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Islam and Judaism
Torah study, Cheshvan 5762, Congregation Iyr HaMelech (Rabbi Justin Jaron
Lewis)
Glossary and Timeline are at the end of this document.
Introduction
Islam, a rich religious and cultural tradition very akin to Judaism, is
in the news today in unfortunate ways.� Murderers are claiming to act
in the name of Islam, while ignoramuses in Canada and elsewhere have targeted
Muslims and people who “look Muslim” with vandalism and violence.
Judaism and Islam have often been in tension.� The classic Jewish
and Muslim sources include a lot of polemics back and forth.� During
the past century these tensions have been exacerbated by the political conflict
around Zionism and the broader question of Western influence in the Middle
East.� While in earlier generations there was a genuine religious struggle
between Judaism and Islam, concerning competing claims of faith, the religious
polemics that still go back and forth today have much more to do with politics.�
Nevertheless, Judaism and Islam are closely related and include traditions
of mutual friendship as well as rivalry.� Muhammad taught that the
Torah and Psalms, as well as the Christian Gospels, are holy books.�
On the authority of a verse in the Quran, practicing Muslims may eat not
only meat ritually slaughtered by Muslims but kosher Jewish meat as well.�
Studying such commonalities and mutual influences can help us understand
our Jewish tradition better, and to understand Islam in open, non-stereotypical
ways.
In our learning this weekend, on Friday night we are primarily going to
study Jewish influences on Islam, and on Saturday night, Muslim influences
on Judaism -- although I’m not going to be firm about the boundary between
the two topics.� We are not going to discuss the political issues of
today although I hope that our understanding of them will be enriched by our
learning.
��� ��� ��� ���
Jewish Traditions in Islam
A Jewish Arab Tribe
Muhammad (peace be upon him) certainly knew Jews, and there were substantial
Jewish communities in his part of the world.� They were not like any
Jews I’ve ever met, though.� Consider this description of the departure
of the Banu ‘l-Nadir, a Jewish tribe of priestly descent (kohanim), when
Muhammad expelled them from his city, Medina:
“… Finally, the Banu ‘l-Nadir surrendered on condition that they could
take whatever their camels could carry excluding their weapons… The Jews
decided to go into exile with their heads held high.� They went off
beating tambourines and playing on pipes, departing for the Jewish oasis
of Khaybar in an impressive caravan which paraded through the heart of Medina,
crossing the prayer-grounds and the marketplace.� Their women were decked
out in litters, wearing brocade, velvet, and fine red and green silk, and
they unveiled their faces to flaunt their renowned beauty.� They passed
by one after the other, borne by 600 camels.� It is clear from all the
poetry composed upon the occasion that the Arabs were duly impressed.”
(Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands (1979), 14, and citation from
al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi, Stillman 135 f.)
Stories in the Bible and Quran
There are several stories in the Quran that parallel stories in the Hebrew
Bible and in Midrash (post-Biblical legends).� From the classic viewpoint
of Muslim faith, these parallels do not point to any Jewish influences,
because the Quran was revealed to Muhammad the prophet, peace be upon him,
by the angel Jibril (Gabriel) as a mouthpiece of God.� Every word in
it comes directly from God, and it’s not influenced by anything else at
all.�
From a historical perspective, such as we would take in liberal Jewish
circles to our own sacred texts, the Bible existed earlier than the Quran;
it was known by Jews and Christians in the Arab lands; Muhammad either had
heard Biblical stories or read them and they became part of the Quran.�
Many midrashic legends can also be dated earlier than the Quran, although
with some stories the influence may have been the other way around, from
the Quran to the rabbis.
There is no reason to belabour the point, though:� we are either looking
at Jewish influences in the Quran or simply commonalities between Islam
and Judaism.� All would agree that there are stories in the Quran that
resemble stories in the Bible and Midrash, and that differ from them in
fascinating ways.�
From the Quran:
Sura 37:� Those Arranged In Ranks (‘As-Saafaat)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful…
[37.75] …And Nuh [Noah] did certainly call upon Us, and We are the best
answerer of prayer.
[37.76] And We delivered him and his followers from the mighty distress,
[37.77] And We made his offspring the survivors.
[37.78] And We left this blessing for him among generations to come in
later times:
[37.79] “Peace to Nuh among the nations!”
[37.80] Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good.
[37.81] Surely he was one of Our believing servants.
[37.82] Then We drowned the others.
[37.83] And most surely, Ibrahim [Abraham] followed his way.
