The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield
and Concomitant Issues
By G. H. A. Juynboll, The Hague
In two previous studies* I dealt with those people who were known as
qurrä' and the role they played in early Islamic society. In this paper I
should hke to draw attention to one aspect of that role, an aspect which
has not yet been a subject of discussion. This aspect concerns the acti¬
vities of the qäri' in campaigns and on the battlefield. A few ideas which
occurred to me whUe reading Maetin Hinds' article Kufan political
alignments etc.* will also be incorporated in this study.
Hinds enumerates* various passages from Tabari from which we can
form for ourselves an idea what duties the Qur'än reciter had to perform.
Thus it says in Tabari how Sa'd b. Abi Waqqäs ordered the qäri', whom
'Umar had assigned to him, to recite sural al-anfäl by which the hearts
of the fighting men were delighted. In every army detachment they
used to study this süra* Furthermore, Tabari reports on the authority
of Sayf b. 'Umar that the prophet had made it his habit (in Arabic:
wa-mina 's-sunnati 'llati sanna rasülu 'llah^) after the battle of Badr to
recite sürat al-anfäl every time that the Muslims became engaged in
fighting. At this point are added the words wa-lam yazali 'n-näsu ba'da
d/iälika 'alä dhälik (and the people never ceased to practise this ever
since*).
It is doubtful whether we should accept this last statement. Nowhere
in the early sources could I find an allusion to the prophet regularly
kindhng the fighting spirit of his men by means of Qur'än recitation. We
may safely assume, however, that the recitation customs described above
firmly took root under 'Umar, because it is during the years of his reign
that we find in Tabari's Annales the four references to this custom
1 The qurrä' in early Islamic history. In: JESHO 16 (1973), p. 113—29
and Qur'än recitation in early Islam. In: JSS 19, 2 (1974).
2 In: International Journal of Middle East Studies 2 (1971), p. 346—367.
» P. 358, note 7.
* Tabari: Annales. Ed. cum aliis M. J. db Goeje. Leiden 1879—1901, 1,
p. 2295, 2294.
' For this expression and its pro-Islamic background, see M.M. Beavmann :
The spiritual background of early Islam. Studies in ancient Arab concepts.
Leiden 1972, p. 151—177.
8 Tabari, 1, p. 2095.
12 G. H. A. Juynboll
mentioned by Hinds. In Tabari's account of Abü Bakr's reign and in
other early sources I could not find evidence supporting this statement
either. Furthermore, neither in the Sira, nor in Wäqidi's Maghazi is
mention made of Qm'än reciters who, as such, participated in combat.
In this context I should not forget to mention the so-caUed ho-nudat
al-qur'än, who are described as having died as martyrs at the battle of
'Aqrabä' in the Yamäma. More about them will be said below. For the
moment I should like to deal with the information, scanty though it may
be, about Qur'än recitation before and during battle.
It seems obvious that we should encounter a reference to the prophet's
resorting to Qur'än recitation before the battle of Badr in order to boost
the people's morale. However, when we scrutinize the early' sources, we
find evidence to the contrary. Thc prophet assembled his Companions
before the fighting started and asked their advice. Of the famous Qur'än
reciters only Ubayy b. Ka'b is reported as having been present*, but the
sources do not mention anjrthing else about him. In any case, AbO Bakr
stood up and delivered a good speech", foUowed by 'Umar who did the
same. Then Miqdäd b. 'Amr stood up and expressed his loyalty to
Muhammad by means of süra V, 24. This brief quotation*" comprises
aU the information — whether historical or not is difficult to say —
about Qur'än recitation before the battle of Badr.** The figure of Miqdäd
is interesting and deserves a brief digression.
Miqdäd b. 'Amr had come over to the side of the Muslims about one
year before the battle of Badr.*^ He was one of the very few** people who
owned a horse.** Because he took it with him into battle, the prophet
gave him a share of the booty larger than that of others.*^ Miqdäd must
have been a man of esteem ; it is reported that 'Umar sent him at the
head of one thousand men to Egypt to help 'Amr b. al-'Äs.** This same
Miqdäd is also mentioned in the soirrces as having fulfilled the function
' By 'early' I mean only those sources that can lay any claim to historicity,
and in which foretastes of the tendentious historiography of later times
occur but rarely.
' Cf. Wäqidi: Kitäb al-maghäzl. Ed. J. M. B. Jones. London 1966, p. 24.
• In Arabic : fa-qäma Abü Bakrin wa-ahsana.
*" "Go forth, thou and thy Lord, and do battle; we will be sitting here",
(translation Aebebby as everywhere in this paper) a verse which Miqdäd
quoted as an example of the Jews' disloyalty to Moses.
** Ibn Hishäm: Sira. Ed. F. Wüstenfeld. Göttingen 1858—60, p. 434;
Wäqidi, p. 48; Tabari, 1, p. 1300.
*2 Ibn Hishäm, p. 416.
1' The sources do not agree on the exact number.
1* E.g. Wäqidi, p. 27.
*« Wäqidi, p. 102f
*« Ya'qübi: Ta'rikh. Ed. M. Th. Houtsma. Leiden 1883, 2, p. 169.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 13
of qäri' at the battle ofthe Yarmük.*' It is tempting to draw the inference
that there was an inner relation between his wealth and the high esteem
he enjoyed on the one hand, and his official function of gän' — mentioned
in Tabari under the year 13 — on the other.
Inasmuch as Miqdäd's quoting of one verse before Badr is the only
reference to Qur'än recitation in the early historical sources, I venture
the contention that this was not yet customary. In the speeches which
the prophet himself dehvered insertion of Qur'anic quotations is equally
rare.** Even in the speeches before Uhud we do not find them**, although
the importance of sürat al-anfäl, which was revealed on the occasion of
Badr and abounds with references to booty, cannot have escaped
Muhammad.
