Book Reviews 69 Daniella Talmon-Heller Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2020), 288 pp. ISBN: 978-1474460965 Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/bustan/article-pdf/12/1/69/1337790/bustan_12_1_69.pdf by guest on 23 March 2022 In some ways this book can be seen as an extension of the author’s earlier work, Islamic Piety in Medieval Syria, which focused on mosques, cemeteries, and the spoken word prior to the Mamluks. The present work extends the time period, going back to the origins of Islam in the seventh century to the end of the Mamluk period in the early sixteenth century. In addition to expanding the time-period the author focuses on two major components of Muslim spirituality—sacred place represented by shrines and sacred time represented by the months of the lunar calendar. For shrines, the author focuses on the remains of the Prophet Muhammad’s murdered grandson Husayn, whose head was removed after his death at Karbala and deposited in various locations in Syria and Palestine before finally being interred in a specially built mausoleum in Cairo. For the concept of sacred time, the second part of the book focuses on the lunar months and in particular the sacred month of Rajab. Throughout the work, the author incorporates various elements of religious culture to take the reader deep into the fabric of the medieval Muslim world. The book follows the various traditions, arguments and spiritual dimensions surrounding both examples of sacred time and place. It draws on the work of anthropologists and scholars of comparative religion to set Islamic traditions and beliefs within the wider context of religious experience and in particular premodern Judaism and Christianity. Before reviewing the book in more detail, it should be said that neither of these subjects has been investigated in as much detail before, and most writing on the subject has been from religious believers rather than historians. The author, however, does not dismiss the views of believers either ancient or modern but rather allows the voices of the medieval writers to be heard as clearly as modern news reports. The choice of Husayn’s head as an example of sacred place can be seen as problematic both from a modern and a medieval perspective. Given that the majority of international modern scholarship focuses mostly on Sunni Islam, this book is an exception by looking at a relic and a story whose primary relevance is for the followers of ʿAli (Shiʿat ʿAli). Within the modern context the principal shrine of Husayn bin ʿAli is at Karbala in Iraq where according to the main Shiʿa tradition his head is interred with the rest of his body. 70 bustan: the middle east book review Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/bustan/article-pdf/12/1/69/1337790/bustan_12_1_69.pdf by guest on 23 March 2022 Although Husayn is also respected within Sunni Islam he is not revered as a martyr in the same way, so the existence of shrines in the Sunni-dominated areas of Palestine and Egypt requires some explanation. This is particularly significant within the Palestinian context where the historical role of Shiʿa Islam is only rarely discussed. The book also shows how the shrine of ʿAli’s head (Mashad Ras al-Husayn) was controversial within its medieval context. For example, there were a variety of narratives relating to the whereabouts of Husayn’s head after the battle of Karbala. According to the main Shiʿa tradition Husayn’s head was initially taken to Damascus but after forty days was returned to Karbala to be buried with the rest of the body. There are, however, other medieval accounts that suggest different resting places for Husayn’s head. One of these claims that the head never left Damascus and remained in the Umayyad mosque or another location in the city. Other suggested burial places for the head include Medina, where the head was buried next to his mother, while another tradition states that it was deposited in Raqqa. According to the tradition that forms the core of this book Husayn’s head was initially kept in the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, which according to tradition also housed the head of John the Baptist discovered in the early eighth century. The book then follows the head on its journey from Damascus via a number of locations to Ascalon and later to Cairo (37, fig 3.6). The version of the story that identifies Ascalon as one of the locations of the head is firmly rooted in Fatimid history and is a result of both political and religious motivation. A major proportion of the book (42–109) is devoted to various aspects of the Ascalon shrine, which was destroyed in 1950 (a new shrine commemorating the location has recently been developed by the Bohras Muslims). In 1153 the head was moved to Cairo by the Fatimids, who feared that Ascalon would fall into the hands of the Crusaders. However, the mausoleum constructed for the head in Ascalon remained a scared place and continued to be