The Caliph and the Heretic
The Caliph and the Heretic

Author: Sean Anthony

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2011-12-02

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9004216065

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This book is an examination of the traditions and legends concerning early Islam’s first and most infamous heretic, the Yemenite Jew known as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabaʾ. Tracing the evolution and transformation of the many stories and narratives about Ibn Sabaʾ as adapted by Sunnī and Shīʿī scholars alike, this work attempts for the first time to give a comprehensive account of the formation of the image of Ibn Sabaʾ as the quintessential heretic of Islam’s early years. It also offers a new interpretation of the historical importance and beliefs of Ibn Sabaʾ and those early Shīʿa reviled as his followers, the Sabaʾīya. The end result is a revolutionary, new portrait of Shīʿite origins and early Islamic sectarianism.

The Caliph and the Heretic
The Caliph and the Heretic

Author: Sean Anthony

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2011-11-25

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 9004209301

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This book offers an examination of the origins of Sh??ite Islam as viewed through the lens of the traditions surrounding its earliest and most infamous heretic, ?Abd All?h ibn Saba?, and the sectarian movement he purportedly founded, the Saba??ya.

Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography
Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography

Author: Tayeb El-Hibri

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-11-25

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780521650236

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The history of the early Abbasid Caliphate has long been studied as a factual or interpretive synthesis of various accounts preserved in the medieval Islamic chronicles. Tayeb El-Hibri s book breaks with the traditional approach, applying a literary-critical reading to examine the lives of the caliphs. By focusing on the reigns of Harun al-Rashid and his successors, the study demonstrates how the various historical accounts were not in fact intended as faithful portraits of the past, but as allusive devices used to shed light on controversial religious, political and social issues of the period. The analysis also reveals how the exercise of decoding Islamic historigraphy, through an investigation of the narrative strategies and thematic motifs used in the chronicles, can uncover new layers of meaning and even identify the early narrators. This is an important book which represents a landmark in the field of early Islamic historiography.

Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond
Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond

Author: Kirill Dmitriev

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 9004409556

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Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond explores the cultural ramifications of food and foodways in the Mediterranean, and Arab-Muslim countries in particular. The volume addresses the cultural meanings of food from a wider chronological scope, from antiquity to present, adopting approaches from various disciplines, including classical Greek philology, Arabic literature, Islamic studies, anthropology, and history. The contributions to the book are structured around six thematic parts, ranging in focus from social status to religious prohibitions, gender issues, intoxicants, vegetarianism, and management of scarcity. Contributors are: Tarek Abu Hussein, Yasmin Amin, Kevin Blankinship, Tylor Brand, Kirill Dmitriev, Eric Dursteler, Anny Gaul, Julia Hauser, Christian Junge, Danilo Marino, Pedro Martins, Karen Moukheiber, Christian Saßmannshausen, Shaheed Tayob, and Lola Wilhelm.

'Abd al-Rahman III
'Abd al-Rahman III

Author: Maribel Fierro

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-12-01

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1780741871

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Abd al-Rahman III (891 - 961) was the greatest of the Umayyad rulers of Spain and the first to take the title of Caliph. During his reign, Islamic Spain became wealthy and prosperous. He founded the great Caliphate of Madinat al-Zahra at Cordova and did much in his lifetime to pacify his realm and stabilise the borders with Christian Spain. He died at the apex of his power on Oct. 15, 961.

Muhammad and the Empires of Faith
Muhammad and the Empires of Faith

Author: Sean W. Anthony

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0520340418

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Introduction : the making of the historical Muḥammad -- The earliest evidence -- Muḥammad the Arabian merchant -- The Beginnings of the corpus -- The letters of 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr -- The court impulse -- Prophecy and empires of faith -- Muḥammad and Cædmon -- Epilogue : The future of the historical Muḥammad.

Islam and the Future of Tolerance
Islam and the Future of Tolerance

Author: Sam Harris

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2015-10-06

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 0674737067

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“A civil but honest dialogue...As illuminating as it is fascinating.” —Ayaan Hirsi Ali Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem to be drawn to extremism? And what do words like jihadism and fundamentalism really mean? In a world riven by misunderstanding and violence, Sam Harris—a famous atheist—and Maajid Nawaz—a former radical—demonstrate how two people with very different religious views can find common ground and invite you to join in an urgently needed conversation. “How refreshing to read an honest yet affectionate exchange between the Islamist-turned-liberal-Muslim Maajid Nawaz and the neuroscientist who advocates mindful atheism, Sam Harris...Their back-and-forth clarifies multiple confusions that plague the public conversation about Islam.” —Irshad Manji, New York Times Book Review “It is sadly uncommon, in any era, to find dialogue based on facts and reason—but even more rarely are Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals able to maintain critical distance on broad questions about Islam. Which makes Islam and the Future of Tolerance something of a unicorn...Most conversations about religion are marked by the inability of either side to listen, but here, at last, is a proper debate.” —New Statesman

The Expeditions
The Expeditions

Author: Maʿmar ibn Rāshid

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2015-10-15

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1479800473

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One of the earliest surviving biographies of Prophet Muḥammad, translated into readable, modern English for the first time The Expeditions is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet Muḥammad to survive into the modern era. Its primary author, Maʿmar ibn Rāshid (96-153/714-770), was a prominent scholar from Basra in southern Iraq who was revered for his learning in prophetic traditions, Islamic law, and the interpretation of the Qurʾan. This fascinating foundational seminal work contains stories handed down by Maʿmar to his most prominent pupil, ʿAbd al-Razzāq of Sanaa, relating Muḥammad’s early life and prophetic career as well as the adventures and tribulations of his earliest followers during their conquest of the Near East. This new translation, which renders the original text into readable, modern English for the first time, is accompanied by numerous annotations elucidating the cultural, religious, and historical contexts of the events and individuals described within its pages. The Expeditions represents an important testimony to the earliest Muslims’ memory of the lives of Muḥammad and his companions, and is an indispensable text for gaining insight into the historical biography of both the Prophet and the rise of the Islamic empire. An English-only edition.

Inquisition in Early Islam
Inquisition in Early Islam

Author: John Turner

Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Published: 2013-05-15

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9781780761640

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In 833 CE, the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun began a period of inquisition (mihna), one which continued until his successor al-Mutawakkil decreed its end, fifteen years later. During this period, the Caliphs in power strove to promote 'correct belief' in the 'createdness' of the Qur'an, thus ordering the interrogation of religious scholars, and disqualifying, punishing or even executing those who answered incorrectly. Here, John P. Turner examines this major episode, viewing it as a pivotal point in the struggle between the temporal authorities and religious law in the Middle East. By examining the definition of 'heresy', Turner presents a vivid account of the heresy trials in this period, as well as incisive analysis concerning the relationship between secular power and religious authority. This book is of particular interest to researchers and scholars of Islamic history, comparative religion and the medieval world.

The Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate

Author: Tayeb El-Hibri

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-04-22

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 1107183243

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A history of the Abbasid Caliphate from its foundation in 750 and golden age under Harun al-Rashid to the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, this study examines the Caliphate as an empire and an institution, and its imprint on the society and culture of classical Islamic civilization.