The prophet had promised his followers a share in the booty already
before Badr.*" The prospect of booty was also used as a certain lure to
make converts to Islam. When on the ghazwa to Qatan Abü Salama had
surrounded the polytheists, he ordered them to devote themselves to
God, and he tried to awaken their desire to participate in the jihädP-
The prophet tried to diminish the fear in his men before the battle of the
Trench by expressing the hope that one day the riches of kisrä and
qaysar would be spent in the Path of God.** On the ghazwat al-MuraysV
Muhammad instructed 'Umar to proclaim among the people: Qülü lä
iläha illä 'Iläh, tamna'ü bi-hä anfusakum wa-amwälakum (if you say:
there is no god but God, you will therewith defend your lives and goods**).
That the people refused may have been caused by the fact that never
before had such a large contingent of munäfiqün participated in a cam¬
paign as in this one.** And in Tabari we find the verse: ujähidu idh käna
H-jihädu glianimatan * wa Hlähu bi 'l-mar'i 'l-mujähidi aHamu (I fight
in the Holy War inasmuch as that means booty God knows best the
fighter in His Path*^). Invitations to share in the booty are almost as
numerous as enticements to suffer martyrdom.**
I may conclude that, although it is likely that the prophet occasionally
mentioned the booty verses from süra VIII before leading his men into
1' Tabari, 1, p. 2095.
18 Cf. Wäqidi, p. 22, 58f.; Tabari, I, p. 1289.
19 Cf. Wäqidi, p. 213, 221 f.
20 Tabari, 1, p. 1321.
21 Abü Salama did not succeed though, cf. Wäqidi, p. 345.
22 Wäqidi, p. 460.
23 Wäqidi, p. 407.
24 Wäqidi, p. 405.
25 A line from a verse attributed to Dirär b. al-Azwar, Tabari, 1, p. 1952.
2« E.g. cf Wäqidi, p. 233; Ibn Hishäm, p. 445; al-Mu^'ab b. 'Abd Allah
b. al-Mus'ab az-Zubayri: Kitab nasab Quraysh. Ed. E. Levi-Pbovenqal.
Cairo 1953, p. 348.
14 G. H. A. Jtjynboll
battle*', this assumption is not borne out by evidence from the early
sources. In short, the statement from Sayf's report cited above is most
probably an embellishment of Sayf's or, perhaps, a gratuitous remark
made by the eye-witness or a later copyist.
« * «
If there was no, or hardly any, Qur'än recitation before or during the
earliest battles, as I have tried to demonstrate above, can we establish
whether 'Umar's installation of official gurrä' in the armies was really
the first attempt at introducing Qur'än recitation in times of war, or
are there historical data indicating that this was tried earher? There
are certain data which can be interpreted, I think, in a way that would
point to the latter. These data concern the evolution of the shi'är, the
battle-cry.
Apart from flags and banners under which the Muslim fighting forces
raUied, they had other means of identifying the members of their own
party, the shi'är. Loud shouting during hostilities was considered a good
quality.** In the confusion resulting from the Mushms' retreat at Uhud
the shouting ofthe shi'är brought relief.** In the accounts of Muhammad's early campaigns we find various shi'ära enumerated:
The shi'är of Muhammad was: Yd mansür, amit, amitl (0 you whom
God may grant victory, kill, kill!) ;
The shi'dr of the muhäjirün was: Yä bani ^Abdi ^r-Rahmän;
The shi'ära of Khazraj and Aws were respectively: Yä bani 'Abdi
Hläh and Yd bani 'Ubaydi 'lläh.^o
Also the Quraysh had a shi'dr: Yä la H-'üzzä, yä äl Hubal?^
2' Verse 45 of süra VIII runs: "O believers, whensoever you encounter a host, then stand firm, and remember (in Arabic : wa-'dfikuru) God frequently;
haply so you will prosper". If we assume that the words wa-'dhkurü 'Uäha kathiran were also interpreted as 'and mention God ('s name) frequently', this accounts for the references to the shouting of AUähu akbar during battle, cf. Ya'qübi, 2, p. 169; Tabari, 1, p. 2295. But see also Wäqidi, p. 134, where
the advice is given to say it in one's heart and not to shout it out loud;
shouting could lead to a fiasco, it was asserted.
28 Cf. Wäqidi, p. 243, 898. But cf. the previous note.
2» Cf Wäqidi, p. 234.
»" Wäqidi, p. 8, 71f.; for other shi'ärs, see p. 466, 474; Ibn Sa'd: Kitab
at-tdbaqät al-kabir. Ed. E. Sachau a.o. Leiden 1905—'17, 4, I, p. 176; Ibn
Hishäm, p. 450; Tabari, 1, p. 1947.
*i Wäqidi, p. 239. The Quraysh even carried idols with them, cf. Tabari,
1, p. 1395 and Wäqidi, p. 297.
The Qur'än Keciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 15
Then, at the battles of Hunayn and *Aqrabä', the shi'är for all Muslims
became: Yd ashdba sürati H-haqara\ (0 people ofthe süra ofthe Cow!**).
With a httle imagination this shi'är may be considered as a sample of
avant-la-lettre Qin'än recitation in battle.
There is, moreover, another consideration to be taken into account.
The shi'är '0 people of the süra of the Cow' may not have been more, in
the eyes of others, than an ordinary battle-cry, raised in times of stress
when the fighting men had no other means of distinguishing friend from
enemy**, nevertheless, it points to a matter of some importance. At
Hunayn, where this shi'är was used for the first time, a considerable
contingent of Muhammad's army consisted of recently converted Quraysh
from Mecca who, as Watt has pointed out**, were wiUing to fight on the
side of Muhammad for reasons of self-preservation rather than in hope of
booty. The faith of these new converts was, at least in the beginning, not
so strong as to produce neophytes who, because of their religious ardour,
did not need spurring. This may have been the reason why they were
addressed in the words '0 people ofthe süra ofthe Cow', this designation
being also meant as a constant reminder ofthe cause they had so recently
embraced.
During the battle of 'Aqrabä' the above-mentioned shi'är was also
raised. And it is precisely in the accounts of this battle that the ex¬
pression hamalat al-qur'än for the first time emerges in the early sources.
Inasmuch as this expression is generally understood as standing for those
people who knew all, or large parts, of the Qur'än by heart, it is self-
evident that a close scrutiny of the available historical sources is impera¬
tive. Perhaps we can arrive at a more suitable interpretation of this ex¬
pression. And I have another reason why I should hke to pursue this
is§ue somewhat further.
