mawlid here, Tor Andrae did not elaborate on this subject in his book Die person Muhammads in lehre und glauben seiner gemeinde, Stockholm 1918. Cf. o. c., p. 386 nt. 6.

2

INTRODUCTION

Regrettably Becker never carried out this intention; in his bibliography no separate publication on the mawlid is mentioned6 . In 1920 in the Deutsches Kolonial-Lexicon a small contribution on Muslim festivals appeared, in which Becker, amongst other things, discusses popular Mu}:iammad festivals. In this he makes some remarks that possibly go back to the work of Graefe, and that show how far Becker (and Graefe?) had moved forward with his research on the mawlid. These remarks run as follows: Die populiiren Mohammed-Feste sind erst allmiihlich im Islam iiblich geworden. 1hr Aufkommen war erst mi:iglich, nachdem unter christlichem Einfluss aus dem Menschen Mohammed der gri:isste Heilige und Wuntertiiter aller Zeiten geworden war. Die Geschichte dieser Feste liegt noch im Dunkel, doch sind ihre Anfange verkniipft mit dem schwiirmerischen Mohammedkult der in der Seldjuken (Kreuzzugs)zeit aufkommenden religii:isen Bruderschaften. Diese Feste sind offenbar christlicher Praxis nachgebildet. Subsequently he devotes a few lines to the most important of these festivals, the birtday festival of Mu}:iammad: this festival is celebrated on 12 Rabi' I with the recitation of a mawlid text, "eine poetische Verherrlichung seiner ( sc. Mu}:iammad' s, N .K.) Praexistenz, seiner Geburt und seines wundererfiillten Lebens" 7 . Apart from this short remark, Becker never published anything else more detailed on the history of the mawlid. Probably Becker relinquished his idea of writing a history of the mawlid, when he became more and more involved in politics, as a result of which he could spent less time to his scientific work 8 . Furthermore it seems likely that he transferred his idea of writing a history of the mawlid to Hermann Fuchs (1896-1970), who approximately 1916 started his Oriental studies on the advice of Becker and who did his doctorate in 1923 9 . In a review dating from 1927 Fuchs

6 See his bibliography in his lslamstudien II, pp. 525-531. After finishing this bibliography (the preface of the second volume of his lslamstudien was dated 8 June 1932) Becker lived for more than half a year. This was, however, too short a time to make a new start with scientific work after his political career, see H. Ritter, "Carl Heinrich Becker als Orientalist (geb. 12.4.1876, gest. 10.2.1933)", in: Der Islam 24 (1937), pp. 175-185. 7 C.H. Becker, "Feste des Islam", in: H. Schnee (ed.), Deutsches KolonialLexikon, 3 vols. Leipzig 1920, I, pp. 607-608. 8 According to Ritter, o. c., p. 179, after 1916 Becker retained his interest in the field, but was not able to spend time on his own research. 9 See H. Lohse, "Hermann Fuchs zum Gedenken (13.3.1896-27 .8.1970)", in:

INTRODUCTION

3

communicated that he had already been working on a history of the mawlid for a long time 10 and in two other publications from the same period there is also mention of the fact that Fuchs was working on a history of the mawlid, using the materials of Graefe 11 . Unfortunately Fuchs also never wrote an elaborate study on the mawlid. After his graduation, Becker advised Fuchs to begin a career in the library world, which he did. Fuchs became more and more involved in this kind of work and was left with increasingly less time for Orientalism. His publication list consists of an enormous number of articles and books concerning librarianship, as well a far lesser number of publications on Orientalism. In this latter field, from 1927 to 1932, he regularly published small contributions in the Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. Finally in 1936 his article "mawlid" appeared in the first edition of the Enzyklopaedie des /slams (iii, pp. 488-491). After this Fuchs only published on librarianship. His final contribution to the field ofOrientalism was his participation in the preparation of Volume Two of the Concordance et indices de la tradition musulmane, Leiden 1943 12 . I do not know what has become of the '' unzahlige Zettel' ' of E. Graefe. They are not kept in the legacy of H. Fuchs in the University Library of Mainz 13 . Although the article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam thus dates from 1936, it is still regarded as authorative and it is mentioned in almost every publication in which the mawlid is discussed. The recently Zeitschrift fiir Bibliothekswesen und Biliographie 18 ( 1971 ), pp. 415-418. I would like to thank Dr. Jutta Romer from the Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, who in a letter of 19 December 1986, informed me that the H. Fuchs, I was trying to identify, was the former director of the Mainz University Library. 10 H. Fuchs, "Besprechung von I. Engelke, Siili[jman Tschelebi's Lobgedicht auf die Geburt des Propheten (Mewlid-i-sherif), Phil.Diss. Halle 1926", in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 30 (1927), Sp. 51-53. 11 R. Paret, apud A. Schimmel, And Muhammed is His Messenger. The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Chapel Hill and London 1985, p. 295 nt. 12; I. Engelke, Siilejman Tschelebi's Lobgedicht auf die Geburt des Propheten (Mewlid-i-sherif), Halle 1926, p. 5 nt. 3. 12 See Luise Fischer and Lieselotte Henopp, "Schriftenverzeichnis Hermann Fuchs", in: E. Wagner (ed.), Aktuelle Probleme der Bibliotheksverwaltung. Festgabe Hermann Fuchs zum siebstigsten Geburtstag am 13. Marz 1966 von Freunden und Schiilern dargebracht, Wiesbaden 1966, pp. 11-23. 13 Letter to the author from Dr. G. Richter of the Mainz University Library, dated 23 February 1987. In a brief note by H. Stumme, "Zu Erich Graefe's wissenschaftlichem Nachlass", in: ZDMG 69 (1915), pp. 567-569, study notes by Graefe are also mentioned. Undoubtedly these notes deal with the subject in which both Graefe and Stumme were interested, viz. colloquial Arabic.

