Quest for the Historical Muhammad - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573927872 ISBN 13: 9781573927871

Publisher: Prometheus, 2000

Synopsis

More than one hundred years ago Western scholars began to investigate the origins of Islam, using the highest standards of objective historical scholarship of the time. Their aim was to determine what could be known about Muhammad and the rise of early Islam quite apart from the pious and totally unobjective traditions preserved by the Muslim religious community. In some ways this research was inspired by a similar investigation of Christianity made famous by Albert Schweitzer's Quest of the Historical Jesus. Today although much has been learned about early Christianity, little comparable progress has been made in the field of Islamic Studies. Here objective historical research has long been severely handicapped both by the resistance of Muslim societies to Western analysis of their sacred traditions and by the apologetic approaches of many Western scholars, who have compromised their investigations for fear of offending Muslim sensibilities.It is in this context that Ibn Warraq presents this important anthology of the best studies of Muhammad and early Islam ranging from the very beginnings of Islamic Studies in the nineteenth century to contemporary research. In his selection and in an introductory essay, Warraq makes it clear that some very serious scholarly controversies lie at the heart of Islam. First, the Koran itself, the Muslim sacred scripture and the foundation of Islamic culture, is called into question as the basis for objective historical knowledge of Muhammad. Some scholars have also questioned the reliability of most of the other early Arabic documents that supposedly attest to events in the life of Muhammad and his followers. Was the Koran dictated by Muhammad at all? Was it actually compiled any earlier than a hundred years after the Prophet's death? How much of Muslim sacred tradition, in the light of objective historical analysis, must be dismissed as unreliable hearsay? Were the motives of the first Muslim conquerors during the Jihad truly religious in nature or largely mercenary? These disturbing questions, long suppressed throughout the history of Islamic scholarship, are here raised again in these erudite and thoroughly researched essays by noted scholars.

About this title

About the Author

Ibn Warraq is the highly acclaimed author of Why I Am Not a Muslim, Virgins? What Virgins?, and Defending the West. He is also the editor of The Origins of the Koran, What the Koran Really Says, Leaving Islam, The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, and Which Koran?.

Reviews

Warraq, author of Why I Am Not a Muslim, here offers a "quest for the historical Muhammad" using the same methodology established by scholars attempting to uncover the historical Jesus. Applying this approach to determine if early traditions about Muhammad and the birth of Islam are historically accurate, Warraq predictably finds that the faith tradition cannot support the historian's demanding gaze. For example, Warraq argues that the centrality of Muhammad himself (as the prophet of God, author of the Qu'ran and focal point of Islamic culture) did not emerge until at least two centuries after the death of the historical Muhammad. Warraq's subtext is significantly unlike the Jesus Seminar's similar work, in which historians who are also Christians struggle to sort out the ways that historical methodology may illuminate and enliven the faith tradition. As his earlier titles suggest, this is not the work of a Muslim in radical dialogue with his faith. Under the guise of scholarly objectivity, Warraq wages a vigorous attack on the traditions of Islam. Biases notwithstanding, there is also much useful scholarship here; not only has Warraq provided a highly readable critical survey of the literature of this quest, he has also collected the most important texts needed to begin a more objective evaluation of Islam's sacred tradition. The reader's task is to sort the polemic from the scholarship. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This anthology of writings on Muhammad and early Islam "can be seen as an implicit criticism of this optimistic view of our historical evidence for the rise of early Islam." Rather than being a quest, as the title suggests, this work attempts to refute the traditional view and legitimacy of Islam and its founder. Contradictory statements concerning how much historical material is available on the life of Muhammad range from an overwhelming amount to practically none at all. The book, edited by Warraq (Why I Am Not a Muslim), readily admits to the anti-Islamic bias of some of its contributors. For example, Henri Lammens, who authored three chapters, is described as one who had "a holy contempt for Islam." Lammens himself refers to the Qur'an as an "infinitely shabby journal." Although very scholarly, this work is not balanced and is sure to cause a good deal of controversy in the Muslim world. Not recommended.
-Michael W. Ellis, Ellenville P.L., NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In the past century, the quest for the historical Jesus and the sources of Christian beliefs has become a growth industry. Unfortunately, there has been relatively scant historical research into the sources of Islamic belief and the character of Muhammad. The few historians who have ventured into that field have generally accepted traditional accounts of Muhammad's life and of his direct authorship of the basic tenets of the Koran. Warraq, who is clearly skeptical of that view, has compiled a revisionist anthology that questions many of the basic assumptions about early Islam. Some essays question Muhammad's authorship of the Koran, and others deny key "historical" facts about his life. Warraq provides a detailed description of sources and definitions of key terms; however, this is a technical, scholarly collection that will challenge and perhaps overwhelm nonspecialists. For those with a strong interest and background in Islamic studies, this work is a provocative and necessary read. Jay Freeman

Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1573927872
• ISBN 13: 9781573927871
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 562
• Editor: Warraq Ibn