Yemen and Early Islam by Suliman Bashear

BRILLhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4057221 .

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap. .

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

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 [email protected].

BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Arabica.

http://www.jstor.org

YEMEN IN EARLY ISLAM AN EXAMINATION OF NON-TRIBAL TRADITIONS

BY

SULIMAN BASHEAR

It is unanimously agreed upon by scholars that the concepts <(Yemen)) and <Yemenism>> (yamdniyya) have figured centrally in

the history of early Islam down to the Abbasid Period. But, so far, attention has been overwhelmingly limited to studying the elements of genealogical-tribal affiliations and political loyalties revealed by Muslim traditional sources on these concepts'. At the same time, no serious attempt was made at examining the clear religious connotations of yamaniyya or even the question of delimitingyaman in early Islam.

The present paper strives primarily to contribute to the study of this latter issue. In order to do so, not only geographic and lexical sources will be consulted but commentaries on some traditional and Quranic occurrences with relevant bearings will also be scrutinized; a task which hopefully will help to illuminate some religious aspects of these concepts as well.

Going Right, Going South

The term <<yaman>> is presented in Arabic lexicography as being derived from the root YMN2 which, like in other semitic languages,

I E.g.: Goldziher's views on the South-North tribal division and his comments on. the studies of T. Noldeke and others, in his: Muslim Studies, vol. 1, Eng. ed., N.Y. 1966, 90-5. On the role played by this tribal rivalry all along the Umayyad period see: J. Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and its Fall, Calcutta, 1927, 107, 101, 175, 180-2, 209-10, 251, 258-61, 313-4, 319-22, 328-30, 359, 386-7, 489-91, 508, 542. Of later works see: P. Crone, Slaves on Horses, Cambridge, 1980, 34, 46-8; and G. Hawting, The First Dynasty of Islam, London, 1986, 36, 54-5, 69-70. The problematic of tribal affiliation to yaman as a whole and of some tribes in particular, has been thoroughly studied by M. J. Kister and M. Plessner: (Notes on Gaskel's Gamharat an-Nasabo, Oriens 1977; M. J. Kister, (IKudcaCa(, E.I. 2, Suppl.; id. <(Mecca and the Tribes of Arabia>, unpublished typescript; and I. Hason, Mucdwiya's Rule.... unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, The Hebrew Univer- sity of Jerusalem, 1983, 61-5, (in Hebrew).

2 Azhari (d. 370 H.) Tahdhib al-Lugha, Beirut, 1967, 15/526-7; Ibn Manzuir,

Arabica, Tome xxxvi, 1989

328 S. BASHEAR

denotes <right>>. The antonym of it, often brought by these sources, is the root S/'M which denotes ((left>>4. From these two roots are derived the verbal coupletsyadmana - Shd'ama, caymana - 'ash'ama, tayamana - tashai'ama. Other verbal stems, though less often mentioned, are yamana and yammana.

The direct and close associatioh of the term <<yaman>> with this root explains how such verbs can mean both going to the right direction and towards Yemen as a certain location. In the words of Ibn Man- zuir: <<yaman>> is a gender and non a noun (<jinsg/ghayr calam-))). As a further proof to that he mentions the existence of two other nouns, yumna and maymana, which also denote Yemen as a location. From Azhari we also learn that yamin and yumn are names of Yemen too.

As to why was Yemen called as such, lexical and geographic sources give different reasons corresponding to a variety of conflicting traditions. What is common to all of these traditions is the attempt to fix a point of reference from which a certain given position will put Yemen on the direction of one's right hand. A scrutiny of them, however, will quickly reveal the existence of clear geo- political and religious dimensions to the different points of reference inherent in them.

To begin with, the term <yaman>> as a gender is, in itself, a fluid and relative one. Hence, Arabic lexical and geographic sources present us with names derived from YMN for several locations which clearly stand outside the extreme south-western corner of the Arabian peninsula and which spot the coastal area east of the Red Sea up to Tayma' on the border between modern Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as the latter's hinterland. E.g. to such locations are: Tayman (and Tayman dhuf Zilal), Tayman, Tamanni, Yamn (or 'Amn), Yumn and even Yaman itself as sometimes vocalised in this specific form5.

Lisan al-'Arab, Cairo, n.d. 17/354; Zubayd1, Taj al-cArus, Cairo, 1306 H. 9/371; E. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, Beirut, repr. 1980, 8/3064; Jawhari, Sih4h, Cairo, n.d., 2/119; Rizi, Mukhtar al-.Sihih, Cairo, 1926, 742; Zanjani, Tahdhfb al-.Sihdh, Cairo, 1952, 2/891; Zamakhshari Al-Jibal, Najaf, 1968; 154; Saraquspi, K. al- A/'al, Cairo, 1980, 298; al-$dghdni, al-Takmila, Beirut, 1979, 6/330; Fayrfizabadi, al-Qamuis, Cairo, 1978, 4/297.

3 Compare with the Hebrew yemin and the Sabaic derivations from ymn in A. F. L. Beeston et al., Sabaic Dictionary, Louvain and Beirut, 1982, 168.

4 Another antonym, from the root YSR is also given, but not so often. See Ibn Manzuir 15/209; Zubaydi 8/354; Lane 4/1490.

5 Ibn Manzuir 16/222-3; Yaquit, Mu'jam al-Buldan, Beirut, 1957, 1/68, 5/447-9; id. al-Mushatarak Wadcan, Gottingen, 1846, 86; Bakri, Mu'jam, Cairo, 1945, 1/331,

YEMEN IN EARLY ISLAM 329

Note especially that this latter name (yaman) is given to ((a place near Mecca)) mentioned in a verse of 'Umar b. Abil Rabi'ca:

nazarat laynf ilayhd nazratan mahbitta 1 - batha4'i min ardi yaman6

However, in order to contain the fluidity inherent in the relativity of the initial meaning of ((right)), our sources reveal few alternative traditional currents in the process of fixing the necessary point of reference. One of these was to take the Ka'ba as such point and to say thatyaman is related to whatever exists on its right. This view figures heavily in these sources in a way that reflects its emerg- ing prominence resulting eventually in the final delimitation of Yemen as a territory located to the right and south of Mecca; a notion which corresponds to the fact that <south)) is also one of the meanings given to adjectives from Sabaic YMN as well as in some traditional Arabic usages7.

It is difficult to date the emergence of this notion with certainty as geographic traditions are usually brought without isndda authorities, or sometimes are brought in the anonymous form ((wa-yuqal>>8.

In most late sources we meet this notion (coupled with the one that al-sham was called as such because it is to the left and north of the Ka'ba) as a view of the author himself without any traditional reference9. To the problematic of this notion as revealed by some of its traditional connotations, we shall come back soon. However, from the meagre information provided by some geographic sources, it seems that, towards the end of the second century, it led to a growing trend to identify <<Yamano with modern Yemen, i.e. south-west Arabia. Evidence to this can be gauged from the fact

4/1400-1; Abfu Lughda l-Ifahani, Bilddal-CArab, Riyad, 1968, 186-7; Ijimyarl, al- Rawd al-Mi'tdr, Beirut, 1975, 619; Baghdadi, Mardsid al-IttildC, Beirut, 1955, 3/1483; Mas'udi, Tanbth, Leiden, 1893, 262.

6 Cf. Bakri 4/1401; Ijimyari 619. 7 Compare Sabaic ymn (right hand), ymnt and ymnyt-n (south, southern) and

yhymnn (be southward) in A. F. L. Beeston, op. cit., 168. See also 'I. Shahid, (<Pre- Islamic Arabia>, Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 1A, Cambridge, 1977, 6. On such Arabic usage more will be said below.

8 See Ibn al-Faqih (wrote ca. 293 H.), Mukhtasar K. al-Bulddn, Leiden, 1885, 33; and compare with Azhari 15/527.

9 Bakri; 4/1401; Uimyari 619; Ibn Manzar 17/356. See also Ibn Hajar, Tafsfr Gharlb al-Hadtth, Beirut, n.d., 264; Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Suyiiti, FadePil al- shdm, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda 1(264), 97(a).

330 s. BASHEAR

that to Abiu 'Ubayda (d. 207 H.) was attributed the view that the southern corner (al-rukn al-yamdni) of the Kacba is the direction of prayer (qibla) for the people ofyaman'0. Another early third century source, al-Asmaci (d. ca. 216 H.), is quoted by Ibn al-Faqih as identifyingyaman in terms of its excellence in spices and perfume products, characteristic to that part of the peninsula. We also meet the same form of identification brought by another geographer of that period, Ibn Khurdadhbah (d. ca. 300 H.)". Yaqfit, though a relatively late source, brings what seems to have become the final concept in delimitingyaman (as laying between cUInan, Najran and cAden) and attributes it, again, to Asmacil2.

Evidence to the growing identification of yaman with modern Yemen after the 3rd century can be gauged from other directions. Ibn al-Faqih states that the distance between it and Mecca is twenty days of travelling"3. Hamdani explicitly says that Mecca stands as the last (northern) limit ofyaman'4. But, all in all, what seems to be the driving factor behind such delimitation is the emergence of Mecca as the final cultic center in Islam. For, with that, not only the directions of qibla were fixed, but also relative genders like south and north became names of specific locations as related to it, in this caseyaman and sham, respectively. In this context the definition of the limits of cultic ihldl during the Hajj certainly helped to define the location of yaman too in relation to Mecca. Such effect can be estimated by comparing those limits as specified, on the one hand, by a hadith compilation and, on the other, by a geographic source, both from the third century: the place stated by the former is yalamlam to the south of Mecca, while the latter alternatively mentions another two places, one of them curiously being <(the curve (thanya), from which the people of Medina [sic.?] enter too>0'.

As much as delimiting yaman in south-western Arabia was enhanced by relating it to Mecca, such a trend was not the only one and certainly did not pass without resistance. Several aspects of this

'? Ibn al-Faqlh, 35-6. Compare also with Ibn Khurdadhbah, al-Masdlik wa-l- Mamdlik, Leiden, 1889, 5. The latter, however, does not mention Abu 'Ubayda.

Ibid., 71. 12 Yaqfut, 5/447. Baghdadi, 3/1483, makes similar delimitation but does not

name any source for it. 13 Op. cit., 31. 14 Hamdani, $ifatJaz&rat al-cArab, Leiden, 1884, 27. 15 Muslim, Sah4fh, Beirut, n.d., 4/6-7 and Abu Lughda l-Isfaha-ii7, op. cit., 375.

