Verse 10 of Surat Al-Fath and its role in consolidating power
CONSIDERED FROM ANOTHER angle this is one of the verses that strengthens the authority of the sovereign and establishes his…
The Qur’ānic text – Hypothesis 5
SUCH A SPEECH has therefore to exist as a result of one of three conditions: either it is written in…
The ‘Islamic narrative’
IN THE FIRST CENTURY and at the beginning of the second century AH, stimulating reports and narrations multiplied and accumulated.…
The reality of the Arab invasions – from non-Islamic sources – 2
THIS WAS THE CONJUNCTION between the Byzantine succession crisis in Constantinople that erupted in 638 AD, and the outbreak of…
The reality of the Arab invasions – from non-Islamic sources – 1
THE FAMOUS IRAQI HISTORIAN Jawād ‘Alī in his book Al-Mufaṣṣal fī Tārīkh al-‘Arab says: “It may be that Muslim historians…
How al-Bukhari opposes the Qur’ān
THE QUR’ĀN CONFIRMS the need to speak and dialogue with the ‘People of the Book’[2] in the best possible way:…
The Islamic triumphalist approach to history
THE SUBJECT OF ISLAM and how to handle the Qur’ān has remained the preserve of traditional jurists and scholars (the…
Islam between fiqh and hadith – which comes first?
DISAGREEMENT AMONG the hadith narrators was a constant and at times reached the point of mutual insults and takfīr.[2] The…
The Qur’ānic text – Hypothesis 4
ONCE AGAIN, the problem is not that ‘Uthman set about fixing an official Qur’an – that is what his predecessors…
The Qur’ānic text – Hypothesis 3
FIRSTLY, THE SURA BEARS the name Al-Fatiha, or ‘the Opening’ of the Book, but it is a name that is not…