■JVhen I conducted the research for a paper (in JESHO, 1973) on the
ambiguity of the term qurrä' indicating 'villagers' as well as 'Qur'än
reciters', I was struck by quite a few historical reports in which mention
was made of improbably large numbers of people who pretended, or in
any case were believed, to be authorities on the Qur'än. In all those
reports these 'Qur'än reciters' were referred to by means of the term
qurrä' except a few accounts deahng with, or alluding to, the battle of
»2 Wäqidi, p. 903; BalMhuri: Futüh al-buMän. Ed. M. J. de Goejb. Leiden
1863—66, p. 89.
Cf. 'Umar b. Ibrähim al-Awsi: Tafrlj al-kurüb fi tadbir al-hurub. Ed.
Geobge T. Scanlon. Cairo 1961, p. 68 of the Arabic text where the word
'aläma is used.
*« W. Montgomeby Watt: Muliammad at Medina. Oxford 1956| p. 71.
16 G. H. A. JXTYNBOIX
*Aqrabä', in which the expression hamalat al-qur'än was used.'* In
other reports containing allusions to the same battle the term qurrä'
occurred, obviously indicating the same group of people.*' The sources
assert that so many*' of these so-called 'Qur'än bearers' died that 'Umar
deemed it necessary that a compilation of aU the Qur'anic revelations be
made as soon as possible. As we have seen, all the fantastic figures of
'Qur'än reciters' kiUed or participating in previous as well as later
battles indicated a class of people which should not be identified with
experts on the Qur'än. Scrutinizing the list of martyrs at 'Aqrabä'** it
appears that only very few could be claimed to have had any knowledge
of the Qur'än at all ; the majority consisted of very late converts.**
Summing up, we have seen that the Mushm fighters at 'Aqrabä' used
the shi'är : Yä ashdba sürati 'l-baqara, reminding each other perhaps of
the cause they were fighting for, and that large numbers of them were
hamalat al-qur'än. We have also seen that the sources in no way indicate
that Qur'än recitation was practised on a large scale before or during this
battle — nor during many other, later battles for that matter. If we
assume that hanialat al-qur'än was not an appellative of 'Qur'än bearers',
who preserved their knowledge of the Revelation for the benefit of their
fellow-Mushms, what, then, does this designation mean ? Can we formulate
an interpretation of this expression, an interpretation which does not
compel us to discard reports, in which it occurs, as fabrications of a relati¬
vely late date? I think there is a solution to this problem, which I propose to give in the following.
* * *
*' E.g. Ya'qübl, 2, p. 152; Khalifa b. Khayyät: Ta'rikh. Ed. al-Akbam
I)iYÄ> AL-'ÜMABi. Najaf 1967, p. 77.
*° E.g. Bukhäri, ahkäm 37; Balädhurir Fuiüh al-buldän. Ed. M. J. de
Goeje. Leiden 1863—^^66, p. 88. Shaban, in his Islamic history A.D. 600 — 750
(A.H. 132), a new interpretation. Cambridge 1971, p. 23, note 3, adduces
Balädhuri's report for his contention that this author — or one of his author¬
ities — misunderstood the term qurrä' (= ahlal-qurä, according to Shaban), which he had found in other sources and interpreted it as 'Qur'än reciters' after having 'changed' the wording.
" Thirty or fifty, according to Khalifa: Ta'rikh, p. 77.
*« Cf. Ibn Sa'd, 3, 1, p. 66, 187, 295; 3, 2, p. 46, 73, 129; 4, 2, p. 80, 87,
90; 5, p. 336, where ten martyrs are briefly referred to who are not even
enumerated in Caetani's extensive list (Annali dell'Islam. Milan 1905—'26,
2, 2, 12 a.H., § 23) which is mainly based on Dawläbi, recorded in Ibn
Hubaysh, fm'ther on Balädhuri, Futüh, and several biographical dictionaries of much later date.
'9 This idea had already occurred to Caetani (12 a.H., § 22), but he
obviously took the expression hamalat al-qur'än to mean 'Qur'än bearers'
and discarded the information about large numbers of them having been
killed as simply spurious.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 17
When dealing with the expression hamalat al-qur'än, SchwaUiY made
the observation that the root hmi is nowhere mentioned as also having
the connotation 'knowing by heart'.*" Indeed, in dictionaries such as the Qämüs the expression hO''rnalat al-qur'än is not even listed under the root
hmi. In the Täj al-'arüs we encounter it under the rubric al-mustadrak
of hmi without, however, any indication as to the meaning. The same
goes for the Lisän al-'arab and Jawhari's Sahäh. In Lane's Lexicon \w&
find under hmi the notions hamala 'l-hadith and hamala 'l-qur'än with a
reference to al-Fayyümi's Al-mishäh al-munir. In this dictionary,
however, only hamala 'l-hadith, denoting 'transmitting traditions', is
listed** and no mention is made of hamala 'l-qur'än — according to Lane :
he bore the Qur'än in his memory. In other words, we may conclude that,
although during the first centuries after the Hijra the expression was
generally held to mean 'authorities on the Qur'än', the lexicographers did
not enter this connotation into their books. The reason for this wUl,
1 think, remain obscure.
The verb hamala has two main connotations, 'to carry' and 'to attack'.
It seems interesting at this point to pursue whereto these two connota¬
tions lead us.
When I assumed, for the sake of argument, that hO'malat al-qur'än
meant literaUy 'carriers of the Qur'än', I was reminded of a theory
developed by Hinds. While discussing the battle of Siffin and the raising
of mushafa. Hinds pointed out that mushafs, whatever these may have
been, at one time had the force of amulets.** One could suppose that the
hamalat al-qur'än were those people who carried high on spearheads, or
wore on cords around their necks, fragments of the Revelation written
down on materials such as animal bones or pieces of parchment.
