Al-Masāq· 2016Q4
Challenging Authority: Al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī on Khārijism during the Reign of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān1
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- Q4SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
Early Muslim scholars al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī depict Khārijite resistance to Umayyad rule, but use them for distinct narrative purposes: al-Balādhurī highlights Umayyad tyranny, while al-Ṭabarī focuses on the destabilizing impact of Khārijite revolts.
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Key points
- Al-Balādhurī and al-Ṭabarī documented Khārijite resistance to Umayyad authority during Muʿāwiya's reign.
- Both authors generally depict Khārijites as violent religious fanatics.
- Al-Balādhurī uses Khārijites to exemplify Umayyad tyranny.
- Al-Ṭabarī focuses on the consequences of Khārijite revolts for stability and differentiates between activist and quietist Khārijism.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Khārijite resistance to Umayyad authority during the caliphate of Muʿāwiya b. Abī Sufyān (r. 661–680) is represented in detail in the works of the early Muslim scholars Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī (d. c. 892) and Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 923). While the Khārijites are overwhelmingly depicted by both authors as religious fanatics whose excessive piety caused widespread bloodshed and who thus should be condemned, a closer look reveals that Khārijites serve specific and distinct narrative purposes: al-Balādhurī uses them mainly to illustrate Umayyad tyranny, while al-Ṭabarī addresses the consequences of Khārijite revolts for communal and imperial stability. The latter's work is also marked by a dichotomy between activist and quietist Khārijism, implying that al-Ṭabarī is not so much opposed to Khārijism as a set of “heretic” religious ideas, but rather to its violent expression of politico-religious opposition.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Al-Masāq, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Political Science and International Relations
Political Science and International RelationsSocial Sciences