In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 2 Adoption in the Near East: From Antiquity to the Rise of Islam The rise of Islam has to be related to developments in the world of late antiquity. —Patricia Crone, “What Do We Actually Know About Mohammed?” 5 The abstract noun adoption refers to the act of establishing a man or woman as parent to one who is not his or her natural child. Adoption creates a filial relationship between two individuals that is recognized as the equivalent of the natural filiation between a biological parent and his or her child. Whereas a legitimate child qualifies for certain rights (for example, inheritance) and duties (for example, support for an elderly parent) by virtue of his or her natural filiation, a male or female who does not have these rights or duties may nevertheless acquire them through the legal fiction of adoption. Adoption practices are found in numerous human societies, and the roots of the institution can be traced back to the beginnings of recorded history. These practices are in large part a response to the problems of childlessness and parentlessness. Islamic sources indicate that the inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula practiced adoption in the last quarter of the sixth and first quarter of the seventh centuries c.e. These same sources indicate that adoption was abolished in the year 5/627 in connection with a specific episode in the life of the Prophet Muhămmad. In this chapter, I lay the groundwork for a reexamination of the traditional Islamic explanation for the abolition of adoption . To this end, I begin with an overview of adoption practices in the Near East from the middle of the second millennium b.c.e. to the middle of the first millennium c.e., treating first pagans and polytheists and then monotheists. Adoption Among Pagans and Polytheists Ancient Near East In the ancient Near East, there was no abstract term for adoption; rather, an adult man or woman would take a male into sonship or a woman into daughter- 12 Chapter 2 ship. The new relationship, recognized as the equivalent of the natural filiation between a biological parent and his or her legitimate child, was created informally without the participation of any official or representative of the state. The biological parent and the adoptor entered into an agreement with one another that was sometimes recorded in a private contract. As a consequence of this agreement, the adoptee took the name of the adoptor and became responsible for care of the new parent in his or her old age. In addition, mutual rights of inheritance were created between adoptor and adoptee.1 The adoption of a son served two fundamental purposes: first, to keep property in the family by securing a male heir when there was no natural son; and, second, to provide for the care of adoptive parents in their old age and to make arrangements for their proper burial. To insure that wealth would remain within the family, the adoptor might arrange for the adoptee to marry his daughter. In such cases, the adoptee—who was both a son (maru) and a son-in-law (h°atanu)—became a full member of the household, and he often was given part or all of his father’s inheritance.2 Adoptions were recorded in written contracts inscribed on clay tablets. These contracts have a stereotypical form that invariably includes a preamble, stipulations, and a penalty clause.3 An adoption contract for a son is called tŭppi marūti, that is, a document of sonship. The contract could be terminated by either party, unilaterally, by the performance of a speech act. An adoptive parent who wished to dissolve the relationship needed only to say, “You are not my son.” If the adoptee wished to dissolve the relationship, he was required to say, “You are not my father” or “You are not my mother.” Many adoption contracts contained a penalty clause designed to prevent unilateral dissolution. In those cases in which the adoption agreement had assigned an inheritance share to the adoptee, the party that dissolved the agreement forfeited that share. In certain cases, the adoptor was required to concede to the adoptee not only the share to which he was entitled but also the entire estate.4 Females were also adopted. A female adoptee became subject to the authority of her adoptive parent, who frequently would secure a husband for the girl and provide her with a dower. More than sixty matrimonial adoption...

Share