Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

(1998-2002)

Section I. Falsafa

a. Collective Works

An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia , vol. I, ed. by Seyyed Hossein Nasr with Mehdi Aminrazavi. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, xxx-434 pp., ISBN 0-19-512699-8 [includes translations of passages from al-Fârâbî, al-'Âmirî, al-Sijistânî,

Avicenna, Miskawayh, Bahmanyâr, al-Râzî, al-Bîrûnî; only new translations will be detailed below].

Aristotele eAlessandro di Afrodisia nella tradizione araba. Atti del Colloquio La ricezione arabe ed ebraica della filosofia e della scienza greche, Padova, 14-15 maggio 1999, ed. by Cristina D'Ancona & Giuseppe Serra. (Subsidia Mediaevalia Patavina, 3). Padua: Il Poligrafo, 2002, 334 pp., ISBN 88-7115-220-4.

Aristotle's Animals in the Middle Ages and Renaissance , ed. by Carlos Steel, Guy Guldentops & Pieter Beullens (Mediaevalia Lovaniensia, I, XXVII). Louvain: Leuven University Press, 1999, 408 pp., ISBN 90-6186-973-0.

Aspects of Avicenna , ed. by Robert Wisnovsky. Princeton: Markus Wiener, 2001, xiii-182 pp., ISBN 1-55876-251-5.

Averroes and the Aristotelian Tradition: Sources, Constitution and Reception of the Philosophy of Ibn Rushd (1126-1198). Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium Averroicum (Cologne, 1996), ed. by Gerhard Endress & Jan A. Aertsen with Klaus Braun (Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Science, Texts and Studies, XXXI). Leiden: Brill, 1999, x-441 pp., ISBN 90-04-11308-8.

Avicenna and his Heritage. Acts of the International Colloquium, Leuven-Louvain-la-Neuve September 8-September 11, 1999 , ed. by Jules Janssens & Daniel De Smet (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, De Wulf-Mansion Centre, I, XXVIII). Louvain: Leuven University Press, 2002, xiv-341 pp., ISBN 90-5867-209-3.

Le Commentaire entre tradition et innovation. Actes du Colloque International de l'Institut des Traditions Textuelles (Paris et Villejuif, 22-25 septembre 1999), ed. by Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé with Tiziano Dorandi, Richard Goulet, Henri Hugonnard-Roche, Alain Le Boulluec & Ezio Oranto (Bibliothèque d'Histoire de la Philosophie). Paris: Vrin, 2000, 608 pp., ISBN 2-7116-1445-X.

A Companion to World Philosophies , ed. by Eliot Deutsch & Ron Bontekoe (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy). Oxford: Blackwell, 1997, hardcover, ISBN 0-631-19871-7 & 1999, pb., ISBN 0-631-21327-9.

L'Elaboration du vocabulaire philosophique au moyen âge. Actes du Colloque International de Louvain-la-Neuve et Leuven 12-14 septembre 1998, ed. by Jacqueline Hamesse & Carlos Steel (Rencontres de Philosophie Médiévale, 8). Turnhout: Brepols, 2000, xii-566pp., ISBN 2-503-51117-1.

Journées d'études Avicenne, Marrakech, 25-26 septembre 1998 . Marrakech: Publications du Groupe d'Études Ibn Sînâ, 1999, xii-166 pp., ISBN 9981-9938-3-2.

Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources , ed. by Olivia Remie Constable. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997, xxviii-426 pp., ISBN cloth 0-8122-3333-6, pb. 0-8122-1569-9.

Philosophy and Arts in the Islamic World. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Congress of the Union Européene des Arabisants et Islamisants held at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (September 3-September 9, 1996), ed. by U. Vermeulen & D. De Smet (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 87). Louvain: Peeters, 1998, x-332 pp., ISBN 90-6831-977-9.

La Rhétoriqued'Aristote: Traditions et commentaires de l'Antiquité au XVIIe siècle , ed. by Gilbert Dahan & Irène Rosier-Catach (Tradition de la Pensée Classique). Paris: Vrin, 1998, 356 pp., ISBN 2-7116-1307-

Théories de la phrase et de la proposition de Platon à Averroès , ed. by Philippe Büttgen, Stéphane Diebler & Marwan Rashed (Etudes de Littérature Ancienne, 10). Paris: Editions Ens rue d'Ulm, 1999, x-336 pp., ISBN 2-7288-0252-1.

Les Traducteurs au travail: leurs manuscrits et leurs méthodes. Actes du Colloque International (Erice, 30 septembre-6 octobre 1999), ed. by Jacqueline Hamesse (Fédération Internationale des Instituts d'Etudes Médiévales, Textes et Etudes du Moyen Age, 18). Turnhout: Brepols, 2001, xvi-546 pp., ISBN 2-503-51219-4.

b. Special Issues of Journals

Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10, n.2 (2000) focuses on Avicenna.