visited by Muslims throughout the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. The book also points to the interesting fact that the presumed site of the shrine of Husayn’s head was previously a Christian shrine containing the heads of Egyptian martyrs. Although Talmon-Heller is careful not to make a decisive ruling on the subject she suggests that “in the eleventh century the Ismaili Fatimids brought to life the site of that lost [Christian] shrine” (65). This makes the shrine particularly appealing for a study that relates directly to complex overlapping ideas of sacredness and spirituality. As she points out, the construction of the shrine by the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali in 1091 was probably a political as much as a religious act. The construction of the shrine reinforced Ascalon’s status as a sacred border town or ribat and Book Reviews 71 Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/bustan/article-pdf/12/1/69/1337790/bustan_12_1_69.pdf by guest on 23 March 2022 provided a link with Fatimid Shiʿi traditions. She also argues convincingly that the shrine provided a means of reconciling the predominantly Sunni residents of Palestine with their Shiʿa Fatimid overlords through the personality of the saintly Husayn. The shrine in Ascalon is also used as the focus for a deeper discussion on the nature of shrines in medieval Islam. Here the reality of Muslim shrines is compared with the arguments against saint veneration by the famous cleric Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328), whose writing formed the basis for modern fundamentalist ideologies, such as contemporary Salafism. Significantly, Ibn Taymiyya was vehemently anti-Shiʿa and detested the Fatimids, whom he referred to as “treacherous hypocrites.” Unsurprisingly his views about the shrine in Ascalon were dismissive. Although he regarded shrines and saintly intercession in general as mere superstition, he goes out of his way to construct an argument that Husayn’s head was never moved to Ascalon in the first place and that therefore the shrine in Cairo was also a fake. By investigating his statements about the authenticity of the Ascalon shrine in detail the author shows that Ibn Taymiyya was arguing both ways. On the one hand he argued that the location of prayers was not important compared to the sincerity and intent of the believer, yet on the other hand, he argued that prayer should only be carried out at prescribed locations: “mosques and sites along the pilgrimage route to Mecca” (115–16). In other words, he comes to the paradoxical conclusion that it does not matter where you pray but you can only pray in designated places. However, Ibn Taymiyya only represented one element of medieval Sunni thought and there were many scholars who also argued for the role of shrines as places of intercession. Sufis, in particular, were in favor of visiting shrines, and instead of seeing the shrine of Husayn’s head as a ShiꜤi fabrication, they saw it as a symbol of Ascalon’s Muslim heritage. Even though it was accepted that the head was removed from Ascalon in 1154, the building continued to be a place for veneration of Husayn’s memory and sometime after 1260 it was used to house the head of an Ayyubid prince who was decapitated by the Mongols in a battle in southeastern Anatolia. Although not stated explicitly, it seems likely that the new head may have served as a representation or as means of remembering the head of Husayn. In other words, the physical reality of the shrine was only an aide-mémoire and means of connecting with the spiritual world. The difference, then, between Ibn Taymiyya and writers who recommended shrine visitation was not so much about belief in the authenticity of certain places or relics but about the role of specific locations for religious devotions or sacred space. 72 bustan: the middle east book review Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/bustan/article-pdf/12/1/69/1337790/bustan_12_1_69.pdf by guest on 23 March 2022 The second part of the book, which discusses the sacred month of Rajab, continues the theme of what can be considered sacred. The unique aspect of sacred time within the Muslim context is the sacred status of the lunar calendar, which dictates the timing of religious festivals irrespective of seasonal variations based on the solar calendar. Here it should be remembered that one of the central tenets (pillars) of Islam is the performance of the Hajj at the correct time. The Hajj, which involves visiting Mecca and circumambulating the Kaʿba, must be performed at the end of the Islamic year in the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. To visit Mecca outside this sacred month does not count as the Hajj, therefore timing is an essential part of religious observance. According to Ibn Taymiyya and others the only sacred times are those explicitly mentioned in the Quran or otherwise sanctified by reliable traditions (hadith) traceable