See also the modern editor's comment in f.n. (1) of the latter source.


resistance are revealed by the very existence of other traditional and even lexical sources for the term <yaman)).

One of these alternative trends drew upon the above noted fact that from the root YMN could be derived forms denoting not only <<right>> but ((south>) too. But in order to have the south on one's right too, one must face the east. And this exclusive combination between right and south is retained in certain archaic forms of the Arabic names given to the winds in a way that also corresponds to the directions from which they blew. In a chapter on ((the description of the winds of countries and angles>>, HamdanI mentions al- qabuil (the frontward) and al-dabtir (the backward), for the eastern and western ones respectively; a denotion that implies a position facing the east too. It is striking to see how from such position the southern wind which, in his words ((blows from al-yaman)> is literally called al-taymanad6.

In quite the same way one can understand how the adjectives yamdni andyamdniyya were given to the stars suhayl and shicra, simply because they were seen overyaman, i.e. the south17. We shall also see how one of Mecca's names itself is al-yamaniyya, the southern. In all these cases, however, such names will hold immaterial of the latitude position that one takes in the ((north)), since yaman itself means only (<south)>.

Now, even after the Kacba was accepted as a point of reference, there still were some difficulties. For, while saying that ((whatever is on its right isyaman>>'8 could be rationalized on the ground that the area of Mecca bordered Yemen, it was impossible to apply the same to al-Sham. Indeed, it seems not to have been enough for Muqaddasi to say that ((al-sham is everything that faces al-yaman>) without immediately adding: ((with Hijaz laying (separating) between them>>19.

Other problems seem to have faced some geographers over the issue of taking the Kacba as a point of reference. This is made clear from the way they comment upon a tradition attributed to Ibn cAbbas and brought also on the authority of al-Sharqi. It says that

16 Hamadni, Sifat, op. cit, 154. Compare also with Wahb b. Munabbih, K. al- Tzjdn, Haydarabad, 1347 H. 32.

17 Zubaydi: 9/373. 18 As stated by Aba Bakr Ibn cArabI (d. 534 H.), S4arh Sahfh al-Tirmuidhi, in the

margin of that Sahhz, Cairo, 1934, 13/286. 19 Ahsan al-Taqa-si-m, Leiden, 1906, 152. See also Himyari, 619.

332 s. BASHEAR

the Arabs (var.: people), after multiplied and Mecca could not contain them, they dispersed andyaman was named as such after those who went right/south to it (taydman1i)20. It is interesting to see how Yaquit rejects this tradition on the ground that ((the Ka'ba is square shaped (murabbaca) and has no right or left so that if yaman stands on the right of some it will also be to the left of others, except in the case of those who face its yamdnz corner, w-hich is the most exalted, then it would be true (to say that yaman stands on its right))).

On this background the view, brought by Bakri and others, which definesyaman as whatever stands to the right of the sun rather than the Kacba, gains more weight and sounds older. Such tradition does not only imply that the location of yaman is beyond whatever to the right of the Kacba, but also says explicitly that the emergence of such a name antidates the recognition of the latter21.

Investigating the conflicting traditions on the dispersal of people in general and the corresponding genealogy of the Arab tribes in particular lies, as such, beyond the scope of this study. Mention must be made, however, of a tradition of Wahb which states that such dispersal started from Babylon and that Yacrub b. Qahtan b. Hud, the ancestor of the Arabs, led some of his grandfather's folk from there. Since he was also named Yaman, the country he settled in was called as such too. Note also that according to this tradition, the location of that country, i.e. Yaman, was in the vicinity of the sanctuary of Mecca22.

A certain element of this notion exists also in a tradition of al- Kalb! brought by some geographic sources. It says that the country of Yaman was called as such after Tayman b. Yuqtan (var.: Tayman/Yacrub b. Qaitdn)23.

Another similar notion of turning right/south towards Yaman occurs in a prophetical tradition related through Farwa b. Musayk al-Muradi. Here, however, those who made the act of tayamun were four tribal ancestors from among the ten sons of Saba), while the remaining six took the opposite direction (tasha'am1i)24.

20 Yaqu-t, 5/447; Zubaydi, 9/371. 21 Bakri, 4/1401; Ibn 'Arabi, 13/287. 22 K. al-T-jdn, op. cit., 32, 36. 23 Compare: Ibn al-Faqlh, 33; Bakri, 4/1401; Ijimyarl, 619. 24 Ibn 'Arabi, 13/286.


Again, these traditions belong primarily to the literary genres of bad' and ansab and, as such, do not concern us here. Note will only be made of the fact that they represent conflicting currents in these fields as to the genealogy and original place of the initial dispersal of the Arabs as well as to the abodes of their different divisions. More relevant to our investigation are the terms used by Arab geographers to define and delimit these abodes, such as <<diyar al- carab>> and (Jazirat al-carab)), and the place occupied byyaman-tayman in them.

To start with, the term (<Jazirat al-carab)> as used by Hamadani includes not only what is known today as the Arabian peninsula but also Iraq west of the Euphrates and greater Syria up to the present day border with Turkey. He also states that this Jazfra has a south (yaman) and a north (shaim) and specifies modern Yemen with the title (.the green>) (al-Khadrda). Note also that he justifies the use of the term ((Jazzra)) (which means: an island) on the ground that the whole area is surrounded by a chain of seas and rivers including the east Mediterranean and the Euphrates river25.

The name used for the same area by Ibn Hawqal is diydr al-carab. He says that Yaman occupies two thirds of this area, its northern border being a line from cAbadan in the east to 'Ayla (cAqaba) in the west. To the north of this line is al-sham; but he excludes upper Mesopotamia (al-jazira al-furdtiyya) from diyar al-carab, although, as he notes, it was inhabited by the Mudar and Rabica tribal divisions. Such exclusion is justified by him on the ground that this was a Byzantine and Persian sphere of influence and the Arabs there were only subjects to them and some even adopted Christianity26.

Even more interesting is the place which Tayman occupies in the administrative geographic scheme of two 3rd century sources. Both YaCqfibi (d. 284 H.) and Ibn Khurdadhbah (d. ca. 300 H.), divide the Caliphate into four quarters (arbac) with the capital, Baghdad, as the center and point of reference. The name applied for the southern quarter (al-rubc al-qibli) is Tayman which includes the Arab lands to the south and south-west of the capital. In Ibn Khur- dadhbah's words: <<wa-l-tayman bilad al-junTbh rubc al-mamlaka>27.

25 Hamdani, Sifat, 47-51. 26 Ibn Hawqal, Suirat al-'Ard, Beirut, n.d., 29-30. 27 Ibn Wadih al-YaCqfibl, K. al-Bulddn, Leiden, 1891, 308-20; Ibn Khur-

dadhbah, 125, 149-50.

334 s. BASHEAR

Teman, Felix and Tuir Taymana

Without going into specific details concerning the borders, our investigation has generally led us towards considering the possibility thatyaman and tayman were initially applied to denote the lands of the Arabs outside and to the south of the great powers' spheres of influence in the area. Recall in this context that both terms were stated as variant names of the legendary ancestors of the Arabs: Ya'rub, Qahtan and Yuqtan. Added to that is an isolated reference brought by Ibn Manzuir where tfman (gen. timani) and not just tayman, was said to have been ((father of theyaman>>. The same source also quotes in this context the view held byJawhar1 thatyaman is actually synonymous to <<bilad al- carab>>28 And another support to such view can be gauged from the reported answer given by Ibn al- Qiriyya when asked by al-Hajiaj, in which the former states that ((al-yaman is the land of the Arabs>>29.

It is striking to see how these early lexical, geographic and traditional Muslim references toyaman and tayman correspond clearly to some Biblical and Classical references to Teman and Felix respectively.

There are several occurrences of the term "<Teman>> in the Old Testament. Originally stated as the name of the son of Eliphaz, son of Esau (the twin brother of Jacob), who dwelt in Edom, it reappears also as a synonymous name of this area in the south of modern Jordan30. In spite of the vague nature of some of the other occurrences, it is possible to establish beyond doubt that Biblical Teman referred to that southern area of modern Jordan31.

The close correspondence in Muslim sources between <yaman>> and ((tayman>>, as genealogical, geographic and linguistic indicatives reviewed above, clearly points to a late process of transfer and fusion between the two. Such fusion can also find an indirect sup-

28 Ibn Manzuir, 17/357 and the comment in its margin. Compare with Jawhari's Siha-, 2/119, Razi's Mukhtdr, 742 and Zajani's TahdhTb were "yaman>, is defined as ((biladun li-l-'arab>.

29 Ibn al-Faqlh, 92. 30 Compare: Genesis, 36/10-35 and 1 Chronicles, 1/35-53. 31 In Obadya 9, Teman is referred to as part of the mount of Esau; Amos, 1/12

mentions it in connection with ((the Edomite palaces of Bozrah>>; and Ezikiel, 25/3 speaks of it in contrast with its southern boundary with Dedan. See also: TheJewish Encyclopedia, N.Y., 1906, s.v. <<Teman>>, 12/79; but compare with Encyclopedia Mikra'it, Jerusalem, 1982, 8/524-2 where the possibility is considered that Teman of Job is located in Mesopotamia too.


port in the legendary, non-historical and confused nature of the reports concerning Jewish settlement in Yemen proper before the Christian era, while such settlement in Trans-Jordan is attested by Josephus for at least his own time".

A comparative examination of some Muslim geographic sources and the Old Testament reveals the nature of at least one clear instance where such transfer occurred on the level of pseudo- historical reports. In I Chronicles, cited above, it is related how Hosham, from the land of the temanite was one of the Kings who ruled Edom. Almost the same story reappears in Ibn al-Faqlh in the form of a tradition of Sayf b. cUmar. Beside the substitution of ((kings of al-ruzm> for ((kings of Edom>>, the main amendment intro- duced is that Hosham is said to have ((went down to tayman>> (lit.: wa-nazala al-tayman)33. If this was not a mere figure of speech, then it is a clear indication to the process of pushing the location of Tayman southwards latent in the very meaning of the term, as well as to the successive attempts made by the Antiochian successors of Hellenism and the Romans to conduct an agressive policy for safeguarding the southern borders of their Arabian province34.

A clear evidence to this is provided by the <<Onomasticon)) of Eusebius (4th century A.D.) who mentions a region of Thaiman in the district of Petra and also notes an East Teman with a Roman garrison fifteen miles from there35. It is worth noting, on the other hand, that his Ecclesiastical History does not mention Yemen at all36.

