Earliest Writings on the Life of Muhammad
The 'Urwa Corpus and the Non-Muslim Sources
By (author) Andreas Gorke By (author) Gregor Schoeler
The main part of this book consists of a compilation and evaluation of the corpus of traditions about the life of Muhammad attributed to the early scholar ‘Urwa ibn al-Zubayr (c. 643-c. 712). ‘Urwa was the nephew of the Prophet’s wife ‘A’isa, who was also his most important informant.
The main part of this book consists of a compilation and evaluation of the corpus of traditions about the life of Muhammad attributed to the early scholar ‘Urwa ibn al-Zubayr (c. 643-c. 712). ‘Urwa was the nephew of the Prophet’s wife ‘A’isa, who was also his most important informant. The authenticity of a large part of these traditions is certain, since they were handed down independently from each other by two or more tradents of ‘Urwa. They are thus the oldest authentic Muslim reports about the Prophet. The authors argue that ‘Urwa’s reports by and large correctly reflect the basic features of the historical events described. Somewhat older than ‘Urwa’s traditions about Muhammad is only a report in a non-Islamic Armenian source attributed to the chronicler Sebeos (wrote around 660). This and other external evidence partly agree with the Islamic sources, sometimes providing new perspectives on the life of the Prophet. But there are also contradictions. The authors can show that in such cases the ‘Urwa transmission is preferable. The crux of the much-discussed so-called Hagarism hypothesis, which proposes an alternative narrative of the origins of Islam (Muhammad, after having established a community which comprised both Arabs and Jews, set off with these allies to conquer Palestine) is demonstrably based on a misreading of a Sebeos passage..
- By (author) Andreas Gorke
- By (author) Gregor Schoeler
Similar Books
«Solazoxa festa, stradolze e stracomplia»
Festschrift für Raymund Wilhelm zum 65. Geburtstag mit Beiträgen zu Diskurstraditionen und mittelalterlicher Philologie
Volume 249
A Collaborative Tapestry in Honour of Shirley Ann Brown / Une fresque brodée en l’honneur de Shirley Ann Brown
The Bayeux Tapestry Seen by her Colleagues and Friends / La Tapisserie de Bayeux vue par ses collègues et amis
Behind the Scenes of Medieval Roofs
An Overview of the Roofing Systems of Italian Churches
Volume 90
Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes – Journal of Medieval and Humanistic Studies
Volume 51
Cities through Time
Glimpses into Urbanity and Community in Mediaeval to Modern West Asia and Egypt
Volume 1
Cuneiform Artefacts from Archaeological Contexts: New Research on Ancient Iraq
Proceedings of a Conference Held at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, July 4–5, 2024
Volume 2
From the Frontiers of the Empire to the Borders of the Nations
Borderland Security and Safety in the (post-)Ottoman Spaces (1700–1939)
Global Gulf
Geo-Economic, Geo-Political, and Geo-Technological Transformation in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar
Innovation and Medieval Communities
The Circulation of Ideas and Practices in and out of the Town (1200-1500)
Volume 63
Islamic Rituals Beyond the Mosque
Historical Evolution of Prayer and Devotion in Physical Space and Cyberspace
Ismail Hakki Bursevi’s translation of and commentary on Fusus al-Hikam By Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
Volumes 1-4
John Dunstaple Reading Boethius
John Dunstaple’s Annotations to Boethius’s “De institutione musica” in the Manuscript Oxford, Corpus Christi College Library, MS 118
Medieval Debates on Foreknowledge: Future Contingents, Prophecy, and Divination
Acts of the XXVII Annual Colloquium of the SIEPM, Trento 12-15 September 2023
Volume 31
Medieval Yeghegis, Armenia
History, Archaeology, Society. Local Multiplicities and Global Connections of a Rural Centre on the Silk Road(s)
Monastic Manuscripts from the Eastern Mediterranean (Sinai, Jerusalem, Antioch)
Production, Use, and Contexts
Nicholas of Lyra’s Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
Franciscan Exegesis in a Time of Crisis
