Robert Bertram Serjeant, Arabist,
born Edinburgh 23 March 1915, Lecturer in Arabic, School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1945-47,
Colonial Research fellow 1947, Reader 1948-55, Professor of
Modern Arabic 1955-64, Lecturer in Islamic History, University
of Cambridge 1964-66, Reader 1966-70, Sir Thomas Adam's
Professor of Arabic 1970-81, Honorary DLitt, University of
Edinburgh 1985, FBA 1986; co-Editor Arabian Studies and New
Arabian Studies; married September 1942 Marion K. Robertson
(one son, one daughter), died Denhead, St Andrews 29 April
1993.
by G. Rex Smith (University of Manchester)
Professor Robert Bertram Serjeant was an
outstanding Arabist and a prolific writer on many aspects of
Arabic culture, Arab society and history, especially those of
Yemen and Southern Arabia.
He was born in Edinburgh and spent his
childhood and attended the university there. After his MA in 1935
he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, to work on his PhD research
on Islamic textiles under Professor C.A. Storey, successfully
completing the degree in 1939.
The year 1939 also saw him for the first
time in the Arabian Peninsula working on Arabic dialects in the
Aden area. In 1940 he was commissioned into the Aden Government
Guards, where he tasted life in the remoter regions of the Aden
Protectorate, often with tribal guards as his sole companions. In
1942 he began work with the BBC Arabic Service as editor of the
Arabic Listener.
After the war he assumed a lectureship
in Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in
London and in 1947 he went back to South Arabia with a Colonial
Research Fellowship to work in Hadramawt. The following year he
returned to SOAS to a readership. The new chair of Modern Arabic
at the School was his in 1955.
In 1964 he resigned his chair in London
and returned to Cambridge as lecturer, then reader. He also took
on the task of director of the Middle East Centre, then in
Pembroke College. Professor A.J. Arberry died in late 1969,
leaving Serjeant as the obvious choice as the Sir Thomas Adam's
Professor of Arabic. He continued in this post until December
1981 when he decided to retire to Denhead, near St. Andrews, in
his native Scotland.
Serjeant spent a great deal of his time
and effort teaching undergraduates and supervising postgraduates.
The former, not knowing the real Serjeant, could perhaps find him
at times intimidating and certainly a hard taskmaster. The
latter, the majority from the Arab world, quickly discovered his
warmth, his kindness and generosity, his high academic standards,
his sharp intellect and, above all, his vast knowledge of his
subject.
He abhorred university committees and
their endless meetings, regarding them as a distraction from the
real purpose of life, and thus he never assumed high
administrative office. Similarly, he had no time for academic
politics.
He was above all a great traveller and
productive scholar of meticulous care (this latter instilled in
him during his Trinity days by Prof. Storey) and of the highest
intellectual standards. The hallmark of his scholarship was his
unique ability to marry the vast array of Arabic literary sources
with work in the field. It was a two-way process: discoveries
made in the library would be carefully checked with his
informants; information gleaned in the field would be tirelessly
tracked down in the library.
A constant flow of scholarly articles,
filling two volumes in the Variorum series and more besides, and
books were produced over the years right until his death. His
latest work was a translation of the Bukhalâ' of
al-Jâhiz. The majority of his publications were on some
aspect of culture, society or history of Yemen. The most
important are his Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast,
mainly a collection of 15th and 16th century Hadramî texts
on Portuguese activities off South Arabia, with notes by Charles
Beckingham collating the Portuguese sources; his South Arabian
Hunt, a study of the ritual ibex hunt which is still practised
today in South Arabia and dates back to pre-Islamic times; and
his Sanaa, an Arabian Islamic City, an enormous tome
edited with Ronald Lewcock and in large part written by Serjeant.
This latter volume is a comprehensive social, economic,
historical, architectural and cultural study of the chief city of
Yemen. With Arberry in the '60s he conceived the idea of a
Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Despite Arberry's
death, Serjeant soldiered on with the project. Four volumes are
now published, three co-edited by Serjeant. With Robin Bidwell he
created Arabian Studies, a highly successful journal of
Arabian Peninsula Studies. Volume I of New Arabian
Studies, co-edited by Serjeant, is shortly to be published.
His publications are universally accepted and respected in the
Arab world and his huge loss will be felt by his many friends and
admirers there.
