The Abbasids and the Relics of the Prophet
The study of the relics of the Prophet has not received sufficient analysis in modern scholarship. The origin of importance of certain personal objects of these relics, such as the mantle and the staff, has long been dated to the reign of Muʿāwiya and the first/seventh century in general. This artic...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2017
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| In: |
Journal of Abbasid Studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 62-96 |
| Further subjects: | B
Arabic Poetry
caliphate
courts
ḥadīth
Islamic art
relics
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The study of the relics of the Prophet has not received sufficient analysis in modern scholarship. The origin of importance of certain personal objects of these relics, such as the mantle and the staff, has long been dated to the reign of Muʿāwiya and the first/seventh century in general. This article surveys attestations to key relics of the Prophet in historical, religious, and literary sources, and argues that the genesis of interest in prophetic relics was rooted in the early Abbasid period, and the Abbasid family’s search for tools that could enhance its political legitimacy and connection to the religious authority of the Prophet. The growth of Abbasid palace culture during the Samarra period further strengthened the use of certain relics as insignia of power and as objects of public attention. During the same early Abbasid period ḥadīth collections showed an ambivalent attitude to discussing these objects. While ḥadīth texts preserved mention of certain prophetic belongings, a growing Sunnism after the Miḥna became wary of endowing these objects with a mystique that could overlap with Shiʿi ideas on the higher authority of imams from the family of the Prophet. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-2371 |
| Contains: | In: Journal of Abbasid Studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22142371-12340031 |