4

INTRODUCTION

published article "mawlid" in the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (vi, pp. 895-897) is also based on it and still bears Fuchs' name, in conjunction with the name of reviser of the article, F. de Jong. In the Arabic secondary literature there is a history of the mawlid, namely the book by I:Iasan al-Sandubi, that was published in 1948, entitled The History of the Birthday Celebration of the Prophet from the Beginning of Islam until the Epoque of Fariiq the First 14 . This book either only mentions its sources inadequately or does not mention them at all. Besides it does not contain a bibliography. Despite these shortcomings, scholarly literature regularly refers to it for want of something better. The book mainly deals with Egypt and contains a number of interesting observations on the origin and the early history of the mawlid. Both the book of al-Sandubi as well as the views of Fuchs will be discussed in this book. In short one might say that, despite the importance and the enormous geographical spread of the mawlid, up to now Western Orientalism has not yet produced a single monograph on the history of this festival. This lack of attention to this subject is precisely the reason this book was written. Chapter I, on the basis of historical sources, deals with the oldest mawlid celebrations known, namely those in Egypt. Next, in Chapter II, what is known on the earliest spread of the mawlid in the Sunnite world up to the beginning of the 7th/13th century is recounted. Although the available data are rather scanty, I will try to develop a complete picture of the origin and the earliest history of the mawlid by using the materials discoverd. In Chapter III I examine the existence of different views on the origin of the mawlid within Islam itself. I shall begin by paying attention to the controversial character of the mawlid. Because this festival was not celebrated in early Islam, but only came into being later, the permissibility of its celebration was, and sometimes still is, disputed by some Muslim scholars. In this chapter one of the most 14 H. al-Sandiibi, Talrikh al-i~tifal bi-l-mawlid al-nabawi min '~r al-islam al-awwal ila '~r Faruq al-awwal, al-Qahira 1367/1948. Prof.Dr. B.H. Flemming (Leiden University) drew my attention to a number of Turkish publications in which the history of the mawlid is discussed: Ahmed Ate~, Suleyman ()elebi, Vesiletu 'n-necat Mevlid, Ankara 1954; Neda Pekolcay, Isla.mi Turk edebiyati, 2 vols., Istanbul 1967-1968; Idem, Mevlid Vesiletu'n-necat, Istanbul 1980. Because I do not read Turkish, these publications have not been taken into account in the present book.

INTRODUCTION

5

important texts in this dispute on the permissibility of the mawlid is translated, namely the lfusn al-maqfidfi'amal al-mawlid, written by the famous Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyiiti (849/1445911/1505). This text contains a large number of arguments both in favour of and against the celebration of the mawlid, and because of its encyclopaedic character forms the best introduction to the issue. Then I shall show that the different opinions on the origin of the mawlid are related to the controversial character of the festival. Chapter IV treats the introduction of the maw lid into Ceuta at the beginning of the 7th/13th century. This introduction is superbly documented, because there is a book extant in which Abu 1-'Abbas al-'Azafi, himself the initiator, explains why he introduced the festival. I shall begin with a discussion of this work, entitled Al-durr almuna;;;;am fi maw/id al-nabz al-mu'a;;;;am. Having done so the further dissemination of the mawlid by the son of Abu 1-'Abbas al-'Azafi, named Abu 1-Qasim al-'Azafi, will be dealt with. The remaining chapters of this book examine the history of the mawlid in the Western part of the Muslim world up to the death of Al:imad al-Wansharisi in 914/1508. The principal work of this author, Al-mi'yar al-mu'rib wa-l-jami' al-mughrib Ji fatawa ahl lfrzqiya wa-l-Andalus wa-l-Maghrib, has served as a basis for these chapters. This work is a bulky collection of fatwas on widely divergent subjects, and presents an overview of many issues that were of importance for Muslims in the Western part of the Muslim world, starting with the earliest Malikite authors up to the death of al-Wansharisi. As might be expected, the Mi'yar also contains fatwas on the mawlid. Apart from thefatwas, in these chapters I will discuss other relevant material based on primary sources. On the basis of all these data, a picture will emerge of the maw lid during the various dynasties in the Western Muslim world up to the beginning of the 10th/16th century. Furthermore, the significance and function of the mawlid will be dissected. The following dynasties will be treated respectively: in Chapter V the Marinids and the Wattasids; in Chapter VI the Na~rids; in Chapter VII the 'Abd alWadids; and in Chapter VIII the 1:-Iaf~ids.

