Обсуждение:Обряды и ритуалы
Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān /Ritual and the Qurʾān
- Article Table of Contents
- Rituals in the Qurʾān
- Esoteric interpretations of ʿibādāt
- Ritual purity
- Oaths
- Rituals and the Qurʾān
- Bibliography
Following a brief discussion of ritual in modern academic discourse which proposes a functional typology of rituals both within and involving the Qurʾān, and taking into account the context in which certain rituals occur and are performed, this article will then explore the treatment of qurʾānic rituals in works of Islamic jurisprudence (see law and the qurʾān). Those rituals which employ verses of the Qurʾān — written or spoken, individually or collectively — in various ceremonial, talismanic and therapeutic contexts will also be examined. This article does not deal extensively with those rituals specifically mentioned in the Qurʾān, as they are more fully explained under the relevant entries in this encyclopedia (see e.g. the articles witness to faith; pilgrimage; prayer; ramaḍān; fasting; and ritual purity, in addition to the other entries which are cross-referenced below).
Ritual is the cornerstone of the Islamic faith and, as such, assumes a primary role in the Qurʾān by making manifest a tangible, sacramental expression of God's design for humankind. In comparing Islam to other religions, the Dutch scholar D.C. Mulder (Recitation) observed that Islam “is not very rich in ritual.” But Mulder identified only three primary forms of ritual: prayer(ṣalāt),pilgrimage(ḥajj) and recitation of the Qurʾān (q.v.; tilāwa). Those ritual forms found in the Qurʾān and in the ḥadīth (see ḥadīth and the qurʾān) are not as numerous as those found in the Talmud, a cornerstone of rabbinical Jewish law which includes archaic rituals no longer practiced by Jews after the destruction of the second temple in 70 c.e. It might be argued, however, that the number and diversity of ritual forms, practices and observances within Islam are as prolific, variegated and complex as those in Judaism and Christianity. ¶ Furthermore, those rituals which observant Muslims perform — from simply invoking the divine name (see god and his attributes; remembrance) to more elaborate ritual forms such as supererogatory prayer, supplication and recitation of verses from the Qurʾān — emphasize the richness and diversity of rituals and ritual practice in Islam (see prayer formulas; piety).
Ritual (from Latin ritualis) is a religiously defined and prescribed set of actions whose enactment symbolizes humankind's encounter with and reverence for the divine. Anthropologists and scholars of religion have defined it in various ways, including as “a universal category of human experience” (Bell, Ritual theory, 14) or “those conscious and voluntary, repetitious and stylized symbolic bodily actions that are centered on cosmic structures and/or sacred presences” (Zuesse, Ritual, 405; see profane and sacred). Jonathan Z. Smith (Bare facts, 125) defines ritual as “a means of performing the way things ought to be in conscious tension to the way things are in such a way that this ritualized perfection is recollected in the ordinary, uncontrolled, course of things.” In other words, ritual consists of structures of formalized and sometimes spontaneous behavior which emerge from a setting of reverence for and engagement with the divine in its diverse manifestations. The definition of ritual may be broadened to include rites of passage at which scripture is invoked or displayed such as at births and funerals (see birth; burial), indeed in virtually all aspects of daily life.
The following is a typology of the rituals in Islamic societies that are associated with the Qurʾān. (Most of these rituals — as seen in the overlap among the ten categories — are not mutually exclusive.) ¶
(1) Transformative rituals (see also Rituals of purification, below): the performance of these has the effect of transforming one's spiritual, physical and mental state. Transformative rituals may be prescriptive, as in the five pillars, or may be pious practices (muʿāmalāt) or rules of etiquette (adab). A transformative ritual may also have the effect of transforming the state of a sacred or venerable object. Often such rituals are performed in fulfillment of a religious precept, as in the case of prayer, but also in anticipation of receiving “blessing” (baraka). In this category may be included: the testament of faith (shahāda); ritual prayer (ṣalāt);pilgrimage(ḥajj); entering (dukhūl) and sitting (quʿūd) in a mosque (Ibn al-Ḥājj, al-Madkhal, i, 13); fasting (ṣiyām, q 2:183-5, 187, 196); almsgiving (zakāt);loyalty (q.v.) to the imām (q.v.; walāya); reading/reciting the Qurʾān (dhikr, tilāwa); seeking baraka from a qurʾānic codex (tabarruk; see muṣḥaf; codices of the qurʾān); kissing (taqbīl) the qurʾānic codex; weeping (q.v.; bukāʾ) when the Qurʾān is read; ritual purification (ṭahāra; as a category it often includes wuḍūʾ, ghusl, tayammum; see cleanliness and ablution); vows (nadhr, naḥb; q 76:7; see vow); vigils (q.v.; tahajjud — spending the night in prayer, praying the night prayer, reciting the Qurʾān nightly); and humbling oneself before God (taḍarruʿ).
(2) Rituals of purification, which are performed prior to prayer or coming into contact with the sacred. They employ the use of water and other substances (sand, dust). Included in this category is ṭahāra (ritual purity; q 5:6), which includes wuḍūʾ (ritual ablutions), ghusl (ritual immersion; q 4:43, 5:6), tayammum (ritual ablutions with fine sand or dust; q 4:43; 5:6), ṭahāra (ritual purity; i.e. as in Abraham's purification and re-consecration of the house of God; cf. q 2:125; see abraham; house, domestic and divine; kaʿba). ¶
(3) Rituals which mark the fulfillment of religious obligation (muʿāmalāt; see good deeds; ethics and the qurʾān; see also Obligatory rituals, below), such as marriage (nikāḥ; see Rites of passage, below; see marriage and divorce) and the ritual slaughtering of animals for food (taḥlīl, cf. q 5:2; see consecration of animals; slaughter).
(4) Rites of passage, such as birth (mīlād), including the naming ceremony; death (mawt, cf. q 3:185, 193; 4:78; 21:35; 33:19, 23; 44:56; 47:27; 56:60, 84-87; 63:10; 75:29; see death and the dead); marriage (nikāḥ, cf. q 2:187; 25:54, etc.); and the pilgrimage(ḥajj).
(5) Obligatory rituals in the Qurʾān, namely: prayer(ṣalāt), including prostration(sujūd) and bowing (rukūʿ; see bowing and prostration); testament of faith (shahāda); almsgiving (zakāt);pilgrimage(ḥajj); and fasting (ṣiyām).
