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Changes in Gender Relations

Gender relations are very sensitive to economic changes.  As the Arab-Muslim society underwent numerous economic, social and demographic changes during the era of the Rashidun Caliphate, so did gender relations.

Before we navigate the maze of gender relations in the Rashidun Caliphate, let us get familiar with the pre-existing situation in the conquered lands.

Marriage and families differ widely in various areas of the same country.  Differences are also present among religious, social or political groups living in the same area. 1  Individual households also differ from each other.  Actually, each marriage and family has its unique personality.  This text will unveil a few patterns that prevailed over the vast majority of families and will neglect the exceptional patterns that affected a minority of families. 2

The Christian family of the Middle East

From the beginning of its formative phase, Christianity emphasized two distinguishing norms.  One was firm opposition to divorce or remarriage and the second was a single standard of sexual behaviour for men and women. 3 The Christians insisted that both men and women should enter into marriage in a state of virginity and remain loyal throughout the marriage.  The rock bed of marriage among the Christians was monogamy.4

Christians expected chastity from a wife to protect the father’s legitimacy of children. 5.  Emperor Constantine, the founder of Byzantine Rome, promulgated family laws.  He regulated the protection of female sexual honour and accepted the traditional basis of social status in ascertaining female sexual honour.6.  The law continued to exist in Byzantine Rome with very few modifications. This law viciously punished men for violating free women but gave them immunity to sex with dishonoured women like prostitutes, concubines, and slaves. 7 Whatever the expectations of the church, we see that the state law accepted a double standard of sexual behaviour for men and women.

Practically, it meant that both men and women of good standing would produce children only within monogamous marriage, but men could have sex outside the marriage as well.  The law allowed such sex only with dishonoured women and with an expectation that the union would not produce children.

Prostitution was an accepted institution in Byzantine Rome, regulated and taxed by Roman authorities.  The law defined a prostitute as a sexually available woman.  Many prostitutes were actually slaves. 8. We know that men entered marriage a decade later than women did.  Never-married young men could be frequenters to brothels. 9. Concubinage was a semi-permanent relationship which did not qualify as marriage.10 Its usual form was a stable sexual relationship between a man and a socially inferior woman, usually his own freedwoman.11  Concubinage served mostly widowers who did not wish to remarry and produce more heirs. 12

One can safely assume that the facility of sex with a slave girl, a concubine or a prostitute was available to only those men who had higher purchasing power. Thousands of millions with average and low incomes had to be content with their monogamous marriage.  Sex outside marriage was a privilege that a man had to earn.

Paulinus of Pella boasts that he limited his sexual forays of adolescence to slave quarters and didn’t even know his illegitimate offspring.13.  Sex outside marriage did produce children despite all efforts from both sides to avoid it. Men didn’t want to know their illegitimate children.  It was a big issue and Byzantine Rome had laws regarding such children.14

Generally, man’s debauchery did not give rise to marital discords.  A partial explanation for this phenomenon is the wide social acceptance of double sexual standards for men and women in the Mediterranean region.  We can trace the roots of such expectations in the ancient Greek culture.  Plutarch, a first-century Greek philosopher, urges women in his Advice to the Bride and Groom to bear a husband’s escapades lightly.15

The Christians considered marriage a sacred union for their whole life and they strongly opposed divorce. Divorce was a tricky issue in Byzantine Rome and the state frequently had to change laws regulating divorce.  According to the divorce act of 449 CE, both men and women could divorce unilaterally but they had to give a justifiable reason for it. The penalties for unjustifiable unilateral divorce were harsher for women than for men. 16 Justin II’s government introduced a new clause into the law in 566 CE. According to this clause, none of the parties had to produce a justifiable reason if both mutually agreed on a divorce. 17 This was the latest about the divorce law of the land until Futuhul Buldan.

Women received dowry at the time of marriage. Men had to pay a donation, a pre-marital gift, at the time of betrothal. It worked more like a safety deposit than a true exchange since the property went to the wife rather than her natal family – remaining in the husband’s control unless he ended the marriage. 18

The study of the demographics of Byzantine Rome is less advanced as compared to that of the Roman Empire.  The availability of hundreds of thousands of burial inscriptions and census papyri offer a unique opportunity to know the demographics of the late Roman Empire. 19 The demographics of Byzantine Rome must not be entirely different from those of the late Roman Empire. Generally, both mortality and fertility were high and relatively stable in ancient societies. 20.  The estimated infant mortality rate of the Roman Empire is in the range of 25 to 35 percent.21 The life expectancy of a woman at birth was around twenty to twenty-five years, which increased between 34.5 and 37.5 years at the age of ten. 22  Due to the short lifespan, the average marriage lasted twelve years. 23  Perhaps one out of six marriages ended within two years of the marriage, and one out of four marriages ended within five years of the marriage, due to the death of a spouse. 24

Fertility is a function of female age at marriage, rate of marriage and remarriage, child spacing, and utilization of methods of birth control.25  Though the age of first marriage varied depending upon the class, most women got married by their late teens and marriage was effectively universal. 26 There was a very low incidence of birth control in Roman society, though a low frequency of remarriage reduced the number of births in older women. 27 Abandoning an infant was not uncommon and the practice must have increased the infant mortality rate and passage of an infant into slavery. 28

Each society has some kind of limitations on marriage. Probably Byzantine Christians had stricter limitations than Arab Muslims.

The Zoroastrian family of the Middle East

The Zoroastrian family structure of the pre-Islamic Middle East is much less studied than the Christian family.  Few differences between the Zoroastrian family structure and the Christian family structure of that time are known.

It is known that polygamy was officially allowed to Zoroastrian men. It appears they did not put any cap on the number of wives. 29 Zoroastrian males were allowed to marry non-Zoroastrian women. Khosrow Parviz’s chief wife Shīrīn was a Christian from Khuzestan. 30, 31

A striking difference between the Zoroastrian family and others was that of limitations of the marriage.  The Zoroastrians could marry their sister or daughter. 32

Zoroastrians were generally allowed to practice temporary marriage.  We don’t know the details of why it was practiced and under what circumstances.

The Jewish family of the Middle East

It appears that the Jewish family in the Middle East was not much different from that of Tribal Arabs.  The Jews practiced polygamy, like Arabs. 33

Patrilineal society

The Arab Muslim society did not have a problem adjusting to the societies of conquered nations as far as gender relations were concerned.  Wherever Muslim invaders reached, they found the society to be patrilineal.  ‘Let there be an oath of peace between the two of us, lasting until our deaths, and between our sons who rule after us,’ says Shahanshah Khosrow Anushirwan to King Maurius.34  Some matrilineal societies must be present on this planet by the time of Futuhul Buldan.  All of them were, for sure, limited to isolated cultures.  In such cultures, each family follows the culturally prescribed routine strictly.  No family has choices to make decisions about.