It would have fitted superbly, if I had discovered evidence that on
flags and banners carried onto the early Islamic battlefield were written
various quotations from the Qur'än, no matter how brief. The somces
were tacit about writings on flags** unfortunately, the more so, inasmuch
as a seemingly relevant report in Tabari could be interpreted as evidence
for the theory that hctmalat al-qur'än should be considered as some sort of
'standard-bearers'. This report is on the authority of Sayf b. 'Umar and
runs as follows :
*" Oeschichte des Qoräns. By Th. Nöldeke and F. Schwally. Leipzig
1909—'38, 2, p. 12, note 2.
*i Ahmad b. Muhanunad b. 'Ali al Fayyümi : Kitäb al-mi?bäh al-munir fi
gharib ash-sharh al-kabir li 'r-Räfl'i. Büläq 1281, 1, p. 166.
42 Martin Hinds: The Siffin arbitration agreement. In: JSS 17 (1972),
p. 95 f.
For more information about flags and signifers, see the Appendix of
this paper.
2 ZDMG 125/1
18 G. H. A. Juynboll
Lammä uHiya Sälimuni 'r-räyaia yawma'idhin qäla mü a'lamani li-ayyi
shayHn a'taytumünihä qultum sähibu qur'änin wa-sayaihbutu ha-mä
thabata sähibuhä qahlahu hattä mät qälü ajal wa-qälü fa-'nzur kayfa takün
fa-qäla bi'sa wa 'Ilähi hämilu 'l-qur'äni ana in lam athbut wa-käna sähibu
'r-räyati qablahu 'Abdu 'Iläh b. Hafs b. Ghänim (When on that day the
flag was given to Sahm (a mawlä of Ahü Hudhayfa) he said: "How well
I know for what reason you have given me this [flag]. You said [to your¬
selves: he is] a possessor of Revelation**; he will stand firm just as the
previous standard-bearer stood firm until he died." They said: "Indeed, so watch your step." Sahm said: "How wretched a Ijümil al-qur'än I am, if I do not stand firm." The signifer before him was 'Abd Alläh b. Haf?
b. Ghänim**).
In Ibn Sa'd we find a variant on the authority of Wäqidi:
... wa-waqa'ati 'r-rdyatu fa-akhadhahä Sälimun mawlä Abi Hudhayfa
fa-qäla 'l-muslimün yä Sälim innä nakhäfu an nu'tä min qibalika fa-qäla
bi'sa hämilu 'l-qur'äni ana in utitum min qibali (... and the flag fell.
Sähm, mawlä of Abü Hudhayfa, picked it up. Thereupon the Mushms
said: "Sähm, we are afraid of being attacked because of you." He said:
"How wretched a hämil al-qur'än I am, if you wiU be attacked because
of me**).
These two reports are the only ones I could find, which link the stan¬
dard-bearer with the hämil al-qur'än. Both reports introduce Sälim on the
scene, a man noted for his knowledge of the Qur'än.*' It is feasible that
he possessed a part of the Qur'än written down on some material (cf. the
words sähib qur'än) and that he had the habit of carrying this around
with him. In any case, in spite of the textual variants of the two reports, the play on words 'carrying a flag' and 'carrying part of the Revelation' has survived in both.
Having dealt with the connotation 'carrying' we will now turn to the
connotation 'attacking'. Let us suppose that the expression h<^malat al-
qur'än denotes those people who attack the enemy for the sake of the
Qur'än, then we can picture them as some sort of soldiers oflslam. Although
this solution to our problem may seem far-fetched at first sight, it is
indeed surprising how much evidence I could gather from the sources.
I hasten to add that by far the most important material is to be found in
a source which has not yet been edited, the Kitäb al-maghäzi by Ibn
" Or: owner of a Qur'än quotation written down on something?, or:
someone who knows (part of) the Qur'än by heart?
« Tabari, I, p. 1945.
" Ibn Sa'd, 3, 1, p. 274; cf. also Tabari, 1, p. 1940.
*' Cf. Ibn Sa'd, 2, 2, p. llOf.; 3, i, p. 61.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 19
Hubaysh (504/1110—584/1188).« As Sezgin has ah-eady pointed out«,
this author made extensive use of the Kitäb ar-ridda by Wäqidi among
other sources.
On the authority of Ubayd AUäh b. 'Abd AUäh b. 'Utba Ibn Hubaysh
says: Wa-'stulhima mina H-muslimina hamalatu 'l-qur'äni hattä fanü illä
qalilan (Ofthe Muslims [it was] the hamalat al-qur'än [who] were attacked
from all sides until they aU perished except a few**).
When we take this report literally, it seems as if the hamalat al-qur'än
formed together a certain army unit which stood apart from the main
army in such a way that they alone, of aU Mushm fighting forces, could be
surrounded by the enemy and cut to pieces. Let us forget, for the sake of
argument, the connotation 'to carry' for hmi, thus denying the possibility
that the hc^malat al-qur'än were carrying something which made them
conspicuous. The only feasible solution, then, that I can think of is that
they formed a conspicuous fighting unit such as a vanguard.
If the expression hamalat al-qur'än had stood for the people who knew
the Qur'än by heart, it is as unbehevable as it is improbable that they
would have formed a special army unit which fought in a unified body
or that they could be singled out by the enemy because of a common
feature in their appearance. At any rate, we have seen above that there
were hardly any experts on the Qur'än who died as martyrs at 'Aqrabä',
as Caetani's list shows.
* 4> *
Until now I have tried to formulate two, in my eyes, feasible inter¬
pretations for the expression hamalat al-qur'än. These interpretations may
not have had the time to take root in the public mind, if we consider the
story about the compilation of the Qur'än and 'Umar's role therein as
historical. In spite of the fact that hmi did originally not mean 'to know
by heart', we see how 'Umar aUegedly thought of hamalat al-qur'än as
standing for those people who knew (part of) the Qur'än by heart.
When we assume that this report is authentic, I surmise that 'Umar may
have come to his erroneous interpretation on the ground of the foUowing
observations.
Several passages from the historical sources show that the expression
hamalat al-qur'än is alternated with the expression ahl al-qur'än.
Ahl al-qur'än occurs only once in "Tabari's account of the battle of
'Aqrabä' in the foUowing context: "Abü Hudhayfa said: 0 ahl al-qur'än, 49 Cf. EI^, s.v., for more information about this author and the historicity of his work.
" Oeschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. 1. Leiden 1967, p. 295f.
»" The Leiden manuscript (Codex orientahs 343), p. 39, lines 21 f.
2«
20 G. H. A. JUYNBOIi
adorn the Qur'än with deeds!"** I contend that ahl al-qur'än (people of
the Qur'än) is a designation of a special group of people in the Muslim
army. At a certain moment during the battle of 'Aqrabä' they were
addressed by means of a shi'är which bore a similarity to, or at least
offered associations with, the shi'är: Yä ashdba sürati H-baqara. The
following reports from Ibn Hubaysh present us with, I think, the neces¬
sary evidence for this contention.
Fa-qätalü ashadda 'l-qitäli hallä 'khtalatü fihä fa-mä ya'rifu ba'duhum
ba'dan illä hi-'sh-shi'är wa-shi'äruhum amit amit qäla thumma säha Thäbit
b. Qays sayhMan yastajlibu bihä H-muslimina : yä ashäba sürati 'l-baqara
qäla yaqülu rajulun min Tayyi' wa-'llähi mä ma'i minhä äya wa-innamä
yuridu Thäbit b. Qays : yä ahla 'l-qur'än (Then they fought tremendously
until they became confused in it (sc. the hadiqat al-mawt, the scene of
the battle), not being able to recognize one another except by means of
the battle-cry. Their battle-cry [at that time] was : kiU, kiU! Then Thäbit
b. Qays emitted a shout by which he sought to rally the Muslims: 0
people of the süra of the Cow. Said a man from [the tribe] Tayyi' : I do
not know one single verse [of that süra], Thäbit b. Qays only meant:
0 people of the Qur'än**).
Furthermore it says in Ibn Hubaysh on the authority of Wäqidi:
Haddathani 'Abdu 'llah b. 'Awn al-Mäliki 'an jaddihi qäla sami'tu
'Umar b. al-Khattäh wa-huwa yadhkuru qatlä 'I- Yamäma wa-mä usiba
mina 'l-muslimin wa-anna 'l-qatla yawma'idhini 'staharra bi-ahli 'l-
qur'än thumma yaqülu ja'ala munädi 'l-muslimina yunädi: yä ahla
'l-qur'än fa-yujibüna 'l-munädiya furädä wa-matlmä fa-'staharra bihimi
'l-qatl fa-rahima 'lläliu tilka 'l-wujüh law-lä mä 'stadraka khalifatu rasüli
'Ilähi sl'm min jam'i 'l-qur'än la-khiftu an lä yaltaqiya 'l-muslimüna wa-
^adüwuhum fi mawdi'in illä 'staharra 'l-qatlu bi-ahli 'l-qur'än {'Ahd Alläh
b. 'Awn al-Mäliki related to me on the authority of his grandfather who
said: I heard 'Umar b. al-Khattäb mention the people killed in al- Yamä¬
ma and those of the Muslims who had faUen and [I heard him also men¬
tion] that on that day the slaughter of the ahl al-qur'än had been most
vehement. Then 'Umar said: "The herald of the Mushms began to call
out : 0 ahl al-qur'än ! They answered the herald individually or in pairs.
Thereupon the slaughter of those became most vehement. May God have
mercy upon those noble people. If it were not for the fact that the Suc¬
cessor of the Messenger of God had made an orderly compilation of the
Qur'än, I would be afraid that the Mushms and their enemy were never
to meet in one place again without the slaughter of the ahl al-qur'än
being most vehement.**).
" Tabari, 1, p. 1945. " P. 45, hne 21—24.
'* P. 41, line 17—23.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 21
These, in my eyes, extremely relevant passages enable us to draw the
following four inferences :
1. The expressions ahl al-qur'än and hamalat al-qur'än refer to the
same group of people.
2. It is not clear what hamalat al-qur'än means exactly but, in any case,
it seems very unhkely that it means 'those who know (part of) the Qur'än
by heart', as 'Umar, and everybody after him in the Eastern as well as in
the Western world, seem to have thought. It could be interpreted in tlnee
different ways :
a. bearers of the Qur'än ; those who carry with them as some sort of
amulet a piece of material on which a quotation from the Qur'än is
written ;
b. soldiers of the Qur'än; it is indeed surprising how many times the
verb hamala in the connotation 'to attack', with its masdar hamla, occurs
in Tabari's and Ibn Hubaysh's accounts of the battle at 'Aqrabä'**;
c. it is also possible that the interpretation should be sought in an
associative combination of (a) and (b).
3. The expressions ahl al-qur'än and hamalat al-qur'än served as a way
of address during the battle of 'Aqrabä'. If we consider the battle-cries
yä ahla 'l-qur'än and yd ashdba sürati 'l-baqara also as reminders of the
cause which a group of new converts had recently embraced, then the
appellatives ahl al-qur'än and hamalat al-qur'än were merely ways of
addressing a body of men who had only one thing in common : a new
religion of which its Holy Book was its main characteristic.
4. When 'Umar allegedly advised Abü Bakr to have the Qur'än com¬
piled, inasmuch as "... so many hamalat al-qur'än had been killed at
'Aqrabä'", he was, perhaps, inadvertently under the im¬
pression that the term referred to 'authorities on the Qur'än'. His
concern for the compilation of the Qur'än was, in other words, based
upon his own misapprehension of the appellative of that army unit of
which he had been told that it had suffered the heaviest losses. As we
have seen, in one report he aUegedly refers to the ahl al-qur'än, in another
report he alludes to this group as the hamalat al-qur'än, without
knowing exactly what both these terms stood for. From another report
in Ibn Hubaysh it becomes evident that 'Umar himself had not been
present at the 'Aqrabä' battle.** The news about the coinse of events may
have been distorted before it reached him and, consequently, he jumped
to the wrong conclusions.
Ibn Hubaysh: liamala (to attack) 9 times, hamla (attack) 5 times,
hamalat al-qur'än 2 times and ahl al-qur'än 5 times.
" Cf. p. 56, line 21.
22 G. H. A. JUYNBOIiL
After these four corollaries even more can be said about this subject.
