É. Apor , I. Ormos (ed.): Goldziher Memorial Conference, June 21–22, 2000, Budapest.

SKJAERV0, P. Oktor: Goldziher and Iranian Elements in Islam

GOLDZIHER AND IRANIAN ELEMENTS IN ISLAM shown that both this book and the Zoroastrian scriptures were not written for the purpose of keeping a historical record of facts, but rather to show that history conformed to traditional epic and religious patterns. The much-cited Sasanian royal annals, often referred to by the Muslim historiographers as the Book of Lords (Xwadäynämag), were hardly any different from the tradition seen in Ferdousi's Book of Kings and the Zoroastrian scriptures and so cannot be used uncritically as a source for the history of the period. In his subsequent discussion of the conquest of Iraq, the centre of the Sasanian royal and religious administration, the fall of the Umayyads, and the reign of the Abbasids, Goldziher emphasizes the effect of what we would today call the substrate influence of Persian religion on Islam. He rarely quotes specific examples, however, so it is difficult to verify his statements, which, like the one I just quoted, are very general. Take for instance the following statement accompanying some statements regarding statecraft taken from the Sasanian Dénkard (Fr., 7; Eng. tr., 168): "You see what profound influence the Sasanian concept of the State exercised upon the Abbasid royalty and how much it emphasized its theocratic idea. You see how the latter was born in Persian atmosphere. Also, in its application and practical effects, we feel passing a breath of Persian tradition." [my translation] Among the specific examples that Goldziher does quote are the following: According to Goldziher, the idea of the merit that accrues to the reader of the Koran is a reflection of similar ideas in Zoroastrianism. Since he does not prove that such ideas did not exist among the Arabs before Mohammad, I do not see how this can be proved. As holy texts are all sacred because they were revealed by god, clearly, reading or reciting them does the will of god and is of benefit to the performer (Fr., 10-11; Eng. tr., 170-71). On the contrary, the notion of the scales (mizän) on which a person's good and bad actions are weighed is much more likely to have a Persian model. But the borrowing or adaptation of this concept should probably be seen in a larger context than Goldziher does (Fr., 11-13; Eng. tr., 171-72). As far as I can see, Goldziher does not, for instance, mention the notion of the al-Sirät bridge that leads across hell (see Monnot, 1997). This bridge is not mentioned in the Koran, but in the Hadiths, as being narrow as a hair and sharper than a sword, and the evil who try to pass across it will fall into hell, while the believers will pass with the speed of lightning. The scales and the Cinvat bridge are well known from the Sasanian Zoroastrian literature, where they feature in the accounts of the soul's journey after death, but also in those of the journeys of living men who have obtained the privilege to be shown what awaits man in the beyond in order for men to be more confident about the word of the religion. Goldziher does mention the Cinvat bridge in his discussion of the role of the dog in funeral rites (Fr., 17-20; Eng. tr., 175-77), but, as far as I can see, he does not make the connection with al-Sirät. The theme of the heavenly journey is also reflected in the Muslim tradition of the Mfräj (see Bencheikh, 1993). Another detail of the Mi'räj journey not found everywhere, is included in a Mi'räj-näme manuscript of the Bibliothéque Nationale 247