Man head of the family

Millions of families belonging to two big civilizations, Roman and Iranian, came under the management of the Rashidun Caliphate as a result of Futuhul Buldan.  Historic sources fail to document any female-headed family among them.  Male-headed families were the order of the day.  Arab Muslims must not have had any problem getting along with them in this sense.

Here, the point of note is that family has never been nor is a static entity. It is rather a set of processes that involve decisions about property, reproduction and marriage as family members course through the life cycle. Further, the family has been and is a place of conflict between husband and wife, parents and children. 35  When we label a family to be headed by a man, it does not necessarily mean that the man had absolute powers over his family members.  It simply means he had more weightage in the decision-making process and in the family feuds as compared to other family members.

Polygamy

Muslim Arabs met three main religions on their way to Futuhul Buldan.  One was Christianity, the other was Judaism, and the third was Zoroastrianism. Christians had only one wife. It is well documented among those living in Byzantine Rome as well as in Sasanian Iran. Both dignitaries and commons had to follow the rule.  Zoroastrians and Jews could have multiple wives. 36

Whenever a culture or civilization allows multiple wives, as a rule of thumb, everybody cannot afford it.  In the case of Sasanian Iran, probably it was limited to the rich and powerful only.  The first census of non-Muslims in Swad performed by the Rashidun Caliphate had established that there were one hundred and thirty thousand individuals belonging to thirty thousand families.37 Average family size can be calculated from these statistics.  It turns out to be 4.3 persons per family.  This small family size excludes polygamy from being practiced on a large scale among Zoroastrians.

Pre-Islamic Arabs had no problem with polygamy.  The practice continued with Islam. Details of many Arab Muslim families have survived.  We do not find a single instance where a man had more than four wives at a time. They had a cap on the maximum number of wives. 38  However, they didn’t have any cap on the number of sex partners.  A married male could have concubines on top of his wives.  If a concubine bore him a child, doesn’t matter whether son or a daughter, he couldn’t sell the concubine. Umm Walad remained part of his household for the rest of her life.  He could sell a concubine, or gift her to someone before she bore a child for him. 39

During the early years of Futuhul Buldan, Muslim Arabs started taking wives from the defeated nations provided they belonged to either Christianity or Judaism. 40 Umar was concerned that Arab men might find non-Arab women more captivating and might neglect their pre-existing Arab wives.  When his lieutenant governor over Tswyn, Ḥudhayfah bin Yāmān, married a local woman from People of the Book, Umar asked him to divorce her.  Hudhayfah asked the reasons for his request, including if it was against the tenants of Islam.  Umar informed him that marrying a woman from People of the Book was fully permissible in Islam and his request was purely out of social concerns. 41  Probably, Umar wished to discourage the practice but he didn’t have any laws at his disposal.  Hudhayfah divorced his non-Arab wife but others continued to practice it. 42

Large families

Arab Muslim society valued large families highly.  It counted children towards the wealth of a person.  Such notions were definitely costly.  People felt the pinch arising from a large family.  Once certain quarters asked Umar to increase their stipend on the basis that their family was large.  Umar refused, telling them that they were responsible for accruing a large family.  They were the ones who married numerous wives and took concubines. 43 On another occasion we hear that Sa’d bin Waqqas cursed his political opponents of Kufa by saying may Allah give you numerous children. 44 Having more daughters than sons was more of a pinch for Arab Muslims. The curse of Sa’d bin Waqqas, mentioned above, got fulfilled according to Tabari. The cursed man fathered ten daughters. 45

Temporary marriage

We hear of temporary marriage among Arabs during Pre-Islamic times. 46 It disappeared from Arab culture during the Rashidun Caliphate. Tabari notes a conversation between a common Muslim and Umar. This conversation is around the decree Umar had issued forbidding temporary marriage (mut’ah) which Arabs used to do with a handful of dates and could separate after three nights.  Umar admits that the Prophet had allowed it at a time of necessity. He says now temporary marriage is not needed because if anyone wishes he can still marry for a handful of dates and can separate after three nights. He further said that he was not aware of any Muslim of his age who had practiced temporary marriage or had gone back to it.47

Gender roles

Like pre-Islamic and Islamic Arabs, gender roles were well-defined in both Byzantine Rome and Sasanian Iran.

Arab Muslim society stuck to its traditional gender roles. Participation of women in Futuhul Buldan is anecdotal and opportunistic. A woman who participated in the Battle of Yamama from the Muslim side was Nusaibah bint Ka’b.  Her son, Ḥabīb, had gone to Musaylimah as an envoy of Prophet Muhammad.  Musaylimah had cut his hands and feet to irritate Prophet Muhammad.48  She is the one who had also participated in the Battle of Uhud from the Muslim side.49  She appears to possess a different personality as compared to other women of her time. She was one of the only two women who took the pledge in Aqaba along with seventy men.50, 51          

Generally, in societies where men are the political head of the family, women have an important role in the expression of the emotions of the family.  During the Rashidun Caliphate, Arab Muslim women fulfilled this role of theirs satisfactorily.  Wailing over the dead remained in the women’s department.  Men felt sad but they kept a stiff face.  Rather they formally expressed satisfaction with the death of a loved one if the dead was considered a martyr by society. 52

The woman continued to accompany her husband to the war, especially if he was one of the leaders of the army.  Fākhitah accompanied Mu’awiya to the campaign of Bosporus.53

Working women

Working women have been present throughout history.  Their number fluctuated in reverse proportion to men’s income.  During the era of the Rashidun Caliphate, the household income of Arab Muslims had increased many folds.  We do not hear of many Arab women working outside their homes.  We do not even hear of Arab women doing home-based commercial ventures, like spinning or tanning.  Such things might have been limited to the poorest of the poor Arabs.  Hinda bint Utbah started her own buying and selling business after Abu Sufyan divorced her.54  She might be beyond childbearing age by that time.  A woman had to work only when she did not have anybody to look after her.

The situation was not much different among the conquered nations.  Most women did commercial ventures from home.  Only women used to spin in Maqna, for example.55  The men of Maqna, a Jewish community, used to earn a livelihood by fishing.

A lot of women got jobs in the entertainment industry in pre-Islamic Arabia.  Sources are mute about the fate of prostitutes.  Singing girls, anyhow, continued their services.  It was a singing girl who sang a song in the presence of Muhajir, Abu Bakr’s governor over Sana’a, reviling Prophet Muhammad.  Abu Bakr had an objection to the contents of the song but not to the act of singing.56

The remuneration of women was market-related.  When they performed a job that needed lesser skills and involved lesser risk they got lesser pay.  Women who provided nursing and other services to the soldiers during the Battle of Qadisiyyah were paid lesser than the fighters.57

Age of marriage

The age of marriage for an Arab woman remained her menarche.  Umar married the daughter of Ali and Fatima, Umm Kulthum in November of 638 CE.58  She was the last born out of four children of her parents.  As Fatima got married around 622 CE, and died around 632 CE, it can be assumed that Umm Kulthum could hardly be twelve or thirteen years old at the time of her marriage.  Actually, Ali is on record being reluctant to marry her because she was still very young.  He agreed to marriage only at Umar’s insistence.59

The age of majority for men did not change either.  Ziyad bin Abihi (Abu Sufyan) was one of those who re-conquered Ubullah under the command of Utbah bin Ghazwan.  He was fourteen years old at that time.60

In the case of a man, it was not his age but his capability to look after a wife before he could enter into a marriage contract. The age gap between a man and a woman was not an issue in marriage for the Arabs. Umar was at least forty-five years senior to Umm Kulthum at the time of their marriage. Not only this, Umar was ending his middle age and she was entering youth at that time.

