Publication: WRITINGS AS A FORM OF OPPOSITION: MATHĀLIB LITERATURE IN THE FIRST THREE CENTURIES AH
Abstract
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The evolution of early Islamic literature cannot be explained merely byscientific reasons. Indeed, each work is a product of the social,political, scientific, and economic frame of its time. During the firstcentury of the ʿAbbāsid rule, Muslim society experienced various socialmovements, such as Shuʿūbiyyah; meanwhile, Shīʿī communitiesbegan to develop their identity. Both movements opted to writerelevant works in a similar manner to take aim at their opponents;accordingly, they compiled the points that condemned their opponentsor their assumptions in separate works. The general name for thisliterature is mathālib (defect, fault, slandering). It developed into twosubgenres, namely, mathālib al-ʿArab and mathālib al-ṣaḥābah. Theobjective of this paper is to present the existence of this genre, whichhas yet to be subject to a self-contained study, to identify the authorsof these works in the first three centuries AH, and to interpret theavailable data about this genre with regard to ḥadīth history
The evolution of early Islamic literature cannot be explained merely byscientific reasons. Indeed, each work is a product of the social,political, scientific, and economic frame of its time. During the firstcentury of the ʿAbbāsid rule, Muslim society experienced various socialmovements, such as Shuʿūbiyyah; meanwhile, Shīʿī communitiesbegan to develop their identity. Both movements opted to writerelevant works in a similar manner to take aim at their opponents;accordingly, they compiled the points that condemned their opponentsor their assumptions in separate works. The general name for thisliterature is mathālib (defect, fault, slandering). It developed into twosubgenres, namely, mathālib al-ʿArab and mathālib al-ṣaḥābah. Theobjective of this paper is to present the existence of this genre, whichhas yet to be subject to a self-contained study, to identify the authorsof these works in the first three centuries AH, and to interpret theavailable data about this genre with regard to ḥadīth history