Page 136 - Arabian Studies (V)

126 Arabian Studies V
beginning of the prayer and raise iyarfaTin) the hands when saying Allahu
akbar. This is a superficial difference from the Zaydi form of
prayer—Zaydls keep the hands by the sides. Al-Shawkani t op. cit., 134,
says that Zayd b. ‘All himself held that this is lawful. Zaydls do not say
a min after the Fatihah, holding that no extraneous word should intervene
between one passage and another of the Qur’an.
94. What follows is a paraphrase of al-Shawkani’s account.
95. Al-ShawkanI does not say ‘take sides’ but simply ‘they say, “this is
true*”, “‘thisis false”’.
96. This is not a true summary of what al-Shawkani says, for his text has
nothing about wishing to be liberated and hold independent views. In fact
he criticises a group that has read some jurisprudence (fiqh) but considered
anyone of their contemporaries of the rank of mujtahid who (took a view)
counter to ihtfiqh books to be heretical (kharij min al-diri)—in spite of the
fact that both the great and lesser Imams take views contrary to what has
been preferred by the authors in these books.
97. This whole sentence conveys a false impression of al-Shawkani’s
text. He in fact concludes by saying that, so far from defending the
doctrine (madhhab) of the Imams, those persons who refuse to acknow­
ledge the independent judgements 0jtihadat) of the great 'ulama ’ which are
counter to the school/doctrine {madhhab) are taking a contrary (view) to
the madhhab of the Imams of the People of the House and departing from
(kharij) from their (the Imams’) consensus (ijma*) since the Imams
prohibit taqlid (defined in fn. 48), i.e. acceptance of authority, to those
persons who have attained the rank of ijtihad.
98. See p.113.
99. At. matma'. Tam* is always used to describe the cupidity of tribes
and Bedouin.
100. Al-Shawkani, op. cit., 136, says that these Ashrar (he means the
tribes Dhu Muhammad and Dhu Husayn) come into San'a’ each year for
their stipends (muqarrarat) and go to the mosques where books of Tradi­
tion are being read with some 'alim and stir up troubles. This, he says, is at
the instigation of the shayatin al-fuqaha', the scoundrelly jurisprudents!
So far from being religious these ‘rough Bedouin {A ‘raby mostly neither
pray nor fast, and do not follow any of the obligatory ordinances of Islam
‘except the two creeds (al-shahadatayn) along with the deviation in their
pronouncing of them’. (The two creeds are La ilaha ilia ’llah, wa-
Muhammad Rasul Allah). He points to their un-Islamic practices, such as
depriving women of the right to inherit, taking one another to judgement
by customary law judges (al-tahakum ila ’l-taghut) and making free with
life and property (istihlal al-dima* wa-’l-amwal), but cf. Martha Mundy’s
article, pp. 161-89. A current saying in allusion to the alleged lack of religion
among the tribes, quoted to me runs, 'Al-qabill ma y us alii 'ala
Muhammad ilia ba'd yadkum ras-ah, The tribesman only says “Bless
Muhammad” when he knocks his head [on the lintel]*. 'Sail! ‘ala
Muhammad' would be his involuntary ejaculation. The sense is that the
; tribesman does not give any matter his consideration until brought abruptly
face to face with it.

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