Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos. Sección Árabe-Islam

The Law of Personal Status from Saudi Arabia

Caridad Ruiz de Almodóvar — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An academic examination of the Saudi Personal Status Code and its Spanish Translation. This code was enacted by Law 73 of 06-September-1443/09-March-2022 and published on 15-September-1443/18-March-2022. Termed as Niẓām al-ajwāl al-šajṣiyya (Regulation of Personal Status), it diverges from its counterparts in other Arab nations, typically titled as qānūn (code). Through this regulation, Saudi Arabia terminated its distinctiveness as the sole Arab state where a family code had never been enacted. Although it has barely introduced innovations regarding Islamic law, it provides a significant advancement in the definition of marriage, which until now was only established in the Moroccan code, by equalizing spouses and stipulating that both are responsible for protecting the family. It also stands among the few explicitly addressing the admissibility of DNA evidence in determining paternity.

Concepción Castillo Castillo (1940-2024)

María Isabel Calero Secall, María Jesús Viguera Molins — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Concepción Castillo Castillo. (Castillo de Locubín, Jaén, 19.XI.1940 – Granada, 11.VI.2024)

Published and Unpublished Works by Arabist Carlos Quirós (1884-1960)

Mohamed Bilal Achmal — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Arabist Carlos Quirós Rodríguez (1884-1960) was a translator and researcher. Many of his published works prove it. However, other works of his are still unpublished and even undisclosed among his archive deposited in the Library of Oviedo’s University. Most of them were translations of texts from different areas of human knowledge, from completed to unfinished projects ; left to future favorable circumstances. Carlos’ main goal was to provide important pieces of information related to those translations often accomplished from Arabic to Spanish and vice versa, and that were not published for various reasons. In this context, we are going to provide a preliminary list of those works and review them as much as the available data at our disposal allows us to. We are also going to put a commentary on the published translations and refer to those that have remained unnoticed. This way, we believe that it is possible to evaluate the translation skills of the aforementioned Arabist and better understand his contribution to contemporary Spanish Arabism.

Features of the 'Text Production Proficiency' in The Arabic Linguistic Heritage

Abdurahman Alyatimi, Tareq Alfraidi — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to clarify the notion of 'text production proficiency' and its significance in facilitating recipients' comprehension. It aligns with contemporary textual standards while also highlighting its adherence to the principles outlined in the Arabic linguistic heritage. Moreover, it demonstrates that the term proficiency', despite its modern usage, has been indicated in the heritage of Arabic linguistics through various synonyms and diverse methods, all of which contribute to the overall concept of 'text production proficiency'.

As a result, the research has identified four criteria essential for achieving textual proficiency: grammatical, lexical, semantic, and phonetic. These criteria validate that Classical Arabic scholars have mentioned this concept across all Arabic arts. Furthermore, the findings suggest that what modern linguists have stated is an extension of the work of their predecessors, emphasizing the unity of Arabic sciences (classical and modern). The interconnectedness and overlap of these sciences contribute to the attainment of text proficiency. It is worth noting the recent efforts of text linguists in accurately codifying and refining the terminology.

Sociolinguistic Study of the Imāla of the [a] at the End of the Word in the Arabic of Ouled Teima - Morocco

Abdellah El Hilali — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

In this article we study a phonetic phenomenon wich characterizes the Arabic of Ouled Teima and its surroundings. It is the 'imāla' of the [a] at the end of the word, a phenomenon that reveals itself very suitable for sociolinguistic study, obeying fully to the requirements established by sociolinguistic literature. We note that the 'imāla' consists of a change according to which the vowels /a/ and /aː/ are pronounced, respectively, as [e] and [eː] or even as [i] and [iː].

The sociolinguistic analysis of this phenomenon has allowed us to discard its apparent free and random character, discovering an extraordinary systematization related to its use. In addition to this, the same analysis has shown an ongoing linguistic change led by groups with high educational levels.

