Research
Socio-Historical Analysis of Islamic Sermon: The Genesis of Huṭbat al-ǧumuah (Fridays sermon)
In this article we will try to show the process of transformation that underwent the Arab oratory, the ḫaá¹Ã¢bah, from its genesis up to the construction of the cultual model of ḫuá¹bat á¹£alât al-ǧumu'ah (sermon of Friday's canonical prayer) spread today among Muslims. Our brief socio-historical analysis of ḫuá¹bah goes from the period called Ǧâhilliyyah (pre-Islamic, up to 610 AD) to the dominion of the Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 AD). We will see how the ḫuá¹bah in Ǧâhilliyyah was situated in a precise space-time framework and had specific socio-cultural functions, how its producers had definite roles and its development possessed well-known characteristics. The arrival of Islam sacralized this social practice, turning it into a religious rite, and so the ḫuá¹bat alǧumu'ah was born. The death of the prophet of Islam in 632 AD caused a charismatic emptiness that generated a conflict of a symbolic order (Pace, 20042). The protagonists of the discord used the ḫuá¹bah as a communicative tool to launch their own theological-political invectives. With the Umayyad hegemony (from 661 AD to 750 AD), this practice entered a period of great transformations.
