Read Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 Online
Authors: Khaled El-Rouayheb
Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 (73 page)
1
Ibn Kannān,
al-Hawādith al-yawmiyyah,
51—52.
Ibn Kannān,
al-Hawādith al-yawmiyyah,
51—52.
2
Nabulusi,
Taʿṭīr al-anām,
2:210
(liwāṭ)
and 2:294
(nikāḥ);
see also Munāwī,
al-Fuyūdāt al-ilāhiyyah,
fol. 70b—71a.
Nabulusi,
Taʿṭīr al-anām,
2:210
(liwāṭ)
and 2:294
(nikāḥ);
see also Munāwī,
al-Fuyūdāt al-ilāhiyyah,
fol. 70b—71a.
3
Muḥibbī,
Nafḥat al- rayḥānah,
1 : 395-96; Muḥibbi,
khulāṣat al-athar,
1 : 47.
Muḥibbī,
Nafḥat al- rayḥānah,
1 : 395-96; Muḥibbi,
khulāṣat al-athar,
1 : 47.
4
Muḥibbī,
Nafḥat al-rayḥānah,
4: 607-8.
Muḥibbī,
Nafḥat al-rayḥānah,
4: 607-8.
5
Vanggaard,
Phallos,
ch. 6.
Vanggaard,
Phallos,
ch. 6.
6
al-Alūsī, Mahmud,
Rūḥ al-ma ʿānī,
8:152.
al-Alūsī, Mahmud,
Rūḥ al-ma ʿānī,
8:152.
7
al-Baḥrānī,
al-Burbān,
2: 348, 4:233.
al-Baḥrānī,
al-Burbān,
2: 348, 4:233.
8
For example, al-Manīnī,
al-Fatḥ al-wahbi,
1 : 323, 325; al-Ishāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
125; the two quotations are from poems cited in al-Manini,
al-Fatḥ al-wahbī,
1:156,and in alʿAmilī, Bahaʾ al-Dīn,
al-kashkūl,
1 : 319.
For example, al-Manīnī,
al-Fatḥ al-wahbi,
1 : 323, 325; al-Ishāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
125; the two quotations are from poems cited in al-Manini,
al-Fatḥ al-wahbī,
1:156,and in alʿAmilī, Bahaʾ al-Dīn,
al-kashkūl,
1 : 319.
9
I have adopted the term “polarizing” from Halperin’s discussion of the classical Greek attitude toward sexual intercourse (Halperin,
One Hundred Years of Homosexuality,
30).
I have adopted the term “polarizing” from Halperin’s discussion of the classical Greek attitude toward sexual intercourse (Halperin,
One Hundred Years of Homosexuality,
30).
10
This seems to me to be the tendency of many of the contributions to Schmitt and Sofer, eds.,
Sexuality and Eroticism among Males in Muslim Societies.
For another criticism of the simplistic juxtaposition of ‟Western” and ‟Arab” attitudes, see Massad, “Re-Orienting Desire,” 363. 3.
This seems to me to be the tendency of many of the contributions to Schmitt and Sofer, eds.,
Sexuality and Eroticism among Males in Muslim Societies.
For another criticism of the simplistic juxtaposition of ‟Western” and ‟Arab” attitudes, see Massad, “Re-Orienting Desire,” 363. 3.
11
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawd al-ʿāṭir,
84; Mamayah al-Rūmī,
Rawdat al-mushtāq,
fol. 191a. For another example of sexual imagery being used in a case of rivalry for position, see Ṭālawī,
Sāniḥāt dumā al-qasr,
1: 217—19.
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawd al-ʿāṭir,
84; Mamayah al-Rūmī,
Rawdat al-mushtāq,
fol. 191a. For another example of sexual imagery being used in a case of rivalry for position, see Ṭālawī,
Sāniḥāt dumā al-qasr,
1: 217—19.
12
For recent examples, see AbuKhalil, ote on the Study of Homosexuality in the Arab/Islamic Civilization”; Hopwood,
Sexual Encounters in the Middle East,
176.
For recent examples, see AbuKhalil, ote on the Study of Homosexuality in the Arab/Islamic Civilization”; Hopwood,
Sexual Encounters in the Middle East,
176.
13
The strict juridical concept of
liwāṭ
will be discussed in chapter 3.
The strict juridical concept of
liwāṭ
will be discussed in chapter 3.
14
Jazā’irī’,
Zahr al-rabī
‘, 31.
Jazā’irī’,
Zahr al-rabī
‘, 31.