(6) Rituals of abstinence (q.v.), which include fasting (ṣiyām) and vows (nadhr or nudhūr, naḥb; q 33:23: man qaḍā naḥbahu). The vow involves making a dedication to God, usually in the form of a sacrifice (q.v.). In a historical context, Muslims, like adherents to other faiths, make vows to engage in or refrain from particular actions. Abstinence from certain practices and ḥajj rites, such as eating food and shortening one's hair are valid forms of nadhr. In the qurʾānic context, God fulfills vows (cf. Pedersen, Nad̲h̲r, for a discussion of the pre-Islamic and Islamic context of nadhr; see also contracts and alliances; covenant; oaths).
(7) Rituals of sustenance (q.v.), health (see illness and health), longevity (see also Protective rituals, below), which include consuming food and drink from plates and cups inscribed with qurʾānic verses; consuming food on which qurʾānic verses are inscribed; and seeking baraka from the Qurʾān (tabarruk; see popular and talismanic uses of the qurʾān; everyday life, the qurʾān in). ¶
(8) Protective rituals, among which are counted a number of activities. The mere act of bringing out a codex at a public gathering is a means to invoke the protection (q.v.) of God through his words (see word of god). Other rituals include reciting the basmala (q.v.; i.e. invoking the name of God) orally or silently over somebody or before undertaking an activity; reading/reciting the Qurʾān; seeking baraka (tabarruk) from the qurʾānic codex by physically touching it or reciting verses from it; carrying a qurʾānic codex to ward off disease, illness, plague, bodily harm, evil, etc.; wearing a garment with qurʾānic verses inscribed on it (usually a tunic or talismanic shirt on which the ninety-nine names of God and verses from the Qurʾān are inscribed); wearing a necklace, amulet (see amulets) or talisman with qurʾānic verses and related expressions or a miniature Qurʾān in a muṣḥaf pendant of a precious metal, usually gold (children or adults may engage in this practice; a popular practice is for women and girls to wear amulets); eating or drinking from a vessel with verses of the Qurʾān inscribed; and in Turkey there is the practice of writing the word mashallah, literally “what God wants,” on an amulet and placing it on the person of a newborn child (see the illustrations of popular and talismanic uses of the qurʾān for some examples of the rich variety of material objects employed in protective rituals that involve the Qurʾān).
(9) Rituals acts meant to inflict harm or spread evil. Such rituals appear in a limited historical context. The only known instance in the Qurʾān is the “blowing on knots” (al- naffāthāt fī l-ʿuqad, q 113:4; see magic), but this appears in a negative sense in that the verse alludes to women who failed in their objective to cause harm to Muḥammad by blowing on knots (see opposition to muḥammad). ¶
(10) Rituals that promote social cohesion and group solidarity, such as prayer (ṣalāt), Friday prayer (q.v.; q 62:9), or prayer in a mosque (q.v.); pilgrimage(ḥajj); collectively carrying scriptures in hand while walking in procession at times of crisis, drought and epidemics. This last named function exemplifies the human need to repel imminent danger and disease. Such historical episodes underscore the social function of the Qurʾān in a group environment (see community and society in the qurʾān; politics and the qurʾān).
As seen from this typology, the word “ritual” in the Islamic context cannot be expressed by a single word found either in the Qurʾān, the prophetic traditions, or in works of jurisprudence. The closest approximation to “ritual” is ʿibādāt (sing. ʿibāda, lit. “obedience, submission, humility, devout worship”; see worship) which is also related to ṭāʿa (lit. “obedience, submission”; see obedience). In the first instance, ʿibādāt refers to religious practice and devotion to God (q 2:21; 51:56) and is commonly applied to the five pillars (arkān) of Islam: shahāda (testament of faith; q 3:19-20; 6:19; 63:1), ṣalāt (prayer; e.g. q 2:45; 9:103; 51:18; 70:22-3; 75:31; 96:10; 108:2), zakāt (almsgiving; e.g. q 2:43, 83, 277), ṣiyām (fasting; q 2:183-4), and ḥajj (pilgrimage; e.g. q 2:189, 196). The Semitic root ʿ-b-d from which ʿibādāt derives captures the relationship between the devotee as the slave of God whose inner and outer natures surrender to God, the exclusive object of worship (e.g. q 1:5; see servants; slaves and slavery). ¶ “Ritual” also may be applied to modes of religious behavior and experience, and physical and mental states not classified as ʿibādāt by jurisprudents and theologians, such as taḍarruʿ (q 6:42, 43), through which believers are urged to reflect upon the lessons of the past and humble themselves before God as did those before them (see oppressed on earth, the; trust and patience; trial; punishment stories; generations; history and the qurʾān). During the fifth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries, the very act of remembrance of God (dhikr, q 2:152, 200; 3:41; 7:205; 18:24; 33:41; 72:25) became enshrined in elaborate Ṣūfī rituals and ceremonies that became widespread throughout the Islamic world (see ṣūfism and the qurʾān).
All devotional acts (ʿibādāt) require of those who undertake them to declare clearly their intention (q.v.; niyya). In Kitāb al-Arbaʿīn fī uṣūl al-dīn, al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) provides a succinct discussion of ʿibadāt, which when performed properly, lead to the perfection of both the outer and inner self in fulfillment of one's religious duties. In his elucidation of the ten primary principles of religion (ritual prayer; almsgiving and charity; fasting; pilgrimage; recitation of the Qurʾān; dhikr, remembrance of God; seeking what is permitted, i.e. ḥalāl; upholding the rights of other Muslims and maintaining proper companionship with them; enjoining right and forbidding wrong; following the sunna of the Prophet), al-Ghazālī states that he does not mean undertaking only the etiquette (ādāb) of the ritual acts, but everything associated with them (p. 68). The object in performing ritual acts is human certitude in the remembrance of God in order to attain the hereafter and withdraw from the worldly life (p. 76). Invoking this work, the north African Mālikī theologian Ibn al-Ḥājj (d. 737/ 1336) regards niyya and ʿamal (i.e. the actual performance of the act) as complete ritual devotion (bi-himā tamām al- ʿibāda) and niyya as the best of the two parts (al-Madkhal, i, 13). ¶ For without the intention, the believer's ritual is deemed invalid and the threat of divine punishment becomes implicit (see reward and punishment; chastisement and punishment). According to Eliade (Patterns, 370-1), the division between the realms of the sacred and the profane “serves the purpose of preserving profane man from the danger to which he would expose himself by entering it without due care. The sacred is always dangerous to anyone who comes into contact with it unprepared, without having gone through ‘gestures of approach’ that every religious act demands.”