Virtues of a woman

Generally, the beauty of a woman was the most admired virtue of a woman in the Middle East.  The only virtue Sebeos mentions of Shirin, the wife of Khosrow is her extreme beauty. 61 The Arabs had the same attitude.  When ibn Muljam met Qaṭāi bint Shijnah, her only virtue that impressed him was her extraordinary beauty.  He forgot his mission and started dreaming of marriage with her.62  Mughira bin Shuba, while gifting a slave girl by the name of Aqīlah to Abu Musa Ash’ari, boosts that he had chosen her specifically for Abu Musa.  Tabari describes only one virtue of hers. She was extremely beautiful. 63 Generally, Arabs adored tall, fair-complexed ladies with black eyes. 64

Beauty could earn a woman admiration but not respect.  Respect was reserved for chastity and motherhood.  A woman was most respected in her role as a mother. Four sons of a woman of the Nakha’ tribe gave all of the booty they got from Qadisiyah to their mother. Then she returned it to them.65

Arrangement of marriage

Arrangement of marriage by parents or some other senior was the norm in the Middle East, even during pre-Islamic times.  It particularly holds true for very young people entering into a marriage contract for the first time and those who had a parent or a senior handy.  Seboes talks about a prince of Armenia, given a wife by Emperor Constans out of his relatives.66

Arranged marriage was popular among Muslim Arabs.  Sa’īd bin ‘Āṣ, future governor of Kufa was an orphan raised by Uthman.  When he grew up, Umar asked Uthman if Sa’id had a wife. Uthman said no.  Umar was surprised and asked Uthman why he didn’t organize a wife for this young man.  Uthman said he offered but he refused.  So Umar arranged a wife for Sa’id and after a while, Umar organized a second wife for him.67

It doesn’t mean arranged marriage was the only means to get married among Arab Muslims.  Occasionally, a bride and groom would settle the matters themselves.  Probably it was acceptable only when some elder was absent or away or the would-be couple was already mature.  When ibn Muljam started living in Kufa he met a woman of the Taym tribe by the name of Qaṭāi bint Shijnah.  Her father and brother were killed in Naharawan from Khariji’s side.  He asked her to marry. 68

Others’ approval of marriage was not something unheard of in the Middle East.  One of the terms of a treaty between Mu’awiya and the people of Cyprus was that they were not allowed to marry any Byzantine citizen without the prior approval of the Rashidun Caliphate.69

Arranged marriage was not a forced marriage. The relatives, friends or seniors of the would-be couple acted as their attorneys.  They weighed different aspects of the marriage proposal in conjunction with the would-be groom or bride depending upon which party they were representing.  Umar sent marriage proposals to many different families before his marriage with Umm Kulthum was finalized.  Each time his proposal got rejected either by the would-be bride or her family. 70

Selection of one person out of different proposals for marriage was the most important decision in life, especially for a woman.  Look at a piece of poetry recited by a brother-in-law (sister’s husband) for her sister-in-law (wife’s sister) when she was unmarried at the time of Qadisiyyah and was perplexed about whom to choose as a husband.  Three men had asked her hand in marriage.

If you are desirous of money, marry
Simāk, who is from the Anṣār, or Ibn Farqad.

If you desire a fighter, set your eyes
On Bukayr, when the horses wheel away from death.

All of them have a place at the peak of glory;
It is up to you – the matter will become clear tomorrow. 71

Marrying widow of brother

Marrying the widow of their brother was a social pressure on Arab men.  During the Rashidun Caliphate, this custom extended to fellow Muslims of equal ranking.  The marriage of Sa’d bin Waqqas with the widow of Muthanna bin Haritha after his death in the Battle of Jisr falls under this category.  Citations.  Leaving the widow of their brother on her own, begging for re-marriage, was contrary to mur’ua of an Arab.

Monetary transactions at the time of marriage

The men had to pay mahr to the women at the time of marriage.  Apparently, the mahr of noble-born previously unmarried women was high.  Umar paid a hundred thousand Dirhams as mahr to Umm Kulthum.72, 73  Mahr was usually negotiated before marriage.  Qaṭāi bint Shijnah asked Ibn Muljam three things in mahr.  Three thousand Dirhams, a slave, a singing girl, and the killing of Ali to avenge her father and brother.74

Women also received a dowry from their parents at the time of marriage. The dowry of Umm Kulthum bint Ali from her parents was valued at forty thousand Dhirams.75  Apparently, lesser dowry was expected from unmarried women.  The marriage of a widow was difficult if she did not have anything for dowry.  This is the reason Umar insisted on Fadl bin Abbas to pay some money towards the marriage of widows out of his income from Khaybar and when he refused, Umar denied him of any share from Khaybar. 76

Rituals of marriage

Only one function of feast remained popular during the era of the Rashidun Caliphate among Arab Muslims.  Ash’ath bin Qays bought the meat of an already slaughtered camel from the market and served it at the feast of his marriage with the sister of Abu Bakr in Medina. 77, 78  Apparently, Ash’ath could not slaughter a full animal as he was in debt at that time due to a huge sum he had paid for the ransom of his companions.

Domestic violence

Baladhuri notes an incident.  It not only demonstrates the existence of domestic violence in Arab society, but it also sheds light on the cause thereof.  Sa’d bin Waqqas took residence temporarily in Qaṣr al ‘Udhaib in Hira before the Battle of Qadisiyyah.  His wife, Salma bint Ḥafṣah, the ex-wife of Muthanna bin Haritha, often used to repeat, “O, Muthanna! But there is no more Muthanna to aid the cavalry!” Hearing that, Sa’d slapped her on the face; upon which she said, “Is it jealousy or cowardice, Sa’d?” 79