Serjeant was his best in the field in
South Arabia, where, if need be, his huge frame could scale
inaccessible heights with the agility of a mountain goat in order
to pursue his scholarly aims, or else in the milieu of the annual
international Seminar for Arabian Studies, of which he was
co-founder in 1969. There he constantly dispensed wisdom to
all-comers with the same unfailing courtesy. Although his
approval of his fellow scholars could be slow in coming, once
bestowed it was solid and permanent.
His happy marriage was to last for over
fifty years. Marion Serjeant's vivacity and love of fun prevented
his ever becoming a dry scholar. She encouraged his own enormous
sense of humour, often manifested in his well loved chuckle and
his propensity for composing extempore mischievous and amusing
doggerel, some of which found its way into his publications. They
entertained with a more than Arab hospitality, of which
Hâtim al-Tâ'î himself would have been proud. In
their years retirement, still attended by their cats, the
Serjeants created a tranquil garden overlooking the gentle hills
of Fife and St. Andrews Bay. It was there in its sunny spring
beauty that he died peacefully earlier this year.
by Daniel Martin
Varisco
I heard the news of the passing of R.B.
Serjeant in a fax from Francine Stone, recently returned from a
trip to Yemen. It was a shock then as it remains now. It is
almost inconceivable that there could be an Arabian Studies
Seminar without the presence of Serjeant. He will be sorely
missed not only as an extraordinary individual, but as the
preeminent scholar of his generation in Yemeni studies.
I first met Prof. Serjeant at Cambridge
in 1978 as my wife, Najwa, and I were passing through on our first
trip to do research in Yemen. It was through his writing,
particularly on Yemeni agriculture and irrigation, that I was
first exposed to the delights of Yemeni ethnography and
historiography. In fact, I carried with me a xerox copy of his
translation of the chapter on cereals of the Rasulid al-Malik
al-Afdal's 14th century agricultural treatise. How thrilling it
was, using this and other articles as guides, to work through the
vocabulary still employed in the highland region of Yemen where
Najwa and I settled. Serjeant was a patient and informative
correspondent, as we maintained a steady correspondence over the
next decade and a half on our common interests in Yemeni
agriculture.
The best memories I have of time spent
with Prof. Serjeant stem from an international conference we both
attended in Kuwait in 1983. The conference was a bit tedious at
times, as all the sessions , good and bad, were plenary. I
remember deciding at the last minute to deliver my paper in Arabic
and receiving the advice of both Serjeant and Dr. Abdulla Maktari
on my profane Arabic rendering of my lecture. It was quite a
sumptious event, with the participants put up in the Sheraton with
its several choices of restaurants. I remember quite distinctly
sharing several afternoon teas with my esteemed British colleague.
We enjoyed comparing the behavior of all the national varieties
of scholars, which formed quite discernable cliques. There were
the Egyptians, who sometimes acted as if they had just arrived in
Disneyland; they always seemed to be the first to sample the
rather large Gulf shrimp at the dinners held in our honor. The
Iraqis formed another natural enclave, hardly disguising their
disdain for those Egyptian professors who would lapse into basic
"Cairene" during a lecture. The Syrians, who in a sense were
co-sponsoring the conference, were quite cordial, as were the
Kuwaitis, who were pleased to have a major academic conference in
an otherwise oil-fueled and neon-signed setting. But the tip of
the hat went to one of the Western contributors, who had quite
innocently included a bottle of "Johnny Walker" in his briefcase,
which of course was not checked as we were all VIPed through the
airport lounge on arrival. There was, then, at least one room in
the Sheraton which served as an oasis for the British and American
temperament.
I visited Serjeant, after his retirement
to Summerhill Cottage, near St. Andrews, soon after this. It was
my first exposure to Scotland and I appreciated the hospitality of
the Serjeants in showing me around, including of course a
mandatory evening meal in a curry house. We spent several hours
looking at Rasulid manuscripts, a passion of mine that I was glad
to know was shared in this world. Prof. Serjeant graciously
allowed me to use his notes for his proposed edition of the
important Bughyat al-fallâhîn, as well as his
notes on the Rasulid tax treatise known as Mulakhkha× al-fitan. I
am very grateful that he has written the foreward to my
forthcoming study of the 13th century Rasulid almanac of al-Malik
al-Ashraf, although I regret that now he will be unable to see the
finished product.
In 1986 I attended a conference on
Arabia at the University of Pennsylvania, at which Serjeant,
Beeston, and Rex Smith were in attendance. It was quite a rarity
to have such a gathering of British experts on Yemen, and the
discussions often went quite late into the night.