Key words: Arabic of Ouled Teima - 'imāla' – sociolinguistic – systematization

Islam from Different Perspectives in Cuban Society

Mairim Febles Pérez — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Islamic religion has been present in Cuba since the era of Spanish colonization, but its organized practice began in the 1990s during a religious revival in the country. Despite the increasing presence and practice of Islam in Cuba, Muslims face unfavorable views and some acts of discrimination. With the aim of fostering peaceful coexistence, this research sets out to analyze the significance of Islam for both Muslims and non-practitioners of this religion in Cuba. To accomplish this, Drawing and Free Word Association techniques were applied to non-Muslim Cubans, while Muslims were interviewed. The instruments used with non-Muslims reveal the existence of prejudices and stereotypes based on a distorted understanding of the realities of Islam. Meanwhile, those used with Muslims show that Islam is central to their lives, constituting a way of life that influences their future perspectives. This research, based on qualitative methodology, allows for the contrasting of diverse perspectives on Islam and delving into a topic that is little studied in Cuban society.

Power and Attraction of the Desert. Geocultures of France and Spain Facing Tribal Insubordination in the Sahara (1900-1934)

José Antonio González Alcantud — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The debate on the colonial question in relation to the unfinished processes of decolonization in Western Sahara is highly topical. In order to interpret them it is necessary to resort to the strategies followed by France and Spain to subdue the tribal system and the Saharan morabitic networks. From the study of tribal segmentationist theories to the mystique of the desert. The French confidential reports offer important news to interpret the geomistics used in the conquest and submission of the Sahara. All as part of the great Saharan geostrategic game. Figures such as Charles de Foucauld, Ernest Psichari or Enrique D'Almonte are fundamental for the correct interpretation of the politics of domination.

Keywords: Sahara, segmentarity, mysticism, meharism, brotherhoods, geostrategy.

Motherhood and Mothers in Islamic Societies: Concept and Functions in Medieval and Contemporary Times

Eva Lapiedra Gutiérrez — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper focuses on several aspects related to motherhood and the role of mothers in two historical periods of the history of Islam: pre-modern Arab societies, with a special focus on what is known in the West as the Middle Ages, and the Nahḍa or Arab Renaissance (end of the 19^th century and beginning of the 20^th). The Nahḍa brought about new ideas about motherhood, and they represent a tremendous change in the role of women as mothers, especially as women now begin to speak for themselves about motherhood. Mostly through a series of texts, the comparison focuses on what remains and what has changed in the role of women in Arab and Muslim family and societies throughout history.

Historical Introduction to Sufi Brotherhoods in Bilād Šinqīṭ (Mauritania)

Ahmed Salem Ould Mohamed Baba — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sufism is a religious and social phenomenon that has existed for centuries in the Islamic world in general and in the Maghreb in particular. Mauritania has known this phenomenon since the 17^th century, according to the sources, although it is very likely that it existed before that time. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the Mauritanian Sufi brotherhoods based on the data available in the sources that have dealt with the subject. In addition to listing the main brotherhoods and their shaykhs, the main works of taṣawwuf written by these shaykhs are mentioned. Among the conclusions, one can highlight the coexistence between the Sufi zāwiyas and the traditional schools called maḥaḍras whose teachers are scholars. This fact gives rise to some of the specific characteristics of these zāwiyas.

Arabic Inscription on a Rock at Pou Clar (Ontinyent, Valencia)

Agustí Ribera, Carmen Barceló Torres — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Identification of a brief inscription in Arabic inscribed on the rock, outside one of the window caves of the El Pou Clar group, in Ontinyent (Valencia). Although it only presents part of a verse of the Koranic chapiter LXI, it gives us new data about the Andalusian period in this area, in general, and about this type of artificial cavities, in particular. Along with the bibliographic background are presented the situation of the cave-window, description and a brief study of the sign, with chronological proposal, and an analysis of the data provided by the archaeological findings and historical information.