Divorce

Layla was the daughter of Jūdi of the Ghassan tribe.  Khalid bin Walid captured her in Dumat al Jandal during his raid to capture Udhaikar.  ‘Abd ur Rahmān bin Abu Bakr, son of the future caliph, fell in love with her.  He married her.  He gave up all his other wives for her.  Later, a disease changed her looks.  That time, Abdur Rahman divorced her (mut’ah) and sent her to her people. 80  This tradition of Baladhuri gives an impression to Muir that Arab men had the freedom of getting a woman, playing with her like a toy, and discarding her when they wished. 81  Isn’t it that journalists are more interested in exceptions and sociologists are more interested in patterns?  Baladhuri was a journalist of his time.  Probably the incident was too rare to catch Baladhuri’s attention. 82  We don’t have any statistics of divorce rates available, neither for Pre-Islamic Arabs nor for later generations.  In the absence of statistics, we have to search for anecdotes in historic sources to find out if any such problem existed.  Both Islamic and non-Muslim sources don’t report a barrage of divorces among Muslim Arabs during the times of the Rashidun Caliphate. One can assume that the divorce rate didn’t change during the years of the Rashidun Caliphate as compared to Pre-Islamic Arabs. Actually, marriage was an expensive affair.  Umar had to pay many times his annual salary to marry Umm Kulthum. 83  It explains his indebtedness at the time of his death five years after the marriage.84

Hinda bint Utba got divorced from Abu Sufyan in her old age.  She is one of few women of pre-Islamic times who are mentioned in sources. Her attitude at the time of the Battle of Uhud was not up to standard.  Abu Sufyan had to apologize for her behaviour.  Her attitude at the time of her acceptance of Islam was audacious.  It is not surprising that Abu Sufyan divorced her.  It is known that a dominant woman is a constant irritation in marriage. 85  Apparently, the causes of divorce remained the same as they were in pre-Islamic Arab society.  Boredom of a woman was not a widespread cause of divorce.  Actually, divorcing a woman was not simply an affair between husband and wife.  Their relatives and friends had to interfere when they got aware of such intentions.  Tabari gives a hint that when there was a dispute between the married couple, people tried to arbitrate between them.86

Property of spouses

The property of spouses remained separate, exactly as it was during pre-Islamic times.  Uthman’s wife, Na’ilah had her own property.  It was a waterway near Medina.87

Concubines

Capturing and keeping concubines was a pre-Islamic tradition in the entire Middle East.  Baladhuri mentions the ‘captured maids’ of Kisra in Tswyn.  They were brought from all quarters of the world and were lavishly adorned for him.88  Apparently there was no legal cap on the practice.

Muslim Arabs did the same thing.  John of Nikiu witnesses that the Muslims who invaded Egypt took women and children captive and divided them amongst themselves. 89

Taking the women of conquered peoples away must be very painful for them. Antiochus Stratego narrates, “Listen to me, my brethren, and I will relate to you what befell the holy mothers.  In Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, there was a monastery, in which lived holy virgins 400 in number.  The enemy entered that monastery, and expelled, like doves from their nest, those brides of Christ, blessed, worthy of life and blameless in chastity.  Having led them out of the monastery, they began to pen them in like cattle; and they shared them among themselves and led them away each to their own quarters …. 90  Antiochus Stratego is describing the scene of the fall of Jerusalem to Sasanian Iran during The Last War of Antiquity.  Some of the virgin nuns preferred death to losing their virginity, according to Antiochus Stratego. 91  This is the worst-case scenario of a war.  The women molested had vowed not to have sex throughout their lives for the sake of God.  They were gang-raped and abandoned to bear children on their own.

In the case of the invading Muslim Arabs, no historical source, including Islamic, non-Muslim and archaeological, blames them for raping women on the battlefield and abandoning them after the act.  Once they captured a woman, the law of the Rashidun Caliphate applied to her and her master.  Generally, a Muslim man could sell his concubine or give her to another as a gift provided she had not born any child to him. 92  Once she bore a child, she was called Umm Walad (mother of the born).  Umm Walad could not be sold or gifted.93, 94  Arab Muslims could not abandon a concubine after sex to bear and raise the child on her own.  Actually, there are instances where the master of an Umm Walad died and another man of his own tribe took over the Umm Walad and her child in line with the Arab custom of taking over the widow of their brother.  A woman captured in the Battle of Jalula was allotted to a man of the ‘Abs tribe.  She gave birth to a child, but the father died. Then Sharāḥbīl took unto him and she also bore him a child, who grew up among the Banu ‘Abs. 95, 96

The basic aim of common Arab men to capture a woman as a concubine, it appears, was to get children without paying mahr.  Sex could be a secondary advantage.  Khuraim bin Aus of the Tayy tribe quickly sold Buqailah’s daughter for cheap after capturing her from Hira when he came to know that she was not able to bear children.97 Some of the masters tried to convert their concubines to Islam so they could marry them. 98

We don’t know how badly or gently an Umm Walad was treated. We don’t come across any special statuary laws designed to protect them.  Probably, the treatment of them varied from person to person.  Anyhow, a number of people who transmitted traditions and made us able to generate a history of that period were born to Umm Walad.  One of them was the very transmitter of the tradition that Kisra had ‘captured maids’.  He was the son of one of them.99  It gives us an idea that many of the children of the Umm Walad got a chance of education similar to those of their pure Arab siblings.  Islamic sources generally mention Umm Walad along with her child from her master.  “Among the captives of Taghlib,” says Baladhuri, “was Ṣahbā’ bint Ḥabīb bin Bujair, who was the brother of the commander.  She was Umm Ḥabīb that time.  She bore ‘Umar to ‘Ali bin Abu Ṭālib later.” 100

Veil and segregation of genders

Umar allowed the wives of the Prophet to make the pilgrimage in October of 644 CE.  And he made a pilgrimage with them.  One (authority) says: “I saw the wives of the Messenger of Allah in the howdahs, wearing blue shawls.  ‘Abd al Raḥmān bin ‘Awf was in front of them and ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān behind them, and they allowed no one to come near them.”101  This was the special protocol given to widows of the Prophet.  Probably such rules of gender segregation did not apply to everybody.  Men and women used to meet each other and talk face to face provided their intentions were platonic.  A very important tradition recorded by Ibn Ishaq is the death of Ja’far bin Abu Ṭālib in the Battle of Mu’ta.  A man by the name of ‘Īsā from the Khuza’ah tribe narrated it to Ibn Ishaq.  In turn ‘Īsā had heard it directly from Umm Ja’far, granddaughter of Ja’far bin Abu Ṭālib.102  Men and women even transmitted traditions to each other.

Hudhayfa bin Yaman and Malik bin Harith al Ashtar who prayed over Abu Dhar brought his daughter back to Medina who was alone in Rhabdah.103  A woman of the Bajilah tribe by the name of Umm Kurz came to Umar to plead her case personally.  She had inherited a share in Swad after the death of her father in a battle.  She was not in the mood to forgo her inheritance.  Umar informed her that his decision was equally applicable to everybody and that each member of Bajilah had already complied with it.  Umar gave her some gold to satisfy her. 104  This is a classic example of man-woman interaction for administrative purposes.  The dispute came against the backdrop that Umar had asked the Bajilah tribe to return to the state the extra remunerations they had received to fight in the Battle of Qadisiyyah. 105

Look at another tradition transmitted by Tabari.  It not only gives insight into the extent of segregation of genders during the Rashidun Caliphate but also sheds light on some other aspects of gender relationships.

