Dhu'l-Himma
Dhu’l-Himma (Dhat al-Himma). Name of the principal heroine of a romance epic of Arab chivalry. The main subject is the Arab war against the Byzantines during the first three centuries of Islam.
The full title of the romance epic is The Epic of the Commander Dhat al-Himma and Her Son, 'Abdelwahhab. The first three short episodes of the epic go back in time, introducing the generations from the Banu Kilab tribe leading up to Fatima, the Dhu'l-Himma -- The Woman of Noble Purpose. In the fourth episode, Fatima is born. It is explained that the wives of the brothers Zalim and Mazlum are both pregnant. The brothers agree that he whose wife has a son will become the chief of the Banu Kilab clan, with authority over all the Arabs in the region but that if both have sons or daughters they would continue their shared leadership.
Zalim's wife gave birth to a son, Walid, but Mazlum's wife gave birth to a girl. Mazlum was so disappointed the he gives the infant to a servingwoman to raise in secret and lets everyone think he had a son who died. This sets the stage for what would be a source of constant conflict between the two brothers, and their off-spring.
Dhu’l-Himma (Dhat al-Himma). Name of the principal heroine of a romance epic of Arab chivalry. The main subject is the Arab war against the Byzantines during the first three centuries of Islam.
The full title of the romance epic is The Epic of the Commander Dhat al-Himma and Her Son, 'Abdelwahhab. The first three short episodes of the epic go back in time, introducing the generations from the Bani Kilab tribe leading up to Fatima, the Dhu'l-Himma -- The Woman of Noble Purpose. In the fourth episode, Fatima is born. It is explained that the wives of the brothers Zalim and Mazlum are both pregnant. The brothers agree that he whose wife has a son will become the chief of the Banu Kilab clan, with authority over all the Arabs in the region but that if both have sons or daughters they would continue their shared leadership.
Zalim's wife gave birth to a son, Walid, but Mazlum's wife gave birth to a girl. Mazlum was so disappointed the he gave the infant to a servingwoman to raise in secret and let everyone think he had a son who died. This set the stage for what would be a source of constant conflict between the two brothers, and their off-spring.
The girl baby was named Fatima and was raised away from her parents. When another clan, the Banu Tayy, raided the Banu Kilab lands, the child was among those kidnapped and brought back to Banu Tayy territory. Fatima was handed over to a troop leader to serve as a servant. With the Banu Tayy, Fatima learned fighting skills by watching warriors at practice, and quickly picked up these and many other skills. Eventually, Fatima became a Banu Tayy warrior, -- a role that would bring her into direct conflict with her father, her uncle and, most importantly, her cousin, Walid.
Ultimately, Fatima came back into the fold and rejoined the Banu Kilab. She was now acknowledged by Mazlum as being his daughter. She also caught the eye of her cousin, Walid. Walid became infatuated with his warrior cousin Fatima and determined to not only marry her, but also to subjugate her. Walid, and his father Zalim, had the more general goal of taking complete control and of sidelining Mazlum, thereby creating tension between the two families.
Fatima came to loathe the creepy Walid. However, beyond that, she had no interest in marriage. She is reputed to have said:
"I am a woman who does not seek intimacy with men. It seems to me that God does not mean for me to be hidden away or confined. As you see, I like to fight. I am accustomed to swords and spears, not women's quarters. Caliph of the Merciful, my sword is my home. The dust provides my cosmetics. My horse is my family. What would I do with Walid or with any man?"
Despite Fatima's protestations, Walid repeatedly wooed her and tried to force her into marriage, and repeatedly Fatima repelled his advances. It got to the point that Walid even challenged Fatima to battle with the winner getting his or her way. However, when Fatima easily defeated Walid in combat, Walid still persisted in attempting to woo her.
Fatima was ultimately forced into marriage. although it was deemed to be a marriage in name only. She continued to keep Walid at a distance.
Walid continued to pine for Fatima. As her husband, he feels entitled to consummate the marriage. Unable to even approach Fatima, he resorts to drugging her. While Fatima is unconscious, Walid violates Fatima.
From this violation, Fatima became pregnant. She had a child. The child was named 'Abdelwahhab, and to the surprise of everyone, 'Abdelwahhab was black.
The black skin of 'Abdelwahhab led Walid to believe that Fatima had dishonored him. Walid lamented by saying:
"Fatima's infidelity is a personal offense. She renounced me for the preposterous reason that she prefers slaves! Now she has a black bastard, and she claims it's mine! The kid is as dark as night, and we're both fair. How can this be?"
The paternity of the child was adjudicated. In the adjudication it was noted that 'Abdelwahhab and Walid shared the same eyes, bone structure, and hands, even to the fingertips, and that, therefore 'Abdelwahhab was Walid's son. However, Walid refused to accept the truth of the matter and continued to feel wronged, further escalating the conflict between him and his father on one side and Fatima and her father on the other.
Eventually, Walid and Zalim went so far as to abandon their religion (Islam) and join the Rum -- the Greek Orthodox Christians living within the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia. Zalim was willing to do and say whatever was necessary to appease the Christians:
"We have come to learn that yours is the true religion. It is my duty to assist you in conquering the lands of Islam, destroying the Ka'ba and mosques, and capturing as many people possible."