Another such evidence can be gauged from the way Hamdani renders the terms used by the mid 3rd century Ptolemy into Arabic. Here, ((Arabia Felix)> was presented as ((bilad al-acrdb al- KhasTba>> which includes the areas not only of present day Arabian Peninsula but also of Edom in modern Jordan and south of Judaea in Israel37.

32 The Jewish Encyclopedia, op. cit., s. v. ((Yemen)), 12/592-3 and Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, London, 1969, 8/491. Compare also with L. Ginsberg, The legends of the Jews, Philadelphia, 1959, 6/431-2; J. A. Montgomery, Arabia and the Bible, Philadelphia, 1934, 36 and f.n. 17; and C. C. Torrey, The Jewish Foundation of Islam, N.Y. 1967, 26-7.

33 Ibn al-Faqih, 139. 34 Further details on these attempts in G. W. Bowersock, Roman Arabia, Camb.

Mass. and London, 1983, 53-99, and the sources cited therein. 35 Cf. TheJewish Encyclopedia, op. cit., 12/79. 36 Camb. Mass. and London, 1932, 1975, 1/515, 2/63-5, 87, 91, 287. 37 Hamdani, $ifat, 34.

336 S. BASHEAR

Actually, long before Eusebius and Ptolemy, the geographer Strabo, a contemporary and friend of the commander of the first full fledged Roman expedition to the south (Aelius Gallus, 26 B.C.), gave us a unique description and a map of the area. From several references in his Geography we learn that Arabia Felix include all the lands to the south of a line stretching from approx- imately ElVArish on the Mediterranian and north-eastwards to the Dead Sea, Moab in Jordan, the east of Syria until the Euphrate river and down along it to the Persian Gulf. The coastal area from ElCArish to Antiocheia he calls <<Phoenicia>> which, for him, is part of Syria, while the land of upper Mesopotamia east of the Euphrate he calls ((Assyria>>38.

To all intents, ((Arabia Felix>) seems clearly to be the Graeco- Roman rendering of a vocalised semitic YMN or one of its derivations, and a geographic application for Biblical ((Teman)) though this latter name was expanded to include not only Edom but the lands of the Arabs as such. Of course, it is difficult to point with certainty to the first appearance of this rendering or to the historical circumstances in which Biblical ((Teman>> and Arabicyaman started to denote wisdom, belief, blessing and good omen. The wisdom of Teman and the Temanites is a strong theme in various Old Testa- ment occurrences especially in Prophets39. In Habbakuk 3/3, Teman is explicitly said to be the place where God will come from. In Isaia 63/1-6, mention is made of the savior as coming from Bozrah of Edom.

Any definite statement on these issues belong to the unsettled fields of the history of composition of the Old Testament and the appearance of the Septuagint and, as such, lies beyond the scope of this study40. However, Josephus who basically adopted the genealogical geography of the Old Testament uses ((Arabia Felix>> in two occasions to denote the area to the east of Egypt and the Red Se 4i Sa .

38 The Geography of Strabo, Camb. Mass. and London, 1966, 7/239, 265, 299, 301, 309-11, 351 and the attached map opposite 374.

39 Jeremia, 49/7; Baruch, 3/22; Job, 2/11. 40 See J. A. Montgomery, 114; Sprenger, Die Alte Geographie Arabiens, 8;

Hogarth, Penetration of Arabia, 41. 41 Josephus, TheJewish Wars, 2/385; id., Antiquities, 1/239.


Note must also be made of the interesting transformation which the title ((Queen of Sheba)) went in almost a full circle from its Hebrew origin in the Old Testament42, via the Greek origin of two occurrences of it in the New Testament43, where it was presented as ((Queen of the South>> and, finally, into the modern Arabic translation of the latter as <<malikat al-taymam>>.

It is striking how in the Qur'an no mention of Yemen by name is made. Vague references to some ancient incidents in the history of south-west Arabia were believed by some exegets to have been made in verse 34/17. To other indirect references to the Yemenites in Qur'an 5/54 and 47/38 we shall come back later.

As for Mecca, note has been made above of some traditional instances where it was considered or even named as al-yamaniyya. In Qur'an 95/3 it was referred to as <<al-balad al-'amnf>> where exegets believed that God was swearing by it along with three other holy things. (lit.: wa-l-ttni wa-l-zaytuini wa-tir sni-na wa-hddhd al-baladi al- 'amfnt). Some of these exegets interpreted the terms occurring here as referring to holy mountains near Damascus, Jerusalem, Sinai and Mecca respectively. However, a highly unique, though extremely isolated, Syrian tradition gives the name of Mecca as Tuir Taymand in this Quranic context rather than al-balad al- Damfn44. It is heavily associated with the name of the Damascene ((successor)> (tdbic Yazid b. Maysara al-Kindi45, though it was sometimes attributed to Ibn cUmar without isndd46. So far I could not find any trace of this tradition in all the tafsir works I consulted except one which curiously bears the name and exact title of Thaclabl's Tafsfr47.

42 In 1 Chronicles, 10/1; 2 Chronicles, 9/1. 43 In Matthews, 12/42; Luke, 11/31. 44 It literally says: <<arbacat ajbul muqaddasa bayna yadayi-lldhi tacdld: tar zayta, izur

sina, .ir tind wa-tur taymdnd.)) 45 See on him: Bukharl, Tarikh, n.d., 8/35 and Ibn Abi Hatim, Jarh,

Haydarabad, 1953, 2(4)/288. 46 Al-Musharraf, Fada' il, Ms. Tubingen, 27, 84(a); al-RabaCi, Fada' il al-Sham,

Damascus, 1950, 61; Ibn cAsakir, Tdrfkh, Damascus, 1954, 2/5; Anon. Fada' il, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda, (4560), 25(b); al-Badri, Nuzhat al-Andam, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda, 1(264), 12(a); Muhammad b. Habibullah, Risala ft Fadl al-Shdm, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda (1862), 3(a-b).

47 Thaclabi', al-Kashf wa-l-Baydn, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda, 1(2217), 35(a-b). However, this work is completely different from Thaclabl's Tafsfr in content. Note also that it gives the death year of its author as 427 H.

338 s. BASHEAR

Messianic Deliverance is Southern

Note of the Biblical references to Teman as the land of wisdom (Jeremia), deliverance (Isaia) and even where God will come from (Habbakuk), has already been made. In a pseudo-Christian gnostic tractate it is explicitly stated that ((the regions of the south will receive the Word of the Light)), while ((the demon)) and ((error of the world)) are associated with ((the east">48.

On the basis of the present study it will be interesting to conduct a further and thorough investigation into the thematic connection between such apocalyptic elements in Judeo-Christianity concerning Teman-the South, and some Quranic and hadfth praises of yaman in early Islam. Here few such examples from the Muslim side will be brought, the commentaries upon which provide some geographic definition of the terms yaman and tayman.

Mention has already been made of the unique exegetical reference to Mecca as Tfir Taymana in the context of Qur'an 95/3. Other exegetical traditions believed that Qur'an 5/54 and 47/38 included indirect references to the people of yaman. Worth noting is one by Mujahid on 5/54 as brought by the geographer Ibn al- Faqlh too. According to it the people referred to in this verse as those whom God will bring forth, who love God and are loved by him, are <<Saby al-yaman>>49.

A cross examination of traditional exegesis confirms the existence of this tradition, though in an early 4adfth source those referred to were said to be ((people from saba' >50. Here, as well as in several tafsir sources, such tradition was brought in the context of other traditions which specify that those referred to were either the 'Ash'ariyyu-n, people of Abui Muisa al-Ashcari or from al-Saku-n tribe of Kinda51.

This view, however, is not unanimous upon other exegets of early second century. One tradition, associated with the name of

48 <<The Paraphrase of Shemr>, in J. M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, Leiden, 1978, 326-7.

49 Ibn al-Faqih, 33, ((lit.: ... man yartadd minkum can dfnihifa-sawfa ya'tt lldhu bi- qawmin yuhibbuhum wa-yuhibbzunahu.

50 Abu Sacid al-Ashaij, jladith, Ms. Zahiriyya, maj'muc, 18/222. Note the variant reading saby-saba'.

51 Ibid. These traditions are attributed to cIyad al-Ashcarl and Ibn cAbbas, respectively. Compare with: Tabarl, TafsFr, Cairo, 1326, 6/183-4; Razi, Mafidth, Cairo, 1308, 3/427; Zamakhshari, Kashshdf, 1354, 1/345; 7aJs&r al-Jalalayn, Cairo n.d., 96.


Suddi, says that the ones referred to in this verse were the ansdr52. But main-stream exegesis, associated with the names of Hasan al- Basri, Qatada, Dahhak, Ibn Jurayj, or even curiously with that of cAli, presents the verse as referring to <<Abu Bakr and his companions>> in the context of his struggle against the ridda. Few sources bring an unidentified tradition which says that they were the Per- sians, people of Salman al-Farisi53. In other sources such reference to the Persians was sought in Qur'an 47/38 too54. However the only view brought by Ibn al-Faqlh is that 47/38 refers to <the people of yaman>>. It is worth noting that Ibn al-Faqlh brings in this context a tradition according to which the Prophet pointed to al-yaman and said: <if the request of any of you becomes difficult, turn to this direction?>55.

From the fields of prophetical sira and tradition one can bring few more examples whereyaman and its people were obscurely referred to. One of these occurs in the sira of Ibn Ishaq in the context of the apostasy of cAdi b. Hatim and his repentance. From it we learn that when the sister of cAdi advised him to repent and follow Muham- mad she said: (<If the man is a prophet, [then] whoever precedes to [follow] him gains priority, and being who you are, [even] if he is a king, you will not be humbled in the glory of yaman>> (lit: .... wa - in yakun malikan fa - lan tadhilla ft cizzi 1-yamani wa - anta anta)56.

This tradition was reiterated by few later szra works. However, its explicit description of Muhammad's movement as ((the glory of yaman>> was not commented upon and, standing as such, remains unexplicable57.