- Rituals in the Qurʾān
Rituals in the Qurʾān can be classified according to four primary categories: (1) Prescriptive rituals include prayer (ṣalāt), almsgiving (zakāt), testament of faith (shahāda), fasting during the month of Ramaḍān (ṣiyām), undertaking the pilgrimage (ḥajj) and ritual purity (ṭahāra, q 5:6); (2) rituals of devotion and remembrance, such as dhikr and tahajjud (night vigil spent in prayer); (3) rites of passage, including birth, marriage and death; (4) rituals that are time and place specific and that refer to a particular historical event or incident or are otherwise related to the prophets before Muḥammad (see prophets and prophethood), like Abraham and Ishmael (q.v.) ritually purifying the house of God (q 2:125), women's use of black magic against the Prophet by blowing on knots (q 113:4) and the allusions to the — proscribed — prostration (bowing) of the Israelites to the sun (q.v.) and moon (q.v.; e.g. q 41:37).
Ritual prayer (ṣalāt) represents the ritual enactment and re-enactment of the Qurʾān par excellence. Several prophetic traditions indicate this, including “The difference between kufr (infidelity; see belief and unbelief) and Islam is ṣalāt,” and “Only those who pray have my protection” (cf. Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, bk. 1, chap. 35, no. 134). ¶
Sunnī and Shīʿī (see shīʿism and the qurʾān) works of jurisprudence (fiqh) differentiate between ʿibādāt and a closely related word — muʿāmalāt, which refers to the rules governing human behavior —, and almost invariably discuss the former before the latter. Bousquet recognizes that fiqh is a deontology for ʿibādāt, the statements of the whole corpus of duties or acts whether obligatory, forbidden or recommended, etc., which is imposed upon people (Bousquet, ʿIbādāt; cf. id., Les grandes pratiques, 9). Apart from the five pillars, the question of which rituals are to be classified under ʿibādāt is not always clearly delineated in the organization of jurisprudential works. In the Qurʾān one finds mention of such rituals as marriage (nikāḥ; e.g. q 2:220; 33:49) which Bousquet properly indicates should be classified as a pious practice rather than placed among the ʿibādāt. The same might be said of other practices, not specifically mentioned as an obligation in the Qurʾān, such as circumcision (q.v.; khitān), or qurʾānic recitation (tilāwa). Unlike circumcision, however, which is not a qurʾānic prescription but a socially and religiously prescribed ritual and rite of passage, recitation is usually considered among the ʿibādāt.
In the ḥadīth collections and in legal and theological discussions of the sunna (q.v.) of the Prophet (see theology and the qurʾān), qurʾānic and extra-qurʾānic rituals are further elaborated. Various ḥadīth collections do not categorically separate ʿibādāt from other ritual forms, though ʿibādāt generally are grouped at the beginning of such works. In al-Bukhārī's (d. 256/870) Ṣaḥīḥ, for instance, one finds wuḍūʾ (ritual ablution), ghusl (ritual immersion), tayammum (ritual ablution with fine dust or sand), ṣalāt (prayer), janāʾiz (funerals), zakāt (almsgiving), and ḥajj (pilgimage). ¶ The Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim (d. ca. 261/875) follows a different order and includes ṭahāra (ritual purity), ṣalāt (prayer), zakāt (almsgiving) and ṣawm (fasting).
The Shīʿī theologian Sallār b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Daylamī (d. 448/1056), the author of al-Marāsīm fī l-fiqh al-imāmī, essentially divides his work into ʿibādāt and muʿāmalāt, the latter of which he subdivides into ʿuqūd (contracts, the performance of which does not necessitate the declaration of intention; see contracts and alliances; breaking trusts and contracts) and aḥkām (rules governing conduct within society, e.g. inheritance laws; see inheritance; social interactions). Al-Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī (d. 676/1277) delineates in his Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām fī l-fiqh al-islāmī l-Jaʿfarī four primary categories of ritual which formed the basis for the categories found in later Shīʿī works of jurisprudence: ʿibādāt, aḥkām, ʿuqūd, and īqāʿāt (legally valid pronouncements which require only one party to transact).
One of the most detailed expositions of ʿibādāt can be found in the Shāfiʿī jurist al-Nawawī's (d. 676/1277) al-Tibyān fī ādāb ḥamalat al-Qurʾān. Al-Nawawī's work is unique for its discussion of those rituals in which the Qurʾān is invoked, the times at which it is efficacious to recite certain verses or chapters of the Qurʾān, when it is necessary to prostrate oneself upon hearing particular verses, and the proper etiquette for carrying and displaying a codex and according it reverence. Al-Nawawī was particularly concerned that Muslims display proper etiquette and reverence for the Qurʾān. For instance, he observes that such practices as putting the codex under the head as a pillow are to be forbidden (Nawawī, Tibyān, 190-1). Perhaps some believed that it would facilitate the acquisition of knowledge or protect them from harm as they slept. ¶ Such beliefs are attested to in late nineteenth century Iran: Serena (Hommes, 333; cf. Massé, Popular beliefs, 21) observed that the qurʾānic codex was placed beneath the head of the newborn as a pillow.
The Ḥanbalī theologian Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) defines ʿibāda — more broadly than the traditional delineation of jurisprudential works — as “a collective term [which encompasses] all that God loves and [that] pleases him (kull mā yuḥibbuhu wa-yarḍāhu) from the words and inner and external actions, like prayer, alms, fasting, ḥajj, veracious speech, keeping a trust, and reverence for one's parents (q.v.) and close relatives (see kinship).” In a treatise on ʿibādāt the modern Shīʿī scholar Jaʿfar al-Sijānī (ʿIbāda, 20) argues that Ibn Taymiyya has confused ʿibādāt with acts of nearness to God (taqarrub) by regarding them as synonymous. In Sijānī's view, acts such as giving alms, respecting one's parents, and the khums (a tax among the Shīʿa which was originally applied to the fifth of the spoils of war belonging to the ruler; see booty) necessitate qurbā to God but are not ʿibādāt.