[37.84] When he came to his Lord with a free heart,
[37.85] When he said to his father and his people:� “What is it that
you worship?
[37.86] A lie -- gods besides Allah-- do you desire?
[37.87] What then is your idea about the Lord of the worlds?”
[37.88] Then he cast a glance at the stars;
[37.89] Then he said: “Indeed I am sick (of these)!”
[37.90] So people turned away from him and departed.
[37.91] Then he turned to their gods secretly and said:� “What! do
you not eat?
[37.92] What is the matter with you that you do not speak?”
[37.93] And he turned against them secretly, smiting them with the right
hand.
[37.94] Then people came with hurried steps, and faced him.
[37.95] He said: “What! do you worship what you hew out?
[37.96] But Allah has created you and what you make!”
[37.97] They said:� “Build him a furnace, then cast him into the burning
fire!”
[37.98] And they desired a war against him, but We brought them low.
[37.99] And he said: “Surely I fly to my Lord; He will guide me.
[37.100] My Lord! grant me one of the doers of good deeds!”
[37.101] So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.
[37.102] And when he attained to working with him, he said: “O my son!
surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you.� Now see
what is your view!”� He said: “O my father! do what you are commanded;
if Allah please, you will find me one of the patient ones.”
[37.103] So when they both submitted, and he laid him down upon his forehead,
[37.104] We called out to him:� “O Ibrahim!
[37.105] You have already fulfilled the vision!”�� Thus indeed
do We reward the doers of good,
[37.106] For this was manifestly a trial.
[37.107] And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice.
[37.108] And We left this blessing for him among jgenerations to come in
later times:
[37.109] “Peace to Ibrahim!”
[37.110] Thus do We reward the doers of good.
[37.111] Surely he was one of Our believing servants.
[37.112] And We gave him the good news of Ishaq [Isaac], a prophet, one
of the righteous.
[37.113] And We showered Our blessings on him and on Ishaq.� Among
their offspring are doers of good, and those who are clearly unjust to their
own souls.
[37.114] And certainly We bestowed Our favour on Musa and Haroun [Moses
and Aaron].
[37.115] And We delivered both of them, and their people, from the mighty
distress.
[37.116] And We helped them, so that they prevailed.
[37.117] And We gave them both the Book that made (things) clear.
[37.118] And We guided them both on the right way.
[37.119] And We left this blessing for them among generations in later
times:
[37.120] “Peace to Musa and Haroun!”
[37.121] Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good.
[37.122] Surely they were two of Our believing servants.
[37.123] And Ilyas [Elijah] was most surely among the Messengers,
[37.124] When he said to his people:� “Will you not stand in awe?
[37.125] What! do you call upon Baal and forsake the best of Creators,
[37.126] Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your fathers of yore?”
[37.127] But they called him a liar; therefore they shall surely be called
to judgment,
[37.128] But not the servants of Allah, the purified ones.
[37.129] And We left this blessing for him among generations in later times:
[37.130] “Peace to Ilyas!”
[37.131] Thus indeed do We reward the doers of good.
[37.132] Surely he was one of Our believing servants.
[37.133] And Lut� [Lot] was most surely among the Messengers,
[37.134] When We delivered him and his followers, all
[37.135] Except an old woman who was among those who tarried.
[37.136] Then We destroyed the others.
[37.137] And most surely you pass by them in the morning,
[37.138] And at night -- do you not then understand?
[37.139] And Yunus [Jonah] was most surely among the Messengers.
[37.140] When he ran away to a fully laden ship,
[37.141] He cast lots, and he was condemned.
[37.142] So the fish swallowed him, and he had done acts worthy of blame.
[37.143] Had it not been that he began to give glory,
[37.144] He would certainly have remained in its belly until the Day of
Resurrection.
[37.145] Then We cast him on to the naked surface of the earth while he
was sick.
[37.146] And We caused to grow, over him, a gourd-plant.
[37.147] And We sent him to a hundred thousand or more,
[37.148] And they believed, so We granted them enjoyment for a while.
(Adapted from translations of the Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and H. M.
Shakir, available on line.)
�
“Muslim scholars engaged themselves in a controversy over [which son of
Ibrahim’s was brought for sacrifice].� Some of them, though few in number,
supported the view that the sacrifice was Isaac.� However, the majority
believed that it was Ismail [Ishmael].� A third view was voiced by some
who maintained that it was impossible to decide on this issue.� Az-Zajjaj
said:� Only God knows which of the two was the sacrifice.”