Another obscure connection between Muhammad and yaman is made by a unique tradition of Waqidi on the debate which Muhammad b. Maslama had with the Jewish Banu- al-Na hdr before they were expelled from Medina. According to this tradition Ibn

52 Tabarl, 6/184; Razi, 3/427. Compare also with Zamakhsharl, 1/345. 53 Such was the only one brought by Nasaft, Tafsir, Beirut, n.d., 1/419. 54 Razi, 7/532; Zamakhshari, 3/460-1 as well as Nasafi, 3/374. 55 Ibn al-Faqih, 33: "'idhd tacadhdhara 'ala ahadikum al-multamasfa-'alayhi bi-hadhd

1-wajh, wa- 'ashdra 'ild 1-yaman. 56 Ibn Hisham, stra, Beirut, 1975, 4/168. 57 Tabari, Tdrikh, Cairo, 1962, 3/114; Suhayll, Rawd, Cairo, 1970, 7/404, 450;

Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, 'Uyujn, Beirut, 1974, 2/238. Halabi in his turn drops the phrase <<'izz a1-yaman>,, Insan, Cairo, 1320 H. 3/255. In Waqidl's Maghdzf (Oxford, 1966, 3/989) and Ibn Sacd's Tabaqat (Beirut, 1960, 1/322), the story of CAdl's apostasy is brought without mentioning his sister's advise altogether.

340 s. BASHEAR

Maslama proved the Jews wrong and untrue in rejecting Muham- mad by reminding them of the description of the ((man of hantfya> which they themselves had given in apocalyptic form sometime before he was sent. Among other things they had expected the coming prophet as <<.... coming from the direction of yaman, riding a camel ... (lit. .... ya ti min qibal al-yaman, yarkab al-bacfr.... )58.

Needless to say that the reasoning behind the whole argument attributed to Ibn Maslama is that such description exactly fitted the prophet of Islam. On the other hand substantial differences could be spotted between this apocalyptic vision attributed to the Jews concerning the coming of the prophet of hanffiyya from yaman, the pseudo-Christian <<Paraphrase of Seth)) where the south was expected to receive <the Light of the Word of God)>, and the apocolypse of Habbakuk where God himself was said to be coming from teman. However, considering the ((south)> (Yaman - Teman) as a source of divine deliverance is a common theme too strong to be overlooked. One must note in this connection that the apocalypse of Habbakuk was one of the major Biblical ((proofs)) (dald'ii) brought by the early Ibn Rabban (wrote ca. 232-247 H.) for Muhammad's divine mission. This he does through bridging between the two themes and explaining that (<rabb>> (clearly an Arabic usage of a Syriac translation of the Bible) means both human as well as divine lordship, and that his coming is to be understood as the revelation of his divine word59. As for Biblical Teman, he says: <the land of yaman and the Hijaz is for the sages [that] of al-tayman)) (lit.: wa-ard al-yaman wa-l-h4ydz cinda al-hukamd) min al-tayman).

Such presentation ofJudeo-Christian elements into Muslim form can be found in another obscure tradition which is very limited in circulation. According to it the Prophet was reported as saying: <I find God's breath from the direction of yaman)) (lit.: inni la- ajidu nafasa rabbikum (var. al-rahmdn) min qibali al-yaman (var. min hd-huna, wa-'ashara ild l-yaman)60. The meaning of this tradition depends on the vocalisation and interpretation of nafslnafas. While the former variant could mean <the very entity)) of God which clearly reminds

58 Wdqidi, 1/367. 59 'All Ibn Rabban, K. al-Din wa-l-Dawla, Tunis, 1973, 79-129. 60 Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, CIqd, Cairo, 1321 H. 2/45 where it is brought without

isndd or source; and al-Muttaqi 1-Hindi, Kanz al-cUmmdl, Beirut, 1979, 12/50, quoting Tabarani's al-Mu5iam al-Kabfr and noting that the tradition was brought there via Saldma b. Nufayl.


of Habbakuk 3/3, nafas could mean not only ((breath-soul)> but also, metaphorically taken, <support>, too. And this last meaning was the only one chosen by one of the sources which bring the tradition (the CIqd of Ibn cAbd Rabbihi) presenting the whole tradition as referring to the support given by God to the Muslims through the ansar.

In the course of this study we will come accross other attempts to interpretyaman andyamdniyya in the context of the support of the ansdr to Muhammad. Suffice to say at this stage that such attempt do not figure much in the commentaries on similar traditions and was often rejected by them. Yaman, it seems, continued strongly and for a long time to retain its initial meaning of a general indication to the lands of the Arabs to the south of the centre of the Roman-Sassanid sphere of influence, and to constitute, as such, a source of defensive inspiration concerning an awaited and messianic deliverance. And, in itself such turn to the <<south>) figures centrally in numerous Muslim apocalyptic traditions which remain curious occurrences unless considered on the back-ground of a sup- pressed Judeo-Christian apocalyptic heritage in the area.

One such curious occurrence is the reported exegetical tradition of Kacb al-Ahbar in connection with Qurldn 28/4661. According to this tradition ((God stood on Mount Sinai and called, O' yaman come to me for I sought them before they sought me and I gave them before they asked me...>62.

It is precisely on this background that one should present the sporadic identification in Islamic sources of the awaited Mahdi as a yamdnf or, figuratively, a Qahtani too. Such notion seems to be so strong in early Islam that it took the form of a prophetical tradition which found its way into the classical collections of Hadfth. Bukhari, for example, records a tradition according to which the Prophet said: ((the hour will not come until a man from Qahtan rises and drives people with his stick))63.

But the identification of the forthcoming Mahdi as such represents only one of other conflicting currents in early Islam. From several apocalyptic traditions brought by Nucaym b. Ham-

61 ((Nor were you on the side of the mountain (al-tir) when we called, but it is of the mercy of your Lord [so] that you warn a people to whom no warner had come before you so that they should reflect.))

62 Fasawl (d. 277), al-MaCrifa wa-l-Tarikh, Baghdad, 1975, 2/316-7. 63 Bukhari Sahih, Beirut, 1981, 4/159, 8/100.

342 s . BASHEAR

mad we learn about the expected conflict between the Yamani, Qaltani, Qurashi, Hashimi, Sufyani, $akhri, etc64. Likewise, one may find an indirect support to the above mentioned tradition of Ibn Ishlq, which connects the rise of Islam with the glory ofyaman. A tradition of Zuhri describes how Mucawiya strongly rejected the notion propagated by cAbdullah b. cAmr b. al-cAs on the eventual, though apocalyptic, appearance of the kingdom of Qaltan65. How- ever, the same cAbdullah b. cAmr, is also reported as expressing the view that ((the Mansuir> whom the Yemenites expected was not a yamani but rather a Qurashi66.

Note at this stage must be taken of the fact that messianic titles as they, like Mansur, appear in several apocalyptic traditions, are also well known proper names of caliphs or even rebels in the first two centuries of Islam67. Among the latter, Ibn al-Ashcath is worth mentioning for claiming that he was the Qahtani which the yamanis awaited and to whom he was expected to restore kingship68.

Finally such awaited restoration before the end of the world was again connected with the eventual end of the reign of Quraysh in the form of an apocalyptic poem attributed to Tubbac, one of the legendary kings of yaman. However, in spite of the fact that such a poem was brought within the compilation Akhbar cAbfd b. Sharya with Mucawiya, it is certainly a fabrication reflecting the atmosphere in its editor's time in the 3rd century. For, it includes a clear indication to the ((unjust reign>> of the Umayyads except for the priestly Umar LI, the early <"rightguided>> Abbasids and the strife inside Quraysh and its weakness which is considered as one of the signs of the approaching messianic events69.

On the whole, the traditions brought by Nucaym present an ambivalent picture of the relations between the yamani Mahdi and

64 Nucaym b. Hammad, K. al-Fitan, Ms. British Museum, Or. 9449, 1/10, 25, 2/27.

65 Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Cairo, 1313 H. 4/94; Samarqandi, Fawadid, Ms. Zahiriyya, Majmu'c, 120/123.

66 Cf. M. J. Kister, 4Haddithfi...,> Israeli Oriental Society, Tel-Aviv, 1972, f.n. 51.

67 Nucaym, op. cit., 5/95-105 were such titles and names are given as Siddliq, Farufq, cUmar b. cAbd al-'Azlz, Saffah, Mansuir, Mahdi, etc. More details concerning the messianic titles assumed by the Umayyads other than Umar II in P. Crone and M. Hinds, God's Caliph, Cambridge, 1986, 4-43.

68 Mascufd1, Tanbfh, Beirut, 1965, 314. 69 Akhbar cAbfd, in the margin of K. al-TFYdn by Wahb b. Munabbih, op. cit.,

477-8.


Quraysh; a fact which clearly represents different currents in apocalyptic traditions. One of these states that the caliph who will defeat the Byzantines at the maldhim of the plains (maldhim al-acmaq) is a <(yamant Qurashz>>70. From another, however, we hear about <<the yamanf who will kill Quraysh>71.

In the absence of any independent source, it is difficult to assess the religio-political and military circumstances behind the spread of apocalyptic traditions in early Islam72. However, the general picture drawn from this material, especially from the tradition of Kacb, is clear: yaman and yamaniyya stand as a reserve force upon which the Muslims could fall in their final maldhim against the Byzantine attacks on Syria73. A tradition by cAbdullah b. cAmr b. al-cAs., in its turn, warns that in those wars the Byzantines will initially defeat the Muslims and drive them until Hisma, the land of Judham-i. e. south Jordan74. And, while the yamanis will stand for Islam, the main support for the Byzantines according to another tradition by Kacb, will be thirty thousand Christians from upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazfra = the Euphrate peninsula)75. Finally, in a prophetical tradition brought in this context it is related how after the defeat of the Byzantines the Muslims would receive news from the east that the False Messiah (al-masih al-dajd[) had appeared there and would, consequently, retreat76.

Faith and Wisdom are Southern

Note has already been made of the existence of a pseudo- Christian gnostic notion that demon and error rest in the east and will rise from there. We have also noted the existence of few apocalyptic references in the O.T. where Teman was stated as the

70 Nu'aym, op. cit., 5/127. 71 Ibid, 5/141. 72 See the interesting attemps in this field by A. Vassiliev, ((Medieval Ideas)),

Byzantion 16 (1942-3); P. Alexander, ((Medieval Apocalypses>>, The American Historical Review, 73(1967-8); S. P. Brock, <<Syriac Views)), in G. Juynboll, Studies..., Carbondale, 1982.

73 Nu'aym, op. cit., 5/117-8, 6/129-30, 137. 74 Ibid., 6/129. 75 Ibid., 6/133. Note that thisJazira was inhabited by the Christian Banui Iyad

and Banui Taghlib. According to some Futiuh traditions the Iyadis indeed joined the Byzantines while Taghlib persisted in Christianity. Tabari, Tdrikh, op. cit., 4/54-6.

