Raḥmānān(Musnad:𐩧𐩢𐩣𐩬𐩬 rḥmnn, "the Merciful" ) was anepithetand theonym predominantly used to refer to asingular, monotheistic Godfrom the fourth to sixth centuries inSouth Arabia(though the term originates much earlier in Syria), beginning when the ruling class of theHimyarite Kingdomconverted to Judaism and replacing invocations to polytheistic religions. The term may have also been monolatrous until the arrival of Christianity in the mid-sixth century.
During the reign of the ChristianHimyaritekingSumyafa Ashwa,Jesuswas referred to as the son ofRaḥmānān.A few decades later, during the reign ofAbraha,Jesus was also described as theMessiahofRaḥmānān.
Etymology
editThe rootr-ḥ-mand its derivative words, originally referring not to a deity but just the notion of mercy, appears inAkkadian(sometimes an epithet for the godNinurta),Hebrew(occurring in theHebrew Bible),Old Aramaic(especially as an epithet for theMesopotamiangodHadad), in addition to many other dialects of post-biblical Aramaic includingSamaritan Aramaic,Christian Palestinian Aramaic,Palmyrene Aramaic,the Aramaic dialects of theBabylonian Talmudand thePalestinian Talmud(as the term appears in these texts too), andSyriac.It can be shown that Syriac was not the dialect of Aramaic through which the root reachedSouth Arabia.[1]
The South Arabian root is currently considered a loan fromJewish Aramaic.The form Rahmanan, as it appears in the South Arabian language known ofSabaic,is also widely agreed to be the source of the Arabic formal-Raḥmān,especially as both forms use the definite article (al-in Arabic,-anin Sabaic). Both therefore translate to "The Merciful".[2][3][4]
History
editAncient Syria and Mesopotamia
editThe earliest known usage of the term is found in a polytheistic bilingual inscription from northeastern Syria written inAkkadianandAramaicdedicated to theArameangodHadad.In Aramaic, it reads:‘lh. rḥmn zy. tṣlwth. ṭbh;"merciful god to whom prayer is sweet." The Akkadian version uses the formrēmēnȗin the place ofrḥmn,a title that was also used as an epithet forMarduk.Worship of the "Merciful One" (rḥmnn), under Mesopotamian cultural influence, became widespread in Syria in the first centuries AD.[5]
Himyarite Kingdom
editIn the fourth century, the conversion of the ruling class of theHimyarite KingdomtoJudaisminvolved the replacement of all polytheistic invocations in inscriptions to references to the one God. In the mid-5th century onwards, the epithetRaḥmānānbegins to be used to refer to this singular deity.[4]Two inscriptions to this effect are Ry 515 and Ry 520, which read as follows[5]:
Ry 515
Transliteration:5. rbhwd | brḥmnn
Translation:5. “By the Merciful, Lord of the Jews
Ry 520
Transliteration:
4.... lmr’hm
5. w |rḥmnn| b’l | smyn | lhmrhw | w’ḥškt
6. hw | wwldhw |rḥmnn| ḥyy | ḥyw | sdqm | w
7. mwt | mwt | sdqm | wlhmrhw |rḥmnn| wld
8. m | slḥm | sb’m |lsmrḥmnn
Translation:
4. “... For their Lord
5.theMerciful,Master of Heaven, so that he grant to him and his spouses
6. and to his children,the Merciful,to live a life of justice, and to
7. die a death of justice. And thatthe Mercifulgrant to him children
8. who are healthy who will fight for the name ofthe Merciful...”
