The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (622–641)
A Critical Revision of Muslims’ Traditional Portrayal of the Arab Raids and Conquests
Summary
The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (622–641) extensively analyzes the earliest Arabic Muslim sources to answer these and other questions. It relies on over 400 works, including primary sources written by more than 90 medieval Muslim authors, Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and Mu’tazilite. It explores how medieval Muslim writers represented the early Arab leaders, and how much we can trust their reports. It concludes with an examination of the Qur’ān’s commands regarding fighting and armed jihad, and questions what later commentators suggest about fighting the non-Muslims, specifically how radical Muslim interpretations match or violate Islam’s sacred scripture.
This is the first scholarly analysis to focus on the stated motivations for the early Islamic expansion in the first two decades of Islam. It is a valuable resource for courses on Muslim history, introduction to Islam, Islamic origins and texts, classical and modern Islamic thought, Muhammad’s biography, Islamic Caliphates, Muslim-Christian relations, Jews in the Muslim world, Middle Eastern history, and world history. In the age of ISIS, Qaeda, and Boko Haram, this book reflects on how historiographical accounts can inform today’s multi-cultural and multi-religious societies on complex relations, mutual respect, and religious coexistence.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- Advance Praise for The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (622–641)
- This eBook can be cited
- Contents
- System of Transliteration
- Notes on the Text
- Definitions of Terms
- Primary Source Authors in Chronological Order
- Modern and Contemporary Muslim Authors That Appear in the Study
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter One: Introduction
- Traditional Muslim Approach to Maghāzī and Futūḥ: Essential Background
- Research Rationale
- The Research Problem
- Central Phrase of the Research: Religious Motivation
- Demarcations of the Research
- Research Plan, Structure, and Outline
- Sources and Source Problems: The Crisis of Islamic Studies
- Research Methodology
- The Qur’ān
- The Historical Accounts
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Primary Islamic Sources
- Arabic Secondary Studies
- Secondary Studies: Muslim and Non-Muslim
- Online Resources
- Chapter Two: Review of Precedent Literature
- Muslim and Non-Muslim Approaches to the Muslim Sources
- The Qur’ān
- Historical Writings: Rise and Development Among the Muslims
- Source Problems in the Historical Writings: The Crisis of Islamic Studies
- Arabic Primary Sources Used in This Study: A Survey
- Muhammad’s Life and Raids: Sīra and Maghāzī
- Early Muslim Conquests: Futūḥ Literature
- Early Muslim Histories: Ta’rīkh Literature
- More Early Muslim Sources
- Motivations for the Conquests in the Secondary Literature
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Primary Islamic Sources
- Arabic Secondary Studies
- Secondary Studies: Muslim and Non-Muslim
- Online Resources
- Chapter Three: Muhammad’s Maghāzī and Their Stated Motivations: A Critical Revision of Sīrat Rasūl Allāh
- Traditional Muslim Approach to Muhammad’s Maghāzī
- Muhammad’s Raids After the Hijra and Before Badr
- The Battle of Badr
- The Battle of Uḥud
- The Conquest of Mecca
- Political Situation Between Uḥud and fatḥ Mecca
- Banū al-Naḍīr
- The Battle of the Trench
- Banū Qurayẓa
- The Raid to Khaybar and Fadak
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Primary Islamic Sources
- Arabic Secondary Studies
- Secondary Studies: Muslim and Non-Muslim
- Chapter Four: The Stated Motivations for the Early Futūḥ: From Maghāzī to Futūḥ Through the Ridda Wars: A Critical Revision
- Precursors of the Early Arab Conquests
- The Appointment of Abū Bakr at the Saqīfa of Banū Sācida
- The Ridda Wars
- Usāma’s Expedition to Syria
- Khālid’s Expedition to Iraq
- The Conquest of Syria
- Al-Azdī al-Baṣrī (d. ca. 165/781)