For example, the question could be asked: Who were these humalat etl-
qur'änl We have seen that the words hamalat al-qur'än m&y have formed
the name by which they were addressed during battle, and how it could
be interpreted, and how it eventually was, but we still do not know
what sort of people they really were. I think this question can be answered by means of the foUowing considerations.
We know from the list of martyrs published by Caetani that the vast
majority of them consisted of relatively insignificant people. This is con¬
trasted, strangelj' enough, by designations of various other contingents of
the Muslim army enumerated in Ibn Hubaysh, contingents such as ahl
al-hasä'ir wa-'n-niyät, ahl as-sawäbiq wa-'n-niyät, ahl as-säbiqa, ahl al-
fadl, etc. May we conclude from this that those who were kiUed at
'Aqrabä' were the people of lowest rank, the nobodies, and that the
Muslim fighters, who had attained higher social levels, survived the
battle? An extremely relevant report in Tabari provides us with the
necessary evidence. It is on the authority of Sayf and runs : Fa-qäla ahlu
'l-bawädi yawma'idhini 'l-äna yastahirru 'l-qatlu fi 'l-ajdhaH 'l-ad'afi fa
'staharra 'l-qatlu fi ahli 'l-qurä (The bedouins said on that day (sc. of the
battle of 'Aqrabä'): "Now the slaughter among the youngest (= the
most inexperienced?) and the weakest is most vehement." The slaughter
was [indeed] most vehement among the 'villagers'**).
In my article on the qurrä' in JESHO, 1973, I have sought to throw
hght on the low status and relative unimportance of those people who
were known as 'viUagers'. Suffice it to say here that the bedouins looked
down upon the 'vUlagers' as poor soldiers and second-rate settlers. The
close Companions of the prophet in Medina from among the noble
muhäjirün and ansär were inclined to share this view. It may have been
because of this low opinion that the 'villagers' were placed in the front
ranks to receive the first shock and, consequently, suffered the heaviest
losses.
When we investigate the wording of this report and compare it with
that ofthe last report of Ibn Hubaysh mentioned above, it should strike
everybody as relevant, and not as merely coincidental, that in both is
found a construction consisting of the relatively rare verbal form
'staharra plus — in one case — ahl al-qurä and — in the other — ahl
al-qur'än. If we look at the weU-known report attributed to Zayd b.
Thäbit and preserved in i.a. Ihn Hanbal's Musnad, we find overwhelming
evidence for the assumption that the designations qurrä' al-qur'än and
al-qurrä' are later versions of ahl al-qur'än and that this designation is a
»• Tabari, 1, p. 1947.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 23
distortion of ahl al-qurä. This report nins: ... Abü Bakr said: "TJmar
came to me and said : "The killing of the ahl al- Yamäma from among the
qurrä' of the Qur'än from among the Mushms has been most heated.
I fear that the killing of the qurrä' in other places will [also] be most
heated, so that much of the Revelation will be lost and not preserved.
Therefore I think that you should order that the Qur'än be compiled."*'
I have drawn the conclusion that those known as ahl or hamalat al-
qur'än, who were killed at the battle of 'Aqrabä', were members of the
low social order of 'villagers'. M. A. Shaban was the first scholar to
venture the opinion that the word qurrä' in certain early texts was a
(Jerivation of qry and should be rendered 'viUagers', thus considering the
word as a plural of gär*"**. In the foregoing we have seen how the ex¬
pression ahl al-qurä, an equivalent of qurrä', evolved into the expression ahl al-qur'än which, in turn, gave rise to the expression hamalat al-qur'än.
In this connection I should add that I am not inchned to label all
reports in which the expressions ahl al-qur'än or hamalat al-qur'än occur
as falsifications, or at least as partial falsifications. I think that these
expressions really came into existence in the lifetime of the people to
whom they refer. One may doubt, however, whether 'Umar really ad-
visM Abü Bakr to have the Qur'än compiled. Although the information
about this event is found in so many difFerent forms and guises in the
hadith sources that wholesale fabrication would seem to be out of the
question, it appears that aU the isnäds of the report attributed to Zayd
b . Thäbit have the first three transmitters in common : Zayd b. Thäbit —
'Ubayd b. as-Sabbäq — Zuhri. 'Ubayd appears to be a whoUy insignifi¬
cant transmitter.** Furthermore, there is not even an aUusion to this
story in either Tabari's Annales or in Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqät.
In any case, I do hold the opinion that the misapprehension of the
term hamalat al-qur'än has led with Oriental as weU as with Western
scholars through the ages to a rather serious misconception of the extent
of knowledge of the Qm'än with the Muslim masses in the earhest
history of Islam.
6' Ibn Hanbal: Musnad. Cairo 1313, 1, p. 13; ed. Ahmad M. Shakhi. Cairo
1946—'56, 1, no. 76. Cf. also Bukhäri, tafsir süra 9, 20; fadä'il al-qur'än 3;
ahkäm 37; tawhid 22; Tirmidlii, tafsir süra 9, 19.
■ 68 Por a detailed discussion of this theory, see my article in JESHO ; cf.
Shaban, p. 23.
59 About 'Ubayd the only somewhat detailed information is found in the
late biographical dictionaries. In one of the earliest, the Kitäb al-jarh wa¬
't-ta'dil by Ibn Abi Hätim ar-Räzi, the information on him is scanty, non¬
committal and not even borne out by the canonical hadith collections.
•Ubayd is not listed among the teachers of Zuhri in A. A. Dmii's article in
BSOAS 20 (1957), p. 1—12.
24 G. H. A. Juynboll
AU that has been said above may not sound equaUy credible. Some of
the conclusions I reached may not convince everybody. Nevertheless,
I personally am convinced that the 'Aqrabä' martyrs were not authorities
on the Qur'än, whatever else they may have been.
Hf if
FinaUy I should hke to scrutinize two reports, one from Ibn Hanbal's
Musnad and one from Tabari's Annales, which deal with one and the
same episode of Islamic history. In both reports the expression hamalai
al-qur'än occurs as weU as the word qurrä'.