76 Nu'aym, op. cit., 5/118.

344 S. BASHEAR

land of wisdom and deliverance. In what follows we shall consider few Muslim traditions which convey a similar notion, especially the widely reported prophetical statement that ((faith and wisdom are yamanites)) (al- 'imanu yaman wal-hikmatu yamaniyya...). Some variant forms of this tradition bring it in the context of condemning ((the east)) or some ((northern>> tribes dwelling there, from where it was also said that the devil or the head of unbelief will rise. Finally, an attempt will also be made at assembling few other traditions and traditional commentaries on the question of delimitingyaman in this context.

In its rough form, ((al- 'manu yaman>> occurs in a wide variety of Muslim, early as well as late, sources. Although it is absent from Ibn Ishaq and most late sira sources, it was brought by Wdqidi77; and one sfra work which drew upon hadith sources78. Of these, mention must be made of the early musnads of al-Rabic, Tayalisi and Ibn Hanbal79, the Sahihs of Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi80 and later commentaries upon them81, and other, less known as well as late sources82. Of the lexicographic and geographic works cited above, Ibn Manzir and Ibn al-Faqlh bring it83.

There is a wide range of authorities on the insdd of this tradition and it is related within a variety of textual and occasional contexts. To start with, there are three major variants of it, corresponding in form to three different persons with whom their isndd ends: cAmr b. cAbasa al-Sulami; Abuf Mascufd al-Ansari and Abui Hurayra. From the first one we learn of a debate between the Prophet and

77 Maghztf, 3/1017. 78 Dahldn, Sfra, in the margin of Insdn, op. cit., 3/47. 79 Musnad al-Imdm al-Rabi, b. Habfb, Cairo, 1349 H., 1/17; Ibn Hanbal, op. cit.,

4/387. 80 Bukhari, Sah4h, Beirut, 4/154; Muslim, Sahfh, Beirut, n.d., 1/51-2, Tirmidhi,

$aFht, Cairo, 1934, 9/97-8, 13/286-7. 81 Qastalani, Irshdd al-Sdri, Cairo, 1304, 6/5-6; Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bart, Cairo,

1959, 3/161-3; Al-'Ayni, CUmdat al-Qdrz, Beirut, n.d., 18/32; Nawawl, Sharh 'Ald Sah4h Muslim, in the margin of Qastalani, op. cit., 1/348-9; Ibn 'Arab!, Sharh 'Ala Sahth al-Tirmidhi, in the margin of Tirmidhi 13/290-1.

82 Al-Sarraj, Fawa'id, Ms. Zahiriyya, majmu'c, 98/37, 162; al-)Abhari, Fawd'id, Ms. Zahiriyya, majmac, 59/145; al-Dhakwani, 'Amdlf, Ms. Zahiriyya, majmiic, 63/2; al-Fasawl, al-Macrifa wa-l-Tdrfkh, Baghdad, 1974, 1/327-8 (I am indebted to M. J. Kister for this citation); Suyiiti, al-jamiC al-.Saghtr, Beirut, n.d., 1/6, idem, al-Jimic al-KabFr, lithog. ed., Cairo, n.d., 1/8, al-Manawi, Kuntiz al-HaqdPiq in the margin of SuyfitilsJ.S., 1/97; al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-CUmmdl, Beirut, 1979, 12/48-54.

83 Lisain, 17/357 and Mukhtasar, 33, respectively.


'Uyayna b. Hisn, leader of Fazara, over the question of tribal merits. 'Uyayna says: ((the best men are in Najd)), but the Prophet befaults him and asserts: (<the best men are the people of yaman>>. To this he also adds: ((faith isyaman>> and goes on to praise certain tribes and to condemn others. Finally he even makes a statement of self identification in the form of <<and I am ayamdn>> (wa-'ana yaman)84.

It is beyond the immediate concern of this inquiry to make a thorough follow-up of the aspect of tribal mufdaala inherent in this tradition. It suffices to say that the merits of some of those specified by it, like Lakhm and Judham were expressed in other separate traditions transmitted via people other than 'Amr b. 'Abasa. On the other hand, the two tribes anonymously condemned by it as (<al- 4ayyayn>> are specified in other separate traditions as Mudar and Rabica85. As for the tradition on (<Lakhm and Judham>> note that one of its variants which is reported as a mursal reads: ((al-'Tmadnu yamdn hatta JibdaJudham>> i.e. notifying the territory of that tribe which is usually believed by other sources to be in the south of modern Jordan86.

The tradition of Abuf Mas'ufd is a clear reference to a place though, on the other hand, it also mentions Rabi'a and Mudar by name. According to it, the Prophet is described as standing in Tabuik and pointing with his hand towardsyaman and saying: <<faith is here>) (lit.: al-'Fmannu ha-hund). But, in contrast, he warns that ((fitna and heart-thickness are among the cattle breeders where the two horns of the devil, Rabica and Mudar, will rise>). (lit.: haythu yatlacu qarna al-shaytan rabifa wa-mudar)87.

Again the condemnation of Mudar as such does not concern us here. Kister has thoroughly studied this issue in the context of the Prophet's economic and political relations vis-a-vis Quraysh, other Mudari tribes and the practice of qnunt in early Islam in general,

84 Ibn Hanbal, 4/387 and Fasawl, 1/327-8. 85 Several examples are extensively brought by al-Muttaql al-Hindi, 12/50-5

who quotes Tabarani, Shirazi, Baghdadi and Ibn CAsakir. Such traditions were related from the Prophet by Anas, Rawh b. Zinba', Abiu Kabasha, cAbdullah b. cAwf, Muc'dh b. Jabal, al-Barra', Ibn Mascuid, Ibn cAbbas, Ibn cAmr, etc.

86 See al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, 12/51 and Hason, Mucdwfya's Rule..., op. cit., 89, cf. Yaquit, 2/287.

87 Musnadal-Rabic, 1/17; Ibn Hanbal, 4/118; Bukhari, 5/122; Muslim, 1/51; al- Sarraj, 98/37, 162; al-Abharl, 59/145. Compare also with: al-Khatib al-Baghddi-, Ibn cAsakir and Tabarani cf. al-Muttaqi, 12/50-2.

346 S. BASHEAR

and has scrutinized the various textual and circumstantial connotations within which this invocation was brought88. What does concern us here, however, are the numerous instances in which ((the east)) as the dwelling place of Mudar and Rabica was considered as a devilish place of unbelief (ra's al-Kufr) as opposed to ((the south)) (yaman) which is the land of faith and wisdom. We notice that in no way such contrastive statement was connected with the Prophet's supplication in favour of the oppressed believers (al-mustadcafiin) in Mecca or was brought in the context of any military engagement of the Prophet except that of Tabuk. On this background one may consider the possibility that the two elements, initially separate, were moulded by third century traditionists; an example to which is Bukharl's explanatory addition to the saying ((tighten thy grip...)) in the form of: ((the people of the east from among Mudar were then conflicting with him>>89.

We also notice that over half a century before Bukhar1, condemnation of ((the east)) as a devilish place was circulated by Abui al- Jahm al-BThill (from Layth b. Sacd) in a form that includes no tribal elements or any indication to where exactly was the Prophet when he made such invocation9".

Coming back to the Tabuik element in Abuf Mascuid's tradition, we find that a similar one in both form and content was brought by Waqid1. From this latter we learn that ((the Prophet sat in the location of his mosque in Tabufk, looked to the right (nahw al- yamin), raised his hands pointing to the people of yaman and said: ((faith isyamdn>>. Then, he looked to the east, pointed his hand and condemned the cattle breeders there from where the devil would raise his two horns.91.

Of the hadfth sources the relatively early Tayalisi brings probably the simplest form of Abuf Hurayra's tradition where the Prophet only states: ((faith is yaman and Kufr is from the east))92. For, this notion is retained in some variants of that tradition which are brought by Muslim. To it, however, is added the praise of the cattle, as opposed to the camel, breeders93. In another variant brought

88 M. J. Kister, "O'God, Tighten they Grip on Mudar>,JESHO, 24/3, 242-73. 89 Sah4h, 1/195. 90 Abui al-Jahm al-Bahili, Hadtth, Ms. Zahiriyya, Majmuzc, 83/7. 91 Waqidi, 3/1017, 1021. 92 Tayalisi, Musnad, 327. 93 Muslim, 1/52.


by Muslim, a further, introductory, sentence is added: ((the people ofyaman came to you, they are kind-hearted, faith isyaman, wisdom is yamanzyya and the head of Kufr is in the east>). A third variant combines all the elements of the introductory announcement on the arrival of the people of yaman, the assertion that faith and wisdom areyamani, praise of the peace and dignity of the cattle-breeders and condemnation of the vicious pride of the camel-breeders ((from where the sun rises)). Finally, several other variants brought by Muslim mention all of this but drop altogether the notion of condemning the kufr of the east. Some of these are even limited to praising the cattle, and condemning the camel, breeders, while dropping the statement on yamran faith, wisdom and even the introductory announcement on the arrival of the people ofyaman94.

Probably more important, from the point of view of the develop- ment of this tradition, is the fact that the Prophet's standing in Tabuilk and pointing to yaman on the one hand and to the east on the other, which is clearly present in al-Bahilli, Waqidi, TayMlis1, Ibn Hanbal and some variants in Muslim, completely disappears in most others brought by Muslim himself, where it is replaced by the announcement ((the people ofyaman have arrived.)) In Bukhari the process of selection is pushed a step further as no trace of pointing by the hand, Tabuik or the east, is found, and the above mentioned introductory announcement predominates in almost all variants. And, while Muslim could still consider this tradition part of his ((Book of Faith)>, Bukhari makes a further step of bringing it in his <<Book of Maghdzz>> under a sub-division on the arrival of the tribal delegation of Ash'ariyyiin after the conquest of Mecca, though such view is far from being unanimous upon historiographers95. In another place, ((the Book of Merits>> (mana- qib), Bukhari brings almost the same variant with the only dif- ference of dropping the introductory announcement96.

In Tirmidhi we meet both trends represented by the two main variants. One, like in Bukhari's and most of Muslim's, couples the

94 Ibid., 1/52-3. 95 Bukhari, 5/112, 122. Waqidi, 2/586, relates a similar tradition through Abu-

Sacid al-Khudri which does not mention the )Ash'ariyyu-n or any other tribe and is brought in the context of Hudaybiyya. Compare also with Diyarbakri where the arrival of 'Ash'ariyyun was put in the year 7 H. While that of Himyar, another yamant tribe, in the year 9 H. Tdrfkh al-Khamis, Cairo, 1283 H, 2/194.