��� (Dr. ‘Amer Yunis, “The Sacrifice of Abraham in Islam”
in
Manns, The Sacrifice of Isaac in the Three Monotheistic Religions (1995),
152)
Isra’illiyat
“There are many close parallels between Jewish and Muslim tradition. Some
of these relate to traditions within the Hebrew Bible, others to postbiblical
Jewish traditions. These Jewish traditions within Islam are known collectively
as the Isra’illiyat. There has been much speculation both by Muslim and
by non-Muslim scholars as to the origins of the Isra’illiyat. Traditional
Islamic scholarship… broadly speaking draws a distinction between Isra’illiyat
within the Quran and authentic ahadith [plural of “hadith” – teachings attributed
to Muhammad] , and the Isra’illiyat in the rest of Islamic literature. In
the case of the latter, it has no difficulty acknowledging borrowings from
Judaism. Many Jews over the years converted to Islam and brought with them
their stock of traditions, stories and ideas, some of which they wove into
the fabric of their new faith. Whether these are valid or not does not touch
on any principle of faith.� In the case of the Isra’illiyat within
the ahadith ascribed to the Prophet, the situation is more complex…”’
(Mohammed Abdul Hameed Al-Khateeb, Al-Quds:� The Place of Jerusalem
in Classical Judaic and Islamic Traditions (1998), 185-186)
“Probably the most prominent type of this literature was the ‘stories of
the prophets’ (qisas al-anbiya’) genre. Classical Islam in its main Sunni
traditions typically dealt with this ‘alien’ material through the general
principle that whatever was not contrary to Islam would be acceptable and
that which was contrary would be rejected.� This allowed a large amount
of Isra’illiyat material to be absorbed and assimilated within Islamic ‘canonical’
textual traditions.� In addition to the hadith literature and the overlapping
historiographical traditions,� the tafsir literature of Quranic exegesis
and Sufi literature are probably the most prominent examples here.�
The standard classical texts of tafsir are in many places laden with this
type of story, employed in an effort to cast light on possible meanings of
Quranic verses, and filling with more detail the Quranic stories of the prophets
and events associated with them.
“The presence of the Isra’illiyat within Islam constitutes an important
example of traditional Islamic-Jewish cultural interaction and symbiosis,
which implicitly overrode the built-in monotheistic exclusivism on both sides:�
the Islamic, in that Islam openly and willingly took in ‘alien’ material,
and the Jewish, in that it was reportedly through ‘Jewish converts to Islam’
that the material came in… The earlier Muslim scholars, in their understanding
of Isra’illiyat, presume a certain continuity and integration of sources within
the three monotheistic religions.”
(Ronald L. Nettler, “Early Islam, Modern Islam and Judaism” in Nettler
and Taji-Farouki, Muslim-Jewish Encounters:� Intellectual Traditions
and Modern Politics (1998), 3-4)
Examples of Isra’illiyat
��� In Ahadith:
Abu Hurairah narrated:�
The angel of death was sent to Musa [Moses], peace be upon him.� When
he came to Musa, Musa slapped him in the eye.� The angel returned to
his Lord and said, “You sent me to a slave who does not want to die.”�
Allah replied, “Return to him and tell him to put his hand on the back
of an ox, and for every hair under his hand he will be granted one more
year of life.”� Musa said, “O Lord, what will happen after that?”�
Allah replied, “Death”.� Musa said, “Then let it come now.”
Musa then requested Allah to let him die only a stone’s throw from the
Holy Land..
Abu Hurairah added:� The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:�
“If I were there, I would show you his grave below the red sand hill at
the side of the road.”
��� ��� (Al-Khateeb, Al-Quds, 97)
��� In Quran and Tafsir:
From Quran, Sura 20 (Ta Ha), the story of the golden calf:
(v. 85)� (Allah) said:� Lo!� We have tried your folk in
your absence, and Samiri [possibly “the Samaritan”] has misled them.
(v. 86) Then Musa went back to his folk, angry and sad.� He said:�
“Oh my people!� Has not your Lord promised you a fair promise?�
Did the appointed time seem too long for you, or did you wish that wrath
from your Lord should come upon you, that you broke faith with me?
(v. 87) They said:� We did not break faith with you of our own will.�
We were laden with burdens of the folk’s jewellery, so we cast them into
the fire, for so Samiri proposed.
(v. 88)� And he produced a calf for them, of saffron hue, which gave
forth a lowing sound.� And they cried:� This is your god and the
god of Musa, but he has forgotten.
