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Examines how violence was described and evaluated in the foundational texts of Islam. How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed by an international range of eminent authors through both general accounts of types of violence and detailed case studies of violent acts drawn from the early Islamic sources. Violence is understood widely, to include jihad, state repressions and rebellions, and also more personally directed violence against victims (women, animals, children, slaves) and criminals. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our comprehension of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer. Key Features: Examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of different intellectual contexts * Takes a broad understanding of violence - from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence * Enables a better informed debate about the nature of violence in early Islam * Includes contributions from leading international experts including Michael Cooperson, Maribel Fierro, Geert Jan van Gelder, Christopher Melchert, John Nawas, Andrew Rippin and Dominique Urvoy

The goal of my research is to put together from scattered mosaics an intellectual portrait of Ibn al- Muqaffac, a complex and enigmatic thinker, and a key figure in the transmission of the late antique heritage to the Arabo-Islamic culture. This article is the third in a series. The first, “La Lumière et les Ténèbres dans l’oeuvre d’Ibn al-Muqaffac” (Light and Darkness in Ibn al-Muqaffac) was published in AOH Vol. 61 (3). In that article, I set out the rationalist and anti-Islamic ideas presented in works attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffac. The second article, “On the authenticity of al-Adab al ṣaġīr attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffac and the titles of the Kitāb al-ādāb al-kabīr, al-Adab al-ṣaġīr, al-Yatīma and the Polemic against Islam” was published in AOH Vol. 62 (2). This third article complements the picture of the rationalist and anti-Islamic Ibn al-Muqaffac that I have presented in the first article and shows another side of his attitude towards religion. According to the texts quoted here, the rationality of people is not enough to secure the peace of the individual soul, much less the peace of the state. The welfare of society requires a well functioning state whose cohesion is best ensured by religion.

INTRODUCTIONThe contrast between the attitude towards violence of the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament was already explored by Marcion (d. c. 160 AD) before the advent of Islam and has been rediscovered again and again since. Marcion saw the former as the creator of the world and God of the law and the latter as the good God, the God of love. The character of the former reflects a community's need for sanctified social norms, while the character of the latter shows the community's and the individual's longing for the hope of salvation. The God of the Qurān is also one of punishment and pardon. This chapter investigates the former aspect and focuses on: (1) the appearance of evil and violence in the universe as described in the Qurān; (2) the philosophical-theological questions revealed by this myth; and (3) its social implications.VIOLENCE AS REVENGEOne could expect the Qurān to indicate that violence was first committed by the Evil One. In the entire text, however, we do not find any violent act that would belong to the Devil. His crime is not violence, but pride and disobedience. According to the Qurān, the first ever to commit a sin was Iblīs, who refused to obey when Allāh ordered the angels to prostrate themselves in front of Adam. This first sin is the source of all the others. God interrogates Iblīs about the reason that prevented him from executing His order. Iblīs explains that since he was created from fire, he will not bow in front of a creature made of clay such as Adam.

G. Richter, F. Gabrieli, I. cAbbas and M. Zakeri conducted fundamental research on Al-Adab al- air which is attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffac. They concluded that this work is spurious. This view is generally accepted by most of the scholars. The primary objective of the first section of this article is to add some comments and information to their research, as well as to argue that Al-Adab al-a ir is very likely an authentic work of Ibn al-Muqaffac. It is plausible that he compiled Pahlavi texts which he translated, and prefaced this compilation with an introduction. In the second section of this article I will discuss the question of the titles of some of Ibn al-Muqaffac’s compositions, such as the Kitab al-adab al-kabir, Al-Adab al-sa ir, Al-Yatima, and the Polemic against Islam. This article is the second of a series on Ibn al-Muqaffac’s oeuvre. The first article of this series La Lumière et les Ténèbres dans l’oeuvre d’Ibn al-Muqaffac (Light and Darkness in Ibn al-Muqaffac) was published in a previous volume of the AOH (61/3). The next article of this series, “Reason, Religion and Power in Ibn al-Muqaffac”, will be published in one of the next issues.

This article is the first of a series, and the precursor of a monograph on Ibn al-Muqaffa c ’s work. I give here a short description of the period of his times, those times of ferment in which Arabo-Islamic civilisation was first formed, and then continue with a more detailed analysis of what is probably the most controversial work attributed to him. I set out to prove that this “Manichean Apology” — which is in fact a “Rationalist Critique of Islam” — is very probably authentic, and gives an insight into the ontological foundations of Ibn al-Muqaffa c ’s ethical and political system. The article concludes with a summary of his philosophy as it can be reconstructed from his works.