CHAPTER ONE

THE MAWLID UNDER THE FATIMIDS

1.

THE SOURCES

1.1 Introduction

Data on the maw/id al-nab'i under the Fatimids are very scarce. Primary sources that mention the mawlid have been lost, and consequently the Fatimid mawlid celebrations are only known indirectly through the work of later authors: sometimes in the form of verbal quotations from contemporary Fatimid sources, while in other cases it can be demonstrated that these later authors have based themselves on these sources, even when the passages involved are not verbal quotations. 1.2 Ibn al-Ma'miin

The oldest source that mentions the mawlid is the work of Ibn alMa'miin. The full name of this author is Jamal al-Din ibn alMa'miin Abi 'Abd Allah Mu}:iammad ibn Fatik ibn Mukhtar alBata'i}:ii1. His father was the famous al-Ma'miin ibn al-Bata'i}:ii, who from 515/1121 held the position of Vizir at the court of the Fatimid Caliph, al-Amir 2 • The precise date of his birth is unknown, but C.H. Becker assumed that he was born a considerable time before the arrest of his father, because Ibn al-Ma'miin bore the title of am'ir, which he had undoubtedly received from his father3. Ibn al-Ma'miin died on 16 Jumada I/30 May 1192 4 . His work is now lost, but it can be demonstrated that a number of authors knew the work of Ibn al-Ma'miin. The oldest of these

1 Khi/. I, p. 390; in Khil, I, p. 83 and Itt. III, p. 69 his name is given as follows: Jamal al-Mulk Musa ibn al-Ma'miin al-Bata'}:ii. 2 Cf. E.1.(2), i, pp. 1091-1092, s.v. al-Bata'l:ii, art. by D.M. Dunlop. 3 C.H. Becker, "Zur Geschichtsschreibung unter den Fatimiden", in: Beitrii.ge zur Geschichte Aegyptens unter dem Islam, erstes Heft, Strassburg 1902, pp. 1-31, p. 23. 4 Wiet, G., "Compte rendu de lbn Muyassar, Annales d'Egypte, ed. H. Masse, Le Caire 1919", in: Journal Asiatique 18 (1921), pp. 65-125, p. 85 nt. 3.

8

CHAPTER ONE

authors is Ibn Zafir (d. 613/1216) 5 . Secondly the research of G. Wiet has shown that Ibn al-Ma'mun was also used by Ibn Muyassar (d. 677/1277) as a source for his history of Egypt 6 . Thirdly it is known that Ibn 'Abd al-Zahir (d. 692/1292) made use of the work of Ibn al-Ma'mun7, as did al-Nuwayri (d. 732/1332), who called it Sirat al-Ma'miin, "The Biography of al-Ma'mun" 8 . However, the author who makes by far the most use of this work is al-Maqrizi (766/1364-845/1442) in his works lttica,? al-~unafa' biakhbar al-a'imma al-Fa{imiyy"in al-khulafa', a history of the Fa.timid Caliphs, Kitab al-muqaffa, a biographical dictionnary, and, in particular, in his historical and topographical description of Egypt Mawaci,? al-ictibarJi khitat Mifr wa-l-amfar. In this last book, generally known as the Khitat, the work of Ibn al-Ma'mun is frequently quoted. On the basis of the fact that most passages in the Khitat derived from the work of Ibn al-Ma'mun refer to the years 514-518, the years in which his father held the position of Vizir, it is assumed that this work mainly consisted of an elaborate chronicle of this period9 . In the Khitat the work oflbn al-Ma'mun is one of the most important sources for various official events such as festivals, processions and matters like garments, salaries and emoluments. As Ibn alMa'mun was the son of the Vizir he was able to present very detailed information based on personal observations. Because of this family relationship he, for instance, attended al-Ma'mun's installation as Vizir 10 and had access to official documents 11 . Many of his descrip-

