Eulogy (islam)

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ṣallā 'llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam (a) calligraphed

Islamic eulogies ( Gr. Εὐλογία , literally: "good word", transferred meaning: "blessing") can be found in classical Islamic texts behind certain names, but today mostly only in religious literature, sometimes in the daily press on religious topics.

Koranic origins

This formula is called in Arabic and in specialist literature: tasliya تصلية / taṣliya  / 'speaking this formula' and: as-salat wa-t-taslim  /الصلاة والتسليم / aṣ-ṣalāt wa-t-taslīm  / ' Blessing and greeting' The origins of the formula are Koranic; in sura 33 , 56 it says:

“God and his angels speak the blessing on the prophet. You believers! Speak (also you) the blessing on him and greet (him) as it should be! "

- Rudi Paret: The Encyclopaedia of Islam

In hadith and fiqh

In the Islamic schools of law there is agreement that pronouncing the eulogy after naming the Prophet Mohammed is a duty ( wādschib ) based on the above-mentioned Koranic imperative (Arabic: amr ) . The traditional literature also deals with the question of the use of eulogy and invokes an alleged saying of Muhammad, which is recorded in different wording in the canonical collections of hadiths .

“Say: God, give the blessing on Mohammed and his family, as you gave the blessing on the family of Abraham. Because you are worthy of praise and praise. "

- al-Bukhari : Kitāb ad-daʿwāt (80), chapters 31-32 with variants.

Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalānī discussed the above passage in detail in his commentary on al-Bukhari and supplemented it with variants.

In prayer, the Shahada is a compulsory act, but the application of eulogy when naming Muhammad's name in the Shahada is only a Sunnah . It is, however, controversial whether eulogy is used when naming other persons recognized as prophets by Islam - Abraham , Moses, etc. a. - is also a duty, although these are mentioned in the Koran with the wish for a blessing. The traditional literature has an alleged prophetic saying about this  :

"Speak the blessing over the prophets of God and his messengers, for God has sent them like me."

Pronouncing and writing this formula in the name of Muhammad is a virtuous act that must not be omitted. The hadith literature deals with this question both in specially dedicated chapters as well as in monographic treatises that deal with this old topic, which was already founded in the Koran. The oldest collection on this goes back to the Maliki scholar Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ǧahḍamī († 895), the Qadi of Baghdad .

The traditional literature addresses both the merits and the omission of the blessing formula in alleged prophecies:

  • "He who does not speak the blessing when I mention me has missed (his) way to paradise."
  • “Establish your prayers in your homes, but do not turn them into tombs. May God curse the Jews, (for) they have turned the tombs of their prophets into places of worship. Speak the blessing over me because your prayers reach me wherever you are. "
  • ʿAbd Allaah, the son of the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab , used to speak the blessing not only about Mohammed, but also about Abu Bakr and Umar.

to form

  • ṣallā ʾllāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam (a) (صلى الله عليه وسلم) “God bless him and give him salvation!” Is the eulogy commonly used today after the name of Muhammad.
  • The form: "ṣallā ʾllāhu ʿalayhi" also with the addition wa-raḥmatu ʾllāh صلى الله عليه ورحمت الله / 'God bless him and his mercy be upon him' appears several times in the sacred building inscription in the Dome of the Rock from the year 691–692 and in the archaic spelling of raḥmaرحمت instead of رحمة
  • ʿAlayhi ʾs-salām (u) (عليه السلام) "Hail be upon him!" Is used for earlier prophets and archangels . In old manuscripts this formula is also behind the name of Muhammad.
Variant of the eulogy (private house in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna ).
  • The following variant of eulogy is used both in Islamic literature and in speeches in modern times : qala 'alaihi afdalu s-salat wa-s-salam  /قال عليه أفضل الصلاة والسلام / qāla ʿalayhi afḍalu ʾṣ-ṣalāt wa-ʾs-salām : "It said ( ie the Prophet Mohammed), may the most excellent blessing and salvation be for him ..." ( Hadith follows ...). Here the eulogy replaces the subject for the verb (see figure, 1st line).

The oldest Tasliya in the secular realm and in its archaic form comes from the time of the Umayyad caliph Hisham as a rock inscription from the year 735:

اللهم صل على محمد النبي وعلى من يصلي عليه / Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin an-nabiy wa-ʿalā man yuṣallī ʿalayhi  / 'O God, speak the blessing on Muhammad the Prophet and on him who speaks the blessing on him'.

This ancient form of the Tasliya is also associated with the name of Jesus in the above-mentioned building inscription on the Dome of the Rock:

اللهم صل على رسولك وعبدك عيسى بن مريم / Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā rasūlika wa-ʿabdika ʿĪsā b. Maryama  / 'O God, say the blessing on your messenger and servant ʿĪsā b. Maryam '.

Abbreviations

The eulogies are now often abbreviated, they are then given an overline in the Arabic script , which can also be missing for technical reasons. In the case of the Latin script variants introduced by Western converts, round brackets are usually used.

صلعم, صم or simply ص, in Latin script sas or saws . In the Unicode standard, this eulogy belongs as a separate character () to the "Arabic Presentation Forms-A" with the number FDFA, but also () with the number FDF5 is available.

