El-Attar, Jamal F.

English

The aim of this thesis is to study some of the earliest literary works in
classical Arabic Literature, namely those of the cAbbäsid man of letters, al-Jähiz
(160-250/776-869), that have dealt with the question of caliphate (Imäma), and are
concerned with knowing who has the right to rule and the criteria underlying that
right. The importance of this research lies in its attempt to reconstruct
chronologically al-Jähiz's political works and thought by unfolding the full politicoreligious
heritage before al-Jähiz in order to understand the forces that had moulded
his thought (Islamic, Umawi, °Uthmäni, Mu°tazili, Khäriji, Shi°i, Hanbali, etc. ), and
assist any future study of his impact on other political authors.

While benefiting from previous studies on al-Jähiz, generalizations that
present him as a non-changeable entity have been avoided, in order to reach a more
comprehensive judgement and fruitful understanding of al-Jähiz's political
philosophy. Thus a detailed analysis of twenty seven extant Jähizian works that span
half a century of °Abbäsid polity must precede any global assessment of the broad
lines of al-Jähiz's political theory, which has to await the laborious yet indispensible
and promising task of tracing the doctrinal constants and variants displayed in al-
Jähiz's political thought throughout the varying political eras.

Scholars of al-Jähiz are therefore offered a unique opportunity in which the
full spectrum of his political thought is re-assembled after detecting the
developmental stages and major landmarks followed, by linking them to their
respective politico-religious settings and also guided by the chronological markers
and contextual pointers that prove that link. My critical examination of al-Jähiz's
political literature also aims at unveiling the ideological and political concerns of the
`Abbäsid community and caliphate and evaluating al-Jähiz's role in the propagation
and shaping of °Abbäsid politics. I have also tried to interpret and account for the
phenomenon of the marriage between `history' and `contemporary politics' in al-
Jahiz's time, and relate his hostile and tendentious anti-Umayyad position plus his
views of the Shia to the growing pro-°Abbäsid historiographic activities, and his
special brand of Ftizäl.

Much effort has been exerted to extract al-Jähiz's political formula and
doctrine by distinguishing his quoted views from his own views. The thesis is also
concerned with answering the following questions: What factors underly his pro-
Alid and anti-W141 output and were they mutually irreconciliable? How do his pro-
Alid writings fit in with his pro-`Abbäsidism and fondness for the charismatic
Häshimi stock of Quraysh, what influence had this on his initial Basran (`Uthmäni)
milieu and how much can be gained from the totality of his heresiographic scanning
in understanding the formative period of Muslim sects? Were al-Jähiz's views
constantly bound by the necessity to observe the fluctuating interests of the regime
or were they capable of sidestepping those pressures? Were his views on Imäma
more concerned with the criteria according to which rulership was acquired or with
the manner in which it should be practised? A full literature review is given, with an
outline of the method and guidelines followed, difficulties incurred and suggestions
for further studies on al-Jähiz

El-'Attar, Jamal F.

Edinburgh Research Archive

The political thought of al-Jahiz with special reference to the question of Khilafa (imamate): a chronological approach

https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/7390/1/520751_vol1.pdf

The Political Thought of al-Jahiz With Special Reference to the Question of Khilafa (Imamate): A Chronological Approach

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