Commentators on Mahāsin al-majālis by Ibn al-‘Arīf

Ahmed Shafik — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

From the end of the 12th century until well into the 20th century, Maḥāsin al-majālis by the Almeria Sufi Ibn al-‘Arīf has been the subject of numerous and very diverse citations, mentions, allusions and partial adaptations and comments, in al-Andalus and in
the Islamic East, giving rise to a long series of poetic continuations and emulations. This work aims to present a complete study of the echoes of Maḥāsin throughout the centuries, shedding light on the most conspicuous features of its powerful mystical irradiation.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to translate and interpret the extensive comments and references collected in the first written sources, with special attention to those made by Sufi writers such as Ibn al-Mar‘a, Ibn ‘Arabī, Ibn Sab‘īn and Hanbalis scholars, making use of the descriptive methodology for the analysis of these testimonies. The study of the sources reveals that Maḥāsin's text is a fundamental work in the development of Andalusian Sufism, revealing at the same time its close relationship and debt with Eastern Sufism.

Routes and Transformations in the Maghrebi Space (Second-Eighth c. AH / Eighth-Fourteenth c. AD)

Helena De Felipe, Marta G. Novo — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The traditional idea according to which the Maghreb should occupy a peripheric space in the islamicate world has been clearly overlapped by new historiographical approaches. Choosing the Maghreb for this special issue responds to the intention to place it a central position, as does the research project to whic it is linked[1]. The geographical location of the Maghreb allows its study as a space with internal mobility and projection, but also as a connection to other areas: al-Andalus, the orient and Africa south of the Sahara.

This monograph section intends to contribute to the study of the mobility of populations associated to the Maghreb, as well as its own territorial and inhabitation structure in the medieval period. To this end, we have based it upon a wide catalogue of Arabic medieval sources that refer to the medieval Islamic West, in order for our studies to enable a diachronic and diverse vision of the concerned phenomena. The mobilities of groups and individuals respond to an abundant casuistry which is difficult to apprehend, but, however, we have tried that at least part of the variety of reasons behind displacements is shown in the articles that conform this special issue.

[1] This special issue is part of the results of the “Transits and Migrations in North Africa: Diachronic Analysis of the Population and its Environment (DIANA)” (HAR2017-82152-C2-2-P; P.I. Helena de Felipe, Universidad de Alcalá), which, together with the Research Sub-Project “Transformations in Maghrebian Space through a Historic Perspective (TRAMAGHIS)” (HAR2017-82152-C2-1-P; P.I. Miguel Ángel Manzano, IEMYRhd, Universidad de Salamanca), is integrated in the Coordinated Research Project “Transits and Transformations in Maghrebian Space and Population (MAGNA II)” (MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa, coord. Miguel Ángel Manzano).

Transmission of Knowledge and Mobility of Scholars in the Ṭabaqāt ʽulamāʼ Ifrīqiya of Abū l-ʽArab al-Tamīmī

María Crego Gomez — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The present contribution studies the circulation of ulema in the Ifrīqiya region before the 4th-century H./10th-century a. C., taking into account the places to which they went to train and, at the same time, to what extent Ifrīqiya was a focus of attraction for foreign scholars. To do this, the teacher-disciple relationship of the ulema is analyzed as stated in the Ṭabaqāt ʽulamāʼ Ifrīqiya of Abū l-ʽArab al-Tamīmī (d. 945/333), the oldest work about the wise men of the region before the 10th-century, together with the Kitāb ṭabaqāt ʽulamāʼ Ifrīqiya of Ibn Hārith al-Jushanī (d. 971/361). Data are provided on the most relevant destinations in terms of mobility to the outside, as well as the transmission of knowledge that depends on internal dynamism, within the region itself, Qayrawān being in any case the unifying center of intellectual activity. The present analysis cannot fail to consider the fact that some of these wise men carried out certain comercial or economic activities, which often appear linked in the work itself to their religious tasks. Likewise, the data indicate that trade may have been a gateway to the intelectual sphere in the region.