The modern-day scholar and theologian Aḥmad al-Ḥuṣarī (Mina l-fiqh, 142) defines ʿibāda as “the obedience (ṭāʿa) which the [divine] law-giver (shāriʿ) has required his slaves to carry out.” Al-Ḥuṣarī distinguishes between three categories of ʿibādāt: (1) Purely physical rituals (ʿibādāt badaniyya) for which one person is not permitted to substitute for another, like prayer, fasting; (2) rituals for which one person is permitted to substitute for another, like almsgiving (zakāt); and (3) physical rituals which require the expenditure of property (q.v.; with the stipulation that, in the case of another's substituting, one must be incapable of undertaking them on one's own), like the ḥajj (ibid., 144).¶
The Shīʿī scholar Muḥammad Saʿīd al- Ṭabāṭabāʾī (d. 1982) includes in his Minhāj al-ṣāliḥīn the following categories among the ʿibādāt: ṭahāra (ritual purity), ṣalāt (prayer), ṣawm (fasting), iʿtikāf (pious retreat in a mosque which is generally associated with the month of Ramaḍān; see festivals and commemorative days), zakāt (almsgiving), khums, and al- amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-l-nahy ʿan al-munkar (enjoining others to do what is commendable and to refrain from what is reprehensible; cf. q 3:104, 110; 22:41; see virtues and vices, commanding and forbidding).
The most important Ṭayyibī-Mustaʿlī Ismāʿīlī work of jurisprudence which serves as the basis for ʿIsmāʿīlī law and which contains a detailed exposition of ʿibādāt is al- Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān's (d. 363/ 974)Daʿāʾim al-Islām, “Pillars of Islam.” Al-Nuʿmān, the chief qāḍī under the Fāṭimid caliph al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh (r. 344-65/952-75), includes the following seven ʿibādāt: walāya (devotion to the imām), ṭahāra (ritual purity), ṣalāt (ritual prayer), janāʾiz (funerals), zakāt (alms tax), ṣawm (fasting), ḥajj (pilgrimage), and jihād (q.v.; holy war). Immediately following ṣawm, al-Nuʿmān discusses iʿtikāf.
- Esoteric interpretations of ʿibādāt
In Taʾwīl al-daʿāʾim, al-Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān stresses the importance for the Ismāʿīlī believer of not only performing the ʿibādāt, but also of understanding their esoteric meaning (bāṭin). After providing an esoteric interpretation of walāya (affirming the doctrine of belief in and devotion to the imāms), al-Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān explains the ʿibādāt as follows: Ritual purity(ṭahāra) refers to “purifying oneself through knowledge (al- taṭahhur bi-l- ʿilm) and what it necessitates with respect to the impurities of the soul (bi-mā yūjibuhu l-ʿilm min aḥdāth al-nufūs)” (Taʾwīl, i, 72). In addition to knowledge, wisdom facilitates purification of the soul. Declaring one's intention (niyya) in performing ʿibādāt is like walāya (ibid., i, 85). ¶ Al-Qāḍī l-Nuʿmān states that the performance of the ritual prayer (ṣalāt) is symbolic of the Prophet's action in making these particular prayers and postures obligatory (ibid., i, 86). The inner meaning of zakāt is that the act of giving purifies (taṭhīr) one's personal wealth (q.v.; ibid., ii, 87). Zakāt is not only associated with ritual purity, but also with righteousness (ṣalāḥ) and growth (numuww; ibid., ii, 87-8). Al-Nuʿmān quotes several verses to support his interpretations (including q 9:34, 103; 73:20; 87:14, 15; 91:9, 10). A deeper meaning of zakāt is that it represents the one who purifies (muzakkī) the people (al- nās) — in this case, the foundations (usus) and the proofs (ḥujaj) who are the vicegerents of the prophets (ibid., ii, 88).
The Ismāʿīlī scholar Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sijistānī (fl. fourth/tenth century) expounds the ʿibādāt as follows: Water which represents knowledge purifies the soul from doubt and uncertainty (q.v.). Walāya signifies devotion to the imāms. Ṣalāt (ritual prayer) signifies devotion to the awliyāʾ (the friends of God, i.e. the imāms; see clients and clientage; friends and friendship). Zakāt signifies that those who possess knowledge (i.e. the imāms) should send forth guides to the people (see knowledge and learning; kings and rulers). The lower ranks become zakāt for the higher ranks. Fasting (ṣawm) means observing silence and not revealing any secrets (q.v.) to the uninitiated (see also hidden and the hidden). Ḥajj represents the believer having an audience with the imām, who symbolizes the house wherein knowledge of God resides (Sijistānī, Iftikhār, chaps. 13-7; especially useful is Poonawala's commentary: see Poonawala/Husayn, Biobibliography, 417-29; cf. Poonawala, Ismāʿīlī taʾwīl, 219). Today, Nizārī Ismāʿīlī prayer consists of supplications, but unlike Sunnī and Ithnā ʿAsharī ṣalāt, does not include the same sequence of bowing (rukūʿ) and prostration(sujūd). Usually prayer is performed in a sitting position. ¶
Ṣūfī works like al-Hujwīrī's Kashf al-maḥjūb place importance on understanding and implementing the esoteric and exoteric interpretations in the practice of ʿibādāt. In the chapter on ritual purity, al-Hujwīrī emphasizes that while prayer requires purification of the body, gnosis requires purification of the heart (Hujwīrī, Kashf, 291). In the chapter on prayer, he stresses the importance of humility, awe, abasement and the annihilation of one's attributes. The chapter on alms links the giving of zakāt to poverty in this world, but the giver should also aim to give for the blessings of health, mind and body and infinite blessings should be rendered with infinite thanks to God (see blessing; grace; gratitude and ingratitude). In the chapter on fasting, al-Hujwīrī mentions that fasting is abstinence which includes the whole method of Ṣūfism. In the chapter on the pilgrimage, the true meaning of ḥajj involves the casting off of the worldly life, sensual desires, the attributes of one's humanity, and the complete submission of the believer to God.
- Ritual purity
The Qurʾān itself is described as being contained “in books held greatly in honor, exalted, and pure” (muṭahhara, q 80:13-4; see book; scrolls; preserved tablet). Ritual purity(ṭahāra) is the foundation of the ʿibādāt upon which the performance of other rituals depends. The north African Mālikī theologian Ibn al-Ḥājj interprets ṭahāra as interior ritual purification (al-ṭahāra al-bāṭina). He invokes a tradition of the Prophet (al-Madkhal, i, 30): “Supplication (duʿāʾ) is the essence of ritual devotion (ʿibāda)” and refers to q 2:222, which mentions ritual purity. Likewise, Ibn al-Ḥājj interprets other ritual acts such as wuḍūʾ and zakāt as purifying humans from sin, base elements and negative attributes associated with the worldly life. ¶ Ritual purity (q 5:6) and the pure water (q.v.; q 25:48; cf. 8:11) with which it is associated are referred to in the Qurʾān. The acts of ritual purity practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs included iḥrām (ritual consecration) before entering Mecca (q.v.) and forbidding menstruating women (see menstruation; pre-islamic arabia and the qurʾān) from undertaking the pre-Islamic pilgrimage there. In Islamic times menstruating women were allowed to perform the ḥajj, although they were allowed to circumambulate the Kaʿba and undertake the running between Ṣafā and Marwa only when they had achieved a ritually pure state (cf. Howard, Some aspects, 41).
