The Thanksgiving Prostration ("sujūd al-shukr") in Muslim TraditionsAuthor(s): Roberto TottoliReviewed work(s):Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 61,No. 2 (1998), pp. 309-313Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3107655 .Accessed: 10/12/2011 20:57

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press and School of Oriental and African Studies are collaborating with JSTOR todigitize, preserve and extend access to Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University ofLondon.

http://www.jstor.org

Notes and communications

The thanksgiving prostration (sujud al-shukr) in Muslim traditions

Prostration (sujud) is a fundamental part of the ritual prayer (saldt). It is the highest form of religious devotion and is often mentioned in the Quran as well as in many traditions from all genres of Muslim literature.' Prostration is also mentioned in some traditions in relation to what Muslim sources define as sujid al-shukr, i.e., literally, 'the thanksgiving prostration'. This is a voluntary act of devotion consisting of a prostration performed by the believer when he wants to thank God for some blessing. There is an abundance of evidence concerning this kind of prostration and it will be discussed here.

I Hadith collections include various reports concerning this kind of prostration and give details of the behaviour of the Prophet who, it is asserted, was always ready to perform a thanksgiving prostration. In a tradition attributed to 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf (d. c. 32/652), when Gabriel told Muhammad of a particu- lar favour which God had bestowed on him, the Prophet prostrated himself in thanks.2 The Prophet performed thanksgiving prostrations on another occa- sion when, on his way from Mecca to Medina, he fell down prostrate to God three times interceding on behalf of his people.3 During the raid on Tabuk (9/630), Ka'b b. Malik (d. 40/661) prostrated himself when, thanks to Muhammad's intervention, God accepted his repentance.4 That this was viewed as a thanksgiving prostration is demonstrated by its inclusion in the chapters dealing with this topic in hadith collections.5

1Much of the literature related to prostration has already been covered in a number of my other articles; see 'Muslim attitudes towards prostration (sujid), I: Arabs and prostration at the beginning of Islam and in the Qur'an', Studia Islamica (forthcoming); 'Muslim attitudes towards prostration (sujud), II: The prominence and meaning of prostration in Muslim literature', Le Museon (forthcoming); and 'Traditions and controversies concerning the sujud al-Qur'an in hadith literature', ZDMG, 147, 1997, 371-93. I began this research on sujud while I was in Jerusalem during 1993-94 for my Ph.D. studies programme at the Dipartimento di Studi e Ricerche su Africa e Paesi Arabi of the Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples; I would like to thank the Lady Davis Fellowship Trust that granted me a scholarship to study that year at the Hebrew University. I am indebted to Professor M. J. Kister for many discussions on this subject while I was in Jerusalem, and for his most valuable suggestions. I would also like to thank Professor M. Fierro and Professor M. Lecker for their comments on a first draft of this note.

2 See Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, ed. 'A. M. al-Darwish (Beirut, 1991), i, 407, no. 1664; Haythaml, Majma' al-zawa'id wa-manba' al-fawd'id (Beirut, n.d.), II, 287-8; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra (Beirut, 1994), n, 518, no. 3937, and cf. no. 3936; Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'liq al-mughni 'ala 'I-Daraqutni (on margin of Daraqutm, Sunan, Beirut n.d.), i, 412; and see Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-ma'adfi hady khayr al-'ibad (Cairo, 1987), I, 131-2. See also another similar tradition, attributed to 'Abd al-Rahman, in Ibn AbT Shayba, al-Musannaffi 'l-ahddTth wa'l-dthar (Beirut, 1989), ii, 400; vn, 442, and cf. also II, 368; Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'liq, I, 412.

3 Abu Dawud, Sunan (Cairo, 1988), in, 89-90, no. 2775; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, n, 518, no. 3935; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zad al-ma'ad, I, 132; al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'iq, I, 412. See, in general, all the traditions collected by Haythami, Majma', II, 287-9. And cf. also a tradition in Suyutit, al-Khasa'is al-kubra, (Beirut, n.d.), ii, 211.

