At the Origins of Islam : Muhammad, the Community of the Qur?an, and the Transformation of the Bedouin World

The coming of Islam marks a watershed in world history. A new movement arose from the sands of Arabia. It destroyed old empires and reshaped lands that had been the very cradle of civilisation in its own image. Debate on the origins of Islam is fierce. Far from being born in the full light of history, fundamental issues remain obscure and basic questions, like how the Arabian backwater of the ancient world generated an all-conquering state, often go unasked.

This book offers a new and bold explanation for these momentous events. It investigates the growth of a community of believers around their prophet in an Arabian oasis before looking at how their interactions with surrounding nomads set in store truly transformative developments. These developments took on a deeper significance given wider changes witnessed in the late antique Near East, which created the context for the earthshattering events of the seventh century.

At the Origins of Islam: Muḥammad, the Community of the Qurʾān, and the Transformation of the Bedouin World unites the near and far horizons of early Islam into one story. It embraces a broad range of sources and comparative evidence to set new courses in the study of Late Antiquity and early Islam.

James Moreton Wakeley received a D.Phil in History from Lincoln College, Oxford, after previously studying Classics at Clare College, Cambridge. His previous publications include The Two Falls of Rome in Late Antiquity: The Arabian Conquests in Comparative Perspective. His research interests range from the later Roman world, to nomadism on the Great Steppe and the formation of the modern Middle East.