Abstract
Este artículo estudia la visión que Ibn Ḥazm de Córdoba (m. 456/1064) tenía del concepto de fiṭra, que aparece en el Corán (azora XXX, aleya 30) y en algunas tradiciones exegéticas. Basándose en este texto, Ibn Ḥazm afirma que todos los seres humanos nacen musulmanes, incluso los idólatras y otras clases de infieles, y que todos han de ser considerados musulmanes hasta que alcancen la mayoría de edad. En ese momento de sus vidas han de elegir entre reafirmar su fe y, si no son hijos de musulmanes, de elegir entre la religión en la que han nacido o renunciar a ella. Su decisión afectará a su destino en el Más Allá. La creencia de Ibn Ḥazm de que todos los niños son musulmanes hasta la edad en que puedan discernir y, por tanto, de que en caso de que mueran niños irán al Paraíso, tiene también implicaciones legales y, a través de ellas, se puede observar cómo actúan los principios Ẓāhiríes. Ibn Ḥazm muestra una tendencia a otorgar a los musulmanes la custodia de niños no musulmanes, así como a evitar que los nacidos musulmanes queden desvinculados de su religión. Ese es el caso de los niños expósitos o cuya paternidad es dudosa. Aunque, en general, no requiere que los niños no musulmanes fallecidos, que en el fondo son considerados creyentes, sean enterrados de acuerdo con el rito islámico, ordena que un niño, cuyos padres no sean musulmanes y hayan sido hechos cautivos, reciba un entierro musulmán. Aunque, a primera vista, estas normas parezcan confirmar las afirmaciones de Goldziher sobre «el fanatismo personal contra los seguidores de otras religiones» de Ibn Ḥazm, se observa también que, según su punto de vista, la indemnización que se debía pagar por la lesión del feto de una mujer no musulmana era igual al que le correspondía a una musulmana que hubiese perdido su hijo en las mismas circunstancias.
Highlights
A question much debated in religious communities is that of identity, of belonging: who belongs to the group, and how does one become a member of that group in case one was not bom into it? According to Jewish law, for example, a Jew is someone who is bom from a Jewish mother —^regardless of the ethnic or religious background of the father— or someone who has entered the community through conversion
Islam, which has much in common with Judaism on other points, is still a proselytizing religion that actively seeks converts, and those who were not bom of a Muslim father, or a Muslim couple, but wish to join the Muslim community will find that the entry requirements are relatively easy to meet
EarUer versions were presented at the international workshop «Individual Piety and Society» (Istanbul, 3-5 July 1998), which formed part of the European Science Foundation's Programme «Individual and Society in the Mediterranean Muslim World», and at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, Washington, D.C., 1999.1 greatly benefited from comments received during these two meetings
Summary
A question much debated in religious communities is that of identity, of belonging: who belongs to the group, and how does one become a member of that group in case one was not bom into it? According to Jewish law, for example, a Jew is someone who is bom from a Jewish mother —^regardless of the ethnic or religious background of the father— or someone who has entered the community through conversion. According to Wensinck, it was presumably in reaction to the harsh view of the Azraqiyya that a number of prophetic traditions were coined to the effect that everyone who is bom is born according to the fitra, and that it is his parents who make him a Jew, a Christian, a Zoroastrian, or a polytheist.^^ This tradition, of which there exist several different versions,^^ came to be widely interpreted as: everyone is bom a Muslim, and some are made into unbelievers by their parents This means, that the onus is on the parents, rather than on the child, whose inbom Islam, which is its natural disposition, is cormpted.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call