Islamic Thought and Literature I

Autumn 2016

Instructor: Ahmed El Shamsy (elshamsy@uchicago.edu; Pick Hall 219)

Instructor office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:001:00 p.m., and by appointment
Teaching assistant: Mohammad Sagha (msagha@uchicago.edu)
Teaching assistant office hours: Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m.12:00 p.m., in the Regenstein Library caf,
and by appointment
Class meetings: Lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:3011:20 a.m., in Rosenwald 015;
discussion sections on Fridays, 10:3011:20 a.m., in Rosenwald 015 (undergraduates); room
TBD (graduate students)
Course description:
This course explores the intellectual history of the Islamic world from the coming of Islam in the
seventh century CE through the development and spread of its civilization in the middle of the
tenth. (It is followed in the Winter and Spring quarters by Islamic Thought and Literature II &
III). The course covers the historical events of the period in question, the emergence of Islam,
and the life of Muhammad, and then moves on to explore Islamic thought and literature:
scripture, theology, law, mysticism, philosophy, poetry, and belletrist prose. In addition to
lectures and secondary background readings, students read and discuss samples of key primary
texts, with a view to exploring Islamic civilization in the direct voices of the people who
participated in its creation. All readings are provided in English translation. No prior
background in the subject is required.
Monday and Wednesday class sessions consist of lectures; Fridays are generally discussion
sections, except where otherwise specified on the course outline below. Graduate and
undergraduate students meet in separate groups for discussion.
Readings:
There are no required textbooks for this course. All required readings are available in digital
form on Chalk. All readings must be completed before the class session for which they are
assigned. For a list of recommended optional readings and reference works, see the end of this
syllabus.
Requirements and grading:
1. Class participation: 20%

Informed discussion is a key aspect of the course. You are expected to attend each class
meeting, to complete the weekly readings and other assignments in advance, and to
participate actively in class discussions.
2. Six response papers: 20%
For each week in which discussion sections meet, you are required to write a one-page
response paper that summarizes and analyzes one set of that weeks primary readings. The
response papers are due by e-mail before each Fridays class meeting to
msagha@uchicago.edu (undergraduates) or elshamsy@uchicago.edu (graduate students).
3. Two map assignments: 10%
The two map assignments ask you to locate specified places on a blank map. They are due
in hard copy in the discussion sections of weeks 3 and 5.
4. Midterm examination: 20%
The midterm examination takes place in class on Friday of week 6 (note: no discussion
sections that week). It consists of a set of questions that require you to identify names and
terms as well as one short essay question.
5. Term paper: 30%
The term paper is due in class in hard copy on Wednesday of week 10 (final class).
However, to encourage you to get started on your papers in good time, you must submit
your paper title, an abstract, and a tentative bibliography either by e-mail or in hard copy in
the discussion section on Friday of week 7. The length of the paper should be 45 doublespaced pages for undergraduates, 78 pages for graduate students. Essay prompts will be
posted on Chalk, but with the instructors prior approval you may also develop a topic of
your own, as long as it engages directly with the course themes and (at least some) course
readings.
Note: All examinations, essays, and other assignments submitted by you must be done by you,
except if collaboration is explicitly permitted. Plagiarism is not tolerated and will result in
sanctions.
Course outline with reading assignments:
Week 1 (Sept 26). Religion and society before Islam
Mon

Organizational meeting; preliminaries

Wed
Arabia and its neighbors in late antiquity: politics, society, religion, language, culture
Readings Vernon Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405, preface and ch. 1, pp. 115
Fri

The Byzantine and Sasanian empires (NO DISCUSSION SECTION THIS WEEK)

Week 2 (Oct 3). Pre-Islamic Arabia and the coming of the Arab prophet
Mon
Arabia before Islam
Readings Egger, History of the Muslim World, ch. 1, pp. 1520
Primary Ibn al-Kalbi, Book of Idols
Pre-Islamic poetry: excerpt from Imru al-Qayss muallaqa ode
Wed
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam: life and message
Readings Jonathan A. C. Brown, Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction, ch. 1
Primary Constitution of Medina (Ibn Hisham after Ibn Ishaq)
Expeditions to Khaybar and Mecca (Mamar ibn Rashid)
Hadith excerpts from Cleary, The Wisdom of the Prophet, pp. 15, 2223, 3839
Fri

