| Historiography Of Early Islam |
Article Index for Historiography |
Website Links For Early |
Information AboutHistoriography Of Early Islam |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HISTORIOGRAPHY OF EARLY ISLAM | |
| muslim history | |
|
The Historiography of early Islam is the study of how various historians have treated the events of the first two centuries of Islamic history. These events are problematic in that they are disputed by various Islamic sects ''and'' because there are so few surviving Primary Source s for the period. There are few surviving manuscripts and inscriptions, and only sketchy archaeological data. Islamic history seems to have been primarily transmitted orally until well after the rise of the Abbasid caliphate. Islamic scholars then sifted and recorded the traditions. Modern Western scholars are much less likely than Islamic scholars to trust the work of the Abbasid historians. Western historians approach the classic Islamic histories with varying degrees of circumspection. Islamic history after this early period is on a much firmer basis. Not only is there a fair bit of Islamic material surviving — some of it primary source — but interested outsiders also made their own records, which can be cross-checked with the Islamic sources. SOURCES FOR EARLY ISLAMIC HISTORY : ''See also: List Of Islamic Texts ''
THE ISLAMIC VERSIONS, IN OUTLINE Sunni Shi'a Ibadi ISLAMIC HISTORIANS NON-ISLAMIC SOURCES There are numerous early references to Islam in non-Islamic sources, but most of these are relatively short, and lack detail, making them less useful to the historian. For some, the date of composition is controversial. Notable examples include the works of:
See also: External References to Islam . WESTERN-STYLE SECULAR SCHOLARSHIP Before ''Hagarism''
The iconoclasts There is a radical school of thought that now argues that the early history of Islam is a myth, generated ''after'' the conquests of Egypt, Syria, and Persia to prop up the new Arab regimes in those lands and give them a solid ideological foundation. According to this theory the Qur'an was composed at that time too, and the Arab conquests may have been the ''cause'', rather than the ''consequence'', of Islam. The main evidence for these theories, however, is negative — near total lack of reference to early Islamic events in any contemporary non-Arab source. There are also no complete manuscripts of the Qur'an that can be dated to before c. A.D. 750. Crone has since disavowed the "late composition of the Quran" theory, though she is still a severe critic of the Sunni Ulema 's version of Islamic history. Qualified trust in Islamic sources
Bridging the divide A few scholars have managed to bridge the divide between Islamic and Western-style secular scholarship. They have completed both Islamic and Western academic training.
|
|
|