The <i>Ḥawqala </i>and the Syriac Version of <i>Zechariah</i>: 4.6bDer IslamSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/L38877KI/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.ElonHarveyThe <i>Ḥawqala </i>and the Syriac Version of <i>Zechariah</i>: 4.6bhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/L38877KIhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/L38877KIhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/L38877KIDer Islam99:1202238-62The popular Islamic formula known as the <i>ḥawqala </i>(l<i>ā ḥawl<sup>a</sup> wa-lā quwwat<sup>a</sup> illā bi-Llāh</i>) is first attested in Ḥadīth and other written sources from around the eighth century CE. A similar formula is Q: 18 (al-Kahf).39b (<i>lā quwwat<sup>a</sup> illā bi-Llāh</i>). Some scholars in the first Islamic centuries were concerned that the non-Qurʾānic <i>ḥawqala </i>would be more venerated than Q: 18.39b or confused with it. In this essay, I suggest in what respect the <i>ḥawqala </i>is related to Q: 18.39b. I argue that the <i>ḥawqala </i>is perhaps influenced by Zech: 4.6b (<i>lō be-ḥayil we-lō be-koʾaḥ kī im be-rūḥī</i>) and its Syriac version. Past scholars have noted the similarity between the <i>ḥawqala </i>and Zech: 4.6b, but the exact relation between these two phrases has not been fully explored. I therefore discuss the linguistic and thematic similarities between both phrases and note some Islamic traditions in which the <i>ḥawqala </i>is said to be of Biblical provenance. By this, I show that there is good reason to suspect that the <i>ḥawqala </i>is partly influenced by Zech: 4.6b and its Syrac version, and that this probably occurred at an early stage in the development of Islam when Jewish scripture was more regularly consulted as a means of confirming Islamic revelation.
Harvey, Elon. “The Ḥawqala and the Syriac Version of Zechariah: 4.6b.” Der Islam 99:1 (2022): 38–62. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1515/islam-2022-0003.
Elon Harvey, The Ḥawqala and the Syriac Version of Zechariah: 4.6b,” Der Islam 99:1 (2022): 38–62, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1515/islam-2022-0003.Muslim-Christian relationsOld TestamentQuranSyriac influence [Arabs]VII CEVII-XVIII CEZechariah