Discussion sections

Week 3 (Oct 10). The Quran: formal, literary, and thematic aspects
Mon
The Quran as religious reform
Readings Roger Allen, Quran, in Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith
Daniel Madigan, Themes and Topics, in The Cambridge Companion to the Quran
Wed
Primary

The Quran as a literary text

Selected Quranic passages, including The Opening, the Light Verse, the Throne
Verse, The Cow (excerpt), Mary, and Ta Ha

Fri

Discussion sections (FIRST MAP ASSIGNMENT DUE)

Week 4 (Oct 17). The first four Caliphs: conquests and governance
Mon
The question of succession
Readings Egger, History of the Muslim World, ch. 2, pp. 3352 (skip pp. 4145 you will read
these for next week)
Primary The shura election council (Tabari)
The battle of Siffin (Tabari)
Wed
Primary

The conquests
The conquest of Syria (Baladhuri)
Umars pact with Syrian Christians (Tabari)

Fri

Discussion sections

Week 5 (Oct 24). The Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties

Mon
The Umayyads
Readings Egger, History of the Muslim World, ch. 2, pp. 4145, 5261
Primary Fiscal rescript of Umar II (Tabari)
Wed
The Abbasids
Readings Tayeb El-Hibri, The Empire in Iraq, 763861, in The New Cambridge History of Islam
Primary Shuubi (pro-Persian, anti-Arab) poem, Is there a messenger? (Bashshar)
The Quranic Inquisition in the time of Caliph Mamun (Tabari and Jahiz)
Fri

Discussion sections (SECOND MAP ASSIGNMENT DUE)

Week 6 (Oct 31). Muslim Spain; Islamic theology

Mon
Muslim Spain (al-Andalus): history and culture
Readings Bernard Reilly, The Medieval Spains, ch. 3, Iberia and the Dar al-Islam
Robert Lebling, Flight of the Blackbird
Primary Ibn Hazm on forgetting a beloved
Wed
Theology
Readings Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., articles Shia, Sunna, and Kharidjites
Primary Qadi Abd al-Jabbar on divine unity and justice
Abu Hatim al-Razi on proofs of prophecy
Fri

MIDTERM EXAMINATION; NO DISCUSSION SECTIONS

Week 7 (Nov 7). Traditions of the Prophet (Hadith); Islamic law

Mon
Recovering Muhammads words and deeds
Readings Jonathan A. C. Brown, Hadith: Muhammads Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World,
ch. 2
Wed
Islamic law
Readings Bernard Weiss, The Spirit of Islamic Law, chs. 1 and 4, ch. 5: pp. 8891
Primary Malik on ritual prayer
Ibn Qudama on the status of the mujtahid
Fri

Discussion sections (TERM PAPER TITLE, ABSTRACT, AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE)

Week 8 (Nov 14). Sufism; philosophy

Mon
Sufism
Readings Alexander Knysh, Sufism, in The New Cambridge History of Islam

Primary

Rabia, selected mystical poems

Junayd on the unity of God and the annihilation of the self
Hallaj, Tawasin (poem)
Account of Hallajs martyrdom from Attars Biography of the Saints
Hujwiris defense of Hallaj

Wed
Philosophy (guest lecture by Paul Walker)
Readings Hossein Ziai, Islamic philosophy (falsafa), in The Cambridge Companion to Islamic
Theology
Primary Farabi, The Attainment of Happiness and The Political Regime
Ikhwan al-Safa, Epistles, The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the
Jinn
Fri