A person in a ritual state is described as ṭahūr or ṭāhir (Ḥillī, Tadhkirat, 7). Bousquet (Les grandes pratiques, 16) divides his discussion of the state of ritual impurity into two major categories, which are further elaborated: (1) Minor ritual impurity such as ḥadath, which refers to minor emissions from the openings of the body or contact with an impure substance, and which invalidates prayer, circumambulation around the Kaʿba, and touching the Qurʾān; (2) Major ritual impurity (janāba) from sexual intercourse (see sex and sexuality) and menstruation (ḥayḍ), as a result of which it is generally forbidden to perform prayer, to recite the Qurʾān, to enter a mosque, or to perform the ḥajj.
Sunnī and Shīʿī legal sources usually divide the category “ritual purity” (ṭahāra) into three sub-categories: wuḍūʾ (ablutions), ghusl (ritual immersion), and tayammum (making ablutions with pure sand or dust; e.g. Ḥillī, Tadhkirat, 7, defines ṭuhūr as water). Sources usually distinguish between these three forms of ritual purity and discuss the various states of ritual impurity and the conditions under which it is necessary or permitted to undertake ritual purification. ¶ They also elaborate upon the physical movements and gestures of the body, as well as the oral formulae which are to be performed.
Wuḍūʾ is necessary for prayer, making ṭawāf (circumambulation around the Kaʿba), touching the text of the Qurʾān and for other rituals (cf. Ḥillī, Tadhkirat, 8). Similarly, ghusl may be made for any one of these three categories in addition to residing in mosques, for producing amulets or talismans for the curing of diseases (ʿazāʾim) and for obligatory fasting, etc. Tayammum is required for prayer or for the ritually impure person (junub, literally “precluded from ritual practice”), and in order to set out for a mosque (ibid.). For a ritually impure person (junub, muḥdith, ḥāʾiḍ) to carry a qurʾānic codex or to touch its pages or its writing is a reprehensible act (makrūh; Ḥillī, Tadhkirat, 241).
Being in a state of ritual purity is required for anybody who touches, reads or recites the Qurʾān. On the basis of q 56:79, “none shall touch it [the Qurʾān] save for those who are ritually pure (al- muṭahharūn),” al-Ḥillī deems it reprehensible for a ritually impure person to touch the Qurʾān. Abū l-Qāsim al-Khūʾī (d. 1992) mentions that the one who is in a state of ritual impurity is not permitted to touch the writing of the codex or the vocalization signs (see recitation of the qurʾān; ornamentation and illumination; grammar and the qurʾān), nor the name of God or the ninety-nine “beautiful names.” According to al-Nawawī, other books which contain verses from the Qurʾān are to be treated in the same manner if the qurʾānic text they contain is significantly greater in length than the rest of the text, e.g. a brief gloss or commentary. Thus, it is forbidden for the ritually impure person to touch and carry them (Nawawī, Tibyān, 194). ¶
Theological and legal discussions focus on the etiquette (adab) of what is permitted and forbidden (q.v.; see also lawful and unlawful). For instance, the Qurʾān should be treated with reverence as should, more generally, books which contain the name of God and Qurʾān writing boards used by schoolboys (see teaching and preaching the qurʾān). In a related cultural practice, a scribe does not leave a book he is consulting on the ground for fear an animal or person would walk over it, thus divesting the writing of efficacy (Westermarck, Pagan survivals, 134). A state of ritual purity is also required when one writes a talisman which includes verses from the Qurʾān or the ninety-nine beautiful names of God, for it is as if a scribe were copying a codex.
- Oaths
Oaths (sing. qasam, ḥalf) that are sworn on the qurʾānic codex are seldom attested to in pre-modern sources. Unlike in Christianity or Judaism, where the oath upon a physical copy of scripture is presently a requirement, there is no legal requirement that the Qurʾān need be present or that one place one's right hand on a codex in order to validate an oath. Legal sources discourage the taking of oaths by anything apart from God or his ninety-nine beautiful names (cf. Nawawī, Tibyān). The eighth/fourteenth century traveler Ibn Baṭṭūṭa mentions that Damascenes made debtors and those against whom they had a claim swear (yuḥlif) on the ʿUthmānic codex of the Qurʾān at the congregational mosque (Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, Riḥla, i, 105).
In Ibn Taghrībirdī's al-Nujūm al-zāhira, a chronicle of the Mamlūk dynasty of Egypt, two references are made to emirs taking oaths. In the first, an emir takes an oath on a muṣhaf (ḥalafa ʿalā l-musḥaf, Ibn Taghrībirdī, Nujūm, ed. Cairo, x, 32, for 742/1341). ¶ In the second instance, an emir holds the codex in his hand and takes an oath (fa-tanāwala l- muṣḥaf al-sharīf bi-yadihi wa-ḥalafa lahum yamīnan, trans. Popper, History of Egypt, xxiii, 80, for 871/1466). A type of oath is the oath of allegiance (bayʿa) which the Quraysh (q.v.) swore when they pledged their fealty to the prophet Muḥammad and which also became the standard for the election of a new caliph (q.v.; q 48:10, 18).
Today certain courts and administrative bodies in western countries have required that when Muslims swear oaths, they place their right hand on the codex. Some consider placing the right hand on the Qurān to be forbidden (ḥarām), especially when one is not in a ritually pure state. During the early twentieth century c.e., Tewfik Canaan observed that oaths by the Qurʾān (wa-l-muṣḥaf) were quite common throughout Palestine (Canaan, Modern Palestinian beliefs, 77). Modern day legal opinions commonly regard swearing by the Qurʾān (al-ḥalf bi-l-muṣḥaf) as tantamount to swearing by God since the Qurʾān is God's words. The Azharī ʿAbdul ʿAzeem al-Matʿani has issued a legal ruling that taking an oath on the Qurʾān is not valid unless one clearly states one's intention (niyya) that in doing so one is swearing by God (Fatwā, IslamOnline.net, Fatwa id=77191: “Swearing by the Qurʾān”). Certain court rulings discuss the expiation (see forgiveness; repentance and penance) of one who has not carried out an oath sworn by placing the right hand on the muṣḥaf.