- Al-Wāqidī (d. ca. 207/823)
- Al-Balādhurī (d. ca. 279/892)
- Al-Yaᶜqūbī (d. 248/897) and al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923)
- Critical Observations on the Motivations for Futūḥ al-Shām
- The Stated Motivation of Abū Bakr
- The Possible Violation of the Qur’ān
- The Reported Deeds of Some Commanders
- The Three Options Given to the Conquered People
- The Apparent Conspiracy Behind Abū Bakr’s Death and Burial
- The Conquest of Egypt
- Ibn ᶜAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 257/871)
- Al-Balādhurī (d. ca. 279/892)
- Al-Yaᶜqūbī (d. 248/897)
- Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923)
- Critical Observations on the Motivations for Fatḥ Miṣr
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Primary Islamic Sources
- Non-Islamic Sources
- Arabic Secondary Studies
- Secondary Studies: Muslim and Non-Muslim
- Online Resources
- Chapter Five: Jihad and Qitāl as the Qur’ān Sees Them: Exegeting Islam’s Scripture
- Exegeting Islam’s Scripture: Jihad and Qitāl in the Qur’ān
- The Qur’ān on Confrontation with Non-Muslims
- Jihad and Qitāl in the Qur’ān
- Kāfirūn and Kuffār
- Ahl al-kitāb
- Alladhīn ūtū al-kitāb
- Fī sabīl Allāh
- Exegeting the Qur’ān: How Does It All Fit Together?
- Muslim Mufassirūn on Jihad and Qitāl in the Qur’ān: An Analysis
- Six Muslim Mufassirūn
- Fight in Self-Defense and Do Not Attack: Is the Qur’ān Sufficient?
- No Compulsion in Religion: Yes, but When and How?
- Fight Them Until There Is No Opposition
- Fight the People of the Book
- No Fighting: You Have Your Religion, and I Have Mine
- Conclusion: The Conflict Between the Qur’ān and Its Commentators
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Primary Islamic Sources
- Arabic Secondary Studies
- Secondary Studies: Muslim and Non-Muslim
- Online Resources
- Chapter Six: Conclusion
- Series index
The transliteration system followed in this project is for the most part the one used by the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) transliteration guide. See their website http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ijmes/pages/transliteration.html for the complete guidelines. I use the English terms known for various Arabic words without transliteration (e.g., jihad, Prophet Muhammad, etc.). I do not use Anglicized plurals, but rather the fully transliterated words (aḥādīth instead of ḥadīths). The initial hamza is always dropped, and the Arabic definite article (al-) is lowercase everywhere unless it is the first word in a sentence. The Arabic tā’ marbūṭa is rendered “a” not “ah” (ᶜarabiyya instead of ᶜarabiyyah), which also refers to the way of rendering the nisba ending. Proper Arabic names are transliterated but not italicized. The short vowels are (a for fatḥa, i for kasra, and u for ḍamma). The long vowels are (ā for alif, ū for wāw, and ī for yā’). The diphthongs are (ay and aw).
Ahl al-kitāb and alladhīn ūtū al-kitāb: Two Qur’ānic terms refer to the People of the Book or Scripture People, probably Christians and Jews.
Anṣār: The term refers to the locals of Medina known as the supporters of Muhammad. They believed his message, and helped him and his followers after their emigration from Mecca. Cf. muhājirūn and hijra.
Asbāb al-nuzūl: The term is related to the Qur’ān and means occasions or reasons for the revelations. These are exegetical reports developed by Medieval Muslim writers explaining the context, location, and time of the revelation of a specific Qur’ānic verse or passage. The literary genre began to flourish by the 5th/11th century.
Believers: The term, throughout this study, refers to the early followers of the Prophet Muhammad. It better describes them as members of his community, in contrasts with “Muslims.”
Futūḥ: These are the military conquests conducted by the Arab commanders after Muhammad’s death during the Caliphate period. The term also refers to the written traditions (futūḥ literature) that deal with the military expeditions. This Arabic term describes the conquests as act of “opening” and liberating the conquered lands.
