Table Of ContentSTEVEN M. WASSERSTROM
Between Muslim
and Jew
The Problem of Symbiosis Under
Early Islam
J'RIKCl~lOI\ (Lt.~\<.\ I t8RAR'i
Between Muslim and Jew
Between Muslim and Jew
THE PROBLEM OF SYMBIOSIS
UNDER EARLY ISLAM
STEVEN M. WASSERSTROM
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1995 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex
AH Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
\,Vasserstrom, Steven M.
Between Muslim and Jew : the problem of symbiosis under early
Islam / Steven M. Wasserstrom.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical rekrences (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-691-03455-9
I. Islam-Relations-Judaism. 2. Judaism-Relations-Islam.
3. Jews-Islamic Empire-Inrellecrual life. 4. Judaism-Islamic
Empire-History. I. Title.
BP173.J8W38 1995
296.3'872-dc20 94-43430
This book has been composed in Galliard
Princeton University Press books arc printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources
Printed in the United States of America by Princeton Academic Press
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CONTENTS
PREFACE
vu
INTRODUCTION
3
PART I: TRAJECTORIES
CHAPTER ONE
Who Were the Jews? Problems in Profiling the Jewish
Community under Early Islam 17
CHAPTER TWO
The Jewish Messiahs of Early Islam 47
PART II: CONSTRUCTIONS
CHAPTER THREE
Shi'ite and Jew between History and Myth 93
CHAPTER FOUR
Jewish Studies and Comparative Religion in
the Islamicate Renaissance 136
PART III: INTIMACIES
CHAPTER FIVE
Origins and Angels: Popular and Esoteric Literature
in Jewish-Muslim Symbiosis 167
CHAPTER SIX
Conclusion: Reflections on the History and Philosophy
of Symbiosis 206
BIBLIOGRAPHY 239
INDEX 279
PREFACE
AN AUfHOR is of course responsible for the flaws of his or her text. Still,
~chol~rship largely remains a collective exercise, necessarily meaningless in
isolation and usually enhanced by collegial interaction. The present work is
no exception to these rules. Marilyn Waldman, my first teacher in the study of
Islam, a true friend and revered colleague, read, heard, or responded to m~ich
that found its way into this book. She has encouraged me in more ways than I
could count, all the while providing for me a model of humane, creative,
engaged scholarship. Ad meah ve-esrim. I remain thankful that Michael
Wickens, my master in all aspects of the Arabic language, and Mahmoud
Ayoub, who guided me into the study of Shi'a Islam, were patient with their
pupil. The help of Fred M. Donner came at a crucial time during my stay in
Chicago. Over the years, Gordon Darnell Newby, Ze'ev Brinner, and David J.
Halperin consistently have given support and counsel. Invitations from Mar
tin Jaffee, Richard Martin, and Jacques Waardenburg provided forums for the
early venting of ideas. Camilla Adang, Juan Campo, Reuven Firestone,
Rawley Grau, Sidney Griffith, Joel Kraemer, Azim Nanji, John Reeves, Kevin
Reinhart, Aziz Sachedina, Sarah Stroumsa, and Elliot Wolfson have helped in
various ways, all of which mean much to me. May I be forgiven for the
inadvertent omission of anyone else who deserves to be named here.
At Recd College, I am grateful for the support of Provosts Marsh Cronyn
and Doug Bennett, as well as Dean Linda Mantel. For electronic aid, I thank
Marianne Colgrove, Chris Lasell, and Johanna Turner. Heroic labors were
provided by the Interlibrary Loan staff~ who tolerated a sustained barrage of
arcane requests. I particularly appreciate the considerable efforts of Sam
Sayre, Michael Gaunt, Wendy Falconer, and Kristine Hunter.
I thank the editors and publishers of the following publications for their
permission to use materials originally printed by them: "Jewish Pseudepi
grapha in Muslim Literature: A Bibliographical and Methodological Sketch,"
in Tracing the Threads: The Vitali~y ofJ ewish Pseudepigrapha, edited by John
Reeves (Scholars Press: Atlanta, 1994), 87-115; ''The Shi'is Arc the Jews
of Our Community," Israel Oriental Studies 14:297-325; "The 'Isawiyya
Revisited," Studia Islamica 75 (1992): 57-80; "Recent Works on the 'Crea
tive Svmbiosis' of Judaism and Islam," Religious Studies Review 16 ( 1990):
42-47; "The Magical Texts in the Cairo Genizah," in After Ninety Years ef
Genizah Research (1897-1987), ed. Stefan Reif and Joshua Blau (Cambridge
University Press: Cambridge, 1992), 160-66; «The Delay of Maghrib: A
Study in Comparative Polemics," in Logos Islamikos: Studi~ Is~a"!iica in H_on
orem Gem-;gii Michaelis Wickens, ed. Roger M. Savory and ~iom~ms A. Ag~us,
Papers in Mediaeval Studies, vol. 6 (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies:
Toronto, 1984): 269-86.
Material support that made this work possible came from the Social Sci-
viii
PREFACE
ence and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the Vollum Junior Fellow
ship at Reed College; and the American Council of Learned Societies. I thank
Steven Gardiner and Lainie Reich for bringing some order to a disheveled
manuscript. Cathie Brettsclmeider originally showed confidence in this book
at a very early stage in its development. I thank her, my subsequent editors at
Princeton University Press, Ann Wald and Sara Mullen, and my assiduous
copyeditor, Cindy Crumrine, for all their help, encouragement, and hard
work.
Pesha Rose and Shulamit Reba have never known a time when their father
was not working on "the book." I hope that some day, on reading it, they will
find the wait worthwhile. "The book" is dedicated to their mother, Judith
Lynn Margles, who knows why.
Between Muslim and Jevv
