Shahrbanu
Shahrbanu | |
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هما ,شهربانو | |
Born | Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin |
Parent | (father) |
Part of a series on Shia Islam |
Twelver Shi'ism |
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Part of a series on Shia Islam |
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Shahrbānū (or Shehr Bano) (
Islamic legends state that Shahrbanu was captured during the
Shahrbanu is viewed as a saintly figure by the
Family background
Islamic histories regarding Shahrbanu generally state that she was a daughter of
Accounts are silent regarding Shahrbanu's mother. Yazdegerd is recorded to have had several wives and concubines,[15] with Al-Tabari and Ibn Khaldun making specific references to a marriage he had made to a woman in Merv.[16][17] However, Zameer Naqvi believes Shahrbanu's mother to have been a Sindhi princess named Mah Talat or Maha Talat. She may have been a member of the Buddhist Rai dynasty, with who the Sassanid emperors had maintained good relations. The present city of Matli, where her marriage to Yazdegerd supposedly took place, may have been named after her.[18][19]
In addition to Shahrbanu, the historian
Capture and marriage
Accounts of Shahrbanu's capture generally state that she was taken during the
When they sought to take the daughter of Yazdegerd to Umar, she came to Medina; young girls climbed higher to see her and the
Ali ibn Abi Talib) intervened and said to Umar: "Do not meddle, leave her alone! Let her choose a man among the Muslims and he will pay her price from the spoils he earned." Umar then said to the girl: "Choose!" She stepped forward and placed her hand on Husayn ibn Ali's head. The Commander of the Faithful asked her: "What is your name?" "Jahan Shah" she answered. And Ali added: "Shahrbanu also."[note 1]He then turned to Husayn and said to him: "Husayn! She will be the mother of your son who shall be the best of those living in the world."
There is disagreement between various accounts regarding the details of the story. In al-Kulayni's
Death
The earliest sources regarding Sharbanu make no mention of her ultimate fate, instead primarily focusing on the events of her capture and marriage.
Another account narrates that Shahrbanu lived to see the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. Having witnessed the massacre of her family during the battle, the princess drowned herself in the Euphrates to avoid the humiliation of captivity by the Umayyads.[27]
A third version, as with the previous account, states that Shahbanu was alive during Karbala, but includes a miraculous aspect to the story. It states that prior to his death,
Historicity
The historicity of Shahrbanu is highly debatable, with no source available which can truly confirm or deny her existence.
The first mentions of the mother of
There is therefore a consistency between the early sources that the mother of Ali was named Gazala or Solafa, and that she was an eastern slave belonging to Husayn. The dispute only arises regarding her original identity and subsequent fate. Ibn Babawayh however, also writing in the 10th century, records a Shia tradition which combines the two stories. It states that Ali was the son of a daughter of Yazdegerd who died in childbirth. He was subsequently raised by a concubine of Husayn's, who was publicly assumed to be his mother. When Ali later arranged for the concubine to be married, he was mocked due to the belief that he had given his own mother away. This tradition acts to support the earlier accounts whilst also providing an explanation for the contradictions. Based on the various testimonies, Mary Boyce surmised that Ali's mother was a Sindhi concubine, who he later freed and arranged to be married. The Shahrbanu story subsequently emerged to explain away the aspects which may have been viewed as unpalatable.[24]
It is also thought that the legend of Shahrbanu was used to provide a link between pre-Islamic Persia and Shi'ism, something which is thought to be an extremely important aspect for the Persian converts of the period. Through Shahrbanu, the
Iranian scholar and politician Morteza Motahhari argued against this reasoning, stating that the Shia Imams' potential Sassanid ancestry would not have especially attracted Persians to Shi'ism. Noting that the mother of the Yazid III is believed to be a daughter of Peroz III,[36] Motahhari added that the Persians had no equivalent inclination towards the Umayyad dynasty. Similarly, the Umayyad general Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad is also not especially esteemed based on his maternal Persian heritage. In addition to this, Motahhari asserted that Shahrbanu is not venerated in Iran above the mothers of the other Imams, who came from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds, such as Narjis, who is believed to have been a Roman concubine.[37]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (July 20, 2005). "ŠAHRBĀNU". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ Michael Curtis, Religion and Politics in the Middle East (1982), p. 132
- ^ a b Mehrdad Kia, The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. I (2016), p. 6
- ^ (1)Roudat al-Wa'zin, vol. 1, p. 237. (2) 'Uyyun al-Mu'jizat, p. 31.(3) Ghayat al-Ikhtisar, p. 155.
- ^ Al-Shiblanji, Nur al-Abbsar, p. 126.
