Drei pseudepigraphische Prophetenschutzbriefe aus dem Jemen Von der Prophetenbiographie über die zaiditischen Imamatsbedingungen bis zur praktischen Anwendung im tribalen Kontext

Abstract

This article focuses on three pseudepigraphic protection letters from Yemen, ascribed to the Prophet Muḥammad. The Judaeo-Arabic copies of these texts date back to the 18th to 20th century in Yemen and are considered forgeries. Although they may partially derive from genuine treaties, they have been found to be authored or edited in their current form by members of the Jewish community. This article explores the historical and political contexts in which these protection letters were likely written, how they were adapted from Islamic literary texts, and later modified to be applied in the Yemeni-Zaydī – and possibly tribal – context. In doing so, the article sheds light on the agency and strategies Yemeni Jews applied while being dhimmīs, as well as the “protected people”s knowledge of Islamic historical and legal literature