Discussion sections

Week 9 (Nov 21). Poetry

Mon
Orality and pre-Islamic poetry
Readings Robert Irwin, Night and Horses and the Desert, ch. 1, Pagan Poets, pp. 129
Gregor Schoeler, The Genesis of Literature in Islam: From the Aural to the Read,
introduction, pp. 115
Primary Selected poems by Imru al-Qays, Shanfara, and Khansa
Wed
Early Islamic, Umayyad, and Abbasid poetry
Readings Irwin, Night and Horses and the Desert, ch. 3, pp. 4263; ch. 4, pp. 11747; ch. 5, pp. 221
29
Primary Poems by Akhtal, Umar b. Abi Rabia, Jamil, Abu Nuwas, Abu Tammam, Abu alAtahiya, and Mutanabbi
Fri

NO DISCUSSION SECTIONS (THANKSGIVING)

Week 10 (Nov 28). Belletrist Prose (Adab)

Mon
Oral prose: orations, speeches, and sermons
Readings Qutbuddin, Khuba: The Evolution of Early Arabic Oration
Qutbuddin, The Sermons of Ali ibn Abi Talib
Primary Orations by Quss, the soothsayer of Khuzaa, Muhammad, Ali, Tariq, Ziyad, and
Hajjaj
Examples of early rhymed prose
Wed
Written prose: epistles and adab (TERM PAPERS DUE)
Readings Irwin, Night and Horses and the Desert, ch. 3, pp. 6367; ch. 4, pp. 68117

Texts

Selected epistles, stories, and anecdotes by Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, Ibn al-Muqaffa,
Jahiz, Ibn Qutayba, and Ibn al-Nadim

Optional suggested books

PDFs of any assigned sections from these books are provided on Chalk. Some of the books are
available digitally on our library website or online.

Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, vol. 1:
The Classical Age of Islam, 1974 [older but still valuable and detailed exposition of Islamic
civilization; contains several useful tables and maps; especially recommended for graduate
students] (online access through library)

Roger Allen and Shawkat Toorawa, eds., Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith, 2011 [succinctly
informative chapters by various scholars on key aspects of the Islamic faith and civilization]

Muhammad Asad, trans., The Message of the Quran, 1980 [Quran, entire, bilingual with
footnotes] (This translation and several others are available free online at http://altafsir.com/
and zekr.org)

Michael Sells, trans., Approaching the Quran, 1999 [Quran, early suras, with commentary
and audio CD]

Ingrid Mattson, The Story of the Quran: Its History and Place in Muslim Life, 2008 [An
overview of the Quran]

Tahera Qutbuddin, ed. and trans., A Treasury of Virtues: Sayings, Sermons and Teachings of Ali,
2013 (online access through library)

Robert Irwin, Night and Horses and the Desert: An Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature, 1999

Geert Jan van Gelder, ed. and trans., Classical Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature
Anthology, 2013 (online access through library)

David Nicolle, Historical Atlas of the Islamic World, Mercury Books, 2005 [survey of the
Islamic world, with text, maps, and images]
Reference works
A selection of basic reference works dealing with Islamic history and civilization can be found
in the fifth floor reading room of Regenstein Library and/or digitally on our library website.
They include:

Encyclopaedia of Islam. The most important reference work for the study of Islamic
civilization. The 2nd ed. (=EI2), 1954-2004, is complete, and available online through the
Electronic Database page of the UofC Library. The 3rd ed. is currently underway; it has
already published many seminal articles, and can also be accessed online.

Encyclopaedia Iranica. Another important reference work, available online at

www.iranicaonline.org.

Clifford E. Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties. Names, dates, and tables of all major
dynasties.

Hugh Kennedy, An Historical Atlas of Islam. Other historical atlases of Islam are also
available.

Encyclopaedia of the Quran. Online access through library Database page.

Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature and Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. More

accessible to the non-specialist than EI2 and often more up to date.
The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. The Cambridge History of Islam. The Cambridge
History of Iran. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Multi-volume works with in-depth chapters
by different scholars.
Index Islamicus. Primary resource for articles on Islam-related subjects; online access through
library Database page.
JSTOR. Online access to numerous Islamic studies journals; available through the library
Database page and Quicklinks.

Regenstein Librarys Middle East resource page

http://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/mideast. Includes quick links to various parts of the collection, as
well as the library catalog, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Index Islamicus, and Encyclopedia Islamica, as
well as JSTOR and ProQuest, where you can search for peer-reviewed articles.