In his Akhbii.r al-duwal al-munqa{iC, ed. A.Ferre, Le Caire 1972, pp. 10, 18. Wiet, G., o.c., p. 87; Cl. Cahen, "Quelques chroniques anciennes relatives aux derniers fatimides", in: BIFAO 37 (1937-1938), pp. 1-27, p. 4. 7 Khi/. II, p. 144 contains a quotation from the work oflbn 'Abd al-Ziihir, who in his turn relies on the Mukhla$ar ta'r'ikh Ibn al-Ma'mun. 8 Cahen, o.c., p. 3 nt. 1; al-Nuwayri", Nihii.yat al-arab, Cod. Or. 21, fol. 127a: Sirat al-Ma'mun. 9 Guest, A.R., "A list of writers, books and other authorities mentioned by El-Maqrizi in his Khitat'', in:JRAS 1902, pp. 103-125, p. 115. The index on the Khi/. by A. Kharidi, Index des Khi/a/, Le Caire 1984, shows that Ibn al-Ma'miin is mentioned more often than Guest has stated. All passages which Guest does not mention without exception refer to the period in question. His conclusions can therefore be maintained. As was mentioned, al-Nuwayri calls the work "The biography of al-Ma'miin". 10 Khi/. I, p. 452. 11 E.g. thesijill ofal-Ma'miin's appointment, see Khi/. I, p. 4421.6 = Muqaffa, Cod. Or. 1366a, fol.207a. 5

6

THE MAWLID UNDER THE FATIMIDS

9

tions bear dates and give the impression of being eyewitness accounts: they reflect the situation as it was at a certain point in time and present, as it were, a picture at a given moment; other descriptions are of a more thematic and general character, for example those on the layout of the different storehouses 12 . The Khitat contains a passage from the work of Ibn al-Ma'miin dealing with the mawlid. This passage, that refers to the year 517/1123, runs as follows 13 : Next he ( = lbn al-Ma)miin sub anno 517 /1123) says: the month ofRabi' I arrived and we ( = Ibn al-Ma)mun in his book) shall begin with the thing for which the month in question has been made illustrious, namely by referring to the birthday of the Lord of the First and the Last, Mu}:iammed-may God bless him and grant him peace-on its thirteenth day 14 • And by way of alms (fadaqat) he ( = Caliph al-Amir) presented 6000 dirham especially from the mal al-najawa 15 , from the stocks of the dar alji(ra 16 40 dishes of pastry and from the store houses of the trustees and the guardians of the noble mausoleums that lie between the Hill and al-Qarafa 17 , where the Members of the Family of the Messenger of God-may God bless him and grant him peace-lie: sugar, almonds, honey and sesame oil for each mausoleum. And Sana) al-Mulk ibn Muyassar 18 took care of the distribution of 400 ra(l 19 of sweetmeats (~alwa) and 1000 ra(l of bread.

This passage is immediately followed by another one on the four

12 In 1983 a compilation of all transmitted quotations of Ibn al-Ma'miin appeared: A. Fu'ad Sayyid (ed.), Passages de la Chronique d'Egypte d'lbn al-Ma'mun, IFAO Le Caire 1983. 13 Khi(. I, pp. 432-433. This passage immediately follows the description of al-~mir' s birthday festival in the year 51 7, which is preceded by a description of al-Amir's mawlid in the year 516. If Ibn al-Ma'miin had described the maw/id al-nabz under the year 516, al-Maqrizi: would have placed the quotation on the mawlid after al-Amir's mawlid in 516, which is not the case. 14 According to G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, The Muslim and Christian Calendars, London etc. 1963, 13 Rabi:' I 517 coincided with Friday 11 May. Was the mawlid always celebrated on a Friday under the Fatimids? 15 najwa is the amount one has to pay for the religious (Isma'ilite) instruction during the gatherings specially organized for this purpose, the so-called majalis, see E.I.(2), v, p. 1033a, s.v. madjlis; cf. Khit. I, p. 391. 16 A storehouse for sweetmeats, originally meant for 'zd alji(r, built by the second Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, al-'Aziz, see Ibn ?'.a.fir, o.c., p. 38; ltt.I, p. 295; Khit. I, p. 425. 17 The mountain is al-Muqattam; al-Qarafa is a well known cemetery. 18 According to al-Sandiibi:, o.c., p. 67 nt.1 he later became qaqz of Mi~r in 526 and 528, and he was killed by Caliph al-1:Iafiz in 531/1137. 19 A measure of volume, maybe derived from the Greek litra.

10

CHAPTER ONE

mawlids which is introduced by the word qala, "he ( = lbn alMa'mun) says", the usual way to begin a new quotation. This passage reads as follows: Then he ( = lbn al-Ma'mun) says: al-Afmin"in waja