reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

142 Hani Hayajnehits common tribal name, common tribal deity, and other common cultural featureslike 'tribal' calendar, eponym, etc. Such ethno-cultural entities occupiedries of several thousand square kilometers each." 107 Thus Korotayev sees a firstorder s 2 'bas an ethnic unit, a "tribe-nation."S 2 'bs of the second order "were considerably more politically centralized entitiesoccupying territories of several hundred square kilometers and headed byqayls. 108 Finally each s 2 'b 2 usually included several s 2 'bs of the third, lowest,order occupying territories of several dozens of square kilometers. S 2 'b of this ·•order were quite compact autonomous territorial entities with a marked centra(settlement (hgr) which gave its name to a whole s 2 'b of the third order. The lattercould be designated as "local community," but it also may be considered as a"section" of a tribe or a "sub-tribe."Concerning the interpretation of the word shii 'iib in the verse, I would applyit the translation of Christian Robin of the ASA term: 109 s 2 'b as "commuriity;" cf ..Ja 1028/7: b-s 2 'b dh-Hmdn ... hgrn w- 'rbn, "avec Ia commune de dhu-Hamda~... villageois et nomads."Hence, the translation of the verse could be modified to: "0 mankind! We ·created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into==~nities and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other).Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the mosteo us of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all7. ma~iini'Qur' an 26:129: wa-tattakhidhiina mas ani' a Ia 'allakum takhludiin.From the root ~11 ' different forms are attested in the Qur' iin (e.g. 11: 16). In allcases, except in the quoted passage (Qur'an 26:129), the meaning "to IJHJuu.vo,build, manufacture" is clearly meant. 110 The word 1na~a11i' has been subjectdifferent explanations by commentators and exegetes, as "cistern ofpalaces and immortal buildings, etc". 111 According to al-Qurtubi (d. 671/al-ma~ani' in the language of Yemen means "the lofty palaces." 112 The word inmorphological form and meaning is labeled by some Arabic sources as a Yword, and in fact, it continues to be used in Yemen with the same meaning. 113modern word can be traced back to ASA ~11' "fortify," t~n' "fortify oneself,"107 Korotayev, "Middle Sabaean cultural-political area," 62ff.108 The term qylwl is usually defined as "member of the leading clan in a s2 'b," Beeston eta!.,· Dictionaty, 110.109 Robin, "Joseph, demier roi de l:limyar," e.g. 27.110 I believe that in three furtherQur'anic passages, i.e., Qur'iin 7:137; 20:41; and21:80; the"to fortifY, etc." for the root can be applied.Ill See for example Al-Taban,Jami' al-bayan, 19:373ff.112 Al-Qurtubi,A/-Jami'li-a(tkam al-Qur'an, 13:122f.113 Al-Selwi, Jemenilische Wiirter, 135.Arabian languages as a source for Qur 'anic vocabulary 143nominal form, m~n 't "fortress, castle. " 114 The word appears in the Late Sabaicw-m$n 's 2 mr w rkbn w-rm ' w- m[khwn, "and the fortress of shmr, Rkbn,~ M[khwn" (Ry 507/5). 115 $an'a means to "be strong, strengthened" etc. in:. Old Ethiopic. 116 Therefore, I would strongly advocate translating the respected· as "And do ye get for yourselves strongholds in the hope of living thereinever)?Qur' an 34:16: fa-a 'ra(iii fa-arsalna 'a lay him say/a a!- 'arimi . ..'(Qur' iin 34) the story of the flooding disaster which destroyed the plantaofSaba' is described. The context here is clear enough for the exegetes and•Xic·ograplters to interpret the word 'arim as a semantic parallel of the Arabicsadd, "dam," and musannah, "dam with sluices." Other interpretations here(1) "heavy rain;" or (2) the name of the rat or mole which, according to theof the break of the dam of Ma'rib well known in Arabic sources, wastnS'tnuneiital in weakening the dam; or (3) a specific designation of the wadi inthe torrent flowed. 117 Ghul considers the association of the word with ASA·ru••c•u•utv self-evident. 118 ASA inscriptions show that it is a technical term relatedirrigation in ancient Yemen, and the word in the Qu'ran should be considered. ASA loanword. 119 The consensus among commentators that this word is affili­. with the Yemenite cultural sphere does not originate only from the subject ofitself, i.e. because it relates to Saba', but also from knowledge which hasinherited and accumulated from earlier generations that the word is a typical{e~nertite word. Al-Tabari quotes also a poetry passage attributed to al-A'sha,dhaka li-1-mu 'tasl uswatzm wa-Ma 'ribu 'affii 'alayhi al- 'arim, which.des:crilbes the disaster that affected the city of Mii'rib. 120 The word 'arim is usedto indicate the flood itself, not the dam. The word say!, "flood," in the·verse can be treated as a nomen rectum while the following 'arim,•.. . is a nomen regens, i.e. "the flood (caused by) of the dam," as suggested· 'some English translations. Thus, I would suggest the translation for ·the· Beeston eta!., Sabaic Dictionary, 143, and see W.W. MUller, "Athiopische Marginalglossen zumWorterbuch," inS. Seger! and A.J.E. Bodrogligeti (eds), Ethiopian Studies dedicatedWolfLeslau, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983, (275-83) 283.of South Arabian Inscriptions, available at (accessed::>.l'ebnmrv 2, 2011).Comparative Dictionary ofGe 'ez (Classical Ethiopic), 559. A detailed study of the rootits derivatives in the ASA, Classical Arabic sources, as well as in the Yemeni dialects isin al-Iryiinl, Al-Mu }am al-yamaniyy (a/if), 560.AI-Tabar!, Jami' al-bayan, 20:376ff.; Al-Qurtubl, Al-Jami 'li-a!tkam al-Qur 'an, 14:285ff.Early Sou them Arabian Languages, l89ff.Rippin, "Epigraphical South Arabian and Qur'anic exegesis" for discussion."'' ·"•-••n•n Jami' al-bayan, 20:378.