ABSTRACT
With the murder of ʿAlī, the fourth caliph, and the establishment of the Umaiyads at Damascus, the capital of Islam moved into a country which had been predominantly Christian for centuries. This fact was to have an influence both in the development of life and religion at the court and in the homeland. Despite prejudices against the Umaiyads on the part of many of the devout, Medina was not cut off entirely from the political capital. Some would have no dealings with the caliphs of Damascus, whom they regarded as godless impostors, and accordingly the interests and studies of this party had a backward look. Others, however, accepted the Umaiyads as the legitimate heads of Islam, asking only that the rulers pay outward homage to the religion of the Prophet; this group was willing to serve them. An intermediate position held it to be the duty of every Moslem to support the head of the state, however unworthy he might be, for the unity of Islam must be preserved at all costs. 1 Hence scholars and poets passed back and forth between the Hijāz and Syria, to some extent bridging the gap between the uncompromising position of the devout of Medina and the freer ways and outlook of those attached to the court at Damascus.