Leaving Home in Hard Times: Flight and Expulsion in Medieval Maghreb

Helena de Jesús de Felipe Rodríguez — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

War and armed conflict have been, and continue to be, one of the main causes of population mobility. Expulsions, deportations, exiles, destruction of cities and habitats have caused migration dynamics throughout history, and the medieval Maghreb is no exception.
This article aims to explore the narratives linked to these phenomena of forced mobility of individuals and populations in the medieval Maghreb. To this goal, a selection of texts from different periods has been made in order to obtain a diachronic overview of this process: from the first moments of the conquest up to the 10th century. The differences between the expulsion of rulers and episodes of deportation of population groups have been taken into account. The circumstances surrounding these episodes of escape (destinations, goods, companions) and the emotional aspects of some of the episodes are also analysed.

This study focuses on violent conflicts as a cause of the mobility of Maghrebi individuals and populations and also aims to contribute to explaining the perceptible changes and mutations in human geography during the medieval period.

Between the Maghrib and the western Sahel: mobility and inhabitation dynamics of Berber human groups in Saharan spaces through Arabic sources (3rd/9th to 8th/14th centuries)

Marta G. Novo — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyzes the most relevant textual evidence from the Arabic medieval geographical corpus, together with other kinds of testimonies, such as travel and ʿajāʾib literature or historiographical accounts, in search for the mobility, presence and settlement dynamics of Berber human groups between the Maghrib and the western Sahel between the 3^rd/9^th and 8^th/14^th centuries. Through the works of Ibn Ḥawqal, al-Bakrī, al-Idrīsī, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa and Ibn Ḫaldūn, and the systematization of the terminology that they apply to the different kinds of groups (qawm, ahl, qabīla, entre otros términos), mostly Ṣanhāja but also Zanāta and Hawwāra, this study will show the spaces that they occupy and the productive activities that allow this, from commerce and herding to Islamic studies or government. The mobility dynamics of Berber groups in the Saharan space for the greatest part of the medieval period will also be brought up, together with the continuities and transformations in settlement patterns and their relationship to production systems.

Resilience and Adaptation of the Maṣmūda to a Challenging Climate: The Case of the Sūs al-Aqṣà

Claudia Patarnello — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The southern region of the Sūs al-Aqṣà, which encompasses important enclaves such as Māssa, Tārūdant or Iŷlī, is described in medieval Arabic sources as a prosperous area in terms of crops and resources. This article sets out to explore how this wealth develops in a challenging climatic environment. To do so, it will analyse the historical climate of the region, within the phenomenon known as the 'Medieval Climate Anomaly', and its relationship to agricultural production. Through this, it will be seen how its crops, based mainly on cereals, are subject to changes in oceanic fluctuations, which bring with them the possible rainfall on which cereal production depends. Other climatic factors, such as snowfall and aridity, which also impact on the region, will be discussed. It will highlight the efforts of the inhabitants of Sūs al-Aqṣà to make use of fertile land in a semi-arid climate, making use of water tables and benefiting from rainfall cycles. This example is able to demonstrate how the climate, on the one hand, and the specific orography of the territory itself, on the other, influence the development of the lifestyle of the populations, acting directly on the work in the fields and the production of food. The adaptation of these populations, especially the Maṣmūda, to all types of ecosystems will also be highlighted, and it will be seen how this will be a very useful weapon that they will use to defend themselves against possible invaders.

Recesiones MEAH Sección Árabe-Islam, 2025

Autores Varios — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

AGUIAR AGUILAR, Maravillas; CABO GONZÁLEZ, Ana María; MONFERRER-SALA, Juan Pedro (coords.). Labore et constantia. Estudios andalusíes: ensayos selectos. Colección de Estudios Árabo-Islámicos de Almonaster la Real, 22. Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla 2022, 784 páginas. [Javier VILLAVERDE-MORENO].