Sāriyah bin Zunaym, field commander of the forces of Rashidun Caliphate at Darābjird sent a messenger to Umar to give him the tiding of conquest along with booty and some gifts.  When the messenger reached Medina, he found Umar feeding the people carrying the stick that he used to drive his camel. The messenger followed Umar to catch him. Umar misunderstood that he was somebody who had not had his fill.  He told him when he had finally got to the door of his house to come in, already having ordered the baker to take the food tray to where the baking was done for the Muslims.  So when he sat down in the house, some lunch was brought for him, bread, olive oil, and coarsely ground salt, and put down. Umar asked his wife, Umm Kulthum, whether she would come out and eat with them. She replied, “I can hear the voice of a man!” Umar said, “Yes, indeed.” To which she replied, “Had you wanted me to show myself off in front of men, you would have bought me another dress!” Umar said, “Are you not pleased that people say, ‘Umm Kulthum is the daughter of Ali and the wife of Umar!’ She replied, “A lot of good that does me!” Then Umar told the man to come near and eat.  “If she were in a good mood, the food would be better than what you can see!” said Umar.  So they both ate together and when he had finished, Umar asked the stranger for his introduction. 106

Arab women in cantonments had to wear veils when they stepped out of their houses. When the prosecution charged Mughira bin Shu’ba with an illicit sexual relationship with Umm Jamīl and the witnesses testified that they had seen him with Umm Jamil with their own eyes, Mughira brought a point in his defence. He requested the court to ask the witnesses how they were able to recognize Umm Jamil.  She could have been his own wife Murrah. 107 It means Arab men could not officially claim that they had seen the face of an Arab woman and they recognized her in this sense.  Sources mention an Arab Muslim woman by the name of Ardah bint Ḥārith who turned her veil into a banner to participate in the raid on Mayṣān during the re-conquest of Ubullah. 108

Pre-Islamic Iranians probably practiced segregation of genders more than Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate did.  They did not expect the mingling of genders even for essential administrative purposes.  Whenever Iranian nobles had to ask the governing queen anything, we are told, they did not talk to her directly.  They talked through the intermediary of her chamberlain.109

Women at place of worship

Women used to attend mosques.  Now, we are not sure if all of them were expected there or few specific ones attended out of their own zeal.  They prayed separately from men.  It is evident from a tradition of Tabari.  When Umar sent a circular to all provinces in 635 CE to establish the night prayer of Ramadan as Sunnah and to recite Qur’an behind one imām, they organized two imāms. One for men and the other for women.110

Inheritance

We have already seen an example of a share of inheritance to a daughter. 111 Inheritance to a widow is also documented in historical sources.  Abu Bakr’s wives got a share in his inheritance after his death along with his sons. 112  The wife’s share was one-eight of the total value of the inheritance. 113  The share of the surviving parent was one-sixth of the total value of the inheritance.  This is what Abu Qaḥāfa got at the death of Abu Bakr. 114  The estate of the diseased was divided after paying all the debts of the diseased. 115

The willing of inheritance was possible.  Traditions differ about what portion of estate a person could will.  Mundhir bin Sawa wished to will at the time of his death but was unsure of the relevant Islamic rules. Amr bin As was at his bedside.  He informed Mundhir that Prophet Muhammad had allowed one-third.  This is what, Amr said, Mundhir could give to his close kinsmen, or assign it for welfare or grant it as a sadaqah which would be an inviolable grant of alms continuously paid to those upon whom he bestowed it. 116  In another tradition ‘Alqamah bin ‘Ulāthah of the Kilab tribe, the lieutenant governor of the district of Ḥaurān during Umar’s tenure, was on his deathbed.  A guest came to him by the name of Ḥuṣtai’ah of the ‘Abs tribe. ‘Alqamah bequeathed a portion of his inheritance equal in amount to the share of one of his sons to Ḥuṣtai’ah. 117

Sometimes people inherited unexpectedly after a death of a relative who didn’t leave any heirs behind.  The children of Utbah bin Ghazwan, governor of Basrah, inherited their living quarters from the sister of Utbah bin Ghazwan who was Fākhitah, wife of Uthman bin Affan.118

We can’t make more than this about the law of inheritance in the Rashidun Caliphate by surveying historical sources only.

Illicit sex

“Now, Xorhox [Khorhokh] sent [a message] to [Bbor] the Bambish [Iranian, “Queen of queens”] for marriage.  She accepted saying come to me at midnight with one man; I shall fulfill your wishes.  As soon as Xorhox reached the royal chamber at midnight, the court guards fell upon him and killed him,” tells Sebeos about pre-Islamic Sasanian Iran. 119  Here, Sebeos is shy to disclose the true nature of the message General Shahbraz sent to Queen Burhan.  The next sentence makes it clear.  The queen asked him to come secretly at midnight with only one companion so she could fulfill his wish.  As his blood was licit if he got caught in these circumstances, guards didn’t mind killing him.

We can never calculate the incidence of illicit sex because it is illicit.  We can confirm only its presence or absence.  Whichever culture or society we analyze, it is there.

Islamic sources record one incident of illicit sex during Rashidun Caliphate in detail.

Mughira bin Shuba was governor of Basrah for Umar.  He started frequenting with an Arab woman from Amir bin Sa’sa’ah by the name of Umm Jamīl.  She was a recent widow of Mughira’s tribemate, Ḥajjāj bin ‘Atik.  Four men of Basrah by the names of Abu Bakra, Nāfi’ bin Ḥārigh, Shibl bin Ma’bad and Ziyad bin Abihi (Abu Sufyan) caught wind of the affair.  They started keeping an eye on the lady’s house and one day, caught Mughira bin Shuba red-handed.  The quartet had hidden in their den outside the house.  A blow of wind moved the curtain over the window.  They could see Mughira on top of the woman.  They hurried to Medina to file a case in Umar’s court.  Umar dismissed Mughira bin Shuba from the post of the governor with immediate effect and summoned him to Medina.  The first three witnesses, Abu Bakra, Nafi’ bin Ḥarigh, and Shibl bin Ma’bad got their testimony recorded in clear words that they had seen Mughira performing a sex act with Umm Jamil with their own eyes.  Ziyad bin Abihi (Abu Sufyan) got shaky.  Initially, when Umar stared at his face he opened his statement, “I see the face of a man through whom Allah will not disgrace, a man who was a Companion of Muhammad”. Umar asked him impatiently, “What do you have to say, O cow’s dung?”  Ziyad replied, “I saw something shameful! I heard heavy breathing, and I saw feet intertwined, but I did not see anything like the mascara pencil in the mascara-pot”.  Umar dismissed the case with prejudice.  The three witnesses, who had testified in the court of law seeing Mughira perform a sex act with Umm Jamil with their own eyes, served a mandatory sentence of flogging for slander. 120, 121, 122

Interesting! So many points to note here.  First, the court did not summon Umm Jamil, neither as a defendant nor as a witness.  Second, at least four male eyewitnesses were needed to convict a person in a case of illicit sex, who should have seen the act with their own eyes.  Moreover, all four must have seen the act simultaneously and from an angle that they could perfectly see the genitals performing the act.  Third, bringing such a case against someone was not devoid of risk.  If one of the witnesses wished to change party, the other three automatically faced hurt and disgrace.