Medieval Arabic Philosophy and the West, ed. by Thérèse Bonin, Topoi: An International Review of Philosophy, 19, n. 1 (2000): 1-75.

Medieval Islamic Thought, ed. by Thérèse-Anne Druart, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, 73, n. 1 (Winter 1999): 1-230.

c. Bibliographies and Chronicles

Daiber, Hans,Bibliography of Islamic Philosophy, Vol. I: Alphabetical List of Publications; Vol. II: Index of Names, Terms & Topics (Handbuch der Orientalistik, Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten, 43). Leiden: Brill, 1999, lviii-974 pp. & 548 pp., ISBN Set 90-04-11347-9.

Druart, Thérèse-Anne, "Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology Bibliographical Guide (1996-1998),"MIDEO , 24 (2000) [in fact 2001]: 381-414.

Janssens, Jules, An Annotated Bibliography on Ibn Sînâ: First Supplement (1990-1994), see Avicenna.

Urvoy, Dominique, "Bulletin de philosophie arabe et islamique,"Revue Thomiste . 102 (2002):107-24.

-----, "Chronique de philosophie arabe et islamique,"Revue Thomiste , 100 (2000): 96-115.

-----, "Autour d'Averroès: Chronique de philosophie arabe et islamique,"Revue Thomiste , 98 (1998): 660-74.

-----, "Chronique de philosophie arabe et islamique,"Revue Thomiste , 97 (1997): 375-90.

-----, "Chronique de philosophei arabe et islamique,"Revue Thomiste , 96 (1996): 129-46.

d. Greek and Syriac Sources

Aristotle's Meteorologyin the Arabico-Latin Tradition: A Critical Edition of the Texts [Arabic & Latin] by Peter L. Schoonheim (Aristoteles Semitico-Latinus, 12). Leiden: Brill, 2000, l-209 pp., ISBN 90-04-11760-1.

Thémistius,Paraphrase de la Métaphysiqued'Aristote (livre Lambda) , transl. from Hebrew & Arabic with Notes and Intro. by Rémi Brague (Tradition de la Pensée classique). Paris: Vrin, 1999, 175 pp., ISBN 2-7116-1411-5.

Adamson, Peter, "Aristotelianism and the Soul in the Arabic Plotinus,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 62 (2001): 211-32.

-----, "Two Early Arabic Doxographies on the Soul: al-Kindî and the "Theology of Aristotle","The Modern Schoolman , 77 (2000): 105-25.

Ali, Salah Salim, "Arabic Reference to Plato's Lost Atlantis,"The Islamic Quarterly , 43 (1999): 259-78.

Baffioni, Carmela, "Une citazione diDe Interpretatione , 9 in Abû Ma'shar?," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 113-32.

Brock, Sebastian P., "Two Letters of the Patriarch Timothy from the late Eighth Century on Translations from Greek,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 233-46 [includes translation of the letters].

Carusi, Paola, "Filosofia greca e letteratura nelMâ' al-waraqî di Ibn Umail al-Tamîmî (X secolo)," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 233-56.

Casari, Mario,Alessandro e Utopia nei romanzi persiani medievali (Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Dipartimento di Studi Orientali, Supplemento n.1 alla Rivista degli Studi Orientali, vol. LXXII). Roma: Bardi, 1999, 87 pp.

D'Ancona Costa, Cristina, "Commenting on Aristotle: From Late Antiquity to the Arab Aristotelianism," inDer Kommentar in Antike und Mittelalter: Beiträge zu einer Erforschung , ed. by Wilhelm Geerlings & Christian Schulze (Leiden: Brill, 2002), pp. 201-51.

-----, "Pseudo-Theology of Aristotle , Chapter I: Structure and Composition,"Oriens 36 (2001): 78-112.

-----, "Porphyry, Universal Soul and the Arabic Plotinus,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 47-88.

-----, "LeLivre des Causes : structure, antécédents, histoire littéraire,"Annuaire EPHE, Section sciences religieuses , 106 (1997-1998): 423-33.

Endress, Gerhard, "Alexander Arabus on the First Cause. Aristotle's First Mover in an Arabic Treatise attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 19-74 [includes edition].

Fattal, Michel, "Postérité médiévale arabe dulogos plotinien dans la pseudo-Théologie d'Aristote ," inEtudes sur Plotin , ed. by Michel Fattal (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2000), pp. 217-52.

Fazzo, Silvia, "Alessandro di Afrodisia sulle 'contrarietà tangibili' (De Gen. Corr. II 2 ): fonti greche e arabe a confronto," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 151-89.