Last year I was in Yemen the same time
as Serjeant, who was attending a conference in Aden. When I
eventually arrived at the manuscript library in Tarîm, after
a field trip through a large part of united Yemen, I discovered
that I had missed Serjeant by only three days. One elderly Yemeni
scholar at the library explained to me how extraordinary it was
to talk with Serjeant, who had lived in the area a half century
ago, especially since most of the men he asked about had long
since passed away.
It is difficult to sum up the
contributions of a scholar like Serjeant, whose knowledge extended
from the ancient history of Arabia through the complexities of
medieval issues to the political realities of the present. I must
admit that many of his writings are not easy to read; they are
always, however, very informative and amply supported with
footnotes. The fact that two sets of his papers have been
published by Variorum Press is a great service to all scholars in
Yemeni studies. As an anthropologist, I am particularly pleased
with the rich ethnographic detail to be found in many of
Serjeant's writings. His comments on vocabulary are particularly
useful, because they are often placed in context of their use.
His production is a lasting legacy, although we will miss his
touch on those works he was unable to finish.
When I heard of Serjeant's death, I was
in the midst of writing an article on the "unity" of Rasulid Yemen
under the great monarch al-Malik al-Muúaffar Y‚suf, who
reigned for almost half a century in the 13th century.
Ironically, I had just passed over a tribute given to al-Muúaffar
by his rival, the Zaydi im®m of the time. In this tribute the
passing of al-Muúaffar was compared to the passing of the great
Himyarite king Tubba', a high complement from the pen of a Yemeni
leader. In my own mind I feel as though once again we see the
passing of Tubba', not a great political leader but an unrivaled
scholar; in both cases a man whose love for Yemen no one could
question.
[The following is a bibliography of
the main writings of R. B. Serjeant on Yemen; it is not
exhaustive.]
1942
'The dhows of Aden' Geog. mag. 14
(1942), 296-301.
A handlist of the Arabic, Persian and
Hindustani MSS. of New College, Edinburgh. London:
Luzac.
'Material for a history of Islamic
textiles up to the Mongol conquest.' Ars Islamica, 9
(1942), 54-92; 10 (1943), 71-104; II (1946), 98-135; 13-24 (1948),
75-117.
'The mountain tribes of the Yemen'.
Geog. mag. 15 (1942), 66-72.
1944
'Al-adab al-'asrî
fî'l-janûb al-gharb li-shibh jazîrat al-'arab?'
Al-Adab wa'l-fann 2 ii (1944), 22-34; 2 iii (1944),
13-24.
'The 'Audhali treaty'. Western Arabia
and the Red Sea, Naval Intelligence Division, Oxford 1946 (BR
527 Geographical handbook series), 587-89.
1947
The Arabs. Harmondsworth :
Penguin Books, 1947. (A Puffin book, 61).
1948
(With A. Lane.) 'Pottery and glass
fragments from the littoral, with historical notes.' JRAS,
1948, 108-33 (reprinted in Aden, Dept. of Antiquities Bull.
no. 5, 1965 and in Studies in Arabian History and
Civilization, 1981]
'"Cant" in contemporary South-Arabic
dialect.' Trans. Philol. Soc., 1948, 121-26.
1949
'Building and builders in Hadramawt'.
Museon, 62 (1949), 275-84.
'The cemeteries of Tarîm
(Hadramawt). (With notes on sepulture.)' Museon 62 (1949),
151-60.
'Hunger in Hadramawt. Problems of
overcrowding in Southern Arabia.' The Times, 16 Sept.
1949.
'Two Yemenite djinn..' BSOAS
13 (1949), 4-6.
(With G.M. Wickens.) 'The Wahhabis in
Western Arabia in 1803-04 A.D.' Islamic Culture 23 (1949),
308-11.
1950
(With C.F. Beckingham.) 'A journey by
two Jesuits from Dhufâr to San'â' in 1590.' Geog. J.
115 (1950), 194-207. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian
History and Civilization, 1981]
'Materials for South Arabian history.
Notes on new MSS. from Hadramawt.' BSOAS 13 (1950) 281-307,
581-601.
'The quarters of Tarîm and the
tansûrahs.' Museon 63 (1950), 277-84.
1951
South Arabian Poetry, I: Prose and
poetry from Hadramawt. Edited, collated and corrected with an
introduction preface. London: Taylor's Foreign Press,
1951.
'Two tribal law cases (documents).
