identity, ritual, and sacred space in eighth-century Kūfa /
First Statement of Responsibility
Najam Haider
EDITION STATEMENT
Edition Statement
First paperback edition
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
xvi, 276 pages :
Other Physical Details
maps ;
Dimensions
23 cm
SERIES
Series Title
Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization
INTERNAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES/INDEXES NOTE
Text of Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-268) and index
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
Narratives and methods. Kūfa and the classical narratives of early Shī'ism -- Confronting the source barrier : a new methodology -- Case Studies. In the name of God : the basmala -- Curses and invocations : the qunūt in the ritual prayer -- Drinking matters : the Islamic debate over prohibition -- The emergence of Shī'ism. Dating sectarianism : early Zaydism and the politics of perpetual revolution -- The problem of the ambiguous transmitter : ritual and the allocation of identity -- The mosque and the procession : sacred spaces and the construction of community
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SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
"The Sunnī-Shī'a schism is often framed as a dispute over the identity of the successor to Muhammad. In reality, however, this fracture only materialized a century later in the important southern Iraqi city of Kūfa (present-day Najaf). This book explores the birth and development of Shī'ī identity. Through a critical analysis of legal texts, whose provenance has only recently been confirmed, the study shows how the early Shī'a carved out independent religious and social identities through specific ritual practices and within separate sacred spaces. In this way, the book addresses two seminal controversies in the study of early Islam, namely the dating of Shī'ī identity and the means by which the Shī'a differentiated themselves from mainstream Kūfan society. This is an important, original and path-breaking book that marks a significant development in the study of early Islamic society"--Back cover