The abbreviation: عم or simply ع, in Latin script: a. stands for ʿalayhi s-salām.

According to some Sunni theologians (e.g. as-Suyūtī (1445–1505)), abbreviations should be avoided in this eulogy based on the Koran.

Other eulogies

  • subḥānahu wa-taʿālā (سبحانه وتعالى) “He is praised and exalted” is the eulogy used for God.
  • raḍiya ʾllāhu thanhu (رضى الله عنه) "God be pleased with him!" For the companions of Muhammad and: ridwana 'llah' alaihi  /رضوان الله عليه / riḍwāna ʾllāh ʿalaihi / ' May  God be pleased with him'. In ancient writings, the formula often appears on the title page after the name of the author of a book. Abbreviation:رضه. This form is called in Arabic Tarḍiya and taraḍḍin, i.e. H. speaking of: raḍiya ʾllāhu ʿanhu.
  • raḥimahu ʾllāh (u) (رحمه الله) “May God have mercy on him” is a general blessing for the dead. Abbreviation:رحه. Similar also:
  • raḥmatu ʾllāh (i) ʿalayhi (رحمة الله عليه) “God's mercy on him”. The formula is a variant of Raḥimahu 'llāhu . It's called tarhim  /ترحيم / tarḥīm or tarahhum  /ترحّم / taraḥḥum . In old Arabic papyri and parchment sheets, the form with the so-called tā 'at-tawīla often appears :رحمت الله عليه.
  • ḥafiẓahu ʾllāhu حفظه الله“May God protect him” is used after naming living people. If this formula comes after the name of the author of a work, this is an indication that the copy was made while the author was still alive. In private letters, the formula is used accordingly in the salutation: ḥafiẓaka ʾllāhu : "May God protect you"
  • ḥarasahā ʾllāhu (حرسها الله) “May God guard / protect it” is used after the mention of well-known cities and countries (as far as the latter masc. Are: ḥarashu ʾllāhu).

literature

  • Adam Gacek: The Arabic Manuscript Tradition . A Glossary of Technical Terms & Bibliography.Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section One. Vol. 58. Brill, Leiden 2001 ISBN 90-04-12061-0
  • Ignaz Goldziher: About the eulogies of the Mohammedans . In: Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG), 50 (1896), 97–128
  • Nabia Abbott : Studies in Arabic literary papyri . II. Qur'anic commentary and tradition. Chicago 1967, pp. 88-89
  • The Encyclopaedia of Islam . New Edition. Brill, suffering. Vol. 10, p. 358
  • Al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya. (Encyclopedia of Islamic Law). 2nd Edition. Kuwait 2004. Vol. 27, pp. 234-239

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Adam Gacek: The Arabic manuscript tradition. P. 86
  2. ^ Translation: Rudi Paret . See: The Encyclopaedia of Islam . New Edition. Brill, suffering. Vol. 10, p. 358
  3. Al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya . 2nd Edition. Kuwait 2004. Vol. 27, p. 234
  4. Al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya . 2nd Edition. Kuwait 2004. Vol. 27, p. 235; 238. See sura 11, verse 73: “May the mercy of God and his blessings rest upon you, you people of the house! He is worthy of praise and price. "
  5. Fatḥ al-bārī, Vol. 11, pp. 152-169
  6. See: Sura 37, verse 79 (Noah); 109-110 (Abraham); Al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya . 2nd Edition. Kuwait 2004. Vol. 27, p. 235; 238
  7. Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ǧahḍamī: Faḍl aṣ-ṣalāt ʿalā ʾn-nabīy. Ed. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Turkumānī. Riyadh / Dammam. 1996. pp. 141-143; Al-mausūʿa al-fiqhiyya, Vol. 27, p. 238
  8. ^ Fuat Sezgin: History of Arabic literature . Volume 1, pp. 475-476 Brill, Leiden 1967
  9. Printed in Dammam (Saudi Arabia) 1996. The work was first published in a very faulty edition by Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani in 1963 in Damascus. 2nd edition: Beirut 1969; 3rd edition Beirut 1977
  10. Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ǧahḍamī, op.cit. 136-141
  11. Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ǧahḍamī, op.cit. 129
  12. Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ǧahḍamī, op.cit. 193–195 with variants
  13. ^ Raya Shani: The Iconography of the Dome of the Rock . In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 23 (1999), between pp. 186-187
  14. ^ Yehuda D. Nevo: Towards a prehistory of Islam . In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 17 (1994), p. 114
  15. ^ Yehuda D. Nevo: Towards a prehistory of Islam . In: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 17 (1994), p. 122
  16. Adam Gacek: The Arabic manuscript tradition. P.56
  17. Adam Gacek: The Arabic manuscript tradition. P. 55
  18. ^ Raif Georges Khoury: Chrestomathie de papyrologie arabe . Brill, Leiden 1993. p. 167, no. 96 and p. 168, no. 97: two private letters from the 8th century
  19. ^ Raif Georges Khoury: Chrestomathie de papyrologie arabe . Brill, Leiden 1993. p. 168, No. 97: a private letter from the late 8th century on papyrus