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CHAPTER THREE RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE: RULERS, SCHOLARS, AND COMMONERS IN SYRIA UNDER ZANGID AND AYYUBID RULE (1150–1260) DANIELLA TALMON-HELLER At least five tracts composed around the middle of the thirteenth century criticize the people of Damascus for preferring superogatory public prayers to the obligatory daily prayers: a manual for the inspector of public morality (muhtasib), polemical works against unwarranted innovations (bidà), and legal responsa (fatwas). The tracts mention salat al-tarawih—long nocturnal prayers held during the second half of Ramadan—the celebration of laylat alnisf min shàban—the night of the fifteenth of the month of Shàban, perceived as a time of judgment and mercy—and salat al-ragha'ib—a prayer said on the first Friday night of Rajab, on which it was also customary to fast and to light candles in mosques.1 Of the three practices it was salat al-ragha'ib that was attacked most vehemently , the main argument against it being the lack of evidence that the Prophet ever performed it or approved of it.2 Scholars’ endeavors to stop this popular practice failed. They themselves admit that mosques were full and brightly lit on the night in question. One of the leading polemicists against salat al-ragha'ib quotes contemporary imams complaining, as it were, that they were actually forced to lead the prayers—commoners (al-`amma) were so keen on performing them. A decree issued under the pressure of the `ulama' by the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Kamil (615/1218–635/1238) banning this prayer in 632/1235, must have been disregarded, as five years later one of the prominent scholars of Egypt and Syria at that time, `Izz al-Din al-Sulami, was still engaged in denouncing the prayer.3 Apparently, people refused to give up what they thought to be a correct and meritorious act of religious devotion, in spite of scholarly reservations. Finally, the sultan permitted it anew, receiving 49 authorization from the mufti Ibn al-Salah al-Shahrazuri (d. 643/1245), a scholar who was known to approve of a variety of modes of piety. Al-Shahrazuri had simply labeled the prayers bid`a hasana (welcome innovation), admittedly on basis of a “weak” hadith (that is, a tradition deriving from the Prophet supported with a not very reliable chain of authorities). He explained that he would rather see the crowd praying than doing anything else.4 Hence, as a result of pressure from below, the questionable prayers were legitimized through the orthodox mechanism of ifta' (the issuance of a legal opinion), and a sultanic decree. The whole episode offers us an opportunity to reexamine the complex relationships and interactions between four participants in the public sphere of medieval Muslim societies: rulers, scholars, the common people, and the religious law. The following study is an attempt to do so, focusing on religious life in the public sphere in Syria, from its unification by Nur al-Din b. Zangi (549/1154) until the Mongol conquest and Mamluk occupation (658/1260).5 Two points will be stressed: the contribution of commoners and rulers to the shaping of religious norms, and the pious atmosphere prevalent in the public sphere. Michael Chamberlain, who studied the inner dynamics of Damascene society between 1190 and 1350, claims that the rulers of Damascus usually refrained from taking a stand in matters of religion, and whenever they did step in, it was to end riots and secure peace and order, not to reestablish orthodoxy or to enforce a doctrine.6 This chapter argues that Zangids and Ayyubids did take a stand in matters of doctrine and of popular practice, and played an active role in all types of religious institutions of their times. Contemporary historians quote Nur al-Din (d. 569/1174) making a commitment to defend religion against anything opposed to it, and to “the spread of religious knowledge, the refutation of innovation and the manifestation of religion in all these lands.”7 Both he and Saladin (570/1174–589/1193) were dedicated to jihad against Shi`is and Franks, referred to within the wider framework of ihya' al-sunna—the revivification of Sunni Islam in face of enemies from within and without.8 Their successors adopted this program, and implemented it (albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm), pursuing various lines of action. It should be noted that most Ayyubid princes enjoyed a thorough religious education to begin with, and some of them even had justified scholarly pretensions.9...

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