Table Of ContentJ
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THE BANU SULAYM
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF EARLY ISLAM
THE MAX SCHLOESSINGER MEMORIAL SERIES
Monographs IV
The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series publishes texts and
monographs in Arabic and Islamic Studies. It was established
at the Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Hebrew
University through the generosity of the late Mrs. Miriam S.
Schloessinger in honour of her late husband, Professor Max
Schloessinger
Editorial Board
D. Ayalon, J. Blau, Y. Friedmann, M.J. Kister, E. Kohlberg, M. Milson,
S. Pines, S. Shaked, P. Shinar
The editorial board gratefully acknowledges the generous
support of the Hebrew University's Mutual Fund towards the
publication of this monograph
Institute of Asian and African Studies
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
THE BANU SULAYM
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF EARLY ISLAM
by
Michael Lecker
1989
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
©
The Max Schloessinger Memorial Fund
The Institute of Asian and African Studies
The Hebrew University
Jerusalem 1989
ISBN 965-223-388-9
Typeset by
Graph-Press Ltd.
Jerusalem
Contents
Foreword VII
Introduction IX
Map: The land of the B. Sulaym and its environs XIII
I The land of the B. Sulaym and their links with other tribes 1
II The Harith branch 50
III The Imru’u 1-Qays branch 63
IV The Tha‘laba branch 91
V Sulaym and Medina 99
VI Sulaym and Mecca 107
VII The military activity of Sulaym 141
VIII The letters of the Prophet to Sulaym 159
IX Sulaym and Quda‘a 183
X Concluding remarks 202
Appendix A The kings of Sulaym 219
Appendix B Nomads and sedentaries 221
Appendix C The himas of Sulaym 229
Appendix D The delegation of Sulaym to the Prophet 239
Appendix E Concerning the complexion of the Sulamis 242
Appendix F A genealogical chart of the clans of Sulaym 246
Abbreviations and Bibliography 247
Index 262
Foreword
The study presented here was supported by the Rothschild Foundation,
that provided a fellowship to help cover the expenses of my stay in
England in 1984-5. While in England, I benefited greatly from the advice
of Prof. Michael Cook, who read a draft of this monograph and raised
many relevant questions.
I am grateful to my friend and colleague Dr. Ella Landau-Tasseron. She
kindly read the first draft and offered her observations and remarks.1 I
wish to thank the following colleagues, who read the draft at different
stages of its preparation: Dr. Frank Stewart, Prof. Uri Rubin and Dr.
Lawrence Conrad. I am indebted to them for many valuable comments.
Mr. Sam Friedmann and Mrs. Barbara Barrett have suggested many
stylistic improvements. Finally, I wish to thank my teacher, Prof. M. J.
Kister, for his guidance and inspiration over the years.
As is clear throughout the book, I benefited immensely from the work
of the Saudi scholar Hamad al-Jasir. In his editions of texts and his
studies, and especially in his outstanding journal, the Majallat al-‘arab
(Riyad) that is now entering its twentieth year, Jasir has contributed more
than any other scholar to the study of the historical geography of Arabia.
Of special significance for my work were his series of articles on the letters
of the Prophet to Sulaym and his reviews of ‘Abd al-Qaddus al-Ansari’s
book on the Banu Sulaym.2
I have left the name Medina unchanged even when referring to the place
in pre-Islamic period. The definite article has been suppressed in
frequently-quoted names such as al-‘Abbas,3 al-Hajjaj, al-Hira and
1 Parts of her thesis, Aspects of the ridda wars, Jerusalem 1981, have already been published;
see Abbreviations, under Landau-Tasseron.
2 See Abbreviations, under Jasir. Unfortunately, I could not obtain al-Ansari’s book. \
3 Cf. the indications that the article in this name was not used invariably, e.g. Baladh.,
Ansab, I, p. 530, no. 1067; Aghani, XVI, p. 145,1. 6.
VIII
an-Nu‘man. In referring to books I usually employ the author’s last name
and a short mention of the title. In referring to articles (with the exception
of Jasir’s series of articles on Sulaym), the writer’s name and the year of
publication.
The map on p. XIII was prepared at the Department of Geography of
the Hebrew University by Mrs. Michal Kidron. I am indebted to her, as
well as to Prof. Arie Shachar, Chairman of the Institute for Urban and
Regional Studies, for his kind help. The sources are two 1:500,000 maps:
the Geographic Map of the Northeastern Hijaz and the Geographic Map
of the Southern Hijaz (1-205 B and 1-210 B, respectively) prepared by the
U.S. Geological Survey and ARAMCO (1959). Unfortunately, they
include fewer place-names than the earlier British maps.4 I also used the
“Map of the Northern Hijaz 800-1150” attached to Wuhaybi, Northern
Hijaz and map no. Ill in Rashid, Zubayda.
4 Meyer, Aiyam, p. 122 n. 4.
Introduction
The following study is devoted to a single Arabian tribe, the Banu
(henceforth: B.) Sulaym.5 It is based on a large number of records, gleaned
from a variety of sources: biographical dictionaries, genealogical
literature, geographical literature, adab compilations, sir a and other
chronologies, Diwans and Qur’an interpretations. It does not claim to be
exhaustive. Many other relevant records dispersed in the literature will
certainly be brought to light by future research. My aim is to point to the
potential hidden in the study of tribal Arabia for future research of
pre-Islamic and early Islamic history.
I began the study with modest intentions. Looking into the settlement
of tribal groups in pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib), a few Sulami clans
emerged. I began tracing them in the sources and found that the sources
abound with references to Sulami individuals and groups. This is
encouraging, as the Sulaym were not the most significant or powerful tribe
in Arabia. The same work could, of course, be carried out on any other
tribe.
The study focuses on Sulaym in the crucial transition period from
Jahiliyya to Islam and therefore it contributes something to the study of
the Prophet and his time. Most of the study is concentrated in Arabia,
although a few leading families are followed into the Islamic conquests
and the early Umayyad period. The study is based on Arabic primary
sources for the history of early Islam that have not yet been exhausted.
It shows that dedicating a monograph to a single tribe is a feasible and
useful project.6 Tribal Arabia still offers many similar challenges for
5 Cf. on them EIl s.v. Sulaim (H. Lammens).
6 Cf. Kister 1965b; Donner 1980.