15
al-Hurr al- ‘Āmilī,
Wasāʾil al-shī ʿah,
14:248ff. (tradition 12). The term
ityān,
which I have rendered as “carnal penetration of,” clearly connotes assuming the active-insertive role in sexual intercourse, and passive forms of the word are regularly used to denote the assumption of the passive-receptive role.
al-Hurr al- ‘Āmilī,
Wasāʾil al-shī ʿah,
14:248ff. (tradition 12). The term
ityān,
which I have rendered as “carnal penetration of,” clearly connotes assuming the active-insertive role in sexual intercourse, and passive forms of the word are regularly used to denote the assumption of the passive-receptive role.
16
See
Dīwān kbidmat al-usṭā ʿUthmān.
On
lūṭīs
who are attracted to boys: 12, 26—27; on
bitāʿ al-ṣighār:
7, 37.
See
Dīwān kbidmat al-usṭā ʿUthmān.
On
lūṭīs
who are attracted to boys: 12, 26—27; on
bitāʿ al-ṣighār:
7, 37.
17
Shirbīnī,
Hazz al-quḥūf,
94; Murādī,
Silk al-durar,
2:206.
Shirbīnī,
Hazz al-quḥūf,
94; Murādī,
Silk al-durar,
2:206.
18
Khafājī,
Rayḥānat al-alibbā
1:431-32.
Khafājī,
Rayḥānat al-alibbā
1:431-32.
19
al-‘Umarī, ’Uthmān,
al-Rawd al-nadir,
1: 62.
al-‘Umarī, ’Uthmān,
al-Rawd al-nadir,
1: 62.
20
al-‘Umarī, Muhammad Amīn,
Manhal al-awliyā’ ,
1 : 228.
al-‘Umarī, Muhammad Amīn,
Manhal al-awliyā’ ,
1 : 228.
21
The image of the people of Sodom in the Qur’anic commentaries will be discussed in chapter 3.
The image of the people of Sodom in the Qur’anic commentaries will be discussed in chapter 3.
22
Saffārīnī,
Qar’al-siyāṭ,
fol. Iob. Again, the term
ityān
clearly indicates assuming the insertive role.
Saffārīnī,
Qar’al-siyāṭ,
fol. Iob. Again, the term
ityān
clearly indicates assuming the insertive role.
23
Bājūrī,
Hāshiyah,
2:240.
Bājūrī,
Hāshiyah,
2:240.
24
Jazarī,
Dīwān
, fol. 72a.
Jazarī,
Dīwān
, fol. 72a.
25
Irwin,
The Arabian Nights: A Companion
, 169.
Irwin,
The Arabian Nights: A Companion
, 169.
26
Compare Tīfāshī,
Nuzhat al-albāb,
141 (on the helpful tools of the pederast) with 144
45 (on the visible characteristics of boy prostitutes). Incidentally, Irwin’s references to hairy ankles, thin legs, and long robes are also inaccurate. Tīfāshī wrote that the boy prostitutes usually remove the hair from their legs and wear short robes that reveal their ankles. It is only those who do not shave their legs, or who have thin legs, who try to conceal this by wearing long robes.
Compare Tīfāshī,
Nuzhat al-albāb,
141 (on the helpful tools of the pederast) with 144
45 (on the visible characteristics of boy prostitutes). Incidentally, Irwin’s references to hairy ankles, thin legs, and long robes are also inaccurate. Tīfāshī wrote that the boy prostitutes usually remove the hair from their legs and wear short robes that reveal their ankles. It is only those who do not shave their legs, or who have thin legs, who try to conceal this by wearing long robes.27
E. Rowson makes a similar point in “The Categorization of Gender and Sexual Irregularity in Medieval Arabic Vice Lists,” as does T. Bauer, in
Liebe und Liebesdichtung
, 166.
E. Rowson makes a similar point in “The Categorization of Gender and Sexual Irregularity in Medieval Arabic Vice Lists,” as does T. Bauer, in
Liebe und Liebesdichtung
, 166.
28
For example,
liwāt
is called
al-dā al-ladhī lā dawā’labu
in a tradition cited i-n Bahrani,
al-Burhān,
2:348; but the very same tradition goes on to state:
-fa-ayy dā’adwa’
[variant:
a
‘
dā] min al-bukhl?
Muhammad al-Saffārīnīcalls
liwāt
a
dā
‘in his short tract
Qar’ alsiyā
t (fol. Iob), which relies heavily on
al-Dā’ wa al-dawā’
by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 1350). However, the latter work clearly uses the term
dāʾ
’in a broad, nonmedical sense, calling
jahl
the fundamental
dāʾ
, and repentance (
al-tawbh
) the most important antidote.
For example,
liwāt
is called
al-dā al-ladhī lā dawā’labu
in a tradition cited i-n Bahrani,
al-Burhān,
2:348; but the very same tradition goes on to state:
-fa-ayy dā’adwa’
[variant:
a
‘
dā] min al-bukhl?