- Rituals and the Qurʾān
Among the rituals that are discussed at length in legal sources are rituals of purification which are required in order to pray and also those ritual practices which are required before touching or reciting the Qurʾān (see above). Beyond such rituals, there are those which require physical contact with the Qurʾān or particular verses. ¶
Certain highly commendable practices include reciting particular qurʾānic verses at different times. Before going to sleep each night, the Prophet would cup his hands together, blow into them and recite over them q 112 (“Sincerity,” Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ), q 113 (“Daybreak,” Sūrat al-Falaq) and q 114 (“People,” Sūrat al-Nās), and would rub his hands three times over the “permitted” parts of his body (cf. Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, vi, book 61, no. 35).
- Kissing the Qurʾān
Upon holding the Qurʾān in the right hand, Muslims often kiss its cover and raise the Qurʾān above their heads in order to derive baraka. Although this devotional act is not generally deemed controversial, the Ḥanbalī position as expounded by the eighth/fourteenth century theologian Ibn Taymiyya maintains that there is no basis for this practice in the sunna of the Prophet or in the deeds of the righteous ancestors (al- salaf). Ibn Taymiyya discusses this practice in conjunction with other practices, such as standing up (qiyām) for, or in the presence of the muṣḥaf, though he does quote a tradition of ʿIkrima b. Abī Jahl in which he used to put his face to the qurʾānic codex and say: “[These are] the words of my lord (kalām rabbī); [These are] the words of my lord” (Ibn Taymiyya, Fatāwā, i, 49). Elsewhere, Ibn Taymiyya (Jāmiʿ, 109) argues that it is only permissible to touch and kiss the two “Yemeni” stones (i.e. the black stone in the eastern corner of the Kaʿba and that in the southwest corner of the Kaʿba; lā yushraʿu li-aḥad an yastalima wa-yuqabbila ghayr al-ruknayn al-yamāniyyayn).
Although no early traditions attest to kissing the qurʾānic codex or kissing it and wiping it over the eyes and face, Wahhābīs consider this a heretical innovation (bidʿa) which, based upon a legal ruling of the Permanent Committee on Scientific Research and Religious Rulings, Saudi Arabia (Bidʿa, 549: question 12 of fatwā no. 1472), they discourage. ¶
- Weeping
Weeping at the recitation of the Qurʾān is commended by God (q 17:109). Al-Ghazālī states: “Read the Qurʾān and cry; if you do not cry, force yourselves to weep. Weeping is the sixth rule.” A Muslim should also weep upon hearing the words ṣubḥān Allāh, “Glory be to God” (see glorification of god) and q 17:107-9 (Quasem, Recitation, 34).
- Resolving conflict
A number of historical incidents are recorded in which verses from the Qurʾān were invoked for the purpose of arbitration (q.v.). The words of the sacred text were used to bring about a desired result or resolution to war (q.v.), conflict (see fighting) or oppression (q.v.; see also justice and injustice). But — apart from the famous battles of Ṣiffīn (see ṣiffīn, battle of), wherein Muʿāwiya and his partisans reportedly raised a copy of the Qurʾān upon spears as a stratagem, and of the Camel, where ʿĀʾisha asked that the Qurʾān be brought for the purpose of arbitration (see ʿāʾisha bint abī bakr) — only a single incident involves the qurʾānic codex itself in a particular historical event: in 851/1447, presumably after failing to pay a 1/10 levy on their merchandise, the Kārimī merchants were deemed renegades by the Mamlūk sultan Juqmuq. The Kārimīs took the extraordinary measure of holding hostage the preacher of the mosque in Mecca and raised the qurʾānic codices above their heads and requested a fatwā concerning the legality of the 1/10 tax (ʿushr; ʿAbbās, Taʾrīkh, 127).¶
- Recitation of the Qurʾān
The general, though by no means universal, consensus among Sunnī and Shīʿī theologians is that qurʾānic recitation (tilāwa) is not included among the ʿibādāt. Al-Nawawī does not specifically classify recitation (tilāwa) under ʿibādāt. But, unlike al-Nawawī, the mystic al-Ghazālī in the eighth chapter of Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, “Revivification of the religious sciences,” cites a prophetic tradition on the basis of which he justifies the inclusion of the recitation of the Qurʾān among devotional acts (ʿibādāt; Quasem, Recitation, 22). In the second chapter of the eighth book of Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, al-Ghazālī mentions rules for the oral recitation of the Qurʾān, and in the third chapter he enumerates the associated mental or esoteric tasks (al- aʿmāl al-bāṭina; ibid., 21).
According to a prophetic tradition narrated by al-Ghazālī, “[One of] the best devotional acts (ʿibādāt) of my community is the recitation of the Qurʾān” (ibid., 22; this tradition is also mentioned in al-Bāqillānī's Inṣāf). The mere act of looking at a codex while reciting the Qurʾān is also an act of devotion to God (ʿibāda; Quasem, Recitation, 52-3).
There is no consensus about reciting the Qurʾān over the deceased. Al-Nawawī mentions q 36 (Sūrat Yā Sīn) or q 2 (“The Cow,” Sūrat al-Baqara) as chapters of the Qurʾān to be recited. For up to three days after the funeral, the male and female mourners would gather to mourn separately at the house of the deceased (Massé, Persian beliefs, 91-3). There they would engage in the ceremonial recitation of the entire Qurʾān (khatm al-Qurʾān). The qurʾānic codex, which would be written in thirty or sixty separate notebooks and which was part of a waqf legacy, would be distributed to mourners. Near the Qurʾān, a repository (raḥl, i.e. for storing the various parts of the codex read by the mourners) would be placed.
A practice found among some mendicant Ṣūfīs (sing. faqīr) elicited the rebuke of Ibn Taymiyya (Fatāwā, i, 53). ¶ Ibn Taymiyya observed that a group of faqīrs who met regularly to ritually remember God and to recite a portion of the Qurʾān, would bare their heads and humble themselves (ya taḍarraʿūna) for the sake of getting near to God (ʿalā wajh al-taqarrub). Ibn Taymiyya labels this practice as reprehensible (makrūh), especially if it is regarded as a devotional practice (ʿibāda).
