『수전노』,『마까마』,『천일야화』를 통해 본 무슬림의 상거래 관습

A study on Muslims commercialism in Kitab al-Bukhalā’, al-Maqāmāt, Alf lailah wa lailah

The article aims at studying commercialism shown in medieval Arabic literature. The research range of the article is based on the anecdotes of the following books; al-Bukhalā’ by al-Jāḥiẓ from the 9th century, al-Maqāmāt by al-Ḥamadhānī from the 11th century, Alf lailah wa lailah assumed to be written in the 12th century. Providing information is one of the utilities of literature. Commercialism becomes an important motif or even helps explaining the character in definite situations such as events, text, and the characters’ action. In order to get a grasp of foreign literature, proficiency of the language and knowing the culture of the nation is crucial. Thus, comprehending the Muslims’ commercialism enables understanding the overall characters and the plot of the work. The rule of ‘same kind, same amount’ is an essential part of Islamic commercialism. The exact amount of gold should be dealt in market transaction. This is well shown in al-Bukhalā’s’ fifth chapter “The Tale of Zubaidah b. Humayd” and other stories. In the sixth chapter of “The Tale of Abu Sa’id”, a miser who became rich by ‘inā dealing. Reading the text, it can be inferred that the Muslim society refrain ‘inā dealing’. Negative results of al-Nasiyyah dealing is shown in “Madhirah Maqamah” of al-Maqāmāt. It also works as a key to reveal the dark sides of the character. Al-Nasiyyah dealing is a type of credit transaction which people pay the money after getting the product, and was originally made for good intentions. However, some of the stories show the wrong interpretation of this Muslim’s commercialism. This article will introduce some ayat of Koran, related Hadith and Fatwa in order to help the understating of market dealings in each works.