Bukharn, Sahih (Beirut, 1992), v, 157, no. 4418; Muslim, Sahih, ed. M. F. 'Abd al-Baql (Cairo, 1991), iv, 2126, no. 2769; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, v, 354, no. 15789; 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, ed. H. al-R. al-A'zami (Beirut, i9832), v, 404, no. 9744; Ibn Kathir, TafsTr al-Qur'dn al-'az-m (Beirut, n.d.), ii, 618.

s'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, m, 357-8, no. 5961; Ibn Maja, Sunan, ed. M. F. 'Abd al-Baqi (Cairo, n.d.), I, 446, no. 1393; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, n1, 517, no. 3933; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zid al-ma'ad, I, 132; al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'tlq, I, 411.

? School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1998

NOTES AND COMMUNICATION

A further notable episode from the life of Muhammad related to sujfid al-shukr is as follows: after encountering a dwarf, Muhammad fell down prostrate asking God for continued good health. Despite the fact that most of the versions of this incident given in the sources do not contain any mention of thanksgiving, early hadtth works have treated this as a sujud al-shukr, i.e. Muhammad performed the sujid to thank God that he, unlike the dwarf, was in good health.6 The same thing happened when the Prophet, and in some versions his Companions Abu Bakr and 'Umar, met a man who was disfigured: they prostrated themselves.7 A thanksgiving prostration is also attested in connection with the embarrassing episode involving Muhammad and Zaynab. Zayd b. HIaritha (d. 8/629) informed Zaynab about the quranic revelation permitting her to marry the Prophet, and she fell down prostrate to thank God (fa-kharrat sdjidatan li-Allah shukran).8

In addition to these traditions the most important reports are those asserting that the Prophet performed a prostration to thank God when informed of a military success. The most frequently quoted tradition about this kind of sujud, containing explicit mention of thanksgiving, is attributed to Abu Bakra (d. c. 50/670) and tells that the Prophet used to fall down prostrate on earth when he was informed of good news.9 A longer version of this same report, though lacking explicit reference to thanksgiving, specifies that in this tradition the expression 'good news' concerned military suc- cesses.10 The same happened when Muhammad received a letter from 'All informing him that Hamdan had been converted in Yemen: he fell down and prostrated himself.1

Similar behaviour on the part of the Prophet is also described in some very important traditions stating that he, when informed of a military success, used to recite a particular prayer, the salat al-duha. This was a pre-Islamic practice, consisting in acts of devotion, sometimes also in prostrations, as is argued in U. Rubin's comprehensive study dedicated to the topic.12 In another significant tradition it is said that Muhammad prayed this saldt al-duha, consisting of two rak'as (two acts of bending), on the conquest of Mecca and when he was brought the head of his enemy Abu Jahl. This report is usually included by the sources in the paragraphs about the sujud

6 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, in, 357, no. 5960: his name was Zunaym, III, 358, no. 5964; Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, n, 366 (quoting his name, wrongly, as Runaym), and see also the tradition at p. 367; Daraqutni, Sunan, I, 410; al-Hakim al-Nisaburi, al-Mustadrak 'ala'l-sahihayn (Beirut, 1990), i, 411; Damirl, Hayat al-hayawan al-kubra (Cairo, 1978), I, 625. See also Ibn Hajar, al-Isdba fi tamyzz al-sahdba, ed. A. Sprenger et al. (Calcutta, 1856 f., repr. Beirut, n.d.), III, 13, no. 2814: marra 'ala rasul Allah (s) rajul qasir qala fa-sajada sajdat al-shukr.

7 Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, ii, 367; see also al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, I, 411; Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'lFq, I, 411; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, ii, 519, no. 3939; Haythami, Majma', n, 289, and another report, at p. 289: whenever Muhammad saw a disfigured man, he used to fall down prostrate. 8 Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, i, 367. Muhammad used also to prostrate himself to thank God when Q. 38: 24 was recited, see Tottoli, 'Traditions and controversies', n. 73.

