Famous Last Words: The Maqātil of the Zubayrids in Medieval Islamic Histories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5617/jais.4627Abstract
Death scenes, or maqātil, were used by early Muslim historians to convey the meaning of lives, and to show the righteousness or sinfulness of the historical figures they were reporting about. Careful historians, such as al-ṬABARĪ or al-BALĀDHURĪ, eschewed the most obviously legendary tales, but seem to have exercised leniency when recounting death scenes. Using accounts of the deaths of ʿA Allā al- a a i t M ʿab b. al-Zubayr, I argue that the death scenes of these men reflect anxiety later Muslims felt about fighting undertaken by the ṣaḥāba and tābiʿūn, forebears whom later Sunnis took as exemplars even though they had participated in civil wars against other Sunni figures. Both of these men died fighting for a cause that they likely deemed righteous, which raised the question of martyrdom. Could they be considered martyrs when they had died fighting other Muslims? Their death scenes indicate that these men at least died nobly, heroically fighting for their cause. Whatever their status in the next life, in their death scenes, they are given voices, posthumous though they might be, with which to preserve their memories in an edifying and morally uplifting fashion, and to hint at their ultimate fates.Downloads
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