It is related in Ibn Hanbal how 8000 min qurrä' an-näs walked out on
'All after the battle of Siffin and settled in Harürä'. They upbraided
'Ali for having defied the garment with which God had vested him and
for having sought the decision of the two arbitrators (lä hukma illä li
'lldh). When 'Ali learned of their reproaches, he ordered a mu'adhdhin
to make the following proclamation : an lä yadkhula 'alä amiri 'l-mu'mi¬
nina illä rajulun qad hamala 'l-qur'än (No one is to enter the presence of
the amir al-mu'minin except the hämil al-qur'än). When 'Ah's house was
filled with qurrä' an-näs, he ordered the mushaf of a great imäm to be
brought. He placed it in front of him and started to beat it with his hand.
He said: "0 mushaf, inform the people!" Thereupon the people started
to shout and they said: "0 amir al-mu'minin, what do you ask from it?
It is only ink on paper, we argue on the basis of what we have transmitted
from it. What do you mean?" (Then follows a discussion the detaUs of
which do not bear on the present issue). 'Ah sent 'Abd AUäh b. 'Abbäs
as his emissary to the people in Harürä'. When Ibn 'Abbäs entered their
camp, Ibn al-Kawwä', their leader, stood up and addressed the people,
saying : Yä hamalat al-qur'än, this man here is Ibn 'Abbäs. He who did
not know him, I wiU enhghten him by means of that which was revealed
in the Book of God in connection with him. He and his people are ac¬
cording to the Revelation 'a people contentious' (XLIII, 58).'"
In his account of the same episode Tabari, on the authority of Abü
Mikhnaf, presents 'Ali arguing with Ibn al-Kawwä'. 'Ali tried to con¬
vince his opponents by reminding them how he had warned them against
the treachery of Mü'äwiya and his men, when they had raised the
masahif. He said: I know those people better than you,do, laysü bi-
ashäbi dinin wa-lä qur'änin, I have known them as children and as
adults, they were the wickedest.**
Ibn Hanbal: Musnad, 1, p. 86; ed. Shäkib, no. 656.
•* Tabari, 1, p. 3352.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 25
In the first report the companions of Ibn al-Kawwä' were referred to
as liamalat al-qur'än or qurrä' an-näs, in the seeond it is implied that they
were ashäb din wa-qur'än. I conclude from this that twenty-five years
after the battle of 'Aqrabä' the term hamalat al-qur'än was generally
understood as indicating those who had memorized (part of) the Qur'än,
synonymous with qurrä'. And although the expression originaUy had
another connotation, I hazard the opinion that this was conveniently
'forgotten' in the course of time by those people who enjoyed the honour¬
able reputation of hamalat al-qur'än or qurrä'. In Ibn Hanbal's report
we see how they used a Qur'anic quotation in order to insult Ibn 'Abbäs.
Although the whole Muslim world, during the days of which the two
above-mentioned reports give accounts, finally believed that the qurrä'
or h^^malat al-qur'än really were authorities on the Qur'än, it is likely,
however, that there were stiU people who had their doubts. One of
these was 'Ali. Despairing of the stubborn so-caUed 'qurrä" among t]
Ichawärij he once sighed : ... al-mujrimina 'lladhina laysü bi-qurrä'i 'l-qur'än
Appendix: The Role of the Standard-Bearer on
Battlefield in Early Islamic History
The early sources are full of information about the flag ( räya )
the banner (liwä'). The distinction between räya and liwä' does not
seem to have been made consistently.'* In any case, in times of confusion
the fighting men, who apparently did not wear distinctive clothing**,
raUied under their own flag or banner. However, in the first place the
flag or banner, with its men arranged in rows behind it, was used as a
distinct challenge to the enemy.
On numerous occasions we find in the sources accounts of how the
signifer was the first one to be attacked. The enemy merely tried to cut
«2 Tabari, 1, p. 3369.
«3 Cf. Tabari, 1, p. 1268; Wäqidi, p. 2, 9, also p. 915f
«4 However, at the battle of Badr several important Companions are
alleged to have worn garments by which they could be easily recognized;
Hamza wore an ostrich feather, 'Ali was recognizable by a white süja (woolen garment), Zubayr and Abü Dujäna by a yellow and a red turban respectively,
cf. Wäqidi, p. 76—83; Ibn Hishäm, p. 448; Tabari, 1, p. 1398, Ibn Sa'd, 3,2,
p. 102. Cf. Ibn Sa'd, 3, 2, p. 110, line 8 f., for a reference to a green turban.
The angels, who allegedly participated in the fighting at Badr, were re¬
cognizable by white clothing, cf. Wäqidi, p. 76, also p. 892, riding piebald
horses and wearing yellow, red and green turbans, cf. Wäqidi, p. 75. For a
different description, see Ibn Hishäm, p. 450. The similarity in distinctive
clothing of Companions and 'angels' is striking; in Tabari, 1, p. 1290, we
find a report in which a heroic deed is simultaneously ascribed to a mortal
and an angel ....
'^iilfetw-
26 G. H. A. Juynboll
down the flag. This was often accomphshed by severing, or at least
severely wounding, the hand of the man who carried it.** Thus we find
the story of how a standard-bearer who, after having sufiered a blow on
the right wrist, quickly took the flag in the left hand. When this hand
after a blow also had become useless, he hugged the flag-staff against his
chest. When the signifer was finally killed, someone else took over.** The
flag had to be held proud and high as a morale booster for the men and
a constant challenge to the enemy. There are many reports about people
whose hands were cut off during battle without indications of their
having been standard-bearers.*' It is, however, most likely that they
were precisely that.