9 Abu Dawud, Sunan, III, 89, no. 2774; Ibn Maja, Sunan, i, 446, no. 1394, and see also the differing version attributed to Anas b. Malik: i, 445, no. 1392; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, i, 411, no. 1025, iv, 324, no. 7789; al-Muttaql al-Hindi, Kanz al-'ummal fi sunan al-aqwal wa'l-afidl (Beirut, 1989), vii, 139, no. 18393; see also Daraqutni, Sunan, i, 410, with two versions of this tradition; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, 1i, 517, no. 3934; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zdd al-ma'ad, I, 131.

0 Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vn, 323, no. 20477: ... atdhu bashir yubashshiruhu bi-zafarjund lahu 'ald 'aduwwihim ... fa-kharra sajidan. See also al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, I, 411.

' Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk, ed. M. A. al-F. Ibrahim (Cairo, 1960-67), iI, 132, [= ed. M. J. de Goeje et al., Leiden, 1879 f., i, 1732]; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, ii, 516, no. 3932; idem, Dala'il al-nubuwwa wa-ma'rifat ahwadl shib al-sharfa (Beirut, 1985), v, 396; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zdd al-ma'ad, i, 131; al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'l-q, I, 411.

12 Rubin, 'Morning and evening prayers in early Islam', Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 10, 1987, 40-53.

310

NOTES AND COMMUNICATION

al-shukr, though, it must be noted that there is no mention of thanksgiving.l3 In spite of this, the similarity between the modalities of salat al-duha in this case and the practice of the sujid al-shukr is evident. Without examining the historicity of these reports, there can be few doubts that all the material describing the sujiud al-shukr of the Prophet was intended to indicate the correct religious behaviour to be followed by the believer. Muslim traditions underline once again that, along with its prominence in ritual prayer, prostration is the highest religious practice for acts of personal devotion.l4

II

Thanksgiving prostrations are also attributed to various other Muslims, as a way of underlining their devotion, and with the explicit indication that these were voluntary acts performed with the intention of thanking God.'5 Mentions of the thanksgiving prostration can also be found in the literature about the patriarchs and prophets, where the practice is used to demonstrate the devotion of these characters and the importance of the practice itself, but also to account for otherwise inexplicable prostrations. It is said, for instance, that Abraham, Ishmael, Sarah, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah and others performed thanks- giving prostrations on different occasions during their lives.16 A further instance of sujiid al-shukr is connected to the episode of the prostration by Jacob and his family before Joseph when they visited him in Egypt when he was a powerful minister of the Pharaoh. In fact some reports explain that although Jacob fell down prostrate to Joseph, he intended to perform a thanksgiving prostration to God, and not a prostration to Joseph.'7 This exegetical explana- tion is quoted very often in those tafsTrs which deal with this embarrassing

13 Darimi, Sunan (Damascus, 1991), I, 364, no. 1434; Ibn Maja, Sunan, I, 445, no. 1391: with no direct mention of the salat al-duha; Haythami, Majma' al-zawa'id, n, 238; Bayhaqi, Dala'il al-nubuwwa, v, 81, but cf. In, 89, where it is said that Muhammad fell down prostrate when informed of the death of Abu Jahl. See also the references in Rubin, 'Morning and evening prayers', 44-5.

14 It should be noted that this practice was not accepted by all the authorities, see for instance Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, II, 367. Differing opinions are then reflected among later scholars: see the discussion and the sources quoted by M. Fierro in Ibn Waddah, Kitab al-bida' (Madrid, 1988), 113. Shafi'i (d. 204/820) approved the practice of the thanksgiving prostration, see Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'liq, i, 411, and the reference to his Kitab al-Umm in Ibn Waddah, Kitib al-bida', 113, n. 319. Malik b. Anas, however, was against it, see Ibn Waddah, Kitab al-bida', 187. See also the discussion in Ibn Hazm, al-Muhalla (Beirut, n.d.), v, 105f.