- Healing and curing
The healing properties associated with the Qurʾān and the efficacy of reciting specific verses for particular ailments are widely recognized among Muslims; its curative power lies in the belief in God's words (cf. Nawawī, Tibyān, 183). Among the most widely recounted prophetic traditions in this regard is that whenever the Prophet became ill, he would recite q 113 (“Daybreak,” Sūrat al-Falaq) and q 114 (“People,” Sūrat al-Nās), then blow his breath over his body. When he was unable to do so, ʿĀʾisha would take and rub his hands over his body hoping for their blessings (Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, vi, book 61, no. 535; see medicine and the qurʾān).
Donning a garment with verses from the Qurʾān and reciting certain verses and chapters or other segments of the Qurʾān, such as the muʿawwadhatayn (“the two chapters against evil”), are efficacious for protecting its wearer from harm and curing illness. According to al-Nawawī, the Qurʾān is more effective than the ḥadīth when one is ailing (Nawawī, Tibyān, 183).
- Talismanic and amuletic uses of the Qurʾān and talismanic objects
Talismanic uses of the Qurʾān fall under the heading of mujarrabāt; practices, methods, objects and rituals employed in humankind's encounter with their fellows and with the divine that are tried and proven through personal experience or the experience of others. Such practices may include the recitation of the Qurʾān in order to cure an illness. ¶ According to Ibn Taymiyya (Fatāwā, i, 49-52), however, the practice of predicting the future with the qurʾānic codex (fatḥ al-faʾl) is reprehensible (makrūh) and should be forbidden as it did not exist among the pious ancestors (salaf).
When admiring a child, Egyptians would invoke q 113 (Lane, Manners, 259). In Iran when naming a child, the father or the eldest member of the family randomly places slips with names between the pages of the Qurʾān. Those present recite the opening chapter of the Qurʾān, the Fātiḥa (q.v.) and the father or eldest male present chooses a name (Massé, Persian beliefs, 25-6).
Verses from the Qurʾān such as from q 106 were also engraved on the surface of cups and bowls. Those who utilized them were protected from harm (Lane, Manners, 263-4), and these vessels were also employed by magicians to reveal the unseen (q 21, 50; cf. Lane, Manners, 279). Amulets containing certain verses from the Qurʾān (q 6, 18, 36, 44, 55, 67, 78) were placed under articles of clothing such as caps in order to protect the wearer from the devil (q.v.) and all evil jinn (q.v.).
Among the popular Shīʿī beliefs and practices which have parallels among Sunnīs is the inscription of certain passages from the Qurʾān with a variety of writing substances (e.g. saffron, water, kohl) in a number of media. Verses are pronounced over or dissolved in natural substances such as earth, water, or sand. They are employed to realize certain objectives, such as to affect a cure and alter the physical and mental states of the initiator or other persons. Among the innumerable examples of talismanic verses are the following: q 11:41, which is inscribed on an Indian oak board blackened at its beginning (Maghniyya, Mujarrabāt, 18). Concerning q 12 (Sūrat Yūsuf): “Whoever records it and buries it in his house and after three days takes it out of the house from its exterior, will experience that the sultan's messenger is calling out to grant him victory and he will become important. ¶ Whoever writes a verse and drinks it (i.e. its ink) it will ensure prosperity.” Other chapters and verses are inscribed on strips of silken white cloth which are affixed to the upper arm of an infant to protect it from harm and evil. Writing certain verses in saffron and giving them as a drink for a woman who has difficulty lactating, will make her lactate. Whoever writes a certain verse from q 15 and puts it in his pocket or chest pocket will prosper in his transactions and in his livelihood. If q 16 is written on the wall of an orchard, trees that do not bear fruit will produce an abundance of ripe fruit. Its invocation also ensures prosperity (Maghniyya, Mujarrabāt, 19). Certain verses are efficacious for relieving poverty, such as q 104:1 which is to be recited at the time of the obligatory prayer.
q 21 is often recited for the protection of an unborn infant. The verses are to be written on an animal skin and then hung up during the first forty days of pregnancy. During the month in which the mother is due to give birth, she carries it on her person to ensure a successful birth. Marriage will be facilitated for the unmarried person who, every month, reads verses from q 21 twenty-one times, fasts for three days and supplicates God (Maghniyya, Mujarrabāt, 20). When written on a green silken cloth which is hung up, other chapters (like q 23) prevent individuals from drinking wine. When placed on one's bed, q 24 prevents one from dreaming. q 24 is also believed to be efficacious in treating animal ailments: if written in a copper basin from which a sick beast of burden is given to drink, and also if water from the basin is sprinkled on the animal, it will be healed. When q 26:1 is read over a handful of soil, which is thrown in the enemy's face, God will defeat and forsake the enemy (ibid., 20; see enemies). ¶ Other verses constitute forms of sympathetic magic which are intended to alter the physical state of individuals or groups. q 22 (“The Pilgrimage,” Sūrat al-Ḥajj) is employed to defeat one's political rivals, leaders, judges, etc. Other verses are efficacious for the prevention of infidelity and adultery (e.g. ibid., 20-1; see adultery and fornication). q 36 is efficacious against jinn and the evil eye (ibid., 21), q 38 enables one who wears (a strip of cloth with it) on his forearm to become popular among the people (ibid., 22), and q 41 is efficacious for ailments of the eye: it is written with rainwater and erased, and kohl is then ground into the water and applied to the eye (ibid., 22).
Women in modern day Morocco and elsewhere carry miniature copies of the Qurʾān or select verses of it on their persons. Amulets are also prescribed for various illnesses. Prescriptions may include dissolving a piece of paper with verses from the Qurʾān into water which the patient is instructed to drink (Buitelaar, Between oral traditions, 235-6). Among the popular Shīʿī customs attested to in the modern era is the raising of the Qurʾān over travelers or soldiers going to war in order to protect them from harm.
