The ‘Alids

How did the descendants of the Prophet, known as the ‘Alids, become the“one indisputable nobility in Islam” (p. 1)? What did they do to attain and extendtheir influence? Is ‘Alid-ness only for men? And, how did their status influencethe Jews? Teresa Bernheimer answers these questions, and more, inthis first detailed study on their sociopolitical history in early Islam.This study is distinguished by a cross-sectarian and holistic approach, inthat the author examines the ‘Alids independent of whether they were Sunnior Shi’i, rich or poor, or rebellious or quietist. While the study focuses on ‘Alidsfrom the Abbasid to the Saljuq eras, as well as those in the eastern part of theIslamic empire, she presents her conclusions in the light of this social phenomenonthroughout the Islamic world, both past and present. In doing so, Bernheimerhighlights how members of this group saw themselves and were seenby others as a single body that transcended sectarian or cultural boundaries.After introducing the main question – how the ‘Alids attained and extendedtheir influence – the author explores it from four angles, each in a separatechapter. She begins with chapter 2, “Genealogy, Money, and the Drawingof Boundaries.” Here, she argues that ‘Alid genealogies do not merely continuethe pre-Islamic Arab genealogical tradition. Instead, while those genealogieslooked to the past, ‘Alid genealogies focused on the present – namely,the need to determine inclusion in and exclusion from the group because of“tangible and intangible” benefits, such as gifts (p. 31), as recorded in an illustrativeaccount of a wealthy but stranded ‘Alid hajji. In that regard, she sees‘Alid genealogies as being more akin to the dīwān instituted by Umar ibn al-Khattab (which Tabari felt had origins in Byzantine custom) in that both practicesassigned social rank along with financial benefits based on tribe.Chapter 2 also addresses the topic of false claimants. Bernheimer does notattempt to sift out false ‘Alids on the grounds that “[w]hat matters is that […]the sayyids themselves as well as the rest of society believed that they were ...