(Wâhidî Sultanate, South-west Arabia.)' JRAS
1951, 33-47, 156-69. [reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah
Law in Arabian Society, 1991]
1953
'A battle axe from Habbân,
Wâhidî Sultanate, Aden Protectorate.' Man 53
(1953), 120-121.
'A Judeo-Arab house-deed from
Habbân (with notes on the former Jewish communities of the
Wâhidî Sultanate).' JRAS, 1953, 117-131.
[reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
'Notes on Subaihî territory, West
of Aden.' Muséon 67 (1953), 123-31.
'A Zaidi manual of Hisbah of the
3rd century (H).' Rivista degli Studi Orientali 28 (1953),
1-34. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History and
Civilization, 1981]
1954
'Hûd and other pre-Islamic
prophets of Hadramawt.' Museon 67 (1954), 121-79.
[reprinted in Studies in Arabian History and
Civilization, 1981]
'Star-calendars and an almanac from
South-West Arabia.' Anthropos 49 (1954),
433-59.
1955
'Forms of plea, a Shâfi`î
manual from Al-Shihr.' RSO 30 (1955), 1-15.
[reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
'What's wrong in the Aden Protectorate.'
Spectator 195 (15 July 1955), 90.
1956
'Folk-remedies from Hadramawt.' BSO
AS 18 (1956), 5-8.
1957
(With Cl. Cahen.) 'A fiscal survey of
the medieval Yemen. Notes preparatory to an edition of the
Mulakhkhas al-fitan of Al-Hasan b. 'Alî al-Sharîf
al-Husaynî.' Arabica 4 (1957), 23-33.
The Saiyids of Hadramawt. An
inaugural lecture delivered on 5 June 1956. London: School of
Oriental and African Studies, 1957. [reprinted in Studies
in Arabian History and Civilization, 1981]
1958
'Professor A. Guillaume's translation of
the Sîrah.' BSOAS 21 (1958),
1-14.
'Two sixteenth-century Arabian
geographical works.' BSOAS 21 (1958), 254-75.
'A new map of Southern Arabia, 2: The
problem of the place-names.' Geog. J. 124 (1958),
167-171.
1959
'A metal padlock and keys from Southern
Arabia." Man 59 (1959), 49.
'Mihrâb.' BSOAS 22
(1959), 439-53. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History
and Civilization, 1981]
'Saint Sergius.' BSOAS 22
(1959), 574-75. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History
and Civilization, 1981]
(With E. Wagner.) 'A sixteenth-century
reference to Shahrî dialect at Zufâr.' BSOAS
22 (1959), 128-32.
'Tribes of the Eastern Protectorate.
Arab nationalism and anti-colonialism are growing influences in
politics.' The Times British Colonies R. 33 (1st qr.,
1959), 11.
'Ukhdûd.' BSOAS 22 (1959),
572-573.
1961
'The Ma'n "gypsies" of the West Aden
Protectorate.' Anthropos 56 (1961), 737-49.
[reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
1962
'Haram and hawtah, the
sacred enclave in Arabia.' Mélanges Taha Husain, Le
Caire, 1962, 41-58. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian
History and Civilization, 1981]
'Historians and historiography of
Hadramawt.' BSOAS 25 (1962), 239-61. [reprinted in
Studies in Arabian History and Civilization,
1981]
'A note on rock drawings from
Wâdî Hirjâb, reported by G.F. Walford, Esq.'
BSOAS 25 (1962) 149.
'Recent marriage legislation from
al-Mukallâ, with notes on marriage customs.' BSOAS
25 (1962), 472-98. [reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law
in Arabian Society, 1991]
'Sex, birth, circumcision: some notes
from South-west Arabia.' Hermann von Wissmann-Festschrift,
Tübingen, 1962, 193-208. [reprinted in Customary and
Shari'ah Law in Arabian Society, 1991]
1963
The Portuguese off the South Arabian
coast . Hadrami Chronicles. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1963.
1964
'The "Constitution of Medina".'
Islamic Quarterly 8 (1964), 3-16. [reprinted in
Studies in Arabian History and Civilization,
1981]
"Heiligenverenhrung in
Südwestarabien.' Bustan, 1964, ii, 16-23.
'Some irrigation systems in Hadramawt.'
BSOAS 27 (1964), 33-76.
'Yemen letter: the king's story.'
New Society 100 (27 August 1964), 24-25.
1965
'Arabic poetry.' Encyclopaedia of
Poetry and Poetics, ed. A. Preminger, Princeton 1965,
42-47.