to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. However, Talmon-Heller is convincingly able to demonstrate that there were other sacred times and months dating to early and pre-Islamic Arabia that were still observed in medieval Islam. The Islamic month of Rajab is selected as a case study to demonstrate how ancient traditions could be revived to provide a more diverse religious experience. First of all, the concept of lunar months in early Islam is discussed, paying particular attention to the fact that they differed from the calendrical divisions of the other faiths which were based on the solar year. She points out that the pre-Islamic concept of four sacred months during which no fighting should take place continued in early Islam and was sanctioned in the Quran (135). However, the development of rituals, feasts, and other activities associated with Rajab seems to date from the time of the Fatimids and, in particular, the ceremonies associated with the Imam Caliph. As with the shrine of Husayn in Ascalon, the author produces a detailed description of events to celebrate the holy month of Rajab from the Fatimid period (tenth century) to the end of the Mamluk period (end of the fifteenth century). In addition to the state-sponsored feasts and nighttime illuminations there were a range of activities which included the participation of Cairo’s general population. Interesting details provided include the production of small edible models or statuettes of animals, made of sweet dough and ground almond paste, which were available to purchase (164). In terms of timing, the most important dates were the first Thursday at the beginning of the month as well as in the middle of the lunar month, and at the end. Although the elevation of Rajab to a special month of heightened religious activities seems to have been mostly promoted by the Fatimids in Cairo, by the tenth century it assumed an impetus of its own, and new rituals and practices were developed in other parts of the Islamic world. For example, Book Reviews 73 Andrew Petersen, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, a.petersen@uwtsd.ac.uk Downloaded from http://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/bustan/article-pdf/12/1/69/1337790/bustan_12_1_69.pdf by guest on 23 March 2022 a preacher from Nablus introduced a new range of prayers and invocations at Jerusalem that became collectively known as the prayers for the “Great Reward.” The prayers were performed en masse at the beginning of Rajab and were usually preceded by one or more days fasting. The fact that this was an invented practice does not seem to have detracted from its popularity, and despite the condemnation of some scholars, which not surprisingly includes Ibn Taymiyya, the prayers became an established ritual. Elsewhere in the Islamic world the prayers were celebrated privately and were accompanied by fasting and other acts of devotion as indicated by the famous Sufi ʿAbd al-Qadir Gailani who lived in Baghdad. There was also a belief that prayers and the observation of rituals on this and other special days in Rajab would count more than at other times of the year and could even result in all sins being forgiven. From this brief review, this book clearly provides a deep immersion into medieval Muslim society and an understanding of the foundations of Islam in the modern world. In particular, the reader is offered a tantalizing insight into the formation of shrines, whereby earlier relics can be repurposed to provide the basis for new traditions. For example, it seems to be no coincidence that the shrine for Husayn’s head in Damascus is less than 100 meters from the shrine containing the head of John the Baptist, or that the Ascalon shrine was built on the ruins of a building holding the heads of decapitated Christian martyrs. By choosing to focus on the shrine of Husayn and the Islamic month of Rajab, the book shows that sacred time and place were not limited to performance of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca but were a network of locations and events that were accessible to a wider spectrum of the population. By expanding the notions of sacred time and space this work shows that there was no sharp divide between popular religion and the theology of clerics and scholars but rather there existed a continuum between the two poles which was often mediated or manipulated by the state. The book also shows how the sponsorship of shrines by the Fatimids may have provided a precedent for the numerous Sunni shrines that were built in Palestine in the period after the Crusades. The author also hints at the possible influence of Shiʿism on the development of Sufi thought and traditions in Palestine and Egypt during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. However, the most important contribution of this book is to show the link between sacred time and space that is present within all the Abrahamic religions and is particularly strong within Islam.