Divine and Human Hospitality in the Narratives of Sūrat al-Ḥijr : Towards Qurʾānic Narrative Ethics

The Necessity for Narratives in Human Life

In the Old City of Jerusalem, less than 200 meters from the Ḥaram al-Sharīf, the well-preserved, huge residence of Lady Ṭunshuq al-Muẓaffariyya (d. 800/1398) dominates the landscape and impresses the passers-by (fig. 3.1). It was built in the late eighth/fourteenth century, and at that time with a direct view of the Dome of the Rock. The edifice was one of its kind in its time and must have been so impressive that a legal document from 796/1394 refers to the whole precinct as “lady’s hill” (ʿaqabat al-sitt) and also Mujīr al-Dīn (d. 928/1522) mentions the grand palace in his historiographical work (Burgoyne and Richards 1987, 485; al-ʿUlaymī 1999, 108). Besides a main hall and stables on the ground floor, it comprises a big reception hall and a courtyard on the first floor and more than twenty rooms. Lady Ṭunshuq was living in Jerusalem by 781/1379 until she died in 800/1398 and with her wealth commissioned other architectural landmarks in the city, among them buildings for a Sufi order (Burgoyne and Richards 1987, 485 f.). No further information about her life is known and thus any attempt to define the original purpose of the palace remains interpretation. However, a Qurʾānic inscription framing a window and extending across the recess of the Western entrance to her palace welcomes its visitors and greets passers-by and pilgrims and may help to throw a bit of light on her way of seeing life (Van Berchem 1922, 307; see fig. 3.2):

“Enter them, in peace and security!” (46). We shall strip away all bitterness that is in their breasts; as brothers, they shall be upon couches, face to face (47); no fatigue shall ever touch them there, neither shall they ever be driven out from there (48). Tell My servants that I am the All-forgiving, the All-compassionate (49), and that My punishment is the painful punishment (50). And tell them of the guests of Abraham (51), when they entered unto him, saying, “Peace!” He said, “Behold, we fear you” (52). They said, “Don’t be afraid; we give you good tidings of a knowledgeable boy” (53).

Other Information

Published in: Behind the Story: Ethical Readings of Qurʾānic Narratives
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
See chapter on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004683167_005