(…v. 90) But Haroun [Aaron] had indeed told them beforehand:� O my
people!� You are only being seduced by it, for your Lord is your Benefactor.�
Follow me and obey my order!
(v. 91) But they said:� We shall by no means cease to worship it until
Musa returns to us.
(v. 92) (Musa) said:� O Haroun!� What held you back when you
saw them gone astray?
(v. 93) Why did you not follow me?� Have you disobeyed my order?
(v. 94) He said:� O son of my mother!� Clutch not my beard nor
my head!� I was afraid lest you would say, “You have caused division
among the children of Israel, and have not waited for my word!”
(v. 95) (Musa) said:� And what have you to say, O Samiri?
(v. 96) He said:� I perceive what they do not perceive.� So I
seized a handful from the footsteps of the messenger, and then threw it in…
��� ���
��� ��� ��� ���
��� ��� (Pickthal translation)
Tafsir (classic commentaries on the Quran):
“We were laden with burdens of the folk’s jewellery” (20:87).� They
had borrowed much jewellery from Firon’s [Pharaoh’s] people when they were
about to leave Egypt, after the festival.� When Allah destroyed Firon
and his people, this jewellery remained in the hands of the Israelites.�
When Musa went up on the mountain, Haroun said to the Israelites:�
“The Egyptians’ jewellery which you borrowed is booty, and you are not permitted
to make use of it.� Bring it all together, dig a pit for it, and bury
it there, until Musa gets back and gives his opinion about it.”
“I perceive what they do not perceive” (20:96).� Samiri, unlike the
rest of the children of Israel, was able to recognize Jibril [the angel
Gabriel], for the following reason:� When Pharaoh commanded the slaughter
of the Israelites’ sons, the women took to carrying their male children
off in the middle of the night to a desert or valley or mountain cave, and
hiding them.� Allah would send one of his angels to give the child
food and drink, until he could mingle with people.� It was Jibril who
nurtured Samiri.� He would suck oil from one of his thumbs, honey from
the other.
“So I seized a handful from the footsteps of the messenger” (20:96).�
Al-Suddi said that when Musa was on the mountain, Jibril came, upon a horse
called “horse of life”.� It was a piebald mare, and whatever touched
it would live.� When Samiri saw him on that horse, he recognized him.�
He said, “There must be something great about this horse!”� So he took
a handful of dust from the hoofprints of� Jibril’s horse.
Al-Kalbi said:� Actually, Samiri took the calf from the dust of the
hoofprints of Jibril’s horse earlier, when they were crossing the Sea.�
God sent Jibril riding a mare, whose stride was as long as the eye could
see; all the prophets ride on her.� She plunged into the sea; the stallions
of Pharaoh’s people got a whiff of her and plunged in after her.
“So I seized a handful from the footsteps of the messenger, and then threw
it in” (20:96).� When the Israelites were casting the Egyptians’ jewellery
into the pit, Samiri came, with the handful of dust he had taken from under
the hoof of Jibril’s horse.� He said to Haroun, “Prophet of Allah,
shall I throw this in?”� Haroun assumed that this was some of the jewellery
and that he wanted to do as everyone else had done, so he said, “Throw it
in.”� Samiri threw it into the pit, on top of the jewellery – and it
became “a calf, of saffron hue, which gave forth a lowing sound” (20:88).
(Cited in David J. Halperin, “Can Muslim Narrative be Used as Commentary
on Jewish Tradition?” in Nettler, Medieval and Modern Perspectives on Muslim-Jewish�
Relations (1995), 76-80)
A Jewish Practice in Early Islam:� Facing Jerusalem in Prayer
�“According to ahadith, when the prayers had been enjoined upon the
Prophet Muhammad, after his ascension to heaven, he used to face in the
direction of Bait al-Maqdis in al-Quds [the Temple (Mount) in Jerusalem],
which the Prophet took as the qiblah [direction to face in prayer].�
When he migrated [from Mecca] to Medina, he continued to follow this practice
for a period of seventeen months.
“Yet, in his heart, he longed to turn his face toward the niche of Ibrahim
in the Ka’bah at Mecca.
“’Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib said:
I prayed with the Prophet towards Bait al-Maqdis for about seventeen months,
and he very much wished that the House (the Ka’bah) was his qiblah, until
Allah, the exalted, revealed the following aya [verse of the Quran]:�
“We see the turning of your face (for guidance) to the heavens; now shall
We turn you towards a qiblah that shall please you.� Turn then your
face in the direction of the sacred Mosque (in Mecca) [Surat al-Baqara, 144]”.