Muhammad al-Saffārīnīcalls
liwāt
a
dā
‘in his short tract
Qar’ alsiyā
t (fol. Iob), which relies heavily on
al-Dā’ wa al-dawā’
by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 1350). However, the latter work clearly uses the term
dāʾ
’in a broad, nonmedical sense, calling
jahl
the fundamental
dāʾ
, and repentance (
al-tawbh
) the most important antidote.
29
Medieval Latin translations of Avicenna’s
Canon
(book 3, chapter 20) refer to
alubuati
(or
aluminati
or
alguagi
). Joan Cadden takes these to be Latinizations of the Arabic
al-liwāt
(“Western Medicine and Natural Philosophy” 64). They are in fact Latinizations of the Arabic
al-ubnah.
See Ibn Sīnā,
al-Qānūnfī al-tibb,
3 : 228-29. See also the discussion of this passage in Nathan, “Medieval Arabic Medical Views on Male Homosexuality.” Nathan, however, insists on using the unhelpful term “homosexual” to translate the Arabic term
maʾbūn
, even though, as he himself admits, the latter term only applied to the passive partner.
Medieval Latin translations of Avicenna’s
Canon
(book 3, chapter 20) refer to
alubuati
(or
aluminati
or
alguagi
). Joan Cadden takes these to be Latinizations of the Arabic
al-liwāt
(“Western Medicine and Natural Philosophy” 64). They are in fact Latinizations of the Arabic
al-ubnah.
See Ibn Sīnā,
al-Qānūnfī al-tibb,
3 : 228-29. See also the discussion of this passage in Nathan, “Medieval Arabic Medical Views on Male Homosexuality.” Nathan, however, insists on using the unhelpful term “homosexual” to translate the Arabic term
maʾbūn
, even though, as he himself admits, the latter term only applied to the passive partner.
30
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawḍ al-ʿāṭir,
23; Ibn Kannan,
al-Hawādith al-yawmiyyah,
38; al-Makkī al-Mūsawī,
Nuzhat al-jalīs,
I : 242; Tietze,
Mustafa ʿAliʾs
Description of Egypt
, 60.
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawḍ al-ʿāṭir,
23; Ibn Kannan,
al-Hawādith al-yawmiyyah,
38; al-Makkī al-Mūsawī,
Nuzhat al-jalīs,
I : 242; Tietze,
Mustafa ʿAliʾs
Description of Egypt
, 60.
31
Nuzhat al-udabāʾ
MS I, 95a; MS II, 208a. This work is sometimes attributed to a certain ‘Umar al-Halabī, who seems to have flourished in the seventeenth century. See Brockelmann,
Geschichte der arabischen Literatur,
Supplement, 2:414; and Arberry,
A Second Supplementary Hand-List,
no. 128.
Nuzhat al-udabāʾ
MS I, 95a; MS II, 208a. This work is sometimes attributed to a certain ‘Umar al-Halabī, who seems to have flourished in the seventeenth century. See Brockelmann,
Geschichte der arabischen Literatur,
Supplement, 2:414; and Arberry,
A Second Supplementary Hand-List,
no. 128.
32
Dīwān khidmat al-ustā Uthmān,
13, 31.
Dīwān khidmat al-ustā Uthmān,
13, 31.
33
Mamayah al-Rūmī
Rawdat al-mushtāq
, fol. 192b
193a.
Mamayah al-Rūmī
Rawdat al-mushtāq
, fol. 192b
193a.34
On Rāzī ʾs diagnosis of
ubnah
, see Rosenthal, “Ar-Razi on the Hidden Illness.” The Arabic text is reproduced in al-Tīfāshī,
Nuzhat al-albāb,
302-8.
On Rāzī ʾs diagnosis of
ubnah
, see Rosenthal, “Ar-Razi on the Hidden Illness.” The Arabic text is reproduced in al-Tīfāshī,
Nuzhat al-albāb,
302-8.
35
Anṭākī,
al-Nuzhah al-mubhijah,
2:216; Shaʿrānī,
Mukhtasar,
55; Qalyūbī,
al-Tadhkirah,
58. See also Jazāʾirī,
Zahr al-rabī
,
5II;
Ishāqī,Akhbār al-uwal,
48; Shaʿrānī,
Laṭā ʾif
al-minan,
2:211.
Anṭākī,
al-Nuzhah al-mubhijah,
2:216; Shaʿrānī,
Mukhtasar,
55; Qalyūbī,
al-Tadhkirah,
58. See also Jazāʾirī,
Zahr al-rabī
,
5II;
Ishāqī,Akhbār al-uwal,
48; Shaʿrānī,
Laṭā ʾif
al-minan,
2:211.