15 Ibshihi, al-Mustatraf fi kull fann mustazraf (Beirut, 1991), 253; see also Ghazall, Ihya' 'ulum al-dfn (Cairo, 1939), mi, 68 and iv, 126; and see Bayhaqi, Dala'il, In, 125, 309: a thanksgiving prostration is performed after a prodigious event. Cf. also a tradition reported by Haythami, Majma', I, 290: at the time of the anti-Caliph 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr, it is said that Asma' bint Abi Bakr fell down prostrate when she found something the Prophet had given her as a present and which she had lost. See also Ghubrin, 'Unwan al-dirdya (Beirut, 1969), 221, no. 56; Sarakhsi, Kitdb al-siyar al-kabir (Cairo, 1958), I, 221-3; I am indebted to Professor M. Fierro for these references.

16 See Kisa'i, Qisas al-anbiya' (Leiden, 1922-23), 152: Sarah (and by Laban: p. 155); al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, ii, 610, no. 4049: Abraham; Haysam, Qisas al-Qur'an, Princeton, MS Yahuda 49, 52a: Abraham and Ishmael. Ibn Iyas, Bada'i' al-zuhur ft waqa'i' al-duhur (Beirut, n.d.), 124: Moses's mother; Majlisi, Bihar al-anwdr al-jdmi'a li-durar akhbar al-a'imma al-athar (Beirut, 1983), xiii, 79, and Mawardi, al-Nukat wa'l-'uyun (Beirut, 1992), ii, 246: Moses and Aaron. Wasiti, Fadd'il al-bayt al-muqaddas, ed. I. Hasson (Jerusalem, 1979), 11: David. Regarding all the episodes about Solomon: Kisa'i, Qisas, 272; Ibn Iyas, Badd'i', 152; Nuwayri, Nihayat al-arab fi funun al-adab (Cairo, 1923f.), xrv, 72, 93, 103; Ps-Asma'i, Qisas al-anbiya' (in the Kitab al-shamil), London, MS British Library Or. 1493, 62b; Mawardi, al-Nukat, iv, 200, Ibshihi, al-Mustatraf, 590. And see Ps-Asma'i, Qisas, 70b: Isaiah. Job's wife: Majlisi, Bihdr, xII, 343; Husayn, Qisas al-anbiya' 'ala ra'y al-imamiyya, Berlin, MS Staatsbibliothek Nr. 1025 (Petermann, I, 633), 82a.

17 Majlisi, Bihar, xnI, 288, and cf. XII, 317: Jacob made a sajdat al-shukr when he found out that Joseph was still alive; Husayni, Qisas, 79a; Diyarbakri, Ta'r-kh al-khamis fi ahwal anfas nafts (Beirut, n.d.), I, 140; see also the relevant passage in Ibn al-Dawadari, Kanz al-durar wa-jami' al-ghurar, I, ed. B. Radtke (Wiesbaden, 1982), 374, where the distinction between sujid al-shukr and prostration before a man, forbidden by Islam, is made.

311

NOTES AND COMMUNICATION

passage from the Quran (Q.12:100) describing the prostration of Jacob and his family to Joseph.18

III

In the historical reports describing the thanksgiving prostrations performed by Muslims of the generations following Muhammad, this act is almost always performed in connection with military successes. As has been discussed above, prostrations of thanks for military success are already attributed to the Prophet. Thus, also the Companions, inspired as usual by Muhammad's behaviour, are described as performing thanksgiving prostrations in similar situations. It is said, for instance, that Abu Bakr (d. 13/634) prostrated himself with this intention when he was informed of the conquest of the Yamama.'9 'Umar b. al-Khattab (d. 23/644) fell down prostrate on similar occasions and some versions state explicitly that these were sujids al-shukr.20 Various other tradi- tions give further information about this practice: the first Caliphs of the Muslim community also used to fall down prostrate when they were informed of the defeat or of the death of a rebel. Abu Bakr, for instance, prostrated himself when he learnt that the false prophet Musaylima had died (12/633).21 When, after winning the battle, the dead body of the enemy leader, the kharijite Dhu 'l-Thudayya al-Mukhdaj (d. 38/658), was finally found and brought to him, 'All b. Abi Talib (d. 40/661) prostrated himself.22