��� (Al-Khateeb, Al-Quds, 105-106)
Muslim Influences in Judaism
An Example from Far Afield
Muslim influence can sometimes be found far from Arabia.� The first
book of Eastern European Hasidism, Toledot Yaakov Yosef by Rabbi Yaakov
Yosef of Polnoye, disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (1780) twice includes the
saying:� “The wise man has said:� You have returned from the minor
war, now prepare yourselves for the major war”.� That is, prepare for
spiritual struggle which is more important than any material struggle.
This is a well-known Sufi saying, usually attributed to Muhammad.�
It probably found its way into Hasidic tradition through its appearance in
Rabbenu Bachya’s Duties of the Heart.� Rabbenu Bachya included many Sufi
teachings and stories in his work, ascribing them to anonymous sages.
(see Paul Fenton, “Judaeo-Arabic Mystical Writings of the XIIIth-XIVth
Centuries”, in Golb, Judaeo-Arabic Studies (1997), 89.)
Crossing Boundaries
The boundaries between Judaism and Islam were not rigid in early times.�
There were Jewish converts to Islam.� Muslim sources also mention a
Jewish movement which accepted Muhammad as a prophet and the Quran as scripture.�
These Jews were still not Muslims since they did not consider themselves
bound by the obligations of Islam (such as praying 5 times a day or making
the pilgrimage to Mecca).�� The fact that, with the spread of Islam,
Arabic became the language of the Middle East, North Africa and Spain, including
the Jews of those countries, facilitated cultural cross-influences.�
For several centuries, most Jewish writing in those regions, both secular
and religious, was in Arabic (though it was Jewish Arabic, written in Hebrew
letters), and was strongly influenced by Muslim culture which was responsible
for the spreading of the Arabic language.
�Love of Language in Arabic and Hebrew
In Islam, it is significant that the Quran is in Arabic. Since it is considered
the actual word of God, the fact that it was given in Arabic gave tremendous
dignity to that language.� Arabic is seen as the most perfect of languages,
and the Quran as the most perfect Arabic text.� Muslim scholars, building
on earlier Arab traditions of poetry as one of the great cultural activities,
studied and explored the Arabic language with loving intensity.� This
led in at least two directions, scientific and artistic:� the study
of grammar and linguistics on the one hand, and on the other hand extremely
elaborate, rich poetry.
Beginning with rabbis like Saadya Gaon in Iraq, and continuing especially
in Muslim Spain, Jewish thinkers followed in Muslim footsteps and applied
the same kind of loving study and exploration to the Hebrew language.��
They insisted that Hebrew, the Holy Tongue in which our scriptures were
given, is at least as perfect and beautiful as the Arabic of the Quran.�
Basing themselves on the work of� Arabic linguists, and writing in
Arabic, they developed the study of Hebrew grammar, which was something new
in Jewish thinking.� Over time, they worked out the understanding of
Hebrew grammar that we still go by today.� And they wrote marvelous
poetry, using Arabic forms, Arabic meter, and very often themes of Arabic
poetry – but always in Hebrew, the exception to the rule that Jews wrote
in Arabic.� This poetry made ingenious use of Biblical allusions, and
provocative mixtures of sacred Hebrew texts and profane themes.��
(From a university� course with Eric Lawee; see T. Carmi, The Penguin
Book of Hebrew Verse (1981), introduction.)
Controversial today – though apparently not in their own time – are the
homosexual love poems written by Judaeo-Arabic poets in Spain, among them
many rabbis.� This was a theme shared with Muslim poets, though homosexuality
was no more accepted by official Islam than by official Judaism.� Scholars
dispute whether these poems reflect real romances or just a stereotyped topic
of courtly literature.
The following poem by Rabbi Judah Halevi is a beautiful example.�
In the second-last verse, the lines about the Aramean and the Edomite are
a play on words:� “the Aramean” in Jewish tradition refers to Lavan,
whose name means “white”; “Edomite” also means “red”.� So those lines
mean “how white turns into red.”
Unusually, the last two lines of the poem are in Arabic.
O my gazelle, my lord,
let my grief be precious in your eyes
lest disaster overtake me.
Gentle, gentle, gentle with my blood,
for my well-being is in your hands alone.
May your heart be tender to the forlorn one
fasting and weeping because of your anger,
waiting for the manna of your favour --
manna, manna, manna for my hunger.