Further information about flags concerns the following items. The
first person to receive a flag or a banner from Muhammad before battle
was his uncle Hamza or, according to another report, 'Ubayda b. al-
Härith.** Other trusted Companions who, at one time or other, received
the flag or the banner from Muhammad were Abü Bakr**, Umar",
'Ali'* and Sa'd b. 'Ubäda.'* The mmhrikün of the Quraysh had their own
banners, one or three'*, which they used to attach to the där an-nadwa.''*'
The sources indicate the colours of the different flags. The prophet's
flag, under which he used to sit during battle'*, was black. It was made
of a woman's scarf (taylasän) and it was called al-'uqäh''^, because bound
to a spearhead, as all flags and banners were", it resembled an eagle, as
Lane asserted. Another report says that the prophet's räya was made of
a woman's garment of a black Yamanite fabric, a mirjal.''^ The colours
of the other räyaa were red (KJiazraj), green (Aws) and black (muhäji¬
rün).'" The Hum' of the muhäjirün was white.**
The number of flags carried onto the battlefield gradually increased
with time. In the earliest campaigns only one, two or three flags were
displayed depending on whether ansär (divided into Aws and Khazraj)
and/or muhäjirün took part in them. In later campaigns such as that of
the conquest of Mecca** and at the battles of Hunayn** and 'Aqrabä'**
many more flags were shown and, consequently, many more standard-
bearers must have lost their hves.
" E.g. Wäqidi, p. 902. «* E.g. Tabari, 1, p. 1401.
" E.g. Wäqidi, p. 87; Ibn Sa'd, 4, 1, p. 177, 8, p. 301, 304.
•8 Tabari, 1, p. 1268,; Wäqidi, p. 2, 9.
«» E.g. Ibn Sa'd, 3, 1, p. 124. '" Ibn Sa'd, 3, 1, p. 19,5.
'* E.g. Wäqidi, p. 388. Wäqidi, p. 407.
'* Wäqidi, p. 58, 203. '* Wäqidi, p. 203, 443.
'" E.g. Wäqidi, p. 225. " Ya'qübi, 2, p. 96, 151.
" E.g. Wäqidi, p. 215; cf. p. 50. '« Khalifa, p. 26f.
'» Wäqidi, p. 896. so ibidem. ** Cf. Wäqidi, p. 800f.
*" Cf. Wäqidi, p. 895f. ss cf. Tabari, 1, p. 1947.
The Qur'än Reciter on the Battlefield and Concomitant Issues 27
Postscript
Some time after finishing this paper Maetin Hinds kindly drew my
attention to an article on fiags written hy the Russian orientalist
M. Gies and published in Zapiski kollegii vostokovedov 5 (1930),
p. 343—365. In this article Gibs quotes from A. Speengeb's Kitab
fihrist al-lcutubi Hlati narghabu nabtä'uhä... (being a list of books
compiled by order of Geobge Fitzclaeence, Earl of Munster). London
1840, the following: thumma narghabu an na'rifa Icullämä yata'allaqu
bi-[. ■ .yi-kitäbäti 'llati Icänat muharrdratan 'did 'l-liwäyät mithla sürati
't-tawMA lä iläha illä Hläh. Furthermore, Gms alludes to Tabari, 3,
p. 1748, where under the year 255 of the Hijra mention is made of a
banner on which süra IX, 111 was embroidered in red and green
letters.
JJ +
Arabische Heiligenlieder aus Harar
Von EwAiD Wagnee, Gießen
Die einheimische* Literatur Harars ist von wenigen historischen
Texten abgesehen* ausschheßlich religiös. Es handelt sich um Gebete,
moralische Ermahnungen und Sentenzen sowie Lobpreisungen und
Anrufungen des Propheten und der Heiligen. Die Texte sind entweder
auf Harari in arabischer Schrift verfaßt oder in arabischer Sprache.
Während eines Aufenthaltes in Harar in den Monaten September bis
Dezember 1972* hatte ich Gelegenheit, Texte in beiden Sprachen zu
sammeln. Während die Harari-Texte einer späteren umfangreicheren
1 Unter einheimischer Literatur werden hier die von Hararinern verfaßten
Texte verstanden. Daneben gibt es in Harar nicht wenige arabische Hand¬
schriften, die — teils in Harar selbst geschrieben, teils aus Südarabien
importiert — Texte arabischer Autoren enthalten. Auf diese in Harar ge¬
lesene, aber nicht verfaßte Literatur geht A. J. Dbewes in einem 1973 in
London gehaltenem Vortrag : Classical Arabic in Central Ethiopia ein. Ich
werde deshalb auf diese Literatur hier nicht eingehen.
2 Historische Texte aus Harar sind vor allem von Enrico Cebulli ver¬
öffentlicht worden, vgl. Documenti arabi per la storia dell' Etiopia. Roma 1931 (Memorie della R. Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche. Anno 328 = Ser. 6, Vol. 4, Fasc. 2.); II Sultanato dello
Scioa nel secolo XIII. In: Rassegna di studi etiopici 1 (1941), S. 5—42;
Gli Emiri di Harar del secolo XVI alla conquista egiziana (1875) ebda 2
(1942), S. 3—18; La Fine dell'Emirato di Harar in nuovi documenti storici.
In: Scritti in onore di Laura Veccia Vaglieri. P. 1. Napoli 1964 = Istituto
universitario Orientale di Napoli. Annali N.S. 14, 1, S. 75—82. Zu den
Genealogien vgl. meinen Aufsatz: Genealogien aus Harar. In: Der Islam 51
(1974), S. 97—117, und zu den Emirslisten meinen Aufsatz: Die Chronologie der frühen muslimischen Herrscher in Äthiopien nach den Harariner Emirslisten, erseheint in der Festschrift für Eugen Ludwig Rapp. Ein längerer historischer Text, der in mehreren Handschriften vorliegt und den ich in nicht zu ferner
Zukunft herausgeben möchte ist der legendäre Fath Madinat Harar von Yahyä
Nasralläh, vgl. zu ihm vorläufig Giobgio Levi Della Vida : Secondo Elenco
dei manoscritti arabi islamici della Biblioteca Vati.cana. Cittä de Vaticano
1965. (Studi e texti, 242.), Nr. 1793 = S. 155 und Nr. 1796, f. 4— 8v =
S. 156—7 und Rudi Pabet: Eine fragwürdige aratdsche Chronik von Harar.
In : JF Congresso internazionale di studi etiopici. T. 1. Roma 1974, S. 421—43.
' Der Deutschen Forschimgsgemeinschaft bin ich für die Finanzierung der
Reise, die in erster Linie historischen Studien galt, zu großem Dank ver¬
pflichtet.