!Ḥadīth: This is a report of a saying, teaching, or deed attributed to a religious figure, particularly the Prophet Muhammad. Its plural form is aḥādīth, which are compiled in sets by various Muslim compilers. ← xiii | xiv →
Hijra: This refers to the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. It took place in the year 622 in the Julian calendar, which was later adopted by the second Caliph ᶜUmar as the starting year of the Muslim lunar calendar known as Hijri dating.
Kāfirūn: This is a plural form of kāfir, which means an infidel, faithless, or unbeliever. Other plural forms are kuffār and kafara.
Maghāzī: This term refers to the raids, incursions, or expeditions organized, led, or commissioned by Muhammad after he emigrated from Mecca to Medina. It also refers to Muhammad’s life generally. This term was later developed to sīra (biography). The noun maghāzī is plural of ghazwa. Its verbal form is ghazā, which means to invade.
Mufassirūn (sg. Mufassir): This refers to Muslim exegetes of the Qur’ān.
Muḥaddithūn (sg. muḥaddith): The transmitters or scholars of ḥadīth; experts in traditions, and thus traditionists.
Muhājirūn: These are the Meccan emigrant Believers, who were the earliest to believe in Muhammad’s message. Under the hostile persecution of the pagan Meccans, they were forced to leave their homes and emigrate with Muhammad to Medina, in the event called the hijra.
Munāfiqūn (sg. Munāfiq): The term refers to “lukewarm Believers” or “uncommitted Muslims,” yet commonly translated “hypocrites.”
Mushrikūn (sg. Mushrik): The term is best translated as associaters, those associating partners with Allah. It is commonly understood as polytheists.
Sīra: This means biography, especially when linked to Muhammad. Linguistically, the word refers to behavior, deeds, and conduct.
Ṭabaqāt (sg. Ṭabaqa): Classes or generations of the Believers.
Tafsīr: The word means “explanation,” and refers to a commentary on the Qur’ān, or more generally the branch of Qur’ānic commentary within the Islamic sciences.
Ta’rīkh: The term refers to historiography, which is writing about the past. It is the literary genre that represents what Muslims believe to have happened in their tārīkh (past).
Traditionalists: The term throughout this study usually refers to Muslims adopting a traditional and mostly conservative approach towards Islamic origins. When used in relation to non-Muslim authors, it similarly refers to those who are more likely to view the sources as authentic.
Umma: The term refers to the community of Muhammad’s followers, signifying their unity through the ideological bond of their faith.
Primary Source Authors in Chronological Order
Sulaym Ibn Qays (d. 76/695)
Mujāhid ibn Jabr (d. ca. 104/722)
Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124/741)
Mūsā ibn ᶜUqba (d. 141/758)
Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī al-Shīᶜī (d. 148/767)
Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767) ← xiv | xv →
Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 150/767)
Sufyān al-Thawrī (d. 161/778)
Azdī al-Baṣrī (d. ca. 165/781)
Sayf Ibn ᶜUmar (d. ca. 180/796)
ᶜAbdullah ibn al-Mubārak (d. 181/797)
Ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī (d. ca. 184/805)
Abū Isḥāq al-Fazārī (d. after 185/802)
Yaḥyā ibn Ādam al-Qurashī (d. 203/818)
Ibn al-Kalbī (d. 204/819)
Abū ᶜAbdullāh al-Shāfiᶜī (d. 204/820)
Muḥammad ibn ᶜUmar al-Wāqidī (d. ca. 207/823)
ᶜAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanᶜānī (d. 211/744)
ᶜAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām (d. ca. 218/833)
Abā ᶜUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām (d. 224/837)
Muḥammad ibn Saᶜd (d. 230/844)
Muḥammad ibn Sallām al-Jumaḥī (d. 231/845)
Muṣᶜab ibn ᶜAbdullāh al-Zubayrī (d. 236/851)
Khalīfa ibn Khayyāṭ (d. 240/854)
Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī (d. 243/857)
Ibn Ḥabīb al-Baghdādī (d. 245/860)
Ḥamīd ibn Zanjawayh (d. 251/865)
Muḥammad ibn Ismāᶜīl al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870)
Ibn ᶜAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 257/871)
Muḥammad al-Faḍl ibn Shādhān (d. 260/874)
Imām Muslim (d. 261/874)
ᶜUmar ibn Shabba (d. 262/875)
Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī (d. 275/889)
Ibn Qutayba al-Dīnawarī (d. 276/889)
Yaᶜqūb ibn Sufyān al-Fasawī (d. 277/890)
Abū ᶜĪsā al-Tirmidhī (d. 279/892)
Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī (d. ca. 279/892)
Abū Zurᶜa al-Dimashqī (d. 281/894)
Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī (d. ca. 282/895)
Ibn Hilāl al-Thaqafī al-Shīᶜī (d. 283/896)
Sahl al-Tustarī al-Ṣūfī (d. ca. 283/896)
Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaᶜqūbī (d. 284/897)
Ibn Abī ᶜĀṣim (d. 287/900)
Nuᶜaym ibn Ḥammād al-Marūzī (d. 288/901)
Abū ᶜAbdullāh Ibn al-Ḍarīs (d. 294/906)
ᶜAbdullāh ibn al-Muᶜtaz (d. 296/908)
Ibn Khuradādhbih (d. ca. 299/912)
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qummī (d. after 307/919)
Abū Jaᶜfar al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923)
Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj (d. 311/924) ← xv | xvi →
Ibn Aᶜtham al-Kūfī (d. ca. 314/926)
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (d. ca. 311/925)
Abū Jaᶜfar al-Kulaynī (d. ca. 328/939)
Ibn ᶜAbd Rabbih (d. 328/940)
Abū Muḥammad ibn Yaᶜqūb al-Hamdānī (d. 334/945)
Al-Shaykh al-Ṣūlī (d. 335/947)
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Masᶜūdī (d. 345/956)
Ibn al-Faqīh (d. 4th/10th century)
Abū Isḥāq al-Iṣṭakhrī al-Balkhī (d. 350/961)
Ibn Ḥibbān (d. 354/965)
Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī (d. 369/979)
Ibn al-Nadīm (d. ca. 385/995)
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. ca. 406/1015)
ᶜAbd al-Malik Abū Saᶜd al-Kharkūshī (d. 407/1016)
Al-Shaykh al-Mufīd (d. 413/1022)
ᶜAbd al-Jabbār al-Hamadhānī al-Muᶜtazilī (d. 415/1025)
Ibn Ibrāhīm al-Thaᶜlabī (d. 427/1035)
Abū Nuᶜaym al-Iṣfahānī (d. 430/1038)
Abū al-ᶜAbbās al-Najāshī (d. 450/1058)
Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī (d. 458/1066)
Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (d. 460/ 1068)
Ibn ᶜAbd al-Barr (d. 463/1071)
Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072)
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Wāḥidī (d. 468/1076)
Aḥmad al-Sarakhasī (d. 490/1097)
Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111)
Abū al-Qāsim al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538/1144)
Ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭabarsī (d. 548/1153)
ᶜAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (d. 561/1166)
ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suhaylī (d. 581/1185)
Ibn Qudāma al-Maqdisī (d. 620/1223)
Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī (d. 627/1229)
Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Athīr (d. 630/1233)
Sulaymān ibn Mūsā al-Kalāᶜī (d. 634/1237)
Abū ᶜAbdullāh al-Qurṭubī (d. 671/1273)
ᶜAbdullāh al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286)
Ibn al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī (d. 726/1325)
Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328)
Shams al-Dīn al-Dhahabī (d. 748/1348)
Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ṣafadī (d. 764/1363)
Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373)
Ibn Khaldūn (d. 808/1406)
Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī (d. 818/1415) ← xvi | xvii →
Taqī al-Dīn al-Maqrīzī (d. 845/1442)
Ibn Ḥajar al-ᶜAsqalānī (d. 852/1448)
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505)
Modern and Contemporary Muslim Authors That Appear in the Study
