The obscure and the distorted in Arab historiography
THE HISTORY of the pre-Islamic era (the ‘jāhiliyya’) that they set down is a forgery from A to Z, and was…
Taha Hussein – On science and dogma – 2
THE CONTROVERSY RAISED by Taha Hussein’s book goes beyond its subject matter, and its true importance lies in his establishing…
The problem of documentation, credibility and interpretation
THIS APPROACH of following, imitation, repetition and regurgitation is evident, and its results have become patent. Simply put, this is…
Makka in history – 1
SOME PROPONENTS of Qur’ānic miracles have imbibed this illusion and claimed that Makka indeed stands at the centre of the…
The Arabs before Islam – 2
SINCE THE ROMAN Empire had hostile relations with the Sasanian Empire in Persia, the Roman Empire in Constantinople sought the…
The Arabs before Islam – 1
ACCORDINGLY, WE CAN say that all works of Arab genealogy are nothing but tales written by some who claimed to…
Van Ess on the beginnings of Islamic theology
LATER ISLAMIC SOURCES considered the sects that appeared in distant and scattered cities as deviant or heretical. But when they…
Van Ess and the great battle over Orientalism
FROM THE OUTSET, Claude Gilliot gets straight to the point: Some are complaining about the deteriorating situation of Oriental studies…
Sources of Islam
WHEN MUHAMMAD BEGAN his call, he began with short suras of the Qur’an, consisting of saj‘ rhymes that imitated the rhymes of…
The ‘Islamic narrative’
IN THE FIRST CENTURY and at the beginning of the second century AH, stimulating reports and narrations multiplied and accumulated.…