AKMĪR, Yūssuf. Al-Uṣūl al-siyāsiyya wa-l-iŷtimā‘iyya li-l-‘alāqāt al-magribiyya – al-isbāniyya: 1875-1912. Tetuán: Dār al-Ḥikma, 2023, 334 páginas. [Rocío VELASCO DE CASTRO].

BRACCO, Carolina. Cine y Género en el Mundo Árabe. Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Libretto, 2024, 352 páginas. [Clarisa Danae FONSECA AZUARA].

CABO GONZÁLEZ, Ana Ma. El Kitāb al-Tağribatayn de Ibn Bāğğa y Sufyān al-Andalusī. Reconstrucción de la obra a través de las citas de Ibn al-Bayṭar en su Kitāb al-ğāmiʻ. Introducción, edición, traducción, estudio e índices. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2024, 367páginas. [Carmen GARRATÓN MATEU].

DE FELIPE, Helena y MANZANO, Miguel A. Magna. Una Geografía cultural y humana del Magreb. Granada: Editorial Comares, 2021, 272 páginas. [Mario JIMÉNEZ ALBARRAL].

FERRE, Lola. Isaac Israelí’s The Definition of Fever and Its Essence in Its Hebrew Translations: The First Treatise of The Book on Fevers: Accompained by Arabic, Latin and Old Spanish Editions and English Translation. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Press, 2023. 256 páginas. [Encarnación RUIZ CALLEJÓN].

GÓMEZ, Luz. Palestina: heredar el futuro. Madrid: Los Libros de la Catarata, 2024, 237 páginas. [Elena ARIGITA].

GONZÁLEZ ARÉVALO, Raúl y PERAL BEJARANO, Carmen. El Castil de Genoveses de Málaga (siglos XIV-XV). Un barrio comercial fortificado en el Mediterráneo islámico. Jaén: UJA Editorial, 2024, 320 páginas. [María Dolores RODRÍGUEZ-GÓMEZ].

IBN ḤABĪB. El Kitāb al-ribā de ‘Abd al-Malik b. Ḥabīb (m. 238/852). La doctrina legal temprana sobre la usura. Traducción y Estudio de Adday Hernández López. Colección Estudios Árabes e Islámicos. Serie Fuentes Arábico-Hispanas, vol. 37. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2017, 156 páginas. [Juan MARTOS QUESADA].

LÓPEZ ALONSO, Carmen. Hamás. De la marcha hacia el poder al vuelo de Ícaro. Madrid: Los libros de la Catarata, 2024, 190 páginas. [Rafael ORTEGA RODRIGO].

LÓPEZ OLIVA, Alberto Benjamín. Memoria e identidad: la diáspora árabe en Chile a través de su prensa. Granada: Universidad, 2023, 243 páginas. [Elena ARIGITA].

MARCHANTE MORALEJO, Carmen. La correspondencia de Annual. Escritos de los familiares de soldados y oficiales al Ministerio de la Guerra. Estudio preliminar y edición comentada. Melilla: Servicio de Publicaciones de la UNED-Melilla, 2023, 753 páginas. [Rocío VELASCO DE CASTRO].

PÉREZ BELTRÁN, Carmelo (ed.). Dinámicas de protestas en el mundo árabe. Desafiando a los orígenes autoritarios. Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada, 2023, 360 páginas. [Rosa SALGADO SUÁREZ].

SHAFIK, Ahmad y MOHAMED SAAD, Saad. El teatro de sombras árabe: historia, técnica y textos. Tirant lo Blanch, 2024. 192 páginas. [Rocío del Carmen LLORENTE NÚÑEZ].

VILLAVERDE-MORENO, Javier y JIMÉNEZ RAYADO, Eduardo (coords.). Fronteras de la península ibérica en la Edad Media. Nuevos horizontes conceptuales. Madrid: Dykinson, 2022, 173 páginas. [Julia MONTORO VÍLCHEZ].