When visiting the Prophet's tomb in Medina, Shīʿī pilgrims — and, previously, Sunnī pilgrims — would make gifts in charity (ṣadaqa) referred to as najwā. Such gifts are based on q 58:12: “O you who believe! When you consult the apostle in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation. That will be best for you and most conducive to purity [of conduct]. But if you find not [the wherewithal], God is oft-forgiving, most merciful.” According to al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) and al- Nasafī (d. 710/1310) the first person to institute this practice was ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (q.v.; Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, xxviii, 19-20; Nasafī, Tafsīr, iii, 434). In Fāṭimid Egypt, najwā was a gift which was collected by Ismāʿīlīs attending doctrinal teaching sessions (Maqrīzī, Musawwada, 92-4). ¶
- Rituals of group cohesion and solidarity
Among the qurʾānic rituals which promote group cohesion is the Friday prayer (ṣalāt al-jumʿa; cf. q 62:9) and more generally, congregational prayer at mosques where believers are urged to come together to remember God. The qurʾānic codex also plays an important role in promoting group solidarity. In times of crisis Muslims, Jews and Christians turned to scriptures which they publicly displayed as they walked in procession (Meri, Cult of saints, 115). In Damascus in 543-4/1148, the ʿUthmānic codex was brought out in order to ward off an imminent Crusader attack. Men, women and children gathered around it in supplication and the attack was averted. In 680/1282, the ʿUthmānic codex and other venerable copies of the Qurʾān were once again invoked in several Syrian cities in order to ward off a Mongol invasion (ibid., 115-6). The Qurʾān was again used as a weapon against oppression in 711/1312 when the people of Damascus marching in procession with the ʿUthmānic codex and the sandal of the Prophet and the caliphal standards confronted the governor of Damascus about oppressive taxes (ibid., 116).
- Primary
Bāqillānī, al-Inṣāf fī-mā yajibu ʿtiqāduhu wa-lā yajūzu l-jahl bihi, ed. M. al-Kawtharī, on http://www.alwaraq.com (where the work is incorrectly identified as that of its editor, Muḥammad al-Kawtharī)
al-Baṭalyawsī, Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdallāh b. Muḥammad b. al-Sīd, al-Inṣāf fī l-tanbīh ʿalā l-asbāb allatī awjabat al-ikhtilāf, ed. A.Ḥ. Kāḥil and Ḥ.ʿA. al-Nashartī, Cairo 1978
Bukhārī, Saḥīḥ
al-Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad b. Muḥammad, Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, trans. M.A. Quasem, The recitation and interpretation of the Qurʾān. al-Ghazālī's theory, London 1982
id., Kitāb al-Arbaʿīn fī uṣūl al-dīn, Beirut 1979
al-Ḥillī l-ʿAllāma, Ḥasan b. Yūsuf b. ʿAlī b. al-Muṭahhar, Kitāb al-Sharāʿiʿ fī masāʾil al-ḥalāl wa-l-ḥarām, ed. ʿA.M. ʿAlī, 4 vols., Najaf 1969
id., Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ fī talkhīṣ fatāwī l-ʿulamāʾ, 13 vols., Qom 1414/1993-4
al-Hujwīrī, Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān al-Jullābī, Kashf al-maḥjūb, St. Petersburg 1899, repr. Tehran 1993
Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh, Riḥla [Tuḥfat al-nuẓẓār fī gharāʾib al-amṣār wa-ʿajāʾib al-asfār], ed. ʿA. al-Khattānī, 2 vols., Beirut 1975
Ibn al-Ḥājj, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-ʿAbdarī al-Fāsī, al-Madhkal ilā tanmiyat al-aʿmāl bi-taḥsīn al-niyyāt wa-l-tanbīh ʿalā baʿḍ al-bidaʿ wa-l-ʿawāʾid allatī ntaḥalat wa-bayān shanāʿatihā, ed. T. Ḥamdān, 2 vols., Beirut 1995
Ibn Taghrībirdī, Abū l-Maḥāsin Jamāl al-Dīn Yūsuf, al-Nujūm al-zāhira fī mulūk Miṣr wa-l-Qāhira, ed. W. Popper, 9 vols., Berkeley, CA 1909-30; 16 vols., Cairo 1963-72
trans. W. Popper, History of Egypt, 1382-1469 a.d., 7 vols., Berkeley, CA 1954-
Ibn Taymiyya, al-Fatāwā l-kubrā, ed. M.ʿA. ʿAṭā, 4 vols., Beirut 1998
id., Jāmiʿ al-Masāʾil, ed. M.ʿU. Shams, Mecca 1424/2003
al-Maqrīzī, Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. ʿAlī, Musawwadat Kitāb al-Mawāʿiẓ wa-l-iʿtibār fī dhikr al-khiṭaṭ wa-l-āthār, London 1995
Muḥammad b. Ḥabīb, Abū Jaʿfar, Kitab al-Muḥabbar, ed. I. Lichtenstädter, Hyderabad 1942
Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ
Nasafī, Tafsīr, 5 vols., Beirut 1973
Nawawī, al-Tibyān fī ādāb ḥamalat al-Qurʾān, ed. M. al-Ḥajjār, Beirut 1996
al-Nuʿmān b. Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. Aḥmad b. Ḥayyān al-Tamīmī (al-Qāḍī), Daʿāʾim al-Islām, ed. ʿĀ. Tāmir, 2 vols., Beirut 1995
trans. Asaf A.A. Fyzee, rev. ed. I.K.H. Poonawala, The pillars of Islam, Delhi 2002
id., Taʾwīl al-Daʿāʾim, ed. M.Ḥ. al-Aʿẓamī, 3 vols., Cairo 1969-72
al-Shāfiʿī, Muḥammad b. Idrīs, al-Umm, ed. M. Maṭrajī, 9 vols., Beirut 1993
al-Sijistānī, Abū Yaʿqūb Isḥāq b. Aḥmad, Kitāb al-Iftikhār, ed. I.K.H. Poonawala, Beirut 2000
Suyūṭī, Itqān, ed. F.A. al-Zamarlī, 2 vols., Beirut 1999
Ṭabarī, Tafsīr, ed. ʿAlī et al.
Zayd b. ʿAli b. al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, Musnad al-Imām Zayd, Beirut 1966
- Secondary
I. ʿAbbās, Taʾrīkh bilād al-Shām fī ʿahd al-Atābika wa-l-Ayūbiyyīn, 490-650, Amman 1998
S.A. Ashraf, The inner meaning of the Islamic rites. Prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, jihād, in S.Ḥ. Nasr (ed.), Islamic spirituality. Foundations, London 1987, 111-30
C. Bell, Ritual theory, ritual practice, Oxford 1992
G.-H. Bousquet, G̲h̲usl, in ei2, ii, 1104
id., ʿIbādāt, in ei2, iii, 647-8
id., La pureté rituelle en Islam. Étude de fiqh et de sociologie religieuse, in Revue de l'histoire des religions 138 (1956), 53-71
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