Fadail al-Sham Literature

This book makes an important contribution to the study of the Arabic genre of 'The Merits of the Holy-Land (al-Sham), in both its extended meaning (Palestine and Syria), and its limited meaning (Syria and Damascus). There are important earlier studies on the matter, many of which are dedicated to Jerusalem, but to the best of my knowledge this is the first study to place the different aspects of the subject in an overall picture that might be a model for research of holy places in general. This is not merely a study of the different hadith materials; the author's intention was also to examine the various tales and accounts 'in order to determine their relationship to the period in which they were written in two aspects, political and economic, and to link them to the various well- and lesser-known holy sites of the land'. Among earlier publications, such lines of research are especially evident in the important studies of Prof. Joseph Sadan, especially his article 'Le tombeau de Moïse à Jéricho et à Damas', Revue des Etudes Islamiques (Paris), 49 (1981): 59-99, in which the rivalry between Jerusalem and Damascus is examined through accounts of the tombs of Moses in the vicinity of these two centres.

The contribution of this book lies also in its specific study of sources from the Mamluk and the later Ottoman period, and in the extensive reading of unpublished manuscripts. The author treats the Arabic genre of Fadail al-Sham (Syria) or Fadail al-Ard al-Muqaddasa (The Merits of the Holy-Land) in its religious, literary, geographic and local-patriotic aspects, or as a part of local history (or local-religious history). As regards earlier stages of the Fadail literature he emphasises pre-Islamic conceptions, reports sent to the first caliphs concerning occupied locations, and (following G.E. von Grunebaum) certain features of the sacred character of Islamic cities, such as graves of prophets or of important Muslim religious personalities, or the role of the city in eschatology. These are solidly based on Arabic sources (published books and unpublished manuscripts) and secondary sources. Such, for instance, is the documentation of the discussion on the rihla (travel) to the holy sites, which furnishes historical and other data in addition to the Fadail. There is also a discussion of ziyarat (religious visits; different from the official ḥajj) to various sites, and their rejection by certain scholars, such as the famous Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328). The author mentions specific literary works, including those of European travellers.

Other matters discussed are the reasons for the creation of Fadail al-Sham literature, covering religious, but also economic, political, and ideological motives. Also considered is the relation of this literary genre to earlier collections of hadith, and the contents of Fadail al-Sham or compositions that are connected with the Quran, hadith traditions, popular legends, 'stories of the prophets' and reports on Muslim personalities of religious value, historical and geographical sources, and more. An important section is devoted to pilgrimage to holy places, such as visits to the tombs of saints and beliefs in their blessing, healing the sick, and differences of opinions among Muslim scholars on the subject down the centuries. This is especially demonstrated through materials from the Mamluk period, and in regard to interests of the Ottoman government in the political and economic aspects of holy places. The author considers diverse holy places such as maqam, mazar, mashhad, athar, qabr, darih, turba, and others, which sometimes also differ due to geographic or environmental reasons (for example, the existence of a cave, a tree or a well near a holy tomb). He also refers to official positions that clash with popular beliefs such as the veneration of saints, as was the case earlier (or contemporaneously) in Judaism and Christianity, and other cultures. The...