Dhū Nuwās and the Martyrs of Najrān in Islamic Arabic Literature until 1400 AD

Authors

  • Lasse Løvlund Toft

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46586/er.13.2022.9461

Keywords:

Martyrs of Najrān, Dhū Nuwās, Ḥimyar, People of the Trench, Qurʾānic Exegesis, Islamic historiography, Muslim attitudes towards Pre-Islamic Jews and Christians

Abstract

The last king of Ḥimyar, Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar (reign 522–525 AD), is famously known as the Jewish persecutor of the Christians of South Arabia, most notably the ones in Najrān, who were martyred in the autumn of 523 AD. In Islamic literature, the king was known as Dhū Nuwās and became associated with the aṣḥāb al-ukhdūd “the People of the Trench” mentioned in Q85:4–10. The article surveys the Islamic Arabic literature about Dhū Nuwās and the Martyrs of Najrān from its beginnings until the fifteenth century AD, and tries to establish literary relationships between the sources as well as literary typologies in the rich and overwhelming literature. Throughout the survey, attention is given to how different Muslim writers have dealt with the Pre-Islamic ‘Abrahamitic’ past of Arabia in forming the Islamic narrative of history.

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Published

2022-02-11

How to Cite

Dhū Nuwās and the Martyrs of Najrān in Islamic Arabic Literature until 1400 AD. (2022). Entangled Religions, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.46586/er.13.2022.9461

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