36
This last remedy is also mentioned in the discussions of Shaʿrānī, Qalyūīi, and Jazāʾirī. The idea goes back at least to Pliny the Elder (d. 79), see Williams,
Roman Homosexuality, 1
8o-81. A variant also appears in the medieval Western medical tradition. Albertus Magnus (d. 1280) suggested burnt and ground fur from the neck of
alzabo
(Arabic
al-ḍabʿ
) as an effective cure for “sodomy.” As pointed out by J. Boswell, Albertus’s source was probably a Latin translation or adaptation of an earlier Arabic medical or zoological work (
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality
316
17). Apparently, the Arabic
ubnah,
which refers to a condition of the passive partner, became role-unspecified
sodomia
in Latin.
This last remedy is also mentioned in the discussions of Shaʿrānī, Qalyūīi, and Jazāʾirī. The idea goes back at least to Pliny the Elder (d. 79), see Williams,
Roman Homosexuality, 1
8o-81. A variant also appears in the medieval Western medical tradition. Albertus Magnus (d. 1280) suggested burnt and ground fur from the neck of
alzabo
(Arabic
al-ḍabʿ
) as an effective cure for “sodomy.” As pointed out by J. Boswell, Albertus’s source was probably a Latin translation or adaptation of an earlier Arabic medical or zoological work (
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality
316
17). Apparently, the Arabicubnah,
which refers to a condition of the passive partner, became role-unspecified
sodomia
in Latin.
37
Ishāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
47; Ibn Nujaym,
al-Bahr al-rā
ʾiq,
5 : 50; Ibn ʿĀbidīn,
Radd al-muhtār,
3:201-2.
Ishāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
47; Ibn Nujaym,
al-Bahr al-rā
ʾiq,
5 : 50; Ibn ʿĀbidīn,
Radd al-muhtār,
3:201-2.
38
Buhūtī,
Sharḥ muntahā al-irādāt,
3:358; a similar ruling is given in Ibn Hajar,
al-Fatāwā al-kubrā al-fiqhiyyah,
4:201.
Buhūtī,
Sharḥ muntahā al-irādāt,
3:358; a similar ruling is given in Ibn Hajar,
al-Fatāwā al-kubrā al-fiqhiyyah,
4:201.
39
Ibn Ayyub, al-
Rawḍ al-
ʿātir, 1
O1; al-Isḥāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal, 47
.
Ibn Ayyub, al-
Rawḍ al-
ʿātir, 1
O1; al-Isḥāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal, 47
.
40
Nuzhat al-udabāʾ
, MS I, fol. 93b-97a; MS II, fol. 2o8a-2o9a (ch. II:
fī almustatrab min ahādīth al-maʾābīn wa al-mukhannathīn
) Tīfāshī, Nuzhtat al- albāb, 249-308 (ch. 12:
fī al-khināth wa al-mukhannathīn
); Isḥāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
44-48.
Nuzhat al-udabāʾ
, MS I, fol. 93b-97a; MS II, fol. 2o8a-2o9a (ch. II:
fī almustatrab min ahādīth al-maʾābīn wa al-mukhannathīn
) Tīfāshī, Nuzhtat al- albāb, 249-308 (ch. 12:
fī al-khināth wa al-mukhannathīn
); Isḥāqī,
Akhbār al-uwal,
44-48.
41
al-Khāl,
Dīwān,
fol. 35b. The term
ʿilq
is a colloquial term with the same meaning as
mukhannath or ma’būn.
This is explicitly stated in Barbir,
al-Sharb al-jalī,
230. See also M. Hinds and E. Badawi,
A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic
, 593, and
Dīwān khidmat al-ustā ‘Uthmān,
37: “No one washes his arse except the
‘ilq
boy so that he will be loved by
bitā‘ al-sighār.”
al-Khāl,
Dīwān,
fol. 35b. The term
ʿilq
is a colloquial term with the same meaning as
mukhannath or ma’būn.
This is explicitly stated in Barbir,
al-Sharb al-jalī,
230. See also M. Hinds and E. Badawi,
A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic
, 593, and
Dīwān khidmat al-ustā ‘Uthmān,
37: “No one washes his arse except the
‘ilq
boy so that he will be loved by
bitā‘ al-sighār.”
42
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawd al-‘āṭir,
79-80; Khafājī,
Rayhānat al-alibbā,
2: 125; Muḥibbī,
Khulāṣat al-athar,
1:47; al-‘Umarī, ‘Uthmān,
al-Rawd al-nadir,
68. The same insult
(euruprôktos)
was used in classical Greece, see Dover,
Greek Honwsexuality,
140; Thornton,
Eros,
11O.
Ibn Ayyub,
al-Rawd al-‘āṭir,
79-80; Khafājī,
Rayhānat al-alibbā,
2: 125; Muḥibbī,
Khulāṣat al-athar,
1:47; al-‘Umarī, ‘Uthmān,
al-Rawd al-nadir,
68. The same insult
(euruprôktos)
was used in classical Greece, see Dover,
Greek Honwsexuality,
140; Thornton,
Eros,
11O.
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