Jewish influence on these inscriptions is evident from these and other inscriptions in their combination with biblical names, and additional epithets like "Lord of the Jews", "Lord of Heaven", "Master of Heaven and Earth".Raḥmānānwas believed to give a just life, grant children, and answer prayers. After the Himyarite Kingdom fell to theChristianKingdom of Aksum,the termRaḥmānānbegins to appear in Christian and sometimes Trinitarian contexts, as in inscriptions Ry 506, theMarib Dam inscription(CIS 541), and theJabal Dabub inscription.[5]The Jabal Dabub inscription, in particular, uses the term Raḥmān in a pre-Islamic variant of theBasmala.[6]
Two names of God are used in the inscriptionsJa 1028and Ry 515:Rb-hwd b-Rḥmnn,'Lord of the Jews by/with Rahmanan', andRb-hd b-Mḥmd:'Lord of Jews by / with the Praised'. They are connected by the prepositionb-,implying that the two gods are one entity. The two deities may have been distinguished, or syncretized.[7]Evidence from another inscription, CIH 543, may suggest that the two are separate entities.[8]
In total, extant Late Sabaic inscriptions use the termRaḥmānān58 times, none of which can be labelled as pagan or polytheistic. However, the theonym is sometimes used in a monolatrous manner, placing Rahmanan alongside the God of the Jews. One hypothesis holds that local Jews would have equated Rahmanan with the biblical God, whereas immigrant Jews would have seen Rahmanan as a local god to be invoked alongside the God of Israel. After the conquest of Himyar by the Kingdom of Aksum, the term was solely used to refer to the one biblical God.[2]Himyaritic epigraphy also sometimes uses the term synonymously withʾlandʾlh.[9]
The phraseal-Raḥmānappears in putative pre-Islamic poetry as a synonym withAllāh,but it is unclear if these appearances represent a later Islamicization.[10]
Aksumite kingdom
editAround 530 AD, South Arabia fell under the rule of the ChristianAksumite Kingdom.During this period, the nameRaḥmānānbegins to be used in Christian inscriptions, especially as a component ofTrinitarian formulas.[4]
Quran
editTheQuranfrequently uses the termal-Raḥmānto refer to "the Merciful One". The entry of the termal-RaḥmānintoOld Arabiclikely predates the Quran, as there is at least somepre-Islamic poetryusing the phrase that appears to be authentic.[11]Although Rahmanan was once its own name for the deity in South Arabia, and is sometimes used as such in the Quran, by its final redaction it had become an adjective modifying the word "God" as "the merciful".[12]
The lengthier Quranic phraseal-rahman al-rahim( "The Merciful, the Compassionate" ) is likely related to Himyaritic inscriptions referring torahmanan metrahim(with the same meaning). One example may be found in theJabal Dabub inscription,which opens with reads "in the name of Allah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim, Lord of the heavens".[13]
Islamic era
editTradition holds that during negotiations for theTreaty of al-HudaybiyabetweenMuhammad(representing the state of Medina) and theQuraysh(representing Mecca), the Qurayshi emissarySuhayl ibn Amrdemanded that Muhammad remove the oath "in the name of Allāh, al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm" from the written agreement, as for him, it would have represented an acquiescence to monotheistic practice. In its place, Suhayl said that the phrase "In thy Name O God" should be used, representing a generic oath for the highest god that was still compatible with notions of practice that were not strictly monotheistic. Though his followers objected, Muhammad agreed to the compromise.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Gorea, Maria (2023-01-01)."From the Aramaic raḥmānāʾ to raḥmānān and al-raḥmān".Millennium.20(1): 91–106.doi:10.1515/mill-2023-0006.ISSN1867-0318.
- ^abcKjær, Sigrid K. (2022)."'Rahman' before Muhammad: A pre-history of the First Peace (Sulh) in Islam ".Modern Asian Studies.56(3): 776–795.doi:10.1017/S0026749X21000305.ISSN0026-749X.
- ^Sinai, Nicolai (2020).Rain-giver, bone-breaker, score-settler: allāh in Pre-Quranic poetry.The American Oriental Society. p. 3.
- ^abcGajda, Iwona (2023)."Rahmanan".Ancient Arabia.
- ^abcKościelniak, Krzysztof (2011-11-07)."Jewish and Christian religious influences on pre-Islamic Arabia on the example of the term RḤMNN (" the Merciful ")".Orientalia Christiana Cracoviensia.3:67–74.doi:10.15633/ochc.1024.ISSN2450-2936.
- ^Al-Jallad, Ahmad (2022). "A pre-Islamic basmala: reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance".Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam.52:1–28.
- ^Gajda, iwona (2017). "Remarks on Monotheism in Ancient South Arabia". In Bakhos, Carol; Cook, Michael (eds.).Islam and its past: Jahiliyya, Late Antiquity, and the Qur'an.Oxford studies in the abrahamic religions. Oxford: Oxford university press. pp. 253–254.ISBN978-0-19-874849-6.
- ^Grasso, Valentina A. (2023).Pre-islamic Arabia: societies, politics, cults and identities during late antiquity.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 77–78.ISBN978-1-009-25296-6.
- ^Robin, Christian Julien; Rijziger, Sarah (2018-10-22).""The Owner of the Sky, God of Israel" in a new Jewish Ḥimyaritic Inscription Dating from the Fifth Century CE ".Der Islam(in German).95(2): 278–280.doi:10.1515/islam-2018-0050.ISSN1613-0928.
- ^Sinai, Nicolai (2020).Rain-giver, bone-breaker, score-settler: allāh in Pre-Quranic poetry.The American Oriental Society. p. 69.
- ^Sinai, Nicolai (2023).Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary.Princeton (N.J.): Princeton university press. pp. 342–343.ISBN978-0-691-24131-9.
- ^Bowering, Gerhard (2002). "God and his attributes".Encyclopedia of the Quran: Vol. II: E-I.Brill. p. 317.
- ^El-Badawi, Emran (2024).Female Divinity in the Qur’an In Conversation with the Bible and the Ancient Near East.Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 158–159.