96 Bukhari, 4/154.

348 S. BASHEAR

notion ofyamanf faith and wisdom with the introductory announcement of the arrival of the people of yaman97. Elsewhere, we come across a variant similar to the one brought by Tayalisi and Waqidi. It reads: ((faith isyaman and kufr is from the east)). Then comes the element of praising the cattle, and condemning the camel breeders. We also learn that the masi.h, clearly the anti-Christ, will arrive but the angels will expel him from behind mount Uhud, and he will eventually perish in Syria98. Finally, Tirmidhi brings other traditions attributed to the prophet via Abui Hurayra. One of them states that fiqh too is yaman99.

With the way geographic and lexicographic compilers tried to tackle the problem of whereyaman was, we have already dealt. Such attempts, it must be remembered, referred basically to traditions and traditional variants of the kind investigated here. On the whole they constitute part of the efforts made by traditional commentaries on this issue. Thus we find Azhari and Ibn Manzur, in order to explain whereyaman was, refer to the notion that the Prophet spoke about theyamani faith and wisdom from Tabufk. In this context they also rely on Abui 'Ubayd (al-Qasim b. Sallam) whom they quote as saying that what was meant is Mecca where faith started; an idea corroborated by another view which explicitly puts Mecca in the yaman. Hence, the two lexicographers note that Mecca is also called al-yamanijyya and that the saying ((faith is yamdn>> applies to itl00.

This kind of information is reiterated by Zubaydi too'01. But, long before that, the geographer Istakhri brought a similar notion accepted ((on some scholars)), i.e. that Mecca belongs to the Tihama of yaman'02. On the other hand an extremely isolated tradition of Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 H.) clearly tries to shift the focal point from the Prophet's saying ((faith isyamdn>> by presenting it, alternatively, as ((faith is in the people of the Hijaz)). Apart from this shift, this tradition literally reiterates the main element of condemning the thick-

97 Tirmidhi, 13/286. 98 Ibid., 9/97. 99 Ibid., 13/287. Compare also with Suyu-ti, al-Jdmic al-.aghfr, 1/6 and

Dhakwani, 63/2. Ibn al-Faqih, 33, brings a tradition which states, instead, that <Islam is yaman>>.

? Azhari, 15/527; Ibn Manzufr, 17/356. 101 Zubaydi, 9/373. 102 Istakhri, al-Masalik wa-l-Mamdlik, Leiden, 1927, 15.


heartedness of the east which predominates most of the variants examined here'03.

Azhari and, following him, Ibn Manzuir add that, on the basis of this statement being made in Tabuik, Medina could also be included since, like Mecca, it is located in the direction (ndhiya) of yaman too. Finally the form and content of the Tabfik tradition brought by Ibn cAsakir is worth noting. It drops the statement on faith and wisdom and simply states that the Prophet stood there ((pointed his hand to al-sham and said: what is here is al-shdm, and pointed his hand to Medina and said: what is here isyamano> 04.

The difficulty to delimityaman, as revealed by lexicographers and geographers is basically a problem of traditionalism. Bukhari himself comments on one of Abui Hurayra' s variants by stating that yaman was called as such because it is on the right of the Ka'ba while al-sham is on its left'05. By this he actually reiterates the view of Abui cUbayda which is brought by the lexical and geographic sources cited above.

Later commentators on Bukhar1, however, aware as they were to other traditional pronouncements and views, could not limit themselves to his. What they actually do is to bring Bukhari's view along other conflicting ones on much the same line followed by Azhari and Ibn Manzufr. Qastalani for instance says that one view is ((to relate faith to Mecca because it started there and Mecca is considered southern in relation to Medina (wa-makka yamaniyya bi-l- nisba li-1-madfna). The other view brought by him is that both Mecca and Medina are meant because they are to the south of al-sha-m given that the Prophets' statement was made in Tabiik'06.

The way Ibn Hajar and cAyni tackel the problem is even more interesting. They refer to the tradition of Abui Masci'd with the element of the Prophet's pointing towards yaman and conclude that what was meant by his statement is the country and not the tribal genealogy of yaman'07. As for the opening phrase ((atakum ahl al- yaman>>, they understand it as addressing the companions in Medina, including those from among the ansa-r. This, they say, is

103 Brought by Muslim, 1/53. The isndd of this isolated tradition ends withJabir b. 'Abdullah.

104 Ibn 'Asakir, Tdrfkh, Damascus, 1951, 1/187. 105 Bukhri-, 4/154. 106 Qastalani, 6/5-6. 107 Ibn Hajar, 9/161; CAyni, 18/31.

350 s. BASHEAR

a proof that what was meant by ahl al-yaman were not the ansa-r and the tradition as a whole should not be understood as referring to the <(yamant genealogy)> of the latter. Ibn Hajar in particular refers to an earlier work by Abui 'Amr b. al-Saldh who, he says, relates the same opinion to Abui 'Ubaydi08.

From the commentary of Nawawi on Muslim we also learn that such opinion occurs in another source, that of Qaddl 'Iyad who was earlier than Ibn al-Salaih'09. But basically he brings the variant interpretation of yaman in relation to Mecca and Medina brought by Qastalani and Ibn Hajar, and confirms that )Abu- CUbayd was the first to circulate it. From him, however, we also learn that Abui 'Ubayd preferred the view which says that the tradition actually referred to the ansdr. And this view, he says, was rejected by Ibn al-Saldh.

The fourth century lexicographer, Azhari, explicitly says that he prefers the view that the tradition spoke about the ansar. As for Nawawi, he tries hard to harmonize between these different views. And, before him, the same was done by Ibn 'Arabi's commentary on Tirmidhi. But the basic difficulty common to all hadfth commentators lies in the transformation which the termyaman seems clearly to have undergone: from an early geonational concept with clear messianic connotations, into a mere tribal-genealogical one connected in a legendary obscure form with the territory of south-west Arabia.

With Ibn cArab- we already meet such harmonisation in the form of his attempt to forward the view thatyaman in this tradition means both <<a location, i.e. Mecca and Medina, and people, i.e. the Prophet and muhdjiruin in the first place and the ansar in the second))1I10.

Such resistance to capitulate completely to the idea that the ansdr were the ones meant by yaman seems to have relied on, or at least expressed by, the existence of traditions other than the ones with the element of pointing from Tabuik. One of these is a tradition which was not brought by Bukhari but occurs already in Tayalisi and was quoted from others by the late sources of Ibn Hajar,

108 Ibn Hajar, 9/162. 109 Nawawl, in the margin of Qa$talnl, 1/348.

0 Ibn cArabi, 13/291.


Suyuit1, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi and the sfra of Dahldn'll. This tradition is usually attributed to the Prophet through Jubayr b. Mut'im, though a similar one was reported from Ibn 'Abbas too"12.

According to the tradition of Jubayr, the Prophet, while between Mecca and Medina, said: ((the people of yaman have come like clouds and they are the best upon earth. A man from the ansar said: except us, O' messenger of God; but he [Muhammad] remained silent.... [After the ansdrz repeated his question three times].... then he said a weak word (kalima dalffa): except you>>1"3.

As for the tradition of Ibn 'Abbas brought by Bazzar, it includes the assertion that faith, wisdom and fiqh too are yaman, and the praise of the yamanis for their pure hearts and good obedience. However, all this is brought in the context of the Prophet's announcement, while in Medina, of the coming of the people of yemen who are also described as pure-hearted and obedient and whose very coming is equated with the arrival of the victory of God and conquest (nasru-lldh wa-l-fath).

Al-Sham and Yaman

Contrasting the lexical and traditional information reviewed above one faces a bizarre and problematic phenomenon. On the one hand, there is almost no traditional instance in which al-shdm was presented as the source of ominous evil in the context of and as apposed to praisingyaman as the blessed source of faith, wisdom, etc. It is <<the east>> that predominantly occupies such a place all along the way. On the other hand, sha'm stands as the linguistic contrast to yaman not only in terms of left and right but also in the sense of bad vs. good.

This is not the right place to conduct a thorough investigation into the philology of the term sha 'm or its etymology. However, one may recall the fact that the sense which predominates in all the lexical and some of the geographic sources cited above is that of ((left)).

111 Tayalisi, 127; Anonymous, Hadfth, Ms. Zahiriyya, majmuzi, 24/29; Ibn Han- bal, Ibn Mani", Abui Yalla, Bazzar, Ibn Abi Shayba and Tabarani's Kabfr, cf. Ibn Hajar, 9/161, Suyuttl's Kabir, 1/8, Dah1an, 3/46-7 and al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, 12/49-50.

112 In Ibn Hajar and Dahlan, al-Bazzar is explicitly quoted for the tradition of CIbn Abbas.

113 Compare Tayalisi and Suyupi, with Hajar and Ibn Dahlan.

352 s. BASHEAR

The question as to when and in what circumstances of early Islam did sha'm acquire also the sense of ((bad omen>> (from shu'm) too, is more difficult to follow because of the complete absence of such sense in the traditional references cited above. However, the meagre information provided by our lexical sources point to the early third century Basran, Qutrub, as an authority on this view as opposed to the blessedness ofyaman" 4. About this Qutrub we know that he studied under Sibawayh, was accused of Muctazill views and compiled several lexical and tafsir works. But all this does not explain the anti-Syrian attitude implicit in circulating the above mentioned view on al-shalm attributed to him; a view which is completely ignored by the two main classical geographers Bakri an Yaqi ttt5.

Considering the possibility of some jewish roots for the sense of blessedness in terms derived from YMN, our inquiry points to the existence of a clear apocalyptic concept in Biblical and Talmudic Teman which may also reflect a vague trace of an archaic belief in the source of monotheism from the south. In Habakkuk, Jeremia and an isolated pseudo-Christian gnostic source, Teman and the South are presented as a source of messianic deliverance, reception of the Light of the Word of God and even a place where God himself will come from.

In the Babylonian Talmud there occurs the saying ((wake up o' north and come south>06. While the word used here to denote ((south>> is Teman, the one used for north is ((zafon>> which is believed to have substituted the more archaic term <<shmal>>-the Hebrew cognate of Arabic shmll l7. Now, in the Pentateuch, this latter term appears mainly as a geographic one without any religious or mythological connotations'18. But in Prophets (Jeremia 1/14) as well as in the Talmud (GittFn 6/1) we read: <and Jehova our Lord said: from the north calamity will open on all the people of the land>>' 9.