The performance of thanksgiving prostrations is also well attested in histor- ical reports about the first Umayyad period. For instance, the famous governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj (d. 95/714), is described as performing a sujid when he was on the track of a kharijite woman and one of the followers of this woman was captured.23 Al-Hajjaj also prostated himself when he was informed about the death of the rebel ruler of Mecca 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr (d. 72/692).24 Also the Caliph 'Abd al-Malik (d. 86/705) prostrated himself when Ibn al-Zubayr was killed, since he had been wishing for his death for a long time,25 or when

18 Jacob and his sons performed a thanksgiving prostration before Joseph: Mawardi, al-Nukat, m, 82; Ibn al-Jawzi, Zdd al-masir fi 'ilm al-tafszr (Damascus-Beirut, 1965), iv, 290; Zamakhshar, al-Kashshdf 'an haqa'iq al-tanzzl wa-'uyun al-aqawil (Cairo, 1972), ii, 344; Khazin, Lubab al-ta'wzl fi ma'dan 'l-tanzzl (Cairo, 1955), in, 317; 'Ayyashi, TafsTr (Beirut, 1991), ii, 208; Baydawi, Anwdr al-tanzll wa-asrar al-ta'wil (Cairo, 1968), I, 508; Abu Bakr al-Razi, Tafsir (Beirut-Damascus, 1990), 231; Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi, Ghara'ib al-Qur'dn wa-ragha'ib al-furqdn (Cairo, 1962), xIII , 48; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Mafdtih al-ghayb (Beirut, 1990), xvmi, 169.

19 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, ni, 358, no. 5963; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, ii, 519, no. 3940; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz, vii, 147, no. 22318; Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, n, 367. See the discussion of this tradition by Ibn Waddah, Kitab al-bida', 187.

20 Ibn AbT Shayba, al-Musannaf, ii, 367; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz, vm, 147, no. 22319-20; Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'ltq, I, 411; Haythami, Majma',

II , 289. These statements are sometimes

found together with the above-mentioned particular that Muhammad used to prostrate himself whenever he saw a disfigured man; see, for instance, the discussion in Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, ii, 519, no. 3939.

21 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zdd al-ma'ad, I, 132; Al-'Azim Abadi, al-Ta'hlq, I, 412. 22 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, m, 358, no. 5962; Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, ii, 519, no. 3941;

idem, Dala'il, vi, 433; Ibn Abl Shayba, al-Musannaf, n, 367: with differing versions, and cf. p. 368, where it is stated that it was a prostration of joy (sujudfarahan); see also in Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, I, 230, no. 848; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Zdd al-ma'ad, _ 132; Al-'AzTm Abadi, al-Ta'lq, I, 412. Concerning other thanksgiving prostrations by 'All, see 'Amil, al-Jawdhir al-saniyya f 'l- ahaddth al-qudsiyya (Baghdad, 1964), 227, 231; and also the long discussion in Kulini, al-Kafi (Tehran, 1957-61), ii, 325-28: in particular 327, about the words pronounced by 'Ali when prostrate. About Dhu 'l-Thudayya, see Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-'Arab (Cairo n.d., ed. Dar al-Ma'arif), i, 474c.

23 Al-Mu'afa b. Zakariya, al-Jaits al-salih al-kdft wa'l-anls al-ndsih al-shdfi (Beirut, 1993), i, 435; see also, about a prostration by Yazid b. Mu'awiya, n, 137.

24 Tabari, Ta'r-kh, vi, 192 [=n, 851]. See also Tabari, Ta'rikh, vi, 342 [n, 1065]: al-Hajjaj fell down prostrate when informed by Ziyad of the defeat of the enemy. 25 Baladhuri, Ansdb al-ashrdf, v, ed. S. D. Goitein (Jerusalem, 1936), 377.

312

NOTES AND COMMUNICATION

the head of Ibn al-Zubayr's brother Mus'ab (d. 72/691) was brought to him.26 Even if there is no express mention of thanksgiving, these were sujuids al-shukr, similar to those described above and attributed to Muhammad's Companions.