If this was the correct way to apply the law, obviously, the death penalty by means of stoning was already redundant. Who would take pains to organize four males, instigate them to spare time to witness the act together, and tolerate the disgrace of whipping in case one of the men is ambiguous in his statement?  The superior court has one very important role in society.  It creates a legal precedent bound on junior courts, sometimes for generations.  Umar’s verdict, in this case, was a trendsetter for Islamic jurisprudence.

Arab Muslim society continued to consider consensual sex outside of marriage as illegal, sinful and immoral.  The draconian law to prevent it remained on codebooks.  Its application, however, became impossible if such sex was carried out secretly.  Meaning such sex went underground – a kind of theft.  Furthermore, though sex outside marriage remained a crime against the state on paper, practically it became a crime against the husband.  The husband had to take measures to prevent it or punish the culprits.  Tabari reports there were still women in the cantonments who had illicit sexual relations with higher-ups like governors and tribal chiefs. 123  Nobody brought another case of sexual misconduct against his political opponents.  Next time everybody tried to frame the political opponents in alcohol drinking charges in which there was no risk of automatic admittance of guilt of slander on a witness’s part if the court dismisses the case.

In a lighter vein, a north Indian proverb says that stolen molasses are always sweater (chorī kā Gur mīthā hotā hay).  Mughira was married and he had concubines, too. 124  Still he got carried away by the charms of illegal sex.  He risked his repute, his carrier, his family’s honour, and his life.  The Mughira versus state demonstrates that power and wealth impress the woman and youth and beauty impress the man.  This formula does not change when gender relations change over time.

None of the sources mention any event of pre-marital sex during the Rashidun Caliphate.  As the age of menarche was the age of marriage, it is unlikely that pre-marital sex was an issue.  Generally, Arab Muslims frowned upon their daughters when they adorned themselves before marriage.  Once Ali saw his daughter being dressed up in finery and wearing a pearl from the treasury. Ali got really angry with her.125

The insistence on documented sex was to avoid confusion about the paternity of the child.  Once, a man named Ḥumrān bin Abān married a woman during her period of waiting (‘iddah) Uthman separated him from the woman, flogged him and then exiled him to Basrah. 126

Third gender

Non-man, non-woman people were looked down upon in the Middle East, even before the advent of Islam. Antiochus Strategos tells a story from Pre-Islamic times,  “King Heraclius sent a eunuch whose name was Nerses, his principal chamberlain.  He advanced with a numerous army to fight the Persians.  The multitude of the Persians drawn up in battle was defeated, and they fled in terror before the face of the eunuch: so that the Persians in great sorrow exclaimed once more: ‘How has this happened to us? For we have been worsted by a eunuch who is despised among women and is not reckoned a man.  And this piques our spirits all the more, that we flee before a woman.’ ” 127

The attitude continued during Islam. Sodomy was definitely illegal in the Rashidun Caliphate. Once, Abu Bakr burned Shujā’ Bin Warqā’ of the Asad tribe for passive sodomy. 128  Apparently, it was an unusual punishment as we don’t hear it repeated.

Wars disturbed gender balance in Arab society

Thirty years of the Ridda Wars, Futuhul Buldan and later the First Arab Civil War disturbed the gender balance in Arab society crudely.  They were all men who fought and they were predominantly Arab Muslims.  Instances of an abundance of unattached women are not difficult to find. Once, Umar went for an excursion into the desert.  There, he came across a watering place.  Four women were doing their chores there. They stood up for Umar out of respect. Umar asked them who they were and what were they doing.  Their mother was with them, and she answered that they were the daughters of Sufyān bin ‘Uwayf who had died in the war.  She informed Umar that the other men of the family had also died in the war.  Then she said philosophically, “Our menfolk have perished, and if the men have perished, the women are lost.  So, find suitable marriage partners for these girls.”  Umar arranged the marriage of one of them to Sa’id bin As, another to Abdur Rahman bin Awf, and a third to Walid bin Uqba. 129  Probably, Umar couldn’t find a man for the fourth.

It appears that Umar had to face women’s complaints arising from gender imbalance frequently.  On another occasion, the daughters of Mas’ūd bin Nu’aym of the Nahshal tribe came to Umar and told the same story, “Our men have died and [only] the youths are left, so find suitable marriage partners for us.”  Umar married Sa’id bin al As to one and Jubayr bin Muṭ’im to another.130  Here, one can find a reason why Umar arranged two wives for Sa’id bin As one after another – a shortage of men.

Dress code

So many Arab Muslims abandoned their traditional way of life during the Rashidun Caliphate and started living in big towns.  Life in big towns is always busy.  Families get self-absorbed and people do not bother to get to know each other closely.  Women’s dress fashion might have taken a shift under new circumstances. Umar is on record asking people not to allow their womenfolk to wear fine cotton clothes for even if they are not transparent, they allow the shape of their bodies to be visualized. 131  Immodesty in dresses might have invited irk of pious and elders.  However, the Rashidun Caliphate did not promulgate an official dress code with punishment for disobeying it.