- ^ Boyce, Mary (December 15, 1989). "BĪBĪ ŠAHRBĀNŪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9780857719652. Retrieved 23 April 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ (1) 'Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 466. (2) Siyar 'Alam al-Nubala', vol, 14, p. 237 (3) Kalifa Khayyat, al-Tabaqat, p. 238.(4) Al-Nisaburi, al-Asami wa al-Kuna.
- ^ (1) Al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 46.(2)Al-Imama fi al-Islam, p. 116. (3) Ansab al-Ashraf, p. 102. (4) AlBustani, Da'irat al-Ma'arif, vol. 9, p. 355.(5) Nur al-Abbsar, p. 136. (6) Al-Kamil, vol. 2, p. 464.
- ^ (1)Safwat al-Safwa, vol. 2, p. 25. (2) Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 1, p. 104.(3) Sir al-Si;sila al-'Alawiya, p. 31. (4) Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 21 p. 324. (5) Kulasat al-Dhahab al-Masbuk, p. 8.
- ^ Al-Ithaf bi Hub al-Ashraf, p. 49.
- ^ (1) Al-Mas'udi, Ithabat al-Wasiya, p. 143. Imam Zayn 'al-Abidin, p. 18
- ^ Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi. The life of Imam Zayn al-Abideen a.s. p20-21
- ^ a b Moshe Gil, The Babylonian encounter and the Exilarchic House in the light of Cairo Geniza documents and parallel Arab sources, Judaeo Arabic Studies, (2013), p. 162 [1]
- ^ Irving, Washington. Mahomet and His Successors (1872 ed.). Philadelphia. p. 279.
- ^ Habib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui (Devband), Syed Muhammad Ibrahim Nadvi. Tareekh-e-Tabri by Nafees Academy (in Urdu). Karachi Pakistan. pp. 331–332 Vol–III.
- ^ Illabadi, Hakeem Ahmed Hussain. Tareekh-e-Ibn Khaldun by Nafees Academy (in Urdu) (2003 ed.). Karachi Pakistan. p. 337.
- ^ Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi, Allama Dr. (2010). Princess of Persia – Hazrat Shahar Bano (in Urdu). Karachi, Pakistan: Markz-e-Uloom-e-Islamia (Center for Islamic Studies). p. 290 (Chapter-VIII).
- ^ a b Afsar, Mirza Imam Ali Baig. Sindh and Ahle Bayt (in Urdu). Tando Agha Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan: Mohsin Mirza Publication. pp. 34–36.
- ^ a b Matteo Compareti (July 20, 2009). "Chinese-Iranian Relations xv the Last Sassanians in China". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, The Authenticity of Shi'ism, Shi'ite Heritage: Essays on Classical and Modern Traditions (2001), p. 49 [2]
- ^ Peter Crawford, The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam (2013), p. 207 [3]
- ^ Carla Bellamy, The Powerful Ephemeral: Everyday Healing in an Ambiguously Islamic Place (2011), p. 209 [4]
- ^ S2CID 162849583.
- ^ Amir-Moezzi (2011, p. 52)
- ^ Boyce (1967, p. 61)
- ^ Amir-Moezzi (2011, p. 62)
- ^ Boyce (1967, p. 33)
- ^ Boyce (1967, pp. 35–8)
- ^ D. Pinault, Horse of Karbala: Muslim Devotional Life in India (2016), p. 71
- ^ Salo Wittmayer Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews - Volume 1 (1957), p. 270
- ^ Boyce (1967, pp. 33–4)
- ^ Boyce (1967, p. 34)
- ^ a b Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Christian Jambet, What is Shi'i Islam?: An Introduction (2018), ch. 2
- ^ a b Amir-Moezzi (2011, pp. 99–100)
- ^ Patricia Crone, The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran: Rural Revolt and Local Zoroastrianism (2012), p. 5
- ^ Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari (Translated from the Persian by Dr. Wahid Akhtar) (1989). "Islam and Iran: A Historical Study of Mutual Services – Part 2". Al-Tawhid (A Journal of Islamic Thought and Culture ). Retrieved July 2, 2016.
Further reading
- Alizadeh, Mahbanoo; Zand, Roxane (2013). "Bībī Shahrbānū". In ISSN 1875-9831.
- Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2005). "ŠAHRBĀNU". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Amir-Moezzi, Muhammad Ali (2011). The Spirituality of Shi'i Islam: Beliefs and Practices. London: I. B. Tauris.
- Boyce, Mary (1989). "BĪBĪ ŠAHRBĀNŪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 2. p. 198.
External links
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