Images of the same kind also occur in the historical reports about later caliphs, where the thanksgiving prostration by the monarch or by the powerful is attested as a customary practice. In fact there is a good deal of evidence about this act in historical works, where caliphs or somebody else usually a minister or a general-are described as falling down prostrate in exceptional situations: when informed of a military success or a victory,27 when informed of the death of the an enemy,28 or when the head of a rebel is brought before them.29 It is to be noted that in these reports, caliphs and authorities are described as performing prostration in a particular situation, i.e. when defeating a rebel. It is therefore clear that the thanksgiving prostration is in this case a way of attesting the correct religious behaviour of the victor and, consequently, the religious legitimacy of his rule.

Conclusion

As has been seen above, the material about the thanksgiving prostration indicates that this act shows an apparent continuity with some practices of the salat al-duha, but in Muslim traditions the thanksgiving prostration occurs as an act of individual devotion and, above all, a way of thanking God for some military success. Moreover, caliphs and commanders are described as falling down prostrate when they have proof that their adversaries have been defeated, thus asserting the religious legitimacy of their rule and their rightful claim to power.

ROBERTO TOTTOLI Istituto Universitario Orientale, Napoli

26 Ibn Ra's Ghanama, Kitab manaqil al-durar wa-mandbit al-zuhar, MS Chester Beatty 4254, 88b; I am indebted to Professor M. J. Kister for this reference. References about thanksgiving prostrations by the Caliph al-Walid are given by M. Fierro in Ibn Waddah, Kitab al-bida', 308, n. 17.

27 See, for instance, Tabari, Ta'rtkh, vii, 126 [ii, 1615]: Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik (d. 125/743) performed a thanksgiving prostration (sajada sajdat al-shukr) when informed of a victory; cf. also vn, 75 [nI, 1539]: a prostration by al-Junayd; Mas'udi, Muruj al-dhahab wa-ma'aidin al-jawhar, ed. B. de Meynard, P. de Courteille and revised by C. Pellat (Beirut, 1966-79), rv, 355, no. 2811: when al-Mu'tasim (d. 227/842) captured the rebel Babak, who confessed his identity, he prostrated himself and ordered that the rebel have his hands and feet cut off; see also a tradition about a prostration by al-Mutawakkil (d. 247/861) in v, 36, no. 2954. A similar episode is also reported about Bishr b. al-Harith (d. 227/842) who wished he had performed a thanksgiving prostration to God when he was informed that a Mutazilite adversary had died, and said: 'I was in the market, but if it had been a place suitable for prostration, I would have prostrated myself for thanksgiving (to God)'; see Ibn al-Jawzi, TalbTs IblTs (Beirut, 1983), 23.

28Tabari, Ta'rzkh, vn, 247 [n, 1801]: Yazid III (d. 126/744) prostrated himself at the announcement that the Caliph al-Walid II (d. 126/744) had died; vII, 493 [III, 117]: Abu Ishaq fell down prostrate when Caliph al-Mansuir (d. 158/775) showed him the corpse of the dead Abu Muslim; vII, 605 [in, 26]: a woman fell down prostrate when told of the death of her brother. It is interesting to note that there is also a contemporary example of thanksgiving prostration: when a prisoner of Nasser heard that he had died, he noted in his diary that he prostrated to God and thanked Him; see E. Sivan, Radical Islam (New Haven-London, 1985), 120. I am indebted to Professor Fierro for this reference.

29See Tabari, Ta'rikh, viII, 488 [m, 925]: the Caliph al-Ma'mun (d. 218/833) performed a prostration when the head of an enemy was brought before him; ix, 660 [m, 2093]: Abu'l-'Abbas and Quwwad performed a thanksgiving prostration when the head of the dead enemy was brought before them. Mas'udi, Muruj, no. 2319: when the head of an adversary was brought to Marwan II (d. 132/750), he prostrated himself and stayed prostrate for a long time, only raising his eyes to thank God; v, 178, no. 3361: the Caliph al-Muktafi (d. 295/908) performed a similar act when the head of the rebel Abu 'Umar was brought to him: he prostrated himself; L. Seco de Lucena, 'De nuevo sobre el "Naqt al-'arus" de Ibn Hazm de C6rdoba', al-Andalus, 29, 1964, 33: Ibn Abi 'Amir performed a thanksgiving prostration when the head of an enemy was brought to him.

313