It is plausible to suggest, that north and south has acquired the senses of evil and good in the circumstances of the threat of invasion

114 Ibn Manzuir, 9/371. Qutrub's full name is Muhammad b. al-Mustanir. See on him: Yaqu-t, Mu'jam al-Udaba-', Cairo, 1938, 19/52.

115 See their 3/773 and 3/312, respectively. 116 Zevahbm, 106/1. 117 Encyclopedia Mikra'ft, Jerusalem, 1971, 6/747 (in Hebrew). 118 Ibid., 6/749. 119 See also B. Kasowsky, Ozar Lashon ha-Talmud, Jerusalem, 1974, 32/153.


which Jewish Palestine was continuously subjected to during the Hellenistic-Roman period. But, whileyaman retained such positive meaning in traditional instances of early Islam, it is striking to see how its antonym, sha'm looses the sense of ominous evil which reappears in the late second-early third century propagated only by one philological authority, Qutrub; and even then does not gain much circulation in lexical and geographic sources, and is not corroborated by almost any traditional instance. It is safe to say that anywhere the geographic dimensions of shdm and yaman were con- trastively presented in tradition, the former was positively or, at least, neutrally, referred to.

It is beyond the scope of this study to bring all the traditions which promote the merits of al-sham. We shall limit ourselves to illustrating a few examples where shdm and yaman are presented in a contrastive way. One of them is a unique tradition brought by Musharraf according to which the Prophet said: ((the pillars of my umma are the bands of yaman and forty abddl in al-shdm>>'20.

Another unique example is a qudsz tradition according to which the Prophet said: ((God positioned me with my face to al-sham and my back to al-yaman and said: O' Muhammad, I made what is in front of you a booty and what is in your back an equipment and reinforcement for you'>121. A second qudsi tradition, similar to the previous one, was brought by an earlier source on the authority of Kacb. God, according to it, revealed to the Prophet: ((I have sent you as an ummi and made yours what is under your feet and sup- ported your back with those who are behind you from yaman and made a booty for you what is in front of you: Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. .,122

There is also the tradition according to which the Prophet com- bined al-sha/m and yaman in an invocation for blessedness. This tradition is almost exclusively associated with the name of Ibn cUmar either via his son Salim or via Nafi'. It is brought by Bukhari and Tirmidhi and re-appears in several works on the

120 Al-Musharraf b. al-Murajji, Fa.d'il, Ms. Tuibingen, no. 27, 109 (b)-110 (a). The isnad of this tradition is.... (Abd al-Malik b. Micqal -Yazid al-Riqashi -Anas.

121 Ibid., 112 (b). Its isnad is... Ismacil b. cAyyash - IbnJurayj - cAta) - Ibn 'Abbas.

122 Wahb b. Munabbih, K. al-djan, 110-1. No isndd is given for this tradition.

354 s. BASHEAR

merits of al-shalm23. It is clearly a Medinese tradition and note must be taken especially of the invocation to bless Medina and its cubic and dry measures (sa` and mudd). For, such invocation occurs separately in traditions brought by other sources where it is related through other companions and traditional authorities'24. In these latter instances it is usually related how the Prophet also ((looked towards yaman and said: O' God, draw their hearts ... .)>, while the notion of double blessing for shdm and yaman is totally absent.

The tradition by Nafic-Ibn cUmar usually opens with the Prophet's invocation: <<O' God, bless our sham and our yaman>> (alldhumma bdrik lana ft shalmina wa-yamanina). At this stage it splits between several variants. One proceeds with a man asking to bless the east (wa-fr sharqina ya rasuil allah?), to which the Prophet responds: ((from there the horn of the devil will rise)). A second variant makes the man ask about Najd to which the same response is given plus the warning that ((earthquakes andfitan are there.>> And the third variant makes the Prophet say all this about Iraq.

It is clear that no reference is made in all these variants to Hijaz except the few infiltrations on Medina from other currents noted above. This, it seems, was noted at some stage (possibly around mid 2nd century) by traditionists who felt obliged to comment especially about the absence of any mention of Mecca. From two sources we hear that cAbdullah b. Shawdhab, the mid second century authority on this tradition (d. 144-157 H.) said: (<he did not mention Mecca and said [that] Mecca is yamanijyya. To this Ibn Sacid added: i.e. it was included within the yaman>>)".

Another tradition of this sort enjoyed a better circulation. It is usually attributed to cAbdullah b. Hawala although other companions are accredited with relating it from the Prophet.

Roughly speaking, this tradition, including all its variants, speaks about the Prophet's choosing for people to move to al-sham being <<God's choice for the best of his people.)) What concerns us here is the sentence which often follows such urging, and in which the Prophet says: <<... whoever refuses (to go to al-shadm) shall attach to his/itsyaman and drink from its ponds, for God has guaranteed

123 Cf. Ahmad al-Suyfiti, 101 (a); Tirmidhi, 13/299; Fasawl, 2/747-8, Mushar- raf, 108 (a); Ibn CAsakir, 1/120; Ibn CAbd al-Razza-q, 22 (b).

124 E.g. the one by Zayd b. Thabit on the authority of cImran al-Qattan. See for it: Ibn Hanbal, 5/185 and Tirmidhi, 13/285.

125 Ibn CAsakir, 1/120. See also Fasawi, 2/747.


for me al-shdm and its people)) (lit.: Calaykum bi-1-sham, fa-man 'abdifa- )in abaytum fa- calaykuml alayhi bi-yamanihi wa-l-yastaqilyusqa/tasquz min ghudurih, fa-inna lldh qad takaffala 1i bi-l-shdm wa-ahlih).

Although not mentioned in the Sahahs of Bukhari, Muslim or Tir- midhi, many early as well as late sources brought this tradition and considered it as a ((sahlh)>. Among these mention can be made of an early 4adith compilation by Abui Mushir'26, the Musnad of Ibn Hanball27, the Sunan of Abu- Dawiidd28, the Mustadrak of al- Hakim'29 and other hadith, faad)il and geographic sources130.

The main role assigned to Ibn Hawala in this tradition is that, after the Prophet informs the companions that they will be drafted to al-sham, yaman, Iraq, etc., he, Ibn Hawala, asks him for his choice. Then comes the Prophets' saying: "<... calaykum bi-l-sham, fa- man aba...>> etc.

In some sources, however, the isndd of the tradition ends not with Ibn Hawala but with one of his transmittors131, another person who was supposedly present on that occasion, or else it is brought without any chain after him'32. Others do not specify Ibn Hawala as the person involved at all and, instead, there appears in the anonymous form ((fa-qala rajulun))'33. And in yet another group of sources, certain variants of this tradition were related to Abui Dharr, Abuf al-

126 Nuskhat Abf Mushir, Ms. Zahiriyya, majmuf', 59/58. Abui Mushir was a Damascene traditionist who died in 218 H. See on him Tahhfb 6/98.

127 Op. cit., 4/110 and 5/288. 128 Op. cit., 3/4, 8; Cf. also al-Badri, Nuzhat al-Andam, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda,

1(246), 5(a); al-Mizzi, Tu4fat al-Ashrdf, 4/287. 129 Al-Hakim, Mustadrak, Riyad, 1968, 4/510, where he notifies it as <.a sah4fh

inspite of the fact that Bukhari and Muslim did not bring it. 130 Cf. Suyiiti,J.K., 1/287 where Tabarani is quoted for it; al-Mizzi, 4/287; al-

Muttaqi al-Hindi, 12/275-81, especially 12/279 where Ibn Hibban and Sacid b. Mansir are added to the list of sources quoted for it; Fasawl, 2/288-9, 302; al- Rabaci, Fada'il al-Sham, Damascus, 1950, 4-5, 12-3; al-Musharraf, 108 (a)-109 (b); Anon. Faaddil al-Sham, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda (4560), 1 (b); Ibn Habibullah, Risdla;fiFadl al-Shdm, Ms. Princeton, Yehuda (1862), 4 (a-b); al-Badri, Nuzhat, op. cit., 5 (a-b); al-Manini, al-I'ldm bi-Fada'il al-Sham, Jaffa, n.d., 54-5; Yaquit, Mu?/am al-Buldan op. cit., 3/314.

131 These include Abui Muslim al-Khawlhni, Sulayman b. Shamir, Abu Qatila (var. Ibn Abi Qatila), Makhufl and Salih b. Rustum, For few others see al-Mizzi, 4/287.

132 Mainly his main transmittor, Abui Idris, but also al-cIrbad b. Sariya al- Sulami, Abui al-Darda', and cAbdullah b. Zayd. See Fasawl, 2/288; Musharraf, 109 (a-b); al-Muttaql al-Hind1, 12/275-81.

133 Ibn Hanbal, 5/33-4; Ibn cAbd al-Razzaq, op. cit., ibid.

356 S. BASHEAR

Darda', Wathila b. al-Asqa', Mu'adh b. Jabal and Hudhayfa b. al- Yaman, though no chain of isndd was provided'34.

Such variety of isndd lines and chains of authorities is a clear warning against a possible moulding of material from different textual origins. Indeed there are at least two different introductory sentences which alternatively precede the key phrase <<fa-man abdifa- in abaytum>>. One of them is the above noted statement by the Prophet on the future recruitment (sa-tujannadtina ajnddan) which is always followed by Ibn Hawala's request for his choice, etc... In the second variant the Prophet opens right from the beginning with his advise to move to al-sham <the choice of God from among his lands, where he will settle the best of his servants)>.

We notice that while the first variant is heavily associated with Ibn Hawala, one of his transmittors or a companion who was present on that occasion, the second is associated with the names of Abui Dharr, Wathila, Mu'adh and Hudhayfa. And it is exactly here that the moulding of texts from different origins appears. For, the introductory part of the second variant stands in other sources on its own, i.e. without the issue of choice between sham and yaman. Likewise, this part appears as an independent tradition attributed to the Prophet by new names such as Jubayr b. Nufayr and Hakim b. Mu'awiya al-Qushayri-35.

But the main difficulty with the tradition lies in the content of the part that concerns us which, to all intents, conveys a vague meaning in clumsy syntactical structure. The key to this difficulty lies in deciding the exact identity of the second member of the construct phrase i.e. to whom the genetive ((h>) in yamani(h) and ghuduri(h) refers?; to al-shalm or to the subject indirectly referred to as ((man aba)>?

