Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

Notes 191
dans les Prolegomenes d'Ibn Khaldun (Algiers: Bibliotheque de 1'Institut
d'Etudes Superieures Islamiques d'Alger, 1951). This translation
poses a problem because the authors translate mulk as royautt thedcratique.
I consider this translation incorrect and in addition misleading
for the person who wants to understand Islam, because mulk has
nothing of the theocratic about it. It is precisely a power that claims
no God and no law except the passions and ravings of the leader. Ibn
Khaldun compares mulk, essentially and intrinsically human, to the
caliphate, which is a government of divine inspiration. So translating
mulk as royautt thtocratique adds a spiritual dimension Ibn Khaldun
precisely wants to deny. So I have used this translation, but I have
simply replaced royautt thfocranque by mulk. However, when it seems
to me that the translation does not render the Arabic text well, I have
translated that passage myself. And in such cases, I have given the
Arabic reference.
2 Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, pp. 190-1.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 See Lisan al-'Arab, the most entertaining dictionary currently available.
It is a work of history, linguistics, literature, etc., even including
anecdotes. In six volumes, it is a fabulous look into the depths of the
mind. Its author, Ibn Manzur, was born in Cairo in 630/1232 and died
in 711/1311.
6 All that I say in this paragraph concerning the imam and the caliph,
the sultan and the king, can be found in the following: Lisan al-'Arab,
sections on 'sultan', 'malik', 'caliph'; Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddima, ch.
26; Ibn Khaldun, Recueils de textes, p. 76.
7 For a clear, concise summary of the caliphate, see Louis Millot,
'Theorie orthodoxe ou sunnite du khalifate', in Introduction a I'ttude
du droit musulman (Paris: Recueil Sirey, 1970), pp. 48ff.
8 We will see in ch. 9, 'The Lady of Cairo', how the Fatimid queen Sitt
al-Mulk took the reins during a power gap created by the bizarre
disappearance of Caliph al-Hakim, and how she then administered the
empire — from her harem, of course. She was never officially recognized
as the ruler, and did not even claim the title of malika or sultana.
She was content to bear her own name, Sitt al-Mulk, Lady of Power.
9 Since one of the objectives of this book is to demystify history and to
make it easily accessible, I will make a point of revealing my sources,
to evaluate them, and especially to indicate how the lazy or the very
busy can get information quickly. But I also want to dispel the inhibitions
of intimidated readers and encourage them to go 'directly' to
those books of Muslim history which reactionary forces threaten us
with and use against us to block our rights. To do this, alongside the
'orthodox references' I will cite texts that explain the various phenomena
in a few paragraphs, and especially those which are easily avail-