Meanwhile, Fatima continued nobly and honorably -- impressing even the Byzantine emperor with her fighting prowess and cleverness when Constantinople was threatened by the King of Portugal.
Over time, the legend of Fatima grew.
Dhu'l-Himma or Sirat Dhu'l-Himma ("The Tale of Lady Dhu'l-Himma) became a popular epic of Arabic literature regarding the Arab-Byzantine war of the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods.
In its 1909 Cairo edition, the tale comprises 70 sections in seven volumes and 5,084 pages. The subject matter of the epic draws from the long history of Arab-Byzantine wars under the Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphs, until the reign of al-Wathiq in the mid-9th century, with elements from later events, focusing on the exploits of two rival Arab tribes, the Banu Kilab, who furnished the main characters, and the Banu Sulaym.
The tale begins with the story of the rivalry of the Banu Kilab and the Banu Sulaym during the early Umayyad period, when the Sulaym held command over both. The tale continues with the assumption of command by the Kilab and the participation of the Kilabite al-Sahsah in the campaigns of the Umayyad prince Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik against the Eastern Romans, including the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, his adventures in the desert and his death.
Al-Sahsah's two sons, Zalim and Mazlum, quarrelled over their father's inheritance. Mazlum's daughter, Fatima, the eponymous heroine of the epic, was abducted by the Banu Tayy, among whom she became a fierce warrior and was named al-Dalhama (Dhu'l-Himma). This is possibly the feminine form of the name Dalham ("wolf"), but was more usually interpreted as a corruption of the honorific Dhat al-Himma -- "woman of noble purpose", which also appears in the tale along with other variants.
At the time of the Abbasid Revolution (c. 750), the Sulaym under Abdallah ibn Marwan regained the leadership of the Arab tribes thanks to their support of the Abbasids. Through the intervention of Fatima, the Kilab acquiesced to this change, and together with the Kilab, the Sulaym participated in the renewed border warfare with the Romans.
The Kilab settled in the city of Malatya, while the Sulaym took over the fortress of Hisn al-Kawkab. Fatima's cousin, al-Harith (also known as Walid, the son of Zalim), managed to make her his wife thanks to a drug, and she bore a son, Abd al-Wahhab ('Abdelwahhab), who was born with black skin. When Abd al-Wahhab grew up, he took over the leadership of the Kilab, and his and his mother's subsequent exploits in the wars against Byzantium were the main theme of the epic.
Abd al-Wahhab was assisted by the cunning al-Battal, a Sulaymi who joined the Kilab, and who was opposed by the rest of the Sulaym, including the treacherous qadi (judge) Uqba, who had secretly converted to Christianity; the amir of Malatya, Amr ibn Abdallah (or Ubaydallah), who distrusted the Kilab even though he owed his life to Fatima. At the same time, Fatima's husband, al-Harith (Walid), went over to the Byzantines with a band of Arabs and converted to Christianity. In turn, the Muslims found allies among the Romans, such as the crypto-Muslim, Maris, the Byzantine emperor's chamberlain, and Yanis (John), the lord of a border fortress.
The epic follows its protagonists in a series of campaigns and adventures during the reigns of Harun al-Rashid, al-Amin, al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'tasim. To the end, the narrative is dominated by the Kilab-Sulaym rivalry, fuelled by Uqba's treacherous hounding of the Kilab and his spying for the Romans. The Kilab, including Fatima and 'Abdelwahhab, were captured several times by both the Romans and the Abbasid caliph due to Uqba's machinations, only to be set free after various adventures. Al-Battal played a crucial counterpart to the traitor Uqba, with each one seeking to capture and eliminate the other. Al-Battal often saves the day through his exploits, which brought him as far as Western Europe and the Maghreb.
Successive Eastern Roman rulers attacked and sacked Malatya, but were either driven off or defeated by the exploits of Fatima and 'Abdelwahhab. However, on the other hand, the Kilab frequently aided the Roman emperors in recovering their capital, Constantinople, from usurpers or from Western (Frankish) invaders.
Ultimately, Uqba's treachery is unmasked, and in the last, and longest, section he is pursued bty Caliph al-Mu'tasim and the Kilabit heroes across several countries from Spain to Yemen, before being crucified before Constantinople. On its return, the Mulim armhy is ambushed in a defile by the Romans, and only 400 men, including the Caliph, al-Battal, Fatima, and 'Abdelwahhab, manage to escape, but the amir Amr was killed.
In retaliation, al-Mu'tasim's successor al-Wathiq launched a campaign against Constantinople, where he installed a Muslim governor and rebuilt the mosque first constructed by Maslama and al-Sahsah. The tale then describes the death of Fatima and 'Abdelwahhab, as well as the final days of al-Battal, who lived long enough to witness the resumption of Roman attacks later in the century.
Al-Battal dies at Ancyra and his tomb remained hidden, until the Turks (in some versions the Mamelukes) arrived and re-discovered it.
Delhemma see Dhu'l-Himma
Dhat al-Himma see Dhu’l-Himma