To be true, commentaries on this issue are almost non-existent in a way that corresponds to the absence of the tradition from classical compilations in the first place. Actually, only two late sources bring some isolated commentaries by an unspecified work of Manawi136. The first of them says that the <<h>> in ghuduri(h) refers

134 See Manini, 53; Suyxitl, J.K. 1/287; idem, J.S., 2/64 cf. Tabarani but branded as <<weak>>. In Musharraf, 109 (b), it is said <<Makhul said: we came to Wathila and he told us: I heard Mu'adh or Hudhayfa asking the Prophet where to dwell and he said: go to al-Shdm....> etc.

135 See Ibn al-Faqlh, 92; Fasawl, 2/288; Anon. Hadith., Ms. Zahiriyya, majmuic, 24/8.

136 Manini, 53 and Ibn cAbd al-Razzaq, 17 (a-b).


to al-shdm (i.e. drink from the ponds of al-sham), while the one in yamani(h) refers to whoever refused to go to al-sham. This, he says, makes <fa-man abdfa-l-yalhaq bi-yamanihi>> an interfering sentence.

However, the commentary attributed to the same Manawi by the second source contradict this one in a way that reopens what seems to be an old problem of the very wording of this tradition. For, implicit in this commentary is that the addressing of the companions is made in the plural form where the genetive <<h>) becomes ((kum)) (yamani(kum) and ghuduri(kum)).

Checking again the exact wording of the whole tradition, one realizes that the opening phrase comes indeed in the plural (calay(kum) bi-l-sham) in several sources that bring it. In few earlier ones the genetive ((kum)) is retained all along the way even when Ibn Hawala is addressed in the singular (calayka bi-l-shdm)'37. In such case the syntactical problem finds its solution and the tradition as a whole speaks in the second personal plural all along the way: fa-in abaytum fa-calaykum bi-yamanikum wa-squi min ghudurikum.

But this does not solve all the semantical problems of the tradition. For, what sense is there in including ((go to youryaman and drink from your ponds)) in a tradition which primarily comes to urge people to go to al-shalm? And what to make of some of the early sources which bring the singular: <<fa-man abd fal-yalhaq bi-

yamanihii>138? It is difficult to make any certain judgment on these issues. And

any attempt in this direction must not exclude the scribal variant forms retained in some of our manuscriptural sources. Examples to such variants are abundant: 1) Musharraf gives ((man abda> as <<man ata>>. 2) ((wal-yastaqilwal-yusqa>> is closer to <wa-l-yathiq>> in Badri and

Ahmad al-Suyu-ti, appears as <(wa-yathiq)> in the early Abud Mushir, and even <<wal-yattaqi> should not be excluded.

3) Obi-yamanihi/ appears in the lithographic edition of Suyiiti'sJ. K. as well as in Yaquit as <<bi-yaminihi)); and in both sources <<ghudurih>> appears as ((bi-cudhrzh)>. Even ((yacdhurah)) should not be excluded by the moder reader.

137 E.g. Ibn Hanbal, 4/110: <<fa-)in )abaytumfa-calaykum bi-yamanikum wa-squi min ghudurikum>,. See also Abui Dawuid, 3/4, 8 and Musharraf, 180/(a-b).

138 E.g.: Abui Mushir, 59/58; al-Hakim, 4/510 as well as in certain variants in Ibn Hanbal, 5/33-4; Musharraf, 109 (a-b) and Rabaci, 4-5, 12-3.

358 s. BASHEAR

Taking these variants into consideration one may proceed to see whatever their combination could alternatively make of the tradition. The point of departure remains, however, that it utterly makes no sense that the Prophet urges his companions to go in two opposite directions.

One must also not exclude the possibility that <yamanih>> refers to al-shdm itself meaning the latter's south and right side; a notion that does not contradict the geographic, lexical and even some of the traditional evidences brought above. There is also the possibility that <fa-l-yalhaq bi-yamanihi>> was meant as a concession (rukhsa) given by the Prophet to those who refuse to go to al-sham. Added to this, the opening phrase <<'alaykum>> does not mean only <go to>>, but also bears the notion of urging to fight, struggle and be respon- sible for; an element absent in <<fa-l-yalhaq>) which means ((be attached to>>. And all this goes well with the concluding sentence the content of which has not been considered so far. Namely: ((because God has guaranteed al-sham and its people for me)).

Was the Prophet simply urging people to join some struggle in the north and giving others who were not willing to do so the concession or advise to become attached to the south, for God has guaranteed him victory in the north itself? Support to such possibility comes from a highly unique, albiet isolated, variant which is brought by the relatively early Fasawl. There, the tradition was brought in a context which explicitly speaks about the struggle with the Byzantines, though in a highly mysterious form. Accord- ing to this variant the Prophet promises his companions that they will be recruited, have many occupations and abundant booty. Then Ibn Hawala expresses doubts on who could beat the strong al-rum in al-shdm, but the Prophet swears by God that it will be con- quered. Finally Ibn Hawala asks for his choice to which the Prophet says: "ya ahl al-yaman Calaykum bi-l-shaIm...>> etc.139*

Again, the above suggested interpretation is far from being certain or final. The'variant reading ((fa-l-yathiqlyattaqi bi-Cudhrihlman yaCdhurah>l could fit the general meaning as a certain break against taking the concession too loosely. But to read ((fal-yastaqilyusqa min ghudurih>> can fit into the general framework of the tradition only if <<yamanih)> refers to al-sham indicating its southern areas which are arid and dry.

139 Fasawl, 2/288-9.


However, even if the possibilities suggested above are accepted as plausible solutions to its syntactical and semantical problems, the full historical sense the tradition conveys cannot be finally realised as long as it depends on the cardinal question: where precisely was it that the Prophet made his statement from? Needless to say that a direct answer to this question is not expected to be given on a silver plate by any of our sources. In such case one may turn back to the numerous instances reviewed in the course of this study, where yaman-Biblical Teman and Greaco-Roman Felix-point to south and right, specifically to the area of southern Jordan.

As for al-sha-m, which originally indicated north and left, Muslim sources usually give only a broad definition of its limits; e.g.: from the Euphrate in the north to El-'Arsh in the south, and from the two mountains of Tayy in the east to the Mediterranian in the west'40.

However, from a definitely earlier geo-political tradition we learn that Syria and al-shalm were not one and the same and that it is possible that the latter originally indicated the area of Anatolia- i.e. to the north of Syria with the Taurus pass (al-darb) as the geo- political border between them. This tradition is clearly an old Syrian one as it has the chains: Salama - Ibn Ishaq - Khalid b. Yasar - a man from the old people of al-sham (rajul min qudamad' ahl al-shdm). It is brought by some historiographers in the context of the Prophet's sending of Dihya al-Kalbi in a mission to Hiraql. It was noted by us on a previous occasion; but, because of its highly unique nature we choose to bring it in full here'41. It explicitly says that <the land of Syria was the land[s] of Palestine, Jordan, Damascus, Hims and whatever to the south of al-darb from the land of Syria; and whatever was beyond al-darb, was for them al-shdm>> (my italics)142. It is also interesting to see how Yaquit, in his turn, identifies)> al- darb>> as the mountain pass ((between Tarsus and the land of al-rum>>. In this context he also brings a verse from Imru' al-Qays which

140 Yaquft, 3/312. Bakri, 3/773, in his turn, only says that: ,it is the well-known country>>-i.e. in his own time in the fifth century, without giving any information.

141 S. Bashear, <<The Mission of Dihya al-Kalbi and the Situation in Syria)), unpublished paper. Presented at the Third International Colloquium: From Jahiliyya to Islam, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1985.

142 Tabarl, Tdrikh, 2/651. Compare also with Ibn Kathir, Biddya, 3/268; Ibn Khalduin, cIbar, 2/223 and Ibn al-Athir, Kdmil, 2/212.

360 s. BASHEAR

explicitly says that al-darb marks the beginning of the territory of Qaysar:

My companion cried when he saw al-darb in front of him, and realised that we are joining qaysar. (baka sdlhibf lammd ra'd al-darba dunahu. wa-ayqana anna ldhiqdni bi-qayyard'43.

Conclusions

The present inquiry was an indirect contribution to the study of early Islam through examining some non-tribal, basically geographic and religio-messianic aspects in the etimology ofyaman and yamaniyya as two basic concepts in that religion. It has shown how yaman originally pointed to the south, specifically to Biblical Teman which, during the Graeco-Roman era, was rendered to Felix, denoting the lands of Arabia outside the direct influence of those civilisations. Being as such, this area was connected in some oppressed currents in Judaism and early pseudo-Christian gnosticism with the apocalyptic idea of messianic deliverance from the south; an idea which clearly found its way into early Islam, became one of the basic concepts of that religion and with which some national tunes to such deliverance were attached to the south, being an area of the lands of the Arabs.

From this point of view, Mecca, the future cultic center of Islam, was called al-yamaniyya-the southern-though its final emergence as such a center affected a clear shift in the point of reference where yaman-south-became eventually limited to the extreme south of Arabia.

We do not know exactly under what historical circumstances did such shift occur. However, in the numerous traditional instances where yaman and yamaniyya are referred to, there is also a strong sense of defensive reliance. On the basis of the present inquiry one may even suggest that militarily and politically such a look to the south as a source of relief and support was nourished in difficult circumstances which the early Muslims had in the area bordering with the Byzantines. It is only logical to say that in order for that area to be considered (<south)), one must necessarily stand to the north of it.

143 Yaquit, op. cit., 2/447.


No further speculations will be made except for pointing out to that early geo-political notion which puts the area of central and northern Israel and Jordan together with modern Syria as the central area to which shim in the sense of north is related. However, it is also plausible to suggest that shifting the central point of reference to Mecca in the south necessarily affected a deformation in the meaning of ((the east)) too, which pre-dominates in the traditional references as a source of evil and error in early Islam with a clear parallel from pseudo-Christian gnosticism. In several traditions such ominous references specified also Iraq and the lands of Rabica and Mudar possibly in upper Mesopotamia which were known for their prolonged resistance to Islam.

Also important are the strong religious, specifically messianic, connotations of the term "yamanzyya)) which, to all intents, appears as a central concept all along the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods. Muslim historiographic sources heavily connect the emergence of this term with the upsurge of tribalism at the battle of Marj Rahit in 64 H. and repeatedly refer to it thenceforth but only in the contexts of tribal strife and political conflicts. Such a presentation has undoubtedly affected the damping of the messianic and other religious elements originally inherent in this concept. In my view such damping has, to a great extent, determined the way in which modern scholarship has treated yamanniyya basically as a tribal-genealogical concept; an approach which the present study has shown to be, at least partially, unjustified.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Documents

Yemen and Early Islam by Suliman Bashear