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The epistle ascribed to Salim Ibn Dhakwan, and written sometime before AD 800, was discovered in the early 1970s by the scholar, Amr Khalifa Ennami, who brought a xerox of the now lost manuscript to the attention of Islamic scholars. Edited, translated, and discussed here in full for the first time, the epistle is an early Islamic tract against "wrong" doctrines regarding the classification and treatment of opponents.
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OXFORD ORIENTAL MONOGRAPHS This series of monographs from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, makes available the results of recent research by scholars connected with the Faculty. Its range of subject-matter includes language, literature, thought, history, and art; its geographical scope extends from the Mediterranean and Caucasus to East Asia. The emphasis is more on specialist studies than on works of a genre nature. EDITORIAL BOARD John Baines Professor of Egyptology Glen Dudbridge Shaw Professor of Chinese Alan Jones Professor of Classical Arabic Robert Thomson Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies
THE EPISTLE OF SALIM IBN DHAKWAN PATRICIA CRONE FRITZ ZIMMERMANN
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Kolcata Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Sanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw with associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Patricia Crone and Fritz Zimmerman The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Salim ibn Dhakwan, 8th cent. [Sirat Salim ibn Dhakwan. English & Arabic] The Epistle of Salim ibn Dhakwan / [edited by] Patricia Crone and Fritz Zimmermann. – [1st ed.]. p. cm. – (Oxford Oriental monographs) Arabic epistle which is here edited, translated, and discussed in full for the first time. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes. 1. Ibadites. 2. Kharijites. 3. Murjia. 4. Islam–Doctrines. 5. Shh–Doctrines. 6. Slim ibn Dhakwn, 8th cent. Srat Slim ibn Dhakwn. I. Crone, Patricia, 1945- II. Zimmermann, Fritz (Fritz W.) III. Title. IV. Series. BP195.I3 S213 2001 297.8’33–dc21
00-024409 ISBN 0-19-815265-5 Typeset in Ehrhardt by Atelier Fluxus Virus http://www.fluxus-virus.com
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In memory of Amr Khalifa Ennami
PREFACE
Srat Slim b. Dhakwn is an early Ib epistle directed against Khrijite extremism and Murjiism. It is early in the sense of written before c.800, but its precise date is disputed. It was brought to light by Ennami (Amr Khalfa al-Nm), an Ib scholar from Libya, who found it in an Omani m