Gannagé, Emma, "Matière et éléments dans le commentaire d'Alexandre d'AphrodiseIn De Generatione et corruptione ," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 133-49.

Geoffroy, Marc, "La tradition arabe du Περι νο? d'Alexandre d'Aphrodise et les origines de la théorie farabienne des quatre degrés de l'intellect," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 191-231.

Genequand, Charles,Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Cosmos (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 44)> Leiden: Brill, 2001, viii-187 pp., ISBN 90-04-11963-9 [includes Arabic edition and English translation].

Gutas, Dimitri,Greek Philosophers in the Arabic Tradition (Variorum Collected Studies: CS698). Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate, 2000, xii-322 pp., ISBN 0-86078-837-7 [includes Pre-Plotinian Philosophy in Arabic (Other than Platonism and Aristotelism): A Review of the Sources (1994); Sayings by Diogenes Preserved in Arabic (1993); Adrastus of Aphrodisias, (Pseudo-) Cebes, Democrates 'Gnomicus', and Diogenes the Cynic in the Arabic Sources (1994); Plato'sSymposium in the Arabic Tradition (1988); Galen'sSynopsis of Plato'sLaws and Fârâbî'sTalhîs (1997); The Spurious and the Authentic in the Arabic Lives of Aristotle (1986); The Life, Works, and Sayings of Theophrastus in the Arabic Tradition (1985); Eudemus in the Arabic Tradition (2001); Paul the Persian on the Classification of the Parts of Aristotle's Philosophy: A Milestone between Alexandria and Baghdad (1983); The Starting Point of Philosophical Studies in Alexandrian and Arabic Aristotelianism (1985); Philoponus and Avicenna on the Separability of the Intellect: A Case of Orhtodox Christian-Muslim Agreement (1986); The Malady of Love, in collaboration with Heinrich Biesterfeldt (1984)].

-----, "Translations from Greek and Syriac" in the entry "tardjama" ofEncyclopaedia of Islam , 2nd ed., vol. X (leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 225-31.

Hasnawi, Ahmed, "Topic and Analysis: The Arabic Tradition," inWhose Aristotle? Whose Aristotelianism? , ed. by R.W. Sharples (UCL Keeling Series in Ancient Philosophy). Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001, pp. 28-62, ISBN 0-7546-1362-3.

Hugonnard-Roche, Henri, "Les traductions du syriaque," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 19-49.

-----, "Le traité de logique de Paul le Persan: une interprétation tardo-antique de la logique aristotélicienne en syriaque,"Documenti e Studi , 11 (2000): 59-82.

-----, "La théorie de la proposition selon Proba, un témoin syriaque de la tradition grecque (Vie siècle)," inThéories de la phrase , pp. 191-208.

Ivry, Alfred, "The Arabic Text of Aristotle'sDe anima and its Translator,"Oriens , 36 (2001): 59-77.

Janssens, Jules, "L'Avicenne latin: un témoin (indirect) des commentateurs (Alexandre d'Aphrodise – Thémistius – Jean Philopon)," inTradition et Traduction. Les textes philosophiques et scientifiques grecs au moyen âge latin. Hommage à Fernand Bossier , ed. by Rita Beyers, Jozef Brams, Dirk Sacré, Koenraad Verrycken (Louvain: Leuven University Press, 1999), pp. 89-105.

Joosse, N.P., "Bar Hebraeus'Butyrum Sapientiae . A Description of the Extant Manuscripts," Le Muséon , 112 (1999): 417-58.

Kassim, Husain, "Aristotle and Aristotelianism in Medieval Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Philosophy. Lanham: Austin & Winfield, 2000, ii-219 pp., ISBN 1-57292-046-7 (cloth); 1-57292-045-9 (pb).

Kruk, Remke, "Timotheus of Gaza'sOn Animals in the Arabic Tradition,"Le Muséon , 114 (2001): 355-87.

-----, "On Animals : Excerpts of Aristotle and Ibn Sînâ in Marwazî'sTabâ'i' al-Hayawân ," inAristotle's Animals , pp. 96-125.

Larcher, Pierre, "Eléments de rhétorique aristotélicienne dans la tradition arabe hors laFalsafa ," inLa Rhétorique, pp. 241-56.

Lettinck, Paul;Aristotle's Meteorologyand its Reception in the Arab World with an Edition and Translation of Ibn Suwâr's Treatise on Meteorological Phenomenaand Ibn Bâjja's Commentary on the Meteorology (Arsitoteles Semitico-Latinus, 10). Leiden: Brill, 1999, x-505pp., ISBN 90-04-10933-1.

