Colloquy and soliloquy in the Arabo-Islamic heritage : three religious interlocutors -

Abstract

Although a vast body of primary literature on the theme of munājāt (colloquy) exists within Islam, there is a lack of scholarly secondary sources on the topic. This thesis aims to remedy this dearth, only in part, by taking the Arabo-Islamic heritage specifically as a starting point. Despite offering a quick survey of works on the topic, while pointing out, whenever relevant, the similarities that Islam shares with Judaism and Christianity, I focus my work primarily on three figures: ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-Sajjād (d. 94-712 or 95-713) of Medina, al-Ḥārith b. Asad al-Muḥāsibī (d. 243-857) of Basra, and ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Ḥazm of Corboda (d. 456-1064). Since the topic of munājāt has not been systematically studied prior to this thesis, I have chosen the aforementioned three figures in hopes of covering a wider scope both spatially and chronologically, which enables synthesizing a comprehensive conclusion on the topic. Each one of these figures has engaged in munājāt with God (divine colloquy) or with his own self (soliloquy) or both, while also leaving behind works on moral conduct. I argue that the act of munājāt, whether with God or with oneself, engenders an ever-present consciousness of God, either directly through colloquy or through soliloquy. A colloquy or a soliloquy could remind one of God because reflecting on both one’s relationship with God and on oneself eventually leads to a continuous consciousness of God (Abraham being the paradigmatic example of this), urging one toward cultivating a moral outlook unto the world at every instant.