'Notices on the "Frankish chancre"
(syphilis) in Yemen, Egypt, and Persia.' Journal of Semitic
Studies 10 (1965), 241-52. [reprinted in Customary and
Shari'ah Law in Arabian Society, 1991]
1966
'South Arabia and Ethiopia - African
elements in the South Arabian population'. Proc. 3rd Int. Conf.
Ethiopian Studies, 1966, 25-33.
1967
'Kinship terms in Wâdî
Hadramawt.' Der Orient in der Forschung. Festschrift für
O. Spies, Wiesbaden, 1967, 626-33.
'Société et gouvernement
en Arabie du Sud.' Arabica 14 (1967), 284-97.
'Yemen inside out.' Guardian, 26
Jan. 1967, 8.
1968
'Fisher-folk and fish-traps in
al-Bahrain.' BSOAS 31 (1968), 486-514.
1969
'Historical review'. Religion in the
Middle East, General editor; A.J. Arberry, Cambridge, 1969,
vol. 2,3-30; bibliography, 671-72.
'In memoriam : Professor Charles Ambrose
Storey.' Islamic Culture 43 (1969), i-ii.
'The Zaydis.' Religion in the Middle
East, General editor: A.J. Arberry, Cambridge, 1969, vol 2,
285-301; bibliography, 682-683.
1970
'Maritime customary law off the Arabian
coasts.' Sociétés et compagnies de commerce en
Orient et dans l' Océan indien, ed. M. Mollat, Paris,
1970, 195-207. [reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in
Arabian Society, 1991]
'Obituary : Professor Arthur John
Arberry.' JRAS 1970, 96-98.
1971
'Agriculture and horticulture : some
cultural interchanges of the medieval Arabs and Europe.'
Oriente e Occidente nel medioevo, 1971, 535-48.
'Arabic literature.' The Middle
East; a handbook, ed. by Michael Adams, London, 1971,
535-42.
'The "White Dune" at Abyan: an ancient
place of pilgrimage in Southern Arabia.' JSS 16 (1971),
74-83. [reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
'The Republic of South Yemen.' The
Middle East; a handbook, ed. by Michael Adams, London, 1971,
91-94 ; bibliography 263-70.
'Yemen.' The Middle East; a
handbook, ed. by Michael Adams, London, 1971, 130-32;
bibliography, 335-41.
1973
'The two Yemens: historical perspectives
and present attitudes.' Asian Affairs NS 4 (1973),
3-16.
'The cultivation of cereals in medieval
Yemen. A translation of the Bughyat al-fallâhîn
of the Rasulid Sultan, al-Malik al-Afdal al-'Abbâs b.
'Alî, composed circa 1370 A.D.' Arabian studies 1
(1974), 25-74.
'Porcupines in the Yemen,' Arabian
studies 1 (1974), 180.
'The ports of Aden and Shihr (medieval
period). Recueils Société Jean Bodin 32
(1974), 207-24. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History
and Civilization, 1981]
1975
(With B. Doe.) 'A fortified tower-house
in Wâdî Jirdân (Wâhidî Sultanate).'
BSOAS 38 (1975), 1-23, 276-95.
1976
'Introduction' [and contributions
to] City of San'â', ed. J. Kirkman, London, 1976,
7-17.
'Notes on some aspects of Arab business
practices in Aden.' Al-Bahit, Festschrift Joseph Henninger,
St. Augustin bei Bonn, 1976, 309-15. [reprinted in
Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian Society,
1991]
South Arabian hunt. London:
Luzac, 1976.
1977
'Customary law documents as a source of
history.' Studies in the History of Arabia. Proc. 1st Int.
Symp. Studies Hist. Arabia, 1977, vol. 1, pt. 2, 1979,
99-103.
'South Arabia.' Commoners, climbers
and notables, ed. C.A.O. van Nieuwenhuijze, Leiden, 1977,
226-47. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History and
Civilization, 1981]
1978
'Historical sketch of the Gulf in the
Islamic era from the seventh to the eighteenth century A.D.,
Qatar archaeological report, excavations 1973, ed. B. de
Cardi, London, 1978, 147-63.
'The Sunnah Jâmi'ah, pacts
with the Yathrib Jews and the Tahrîm of Yathrib :
analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the
so-called "Constitution of Medina".' BSOAS 41 (1978),
1-42. [reprinted in Studies in Arabian History and
Civilization, 1981]
'Wards and quarters of towns in
South-West Arabia.' Storia della città 7 (1978),
43-48.
1979
'Perilous politics in two Yemen states.'
Geog. Mag. 51 (1979), 769-774.
'The Yemeni poet Al-Zubayr and his
polemic against the Zayd Im®ms.' Arabian studies 5
(1979), 87-130.
1980
'Introduction.' Le Coran:
traduction et notes de M. Kazimirski, Paris: Haso Ebeling,
7-20.
'Customary law among the fishermen of
al-Shihr.' Middle East studies and libraries : a felicitation
volume for J.D. Pearson, 1980, 193-203.
(ed.) The Islamic city.
Selected papers from the colloquium held at the Middle East
Centre, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge... from 19 to 23
July 1976. Paris : Unesco, 1980.
'Social stratification in Arabia.'
The Islamic City, ed. by R.B. Serjeant, Paris, Unesco,
1980, 126-47.
1981
(With Husayn al-'Amrî.) 'A
Yemenite agricultural poem.' Studia Arabica et Islamica,
Festschrift for Ihsân 'Abbâs, Beirut, 1981,
407-27.
'Islam.' Divination and oracles,
ed. M. Loewe and C. Blacker, London; Allen & Unwin, 1981,
215-32.
Studies in Arabian History and
Civilisation, London: Variorum Reprints, 1981. [reprinting
of 13 articles]
'A maqâma on palm
protection (shirâha).' Journal of Near Eastern
Studies 40 (Nabia Abbot Festschrift volume, Chicago, 1981)
pp. 307-322.
1982
(ed. with Ronald Lewcock) Sanaa : an
Arabian Islamic City, London: Scorpion Press for World of
Islamic Festival Trust, 1982.
'Hadramawt to Zanzibar: the pilot-poem
of Nâkhûdhå Sa'd Bâ Tâyi' of
al-Hâmî.' Festschrift for James Kirkman, Paideuma
28:109-127.
'The interplay between tribal affinities
and religious (Zayd) authority in the Yemen.' al-Abhâth
XXX (1982), 11-50. [reprinted in Customary and
Shar'iah Law in Arabian Study, 1991]
1983
'Omani naval activites off the southern
Arabian coast in the late 11th/17th century, from Yemeni
chronicles.' Journal of Omani Studies VI (1983), 77-89.
[reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
1984
'The Caliph 'Umar's letters to Abû
Mûsâ al-Ash'ar and Mu'âwiya.' JSS XXIV
(1984), 65-79. [reprinted in Customary and Shar'iah Law in
Arabian Study, 1991]
1986
'The 'Awdhillah confederation with some
reference to al-Hamdânî.' al-Hamdânî:
a great Yemeni scholar: studies on the occasion of his millennial
anniversary, ed. Yusuf Mohammed Abdallah, Sanaa.
[reprinted in Customary and Shar'iah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
1987
'The Da'îf and the
mustad'af and the status accorded them in the
Qur'ân.' Journal for Islamic Studies VII:32-37.
[reprinted in Customary and Shar'iah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
'Famine death without loss of honour in
ancient Arabia and Yemeni Arhab.' BSOAS L (1987), 527-28.
[reprinted in Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
1988
'Yâfi', Zaydîs, Âl
Bû‚ Bakr b. Sâlim and others: tribes and
Sayyids.' On both sides of al-Mandab: Ethiopian, South-Arabic
and Islamic Studies presented to Oscar Löfgren on his
nineteenth birthday 13 May 1988 by his colleagues and friends.
Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. Transactions no. 2.
[reprinted in Customary and Shar'iah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
1989
'Dawlah, tribal shaykhs, the
mansab of the waliyyah sa'îdah,
qasamah, in the Fadlî sultanate, South Arabian
Federation.' Arabian Studies in honour of Mahmoud al-Ghul:
symposium at Yarmouk University December 8-11, 1984, ed.
Mu'awiyah Ibrâhîm. Wisebaden: Harrassowitz.
[reprinted in Customary and Shar'iah Law in Arabian
Society, 1991]
'Early Islamic and medieavl trade and
commerce in the Yemen,' Yemen, 3000 Years of Art and
Civilisation in Arabia Felix, ed. Werner Daum, 163-66.
Innsbruck: Pinguin.
'A Socotran star calendar,'
Miscellany of Middle Eastern Articles.Memorial Thomas
Muir Johnstone, 1924-1983, ed. A. K. Irvine, 94-100. London:
Longman.
1991
Customary and Shari'ah Law in Arabian
Society, London: Variorum Reprints, 1991. [selection of 18
articles]
