Who Truly Wields Power: Humans or Tools? A Posthuman Analysis of Intertextuality in Al-Hajjaj’s Sermon to the People of Kufa

Al-Hajjaj Bin Youssef El-Thakaffi was an Umayyad politician and governor; he is a well-known figure in Islamic history. The caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (685 – 705) used Al Hajjaj during his reign to end many uprisings and terminate many of his opponents. One of the  cornerstones of the empire was Iraq, in which he delivered the discourse under examination: Al Hajjaj’s sermon to the people of Kufa. The sermon is one that defines the approach used to 
dominate the people of Kufa. This study offers a new way to examine classic texts in a posthuman  light. It decenters humans and replaces their status with that of a tool. The paper makes use of  intertextuality that examines a marriage between texts old and new to arrive at an insightful  reading of one of the most well-known sermons given by Al-Hajjaj. This study argues that in a  post-humanistic stance, Al-Hajjaj compared himself to an instrument, weaponizing himself for  the sake of the caliph as his arrow and sword, shifting deictic centers and resulting in many  metaphorical entailments. Thus, this paper uses posthumanism and cognitive stylistics to  examine how agency is articulated in this sermon, with special reference to intertextuality. Al Hajjaj’s rhetoric uses other important texts like the Glorious Qur’an, poetry, and metaphors to  create the fabric of this sermon that is made stronger through intertextuality. This study argues  that his use of intertextuality is not merely decorative, but they are used to legitimize his  dominance by bringing culturally familiar narratives to life.