Muḥammad ibn ᶜAbd al-Wahhāb (1703–1792), Saudi
Rashīd Riḍā (1865–1935), Lebanese
Muḥammad Ḥussayn Haykal (1888–1956), Egyptian
ᶜAbbās Maḥmūd al-ᶜAqqād (1889–1964), Egyptian
Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (1889–1973), Egyptian
Maḥmūd Abū Rayya (1889–1970), Egyptian
Khayr al-Dīn al-Ziriklī (1893–1976), Lebanese
Muḥammad ᶜAbd al-Laṭīf Ibn al-Khaṭīb (1900–1981), Egyptian
Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī (1904–1981), Iranian
Sayyid Abū al-Aᶜlā Mawdūdī (1903–1979), Indian
ᶜUmar Riḍā Kaḥḥāla (1905–1987), Syrian
Sayyid Quṭb (1906–1966), Egyptian
Jawwād ᶜAlī (1907–1987), Iraqi
Ḥusayn Mu’nis (1911–1996), Egyptian
Muḥammad Mitwallī al-Shaᶜrāwī (1911–1998), Egyptian
Muḥammad Yūsuf al-Kāndahlawī (1917–1965), Indian
ᶜAbd al-ᶜAzīz al-Dūrī (1919–2010), Iraqi
Aḥmad Ibrāhīm al-Sharīf (1926–), Egyptian
Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī (1926–), Egyptian
Muḥammad Arkūn (1928–2010), Algerian French
Khalīl ᶜAbd al-Karīm (1930–2002), Egyptian
Ilyās Shūfānī (1932–2013), Palestinian
Hādī al-ᶜAlawī (1933–1998), Iraqi
Zaghloul el-Naggar (1933–), Egyptian
Hichem Djait (1935–), Tunisian
Muḥammad ᶜĀbid al-Jābrī (1936–2010), Moroccan
ᶜAbdallāh ibn Aḥmad al-Qādirī (1937–), Yemeni
ᶜAbd al-Hādī ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān (1930s–)
Muḥammad Khayr Haykal (1941–), Syrian
Ṣafī al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī (1943–2006), Indian
Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd (1943–2010), Egyptian
ᶜAlī al-Kūrānī al-ᶜĀmilī (1944–), Lebanese
Jaᶜfar Murtaḍā al-ᶜĀmilī (1945–), Lebanese
ᶜAzīz al-ᶜAzmeh (1947–), Syrian ← xvii | xviii →
Sayyid Maḥmūd al-Qimany (1947–), Egyptian
Sheikh ᶜAlī Jumᶜa (1951–), Egyptian
Samī ibn ᶜAbdullāh al-Maghlūth (1963–), Saudi
Rāghib al-Sirjānī (1964–), Egyptian
I never thought I would work on a Ph.D., nor write a dissertation—let alone that it would investigate Islamic Studies, or precisely Islamic History. Just consider the obvious: my bachelor degree is in electrical engineering, with an emphasis on electronics and telecommunications. Looking back on my career and how I came thus far, now working on a second Ph.D. focusing on Islamic History (again), I am grateful for the family, friends, teachers, and others who have generously helped, supported, and encouraged me. Getting a Ph.D. and writing a dissertation can hardly be done alone. This is why I sit down and write with joy about those who sacrificially loved and supported me. I fear that I have unintentionally overlooked some who have helped me, but I am truly thankful and indebted to you.
I was born in a majority-Muslim country, Egypt, and have many Muslim friends. My journey toward a Ph.D. began in 2008 at the suggestion of three professors who noticed my love for teaching: Keith Eitel (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), Martin Accad (Institute of Middle East Studies), and Elie Haddad (Arab Baptist Theological Seminary). Their suggestion was the triggering signal for me to consider pursuing this painstaking degree. My parents’ loving support propelled me forward, even though this undertaking meant I would need to remain in the United States instead of with them in Egypt. Although my dad did not live to see me hold my Ph.D. diploma, I am certain he would have been proud ← xix | xx → of his son. I imagine him telling his repeated jokes about how crazy I was to turn down his business career as an artistic carpenter to follow my piles of books.
Details
- Pages
- XXIV, 242
- Publication Year
- 2018
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781433137617
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433137624
- ISBN (MOBI)
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- DOI
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