Oh, pay me my wages today.
When you laugh at my suffering,
I turn my tear-stained cheeks to you.
But you answer, “By my life,
no-one, no-one, no-one is in my trap
but those whom I killed unknowingly.”
I struggle with my soul because of my boy:
if only he feared me, he might
give me back my slumber; he might
fly, fly, fly to me in my sleep,
and be caught in the mesh of my dreams.
When I ask for the nectar of his lips,
he turns red as the rising sun
until I see in his likeness
how, how, how the Aramean�����������������������
has turned into the likeness of an Edomite.
His song pierces my inward parts.
He sings to fan my flames:
“Kiss my mouth – and no more, my friend.
Kiss, kiss, kiss my mouth,
and forget your melancholy, my love.”
(Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse 344-345)
Jewish Philosophy in a Muslim Matrix
“There was a tradition of Jewish thought which arose in a Muslim milieu
and expressed itself principally in Judaeo-Arabic writings.� Today this
tradition usually goes under the name of medieval Jewish philosophy.�
Its representatives include Saadya Gaon, Bachya ibn Pakuda, Ibn Daud, and
of course Judah Halevi and Moses Maimonides.
“It is a well-known fact that the Jewish authors in question were, in general,
students of the works of the Muslim Falasifa (philosophers) and acknowledged
their debts to them.� Moreover they frequently and candidly adopted
their interpretations of the works of Plato and Aristotle.
“There is an important difference, however.� In Islam, especially
Western Islam, where the Judaeo-Arabic tradition flourished, philosophical
and exegetical literature were fairly distinct enterprises.� In the
West the preferred philosophic teacher was al-Farabi, whose works have extremely
few Quranic references, and refer mainly to classical philosophy and the
works of Plato and Aristotle.
��� “By contrast, in the works of the Judaeo-Arabic philosophers,
Scripture and its exegesis play an important role.”���
��� (From Hillel Fradkin, “Philosophy or Exegesis” in Golb,
103-105)
Jewish Sufism in Egypt
Several centuries after Rabbenu Bachya’s anonymous quotations of Sufi sources,
there was an important Jewish Sufi movement led by the son of Maimonides,
Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam, and his descendants, who were the leaders of
Egyptian Jewry.� They formed brotherhoods of pious mystics who consciously
adapted Sufi teachings and practices to Judaism.�
Their project was comparable to how some Jews today, who are involved in
meditation, are combining Buddhist teachings and practices with Judaism.�
Of course, then and now, the wider Jewish community might have looked at
this kind of syncretism with suspicion.� The way to “kosher” the outside
influence in this case was the time-honored Jewish device of saying that
after all, “they got it from us.”
Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam wrote:
�“You are aware of the ways of the ancient saints of Israel, which
are not, or but little, practiced among our contemporaries. They have now
become the practice of the Sufis of Islam -- on account of the iniquities
of Israel…
“Do not regard as unseemly our comparison of the Prophets to the Sufis,
for the latter imitate the prophets of Israel and walk in their footsteps,
not the prophets in theirs…
“Observe, then, these wondrous traditions, and sigh with regret over how
they have been transferred from us, and appeared among a nation other than
ours, whereas they have disappeared in our midst.� My soul weeps because
of the pride of Israel that was taken from us and bestowed upon the nations
of the world.”
��� ��� (High Ways to Perfection, trans.
S. Rosenblatt, cited in Fenton)
�“These chasidim (pietists) showed no reticence in adopting both the
theories and practices of Sufism and introducing them into synagogue worship.�
These innovations -- or restorations as the pietists would prefer to call
them -- included ablutions, prostrations, kneelings, sitting on mats or
standing in rows during prayers, fasting, weeping as a spiritual practice,
solitary retreats, celibacy, and wearing special woolen garments (which,
according to some scholars, were the distinctive attire of the Sufis.)
“Many Muslim Sufi texts have been found in the Cairo Geniza, some in Arabic
script and many more written in Arabic in Hebrew characters.� There
are many original Jewish Sufi works as well, all in Judeo-Arabic.� One
important one is by David Ben Joshua Maimonides, the last leader of Egyptian
Jewry from the Maimonidean family whom we know anything about.
�“His Guide to Detachment revolves around the saying from Pirkei Avot:
‘caution (zehirut) leads to industry; industry leads to cleanliness; cleanliness
leads to detachment; detachment leads to purity; purity leads to holiness;
holiness leads to fear of sin; fear of sin leads to piety; piety leads to
prophecy; prophecy leads to resurrection; resurrection leads to the coming
of Elijah the prophet.’
