1/ Is it possible to convert to Islam without fully intending to?
Today's martyr is ʿAbd al-Masīḥ al-Ghassānī, an abbot of the famous Monastery of Mt. Sinai in #Egypt, who was executed for converting to #Islam and then returning to #Christianity in the middle of the 8th c.
Today's martyr is ʿAbd al-Masīḥ al-Ghassānī, an abbot of the famous Monastery of Mt. Sinai in #Egypt, who was executed for converting to #Islam and then returning to #Christianity in the middle of the 8th c.
2/ The life of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ was written in #Arabic and is one of the earliest Christian texts composed in the language
3/ He was born Qays ibn Rabīʿ ibn Yazīd. He hailed from the famous Christian city of Najrān in southwestern Arabia, or was descended from Najrānī Christians who had settled in Syria or Iraq. This made him a purebred Arab
(Here, the famous Martyrs of Najrān, d. 523)
(Here, the famous Martyrs of Najrān, d. 523)
4/ As a youth, Qays decided to visit the Holy Land (below, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher)
He travelled with a group of Muslim friends who were also "among the people of Najrān." But Qays never made it to Jerusalem, following his friends to the Arab-Byzantine frontier instead
He travelled with a group of Muslim friends who were also "among the people of Najrān." But Qays never made it to Jerusalem, following his friends to the Arab-Byzantine frontier instead
5/ There, they waged jihād for the thirteen years. Qays lived as a Muslim, "trampling every sacred thing as they did and praying with them"
6/ One day, when he was thirty-three, Qays decided to winter in Baalbak in #Lebanon
There he came across a Christian priest, and upon hearing him read from the Gospel aloud, he burst into tears and begged for forgiveness for his apostasy
There he came across a Christian priest, and upon hearing him read from the Gospel aloud, he burst into tears and begged for forgiveness for his apostasy
7/ Giving up his weapons, horse, and money, Qays found his way to the Monastery of Mt. #Sinai (pictured in the first post), where he eventually became the abbot. He adopted the new name of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ ("Servant of Christ")
8/ Later in life, he was spotted by his former Muslim companions in the city of al-Ramla in #Palestine. They accused him of apostasy, and after refusing to repent, he was executed
9/ The story of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ revolves around two conversion scenes: from Christianity to Islam, and from Islam back to Christianity. The author of the biography tries to portray the former as frivolous and accidental; the latter as deliberate and spiritual
10/ If there is any truth in the story, ʿAbd al-Masīḥ did not convert to Islam in the usual way. He did not recite the shahāda ("There is no god but God...") nor renounce his Christian beliefs. His conversion occurred as if by accident, simply by fighting with Muslim friends
11/ Many Christians fought in Muslim armies at this time. Qays may have been one of them, and his biography may be a warning against such collaboration
Fundamentally, it portrays sociability with Muslims as a prelude to conversion, indeed, as indistinguishable from it
Fundamentally, it portrays sociability with Muslims as a prelude to conversion, indeed, as indistinguishable from it
12/ The classic study of the martyr is S.H. Griffith, “The Arabic Account of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ al-Nağrānī al-Ghassānī,” Le Muséon 98 (1985) (which dates the martyrdom to the mid-9th, not mid-8th century as I do)
13/ You can read more about ʿAbd al-Masīḥ and other martyrs of the early Islamic period here: press.princeton.edu/books/hardcove… @PrincetonUPress
