HIST 203 Classical Islamic Civilization

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HIST 203Classical Islamic Civilization

• Dr Niall Christie
• Office Hours Tuesday Thursday, 1030-1100 am
• and 200-230 pm, or by appointment
• Copy of outline (and downloadable slides) on the
  web at
• lthttp//www.geocities.com/niallchristie/
• HIST203outline.htmlgt

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Issues in the Study of Islam
1. Language 2. Dating 3. Categorisation 4.
Point of view 5. A diverse and evolving
tradition 6. Names
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Salah al-Din al? al-Dn Salaheddin Salah
ad-Din Çelah ed-Din Saladin
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Terms to Watch For
1. Islamic - Islamicate 2. Muslim World -
Islamic World - Islamdom 3. Arab 4.
Arabic Bilad al-Sham
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Beware Primary Sources - written during
historical period Secondary Sources written
by modern scholars Your own point of
view! Consider background, motives, agendas, etc.
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Muslim Names
1. ism - given name Usually one of 1. Arabic
name (e.g. Husayn, Muhammad) 2. Quranic form of
Biblical name (e.g. Sulayman, Yusuf) 3.
Compound name (e.g. Abd Allah,
Abd al-Rahman) 4. Non-Arabic name
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Muslim Names
2. nasab - pedigree - usually after ism In
Arabic, ibn (son of) or bint (daughter
of) plus name of father or ancestor (e.g. ibn
Yusuf, bint Muhammad) In Persian, i or
-zade is used to indicate descent, as in
Hasan-i-Sabbah or Shahrazade In Turkish,
-oghlu or -zade is used, as in Inci
Turkoghlu or Shahrazade
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Muslim Names
3. kunya - parentage - usually before ism
or after nasab Abu (father of) or umm
(mother of) plus name of first child or epithet
(e.g. Abul-Hul, Umm Kulthum)
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Muslim Names
4. laqab - honorific - usually at start or end
of name, can have more than one Often word
plus al-Din (of the faith), al-Dawla (of the
state) or al-Mulk (of the kingdom). Also
common is al-Malik (the king) plus an
epithet. Examples Sayf al-Dawla (sword of the
state), Shams al-Din (sun of the
faith), al-Malik al-Afdal (the best king),
al-Mutanabbi (the one claiming prophet-hood),
al-Jahiz (the one with the bulging eyes)
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Muslim Names
5. nisba - indicator of origin or descriptor
- usually at end of name, can have more
than one Often end in -i (if male) or -iyya
(if female). Examples al-Qudsi/al-Qudsiyya (of
Jerusalem), al-Shafii/al-Shafiiyya (follower
of the legal school of al-Shafii),
al-Sulami/al-Sulamiyya (of the tribe of Sulaym),
al-Turki/al-Turkiyya (the Turk)
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al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Abul-Muzaffar
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi al-Kurdi