“David Maimonides equates each of these stages with a station of the Sufi
path. For instance, he equates the stage ‘zehirut’, translated above as
‘caution’, with the Sufi notion of illumination, deriving it from the Hebrew
root ‘zahar’,� ‘to be bright’.
“When quoting from Sufi works, as he does frequently, David consistently
substitutes the words ‘chasid’ and ‘chasidut’ for the terms ‘Sufi’ and ‘Sufism’
that appear in the works he is quoting from.
“In his chapter devoted to Divine Love, derived mainly from a Sufi work,
he exercises much dexterity replacing the Quranic verses of his model with
biblical ones, as other authors did before him.
�“As in Sufi manuals, where a preliminary chapter is invariably devoted
to the etymology of the word Sufi, David attempts to determine the connotation
of the word chasid.� He relates it to the term ‘chasida’, designating
a stork,� since like the mystic this bird remains aloof from the society
of its fellow creatures in order to commune with its Creator.
“There are some important differences between Jewish Sufism and its Islamic
models.� In Muslim Sufism the ultimate aim is to achieve union with
God. The Jewish sources instead emphasize prophecy as the ultimate goal.��
The chasidim often referred to themselves as ‘b’nei hanevi’im’, the disciples
of the Prophets.� This seems to be associated with the belief mentioned
by Maimonides that the gift of prophecy was soon to be renewed among the
children of Israel.� It could not have been an idea held by Muslim Sufis,
for whom the cycle of prophecy had been terminated with Muhammad.
(From Paul B. Fenton, “Judaeo-Arabic Mystical Writings of the XIIIth-XIVth
Centuries”, in Golb, Judaeo-Arabic Studies (1997), 89-100)
Popular Islam and Judaism:� Muslim and Jewish Holy Men in Morocco
“The veneration of holy men, living or dead, is a well-known hallmark of
popular religion among Jews and Muslims in Morocco and indeed throughout
North Africa.� Both the tsadik (Jewish saint) and the marabout (Muslim
saint) are charismatic individuals who possess the powerful spiritual force
known in Moroccan Arabic as baraka.� The word 0literally means “blessing”
but defies easy definition.� It is a spiritual force which may be used
for the benefit of the saint’s faithful adherents, but it may also be used
to mete out awesome punishments to those who offend him in even the slightest
way.� The saint’s baraka is most commonly manifested in acts of blessing,
in spiritual guidance, and in intercession with God.
“The saint’s knowledge of the unseen frequently involves a complex series
of events which find a resolution through him.� Only rarely, but spectacularly,
is the saint’s baraka demonstrated by outright miracles.� The more
scholarly, orthodox literary sources in both faiths tend to report miracles
sparingly. Oral sources and popular devotional works, on the other hand,
relate them lavishly and with gusto.
�“People will do the utmost to have their human needs fulfilled and
will turn to whatever options are open to them.� In traditional Moroccan
society, the options were limited outside the realms of folk medicine and
popular religion.� Within these areas, however, one might have many
options.� For example, though an individual might have a particular
patron saint, such as Rabbi Chayim Cohen or Rabbi Raphael Musi el-Baz, he
would have no hesitation in turning to others until his petition with finally
granted. The Shaykh al-Yahud (leader of the Jewish community) in Settat during
the 1930s reported having made pilgrimages with his wife to some 30 saints’
tombs before their prayers for a child were answered.
“The saint’s baraka� is sometimes shown in acts of clairvoyance.�
However, this is not considered a miracle or an exclusively saintly power.�
Both Muslims and Jews recognized that there were gifted members of their
own and of the other faith who possessed such powers.� During one of
our visits in Sefrou, a Jewish girl we knew went to a Muslim shewaffa (a
female seer) to learn whether her impending marriage would be auspicious.�
In the book Malkei Rabbanan, Rabbi Khalifa ben Malka of Agadir is reported
to have asked a Muslim seer to reveal the future to him.� Through his
own saintly insight, Rabbi Khalifa knew that what he had been told was true.�
“There are some key differences between the tsadik and marabout.�
A tsadik almost never performs dramatic miracles during his lifetime.�
The vast majority of their dramatic miracles are associated with their tombs.�
By contrast, living marabouts are commonly reported to suspend the laws
of nature, fly through the air, spit fire, or turn themselves into animals
– a common power of Muslim saints which I have not heard ascribed to Jewish
holy men.� Also, the ideology of sainthood was much more highly developed
and clearly expressed in Moroccan Islamic culture, and among its saints
there was a well-defined hierarchy.� Moroccan Judaism possessed neither
the refined terminology, nor the notion of hierarchy with regard to its
saints.� Therefore one Moroccan tsadik did not need to compete with
another to show who had more baraka, which is a common motif in the stories
of Muslim saints.� While the baraka of a Muslim saint could sometimes
be passed on physically, for example by the master spitting into the disciple’s
mouth,� Moroccan Jews perceived sainthood only as the culmination of
a process of piety and learning.”
