This article explores the character of the Sethians as they appear in the fourth-/tenth-century Arabic Filaha al-Nabatyya (Nabatean agriculture). In the Filaha al-Nabatyya, the Sethians (Banff A & scaron;fftfaf) emerge as the adversaries of the main, largely fictionalized, Nabatean narrators of the work. Much like the work's provenance, the identity of the Sethians has remained shrouded in mystery and the subject of much scholarly debate. This article analyzes the descriptions of this group in the text, and compares their characteristics to other late antique and early Islamic sects who similarly revered Seth, as well as geographically associated groups such as the Safbians in southern Iraq. The article argues that the Sethians discussed in the Nabatean agriculture could allude to a historical ancestor of the non-Mandaean Safbians who continued to live in this region in the classical Islamic period. The Nabatean Sethians provide further insight, even if they prove fictional, into early Islamic ideas about pagan sects in southern Iraq.
Occasional Fat.imid attempts to gain a foothold in Umayyad Iberia were typically accompanied by fierce polemical exchanges from both sides.Vocal opposition emanating from al-Andalus and Umayyad interference in North African affairs precluded any but the most minimal transmission of ideas or texts. Moreover, esoteric doctrinal writings by agents of the Ismaili da`wa were subjected to a rule of secrecy. Ismailis were sworn never to reveal anything in their writings. Opponents in the Fat.imid era knew little of it and most denunciations of the Ismailis were based instead on generic polemical falsehoods. In addition, although fourth-/tenth-century Ismaili thought became dependent on a form of Neoplatonism, there are serious questions as to what degree it was accepted in the Maghrib. There is also an issue of whether it promotes any kind of mysticism rather than a narrower doctrine of intellect that tends to reject most forms of supra-rational perception.
In the fourth/tenth century, if a novice had wanted to approach the theoretical fundamentals of music, he would have been disappointed by studying the Brethren of Purity's epistle On Music. A major objective of the present article is to provide some basis for reassessing the Brethren's views on the art of music in the epistle that is purposely devoted to it. According to the Brethren, who faithfully follow the Greek definition of this art as a propaedeutic science, the subject of the epistle is to present music as the most perfect model (mithal) to represent the art of harmony. For this reason, the epistle does not discuss specific music theoretical elements, but rather it aims to identify the methods (referred to as modalities or kayfiyya) through which the concept of harmony can be understood and reproduced by men. Additionally, it explores how the idea of divine harmony is expressed through mathematical principles, which are the foundation for both divine music and its human counterpart, the art of music. This reconsideration enables us to better appreciate the Brethren of Purity's attempt to reconceptualize the important distinction between the two dimensions of "harmony" and "music," the divine and the human, and, consequently, resolve some incon sistencies in the Greek literature on the subject. The present contribution highlights the intimate connection between Epistle 5 (On Music) and Epistle 6 (On Proportions) that deals with what we could today approximately refer to as rational numbers. Together they represent two aspects of the same propaedeutic art of harmony. The former is based on the qualitative aspects, the latter on the quantitative dimension.
In the development of Islamic practices of summoning and controlling intermediary beings, the mandal features as part of a broader repertoire of rituals and diagrams designed to control unseen forces. As a term of art, this multivalent category is connected etymologically to the Sanskrit mandala, for a circle or catchment, itself often used in Tantric esoteric rituals. This article traces the history of the mandal as it first emerged in the science of incantations (ilm al-aza'im), by drawing parallels with earlier practices of encirclement, as well as by following later developments and adaptations. In doing so, it also addresses the various manners in which incantations and the rituals surrounding them came to be understood in distinctly Islamic terms, rooted in ancient prophetic techniques for communing with otherworldly powers.
The time of the Umayyad caliphate of Cordoba (early fourth/tenth century to early fifth/eleventh century) represents a crucial phase in the creation of the scientific and philosophical culture of al-Andalus. At the beginning of the fourth/tenth century, the economic and political situation of the Umayyad regime was weak and the rulers were largely unable to sponsor the arts and sciences. Due to the general instability of the time, the rulers needed the support of the religious scholars, and so the disciplines that most of these scholars rejected (namely astrology, philosophy, and rational theology) were banned from the court. The ascent of Abd alRahman III (r. 300-50/912-61), who proclaimed the caliphate in 316/929, signified a new beginning for scientific and intellectual activity, which flourished until the end of the period, most particularly during the caliphate of al-Hakam II (350-66/961-76).There was intense activity in disciplines that appeared particularly controversial in the eyes of religious scholars, like astrology, magic, and alchemy. These and other disciplines made their mark in learned society and at the court. This article explores the political and intellectual considerations underlying this process and analyzes the extent of the practice of controversial disciplines in the context of the period, paying particular attention to the role played by Maslama b. Qasim and Maslama al-Majr & imath;ti.