End Notes

  1. For differences in marriage practices and family norms in different parts of the Roman Empire, for example, see: Michele George, ed. The Roman Family in the Empire: Rome, Italy, and Beyond.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  2. For the concept of family and its meaning to different people see: Reiss, I. (1965). “The Universality of the Family: A Conceptual Analysis.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 27: 443 – 453.
  3. See the series of sermons delivered by John Chrysostom, the archbishop of Constantinople, around 400 CE:  John Chrysostom, Propter fornications, De libello repudii, and quales ducendae sint uxores, In Patrologiae cursus completes: Series Graeca, ed. Jacques Paul Migne, (Paris: Apud Garnieri Fratres, 1875 – 1866), P 207 – 242. Vol 51.  See also: Manlio Sargenti, “Matrimonio Cristiano e societa pagana: Spunti per una ricerca,” Studia et documenta historiae et iuris 51 (1985): 367 – 391.
  4. Laura Betzig, “Roman Monogamy,” Ethology and Sociobiology 13 (199 2 a): 351 – 383.  AND Laura Betzig, “Romany polygyny,” Ethology and Sociobiology 13 (199 2 b): 309 – 349.
  5. See, for example: Asterius of Amasea, Ancient Sermons for Modern Times, trans. and ed, Galusha Anderson and Edgar Johnson Goodspeed, (New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1904), P 153,154. Sermon 5.
  6. Joelle Beaucamp, Le Statut de la femme a Byzance, 4e – 7e siècle. (Paris: De Boccard, 1990 – 1992), 109, 203 – 204.
  7. David Cohen, “The Augustan Law on Adultery: The Social and Cultural Context,” in The Family in Italy from Antiquity to the Present, ed. David Kertzer and Richard Seller, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1991), 109 – 126.  AND Thomas McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  8. Raymund Friedl, Der Konkubinat im Kaiserzeitlichen Rom: Von Augustus bis Septimius Severus, (Stuttgart: Frans Steiner Verlag, 1996).163.
  9. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 681.
  10. Raymund Friedl, Der Konkubinat im Kaiserzeitlichen Rom: Von Augustus bis Septimius Severus, Stuttgart: Frans Steiner Verlag, 1996.
  11. Joelle Beaucamp, Le statut de la femme a Byzance, 4e – 7e siècle, (Paris: De Boccard, 1990), 297.
  12. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 681.
  13. Paulinus of Pella, “Eucharisticos,” in Sources Chretiennes ed. Claude Moussy, (Paris: editions du cerf, 1974) 209, 68 – 70.  Lines 159 – 172.
  14. Joelle Beaucamp, Le Statut de la femme a Byzance, 4e – 7e siècle. (Paris: De Boccard, 1990 – 1992), 195 – 201.  AND Joshua Tate, “Inheritance Rights of Nonmarital Children in Late Roman Law,” Roman Legal Traditions 4 (2008), 1 – 36.
  15. Plutarch, Moralia, trans. and ed. F. C. Babbitt (Loeb Classical Library, 1928), p 297 – 342. Vol II.
  16. Codex Justinianus 5.17.10-11.
  17. Novellae Constitutiones Justiniani. 140 (566).
  18. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 690.
  19. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 684.
  20. Walter Scheidel, “Progress and Problems in Roman Demography,” in Debating Roman Demography, ed. Walter Scheidel, (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 1 – 81.
  21. Roger Bagnall and Bruce Frier, The Demography of Roman Egypt, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 32 – 36.
  22. Roger Bagnall and Bruce Frier, The Demography of Roman Egypt, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 84 – 90.
  23. Roger Bagnall and Bruce Frier, The Demography of Roman Egypt, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 123.
  24. Brent Shaw, “ ‘With whom did I live: Measuring Roman Marriage,” Ancient Society 19 (2002): 231.
  25. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 684.
  26. Roger Bagnall and Bruce Frier, The Demography of Roman Egypt, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 153 – 155.  AND Brent Shaw, “The Family in late antiquity: The Experience of Augustine,” Past and Present 115 (1987), 30 – 46.
  27. Roger Bagnall and Bruce Frier, The Demography of Roman Egypt, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
  28. Roger Bagnall, “Missing Females in Roman Egypt,” Scripta Classica Israelica 16 (1997): 121 – 138. AND William Harris, “Child-Exposure in the Roman Empire,” Journal of Roman Studies 84 (1994): 1 – 22.
  29. Khosrow Parviz had numerous wives. Sebeos asserts that it was exactly in accordance with his Zoroastrian religion. See: Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 41.
  30. Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 41.
  31. It is Shirin who is the main character of the renowned tragic romance of Shīrīn-o-Farhād. Farhād is an architect at Khosrow Parviz’s court.  (Parvaneh Pourshariati, Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab conquest of Iran.  (New York; Tauris & Co, 2008), 174.). See: Nīzāmī, Ganjavī, Makhzan ul Asrār, the treasury of secrets: being the first of the five poems, or khamsah, of Shaikh Nizāmi, of Ganjah, ed. and trans. Nathaniel Bland, (London, Society for the Publication of Oriental Texts, 1844).
  32. Generally, historians mention that the Zoroastrians practiced incest.  However, a detailed survey of sources does not elaborate on any example of a marriage between brother and son among them. Incest in the case of father and daughter or brother and sister was also permitted under certain conditions.  It was not widely practiced.  Dinawari mentions that Sīyāwush, son of King Kaykāwus had married his sister.  Siyawush got killed by the Turk king and at that time his sister was pregnant.  She bore a boy named Kaykhusraw who ruled after him.  (Abū Ḥanīfah Aḥmad bin Dāwūd al-Dīnawri, al-Akhbār al-Ṭiwāl, ed. Vladimir Guirgass, (Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1888), 15,16.) Bahman, the father of Sasan had married his own daughter.  Her name was Khumāna.  Khumana reigned after the death of Bahman and gave birth to his son by the name of Dara. This Dara became a king when he was 30 years of age.  (Abū Ḥanīfah Aḥmad bin Dāwūd al-Dīnawri, al-Akhbār al-Ṭiwāl, ed. Vladimir Guirgass, (Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1888), 30). During the war of Silla wa-Sillabra, a Khariji soldier pronounces that the Magians living between Safawān [a location near Basrah according to Yaqut Buldan III 97f.] and Khorasan marry their mothers, their daughters and their sisters.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XX, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989)169, 170.).  As the soldier mentioned the Zoroastrians in a negative sense, the statement only establishes that marriage between close family members is possible in their culture.  The statement does not establish marriage between son and mother.
  33. For the persistence of polygamy in Roman Era Judaism see: Walter Scheidel, “A Peculiar Institution? Breco-Roman Monogamy in Global Context,” History of Family 14 (2009): 280 – 29.  AND Margaret Williams, “The Jewish Family in Judaea from Pompey to Hadrian – the Limits of Romanization.” In The Roman Family in the Empire: Rome, Italy, and Beyond, ed. M. George, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 159 – 182.  AND Michael Satlow, Jewish Marriage in Antiquity. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001), 188 – 192.
  34. Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 20.
  35. Kyle Harper, “Marriage and Family,” in The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. Ed. Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 684.
  36. See above.
  37. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 46.
  38. Both Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Uthman had four wives each at the time of their death, though both were the richest.  (Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 810.  AND Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 254).
  39. For example see: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989),113.
  40. Jābir [an Arab soldier] says, “I participated in the battle of Qadisiyyah with Sa’d.  We married women from the People of the Book, as we did not find many Muslim women. When we returned, some of us divorced them and some of us kept them.” (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 159).
  41. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 159.
  42. For Hudhayfah’s divorce see: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 159.
  43. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 121.
  44. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 191.
  45. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 191.
  46. See above.
  47. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 140.
  48. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 140.
  49. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 140.
  50. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 140.
  51. Abu Sufyan’s daughter Juwayriyyah bint Abu Sufyan fought in the Battle of Yarmouk along with her husband. (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XI, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Khalid Yahya Blankinship (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993),100.).
  52. For instance see: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVI, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 97.
  53. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 94.
  54. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 133, 134.
  55. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 93.
  56. See: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. X, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Fred M. Donner (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 192).
  57. For lesser payment to women auxiliary staff at Qadisiyyah see: Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018),772.
  58. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 779. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 109, 110.
  59. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 779.
  60. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 172.
  61. Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 41.