��� ��� (From Norman A. Stillman, “Saddiq
and Marabout in Morocco”,
��� ��� in Deshen and Zenner, Jews Among
Muslims (1996), 122-127)
Ahadith:� ��� plural of “hadith”.
Allah:� ��� ��� the Arabic word for
“God”, used by Arabic speakers of all religions
Al-Quds:��� cf. Hebrew “ha-kodesh”:� “the holy place”,�
Jerusalem
Aya:��� ��� a verse of the Quran
Bait al-Maqdis:��� cf. Hebrew “beit ha-mikdash”:� The
Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, or the Al-Aqsa Mosque located there
Baraka:�����������
In Morocco, the power of a Muslim or Jewish holy man���
Firon:��������������
Pharaoh
Hadith:��� A saying or anecdote of Muhammad (peace be upon
him) attributed to one of his early followers
Haroun:� ��� Aaron
Ibrahim:� ��� Abraham
Ilyas:��� ��� Elijah the prophet
Ishaq:��� ��� Isaac
Ismail:��� ��� Ishmael, son of Abraham and
ancestor of the Arabs
Isra’illiyat:��� Jewish traditions in Islam
Jibril:��� ��� The angel Gabriel
Ka’bah:��� “the cube”, a holy site in Mecca associated with
Abraham
Lut:��� ��� Lot, Abraham’s nephew
Marabout:��� European form of Moroccan Arabic mrabit, “a
man bound to God”, Muslim holy man
Midrash, Midrashim:��� In Judaism, interpretations of the
Bible, especially retellings and expansions of Biblical stories, and the
books containing them
Musa:��� ��� Moses
Nuh:��� ��� Noah
Samiri:��� ��� Possibly “the Samaritan” –
a trouble-making character in the Quran
Sufism, Sufi:�� A Muslim mystical tradition; one of its followers
Sura:��� ��� a chapter of the Quran
Qibla:��� ��� the direction faced in prayer
– for Muslims it is toward the Ka’bah
Quran:��� ��� “Koran”, the Muslim scripture.
Tafsir:��� ��� Commentaries on the Quran
Tsadik:��� ��� In Judaism, a holy person
or saint
Yunus:��� ��� Jonah
Time-line:
by c. 500 BCE – completion of most books of the Hebrew Bible
70 CE – destruction of� the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans
c. 220 – completion of the Mishnah, founding text of Rabbinic Judaism,
including Pirkei Avot, a collection of ethical sayings
by c. 400 – completion of the Jerusalem Talmud and early Midrashim
c. 571 – birth of Muhammad
c. 600� – completion of the Babylonian Talmud
c. 610 – first revelations of the Quran to Muhammad
622 – Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina (both now in Saudi Arabia),
the Hejira.� Muhammad assumes leadership of Medina.� Year One
in the Muslim calendar.
632 – death of Muhammad
633-642 – Arab/Muslim conquest of Syria (including Palestine), Iraq and
Egypt
711-712 – Muslim conquest of Spain
928-942 – in Iraq, Saadya Gaon writes his Arab translation of the Bible
and other works
1038-56 – Samuel ibn Naghrela serves as vizier of Granada, high point of
Jewish power in Muslim Spain
c. 1080 – in Spain, Rabbenu Bachya ibn Pakuda writes Duties of the Heart
in Arabic
1085 – first beginnings of Christian reconquest of Spain
c. 1139 – in Spain, Judah HaLevi writes the Kuzari in Arabic
1190 – in Egypt, Maimonides writes Guide for the Perplexed in Arabic
1204 – death of Maimonides; his son R. Avraham ben haRambam succeeds him
as leader 1200s and 1300s – Maimonides’ son and descendants, leaders of�
Egyptian Jewry, promote a Jewish version of Sufism as the best path of Jewish
piety
1492 – final completion of Christian reconquest of Spain, expulsion of
Jews and Muslims
�
