Letter from the People of Cyprus

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Incipit of the Letter in a manuscript from 1538

The Letter from the People of Cyprus (Arabic: Risāla min ahl jazīrat Qubruṣ) is an anonymous Arabic letter to an unnamed recipient.[1] The author is generally thought to have been a Melkite Christian, although it has been argued that he in fact belonged to the Church of the East.[2] The letter was composed shortly before 1316, probably on Cyprus, by reworking and expanding Paul of Antioch's Letter to a Muslim Friend. Like Paul, the author claims to have travelled and learned the opinions of Christian experts about the Qurʾān. The result is a defence of Christianity that concedes as much as possible to Islam without accepting it.[3] In 1316 or 1317, a copy was sent to Ibn Taymiyya, whose al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ was written in response.[4][5] In 1321, another was sent to Ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Dimashqī, who wrote the Jawāb risālat ahl jazīrat Qubruṣ in response.[6][7]

Five manuscripts of the letter are known. The earliest was copied on Cyprus by Ṣalībā ibn Yūḥannā in August 1336. The latest is a Garshuni copy from 1856. In addition, the letter is quoted in full by Ibn Taymiyya and al-Dimashqī.[8] There are two manuscripts of al-Dimashqī's Jawāb, one from 1370 and another from 1665.[6] The Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ is known from three manuscripts, the earliest from 1330 and the latest from 1901.[9]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ebied & Thomas 2005, p. 6.
  2. ^ Treiger 2013, p. 42.
  3. ^ Thomas 2012.
  4. ^ Michel 1984, p. vii.
  5. ^ Ebied & Thomas 2005, p. 5.
  6. ^ a b Ebied & Thomas 2005, p. 40.
  7. ^ Thomas 2001, p. 214.
  8. ^ Treiger 2013, pp. 46–48.
  9. ^ Michel 1984, pp. 372–379.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Ebied, Rifaat; Thomas, David, eds. (2005). Muslim–Christian Polemic during the Crusades: The Letter from the People of Cyprus and Ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Dimashqī's Response. Brill.
  • Michel, Thomas F., ed. (1984). A Muslim Theologian's Response to Christianity: Ibn Taymiyya's al-Jawab al-Sahih. Caravan Books.
  • Thomas, David (2001). "Paul of Antioch's Letter to a Muslim Friend and The Letter from Cyprus". In David Thomas (ed.). Syrian Christians under Islam, the First Thousand Years. Brill. pp. 203–221.
  • Thomas, David (2012). "The Letter from the People of Cyprus". In David Thomas; Alex Mallett (eds.). Christian–Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History. Vol. 4 (1200–1350). Brill. pp. 769–772.
  • Thomas, David (2013). "The Letter from Cyprus or Letters from Cyprus?". In Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala; Sofia Torallas Tovar (eds.). Cultures in Contact: Transfer of Knowledge in the Mediterranean Context. Córdoba and Beirut. pp. 263–274.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Treiger, Alexander (2013). "The Christology of the Letter from the People of Cyprus". Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. 65 (1): 21–48. doi:10.2143/JECS.65.1.3011232.
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