  62. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 214.
  63. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 113.
  64. For the standard of beauty in Arab’s eyes see:  Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XXII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Everett K. Rowson (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 126.
  65. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 99.
  66. Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 140.
  67. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 56, 57.
  68. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 214.
  69. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 31.
  70. For details see: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 102.
  71. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 147.
  72. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 779.
  73. Ya’qūbī gives the figure in Dinars.  Dirhams are converted at a rate of one Dinar for ten Dirhams for convenience of reading.
  74. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 214.
  75. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 101.
  76. Muhammad bin ‘Umar al-Wāqidī, The life of Muḥammad:  kitāb al-Maghāzī, Ed. Rizwi Faizer, Trans. Rizwi Faizer, Amal Ismail and AbdulKader Tayob.  (London: Routledge, 2011), 343.
  77. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 155.
  78. The sister of Abu Bakr was either Farwah bint Quhafah or Quraibah.  (Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 155.).
  79. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 413.
  80. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 97.
  81. William Muir, The Caliphate; its rise, Decline and Fall, from Original Sources (Edinburgh: John Grant, 1915), 182, 183.
  82. Actually Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr had a unique attitude towards women.  When he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid bin Mu’awiya, Mu’awiya consoled Yazid not to take this refusal seriously. According to Mu’awiya Ibn, Abu Bakr was interested in only women and pleasure so he was harmless.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Michael G. Morony (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987), 208.)
  83. Umar’s exact salary is not known.  Presumably, he got the same salary which Abu Bakr got because sources don’t report an increase in the caliph’s salary throughout the years of the Rashidun Caliphate.
  84. Umar owed to the public treasure eighty thousand Dirhams at the time of his death.  His son returned it after selling Umar’s property.  (Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 793).
  85. Glen E. Weisfeld and Carol C. Weisfeld, “Marriage: An Evolutionary Perspective,” Neuroendocrinology Letters 23, Suppl. 4 (Dec 2002):47 – 54.
  86. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 101.
  87. Al-Imām abu-l ‘Abbās Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 21). 29.
  88. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 419.
  89. John of Nikiu, The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu Trans. R. H. Charles (Oxford: Williams & Norgate, 1916), 189.
  90. Antiochus Stratego: F. Conybeare, “Antiochus Strategos’ Account of the Sack of Jerusalem (614),” English Historical Review 25 (1910), 502 – 517.
  91. Antiochus Stratego: F. Conybeare, “Antiochus Strategos’ Account of the Sack of Jerusalem (614),” English Historical Review 25 (1910), 502 – 517.
  92. For an example of gifting a concubine see: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 110.
  93. When Umar ordered that all slave women of Arab origin be freed, he specifically made one exception.  Those who had born a child to their master were to remain with their masters.    See: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. X, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Fred M. Donner (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 189.
  94. At one point Tabari presents in the form of a dialogue between a common Muslim and Umar that Umar made the emancipation of a slave girl possible after she gives birth, without her master’s [consent].   (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 140).  It must be something different Tabari wished to communicate because Smith is clear that Umm Walad had to wait for her master’s death to be free.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), P 140, footnote).  She was not a wife.  In this sense, she could not take divorce and the master could not divorce her.  Both were stuck with each other.
  95. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 44.
  96. This woman was the mother of Sha’bī, one of the transmitters of traditions in Tabari’s account.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 44)
  97. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 392.
  98. See for example: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XXII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Everett K. Rowson (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 126.
  99. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 419.
  100. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 169.
  101. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 790.
  102. Ibn Ishaq the life of Muhammad Tr. And ed. A. Guillaume Oxford University Press Karachi 2013; 13th Impression.  535.
  103. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 815.
  104. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 425.
  105. See above.
  106. See: Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 72, 84.
  107. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 113.
  108. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Yohanan Friedmann (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 170.
  109. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XI, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Khalid Yahya Blankinship (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 203.
  110. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 114, 115.
  111. See above
  112. Muhammad bin ‘Umar al-Wāqidī, The life of Muḥammad: kitāb al-Maghāzī, Ed. Rizwi Faizer, Trans. Rizwi Faizer, Amal Ismail and AbdulKader Tayob.  (London: Routledge, 2011), 343.
  113. This is what the widows of Abdur Rahman bin Awf received.  See: Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 810.
  114. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 763.
  115. Thus, ‘Umar’s debt was paid before any other distribution.  See above.
  116. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. X, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Fred M. Donner (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 136.
  117. Aḥmad ibn-Jābir al-Balādhuri.  Kitāb Futūh al-Buldān, ed. and trans. Philip Khūri Ḥitti, (New York: Columbia University, 1916), 197.
  118. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 131.
  119. Sebeos, Sebeos’ History ed. and trans. Robert Bedrosian (New York: Sources of the Armenian Tradition, 1985), 115.
  120. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018),773, 774, 775.  AND Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989),110, 111.
  121. Ya’qubi’s narration gives an impression that Ziyad had made up his mind from the onset of the case that he was not going to testify against Mughira.  He opened his statement with a sentence “I see the face of a man through whom Allah will not disgrace a man who was a Companion of Muhammad.”   (Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 773, 774, 775. Tabari’s narration gives a different impression that Ziyad got off the ground during cross-examination.  The court had picked that the position of the couple in Ziyad’s testimony was different from that described by the other three witnesses. The court pointed it out to Ziyad and confronted him if he had really seen the act with his own eyes. Ziyad got defensive and stated that he had not seen the genitals engaged with each other.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989),113).
  122. The court did not exonerate Mughira bin Shu’ba.  He got acquitted due to a lack of evidence.  Umar said after the case was over that he would have stoned Mughira if all testimony had come to be true.  When Mughira talked insultingly about the witnesses after they were flogged, Umar rebuked him saying he would have stoned him if the testimony was valid.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989),114.
  123. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 111.
  124. Mughira gifted one of his concubines to Abu Musa Ash’ari when the later reached Basrah with warrants for Mughira.  Mughira had specially chosen her for Abu Musa, probably out of some other concubines.  (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 110).  The name of his wife was Murrah. (Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. Gautier H. A. Juynboll (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 111).
  125. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XVII, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. R. Hawting (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 230.
  126. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 126, 127.
  127. Antiochus Stratego: F. Conybeare, “Antiochus Strategos’ Account of the Sack of Jerusalem (614),” English Historical Review 25 (1910), 502 – 517.
  128. Ya’qūbī, Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-, The Works of Ibn Wāḍīḥ al-Ya’qūbī: An English Translation, Eds. and Trans. Matthew S. Gordon, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson and Michael Fishbein, (Leiden: Brill, 2018), 759.
  129. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 57.
  130. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. R. Stephen Humphreys (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 57.
  131. Abū Jā’far Muḥammad bin Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, The History of al- Ṭabarī. Vol. XIV, ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater, trans. G. Rex Smith (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 125.
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