Martini, Cecilia, "La tradizione araba dellaMetafisica di Aristotele. Libri α – A," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 75-112.

-----, "The Arabic Version of the Book Alpha Meizon of Aristotle's Metaphysics and the Testimony of the Ms. Bibl. Apostolica Vaticana, Ott. Lat. 2048," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 173-206.

Rashed, Marwan, "La classification des lignes simples selon Proclus et sa transmission au monde islamique," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 257-79.

Rashed, Roshdi, "Al-Qûhîvs . Aristotle: On Motion,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 7-24.

Saliba, George, "Competition and the Transmission of the Foreign Sciences: Hunayn at the Abbasid Court,"Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies , 2, n. 2 (2000): 85-101.

Strohmaier, Gotthard, "Galen of Pergamon in Arabic and the Editorial Program of the Corpus Medicorum Graecorum," inGraeco-Arabica: Fourth International Congress on Graeco-Oriental and Graeco-African Studies , vol. V (Athens: 1993): 225-31.

e. Latin and Hebrew Translations and Influences

Aslanov, Cyril, "L'aristotélisme médiéval au service du commentaire littéral: Le cas de Joseph Caspi,"Revue des Etudes juives , 161 (2002): 123-37.

Bonin, Thérèse, "The Emanative Psychology of Albertus Magnus,"Topoi , 19 (2000): 45-57.

Burnett, Charles, "The Strategy of Revision in the Arabic-Latin Translations from Toledo," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 57-113.

-----, "Translating from Arabic into Latin in the Middle Ages: Theory, Practice, and Criticisn," inEditer, traduire, interpréter; essais de méthodologie philosophique , ed. by Steve G. Lofts & Philipp W. Rosemann (Philosophes médiévaux, 36). Louvain-la-Neuve: Editions de l'Institut Supérieur de Philosophie & Louvain: Peeters, 1997, pp. 55-78, ISBN 90-6831-354-X.

D'Ancona, Cristina, "L'influence du vocabulaire arabe:causa prima est esse tantum ," inL'Elaboration , pp. 51-97.

Federici Vecsovini, Graziella, "La versio latina degliExcerpta de secretis Albumasar di Sadan. Una edizione,"Archives d'Histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Age , 65 (1998): 273-330.

Fontaine, Resianne, "The Study of Medieval Hebrew Philosophical Terminology in the Twentieth Century: Klatzkin'sThesaurus and Later Studies,"Jewish Studies Quarterly , 7 (2000): 160-81.

Harvey, Steven, "On the Nature and Extent of Jewish Averroism: Renan'sAverroès et l'averroïsme Revisited,"Jewish Studies Quarterly , 7 (2000): 99-119.

Hissette, Roland, "Des traductions doubles et Guillaume de Luna ou de Lunis," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 257-73.

-----, "Guillaume de Luna a-t-il traduit Abû Kâmil?," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 300-15.

Hünemörder, Christian, "Der Text des Michael Scotus um die Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts und Thomas Cantimpratensis III," inAristotle's Animals , pp. 238-48.

Ivry, Alfred L., "Salomon Munk and the Mélanges de Philosophie juive et arabe," Jewish Studies Quarterly, 7 (2000): 120-26.

Jacquart, Danielle, "Les manuscrits des traductions de Gérard de Crémone: quelques caractéristiques formelles," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 207-20.

Jolivet, Jean,La Théologie et les arabes (Initiations au Moyen Age). Paris: Cerf, 2002, 121pp. ISBN 2-204-06906-X [influence of Arabic Metaphysics on Western Christian Theologians].

Köhler, Theodor Wolfram, "Die wissenschaftstheoretische und inhaltliche Bedeutung der Rezeption vonDe animalibus für den philosophisch-anthropologischen Diskurs im 13. Jahrhundert," inAristotle's Animals , pp. 249-74.

Langermann, Y. Tzvi, "A New Hebrew Passage from theTheology of Aristotle and its Significance,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 247-59 [includes hebrew edition].

Lohr, Charles, "The Arabic Background to Ramon Lull'sLiber chaos 9ca. 1285),"Traditio , 55 (2000): 159-70.

Manekin, Charles H., "Steinschneider'sDie hebraeischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters . From Reference Work to Digitalized Database,"Jewish Studies Quarterly , 7 (2000): 141-59.

Martínez Gázquez, José, "Observaciones a la traduccíon latina del Corán (Qur'an) de Robert de Ketene," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 115-27.

Pick, Lucy K., "Michael Scotin Toledo:Natura naturans and the Hierarchy of Being,"Traditio , 53 (1998), 93-116.

Rucquoi, Adeline, "Gundisalvus ou Dominicus Gundisalvi,"Bulletin de Philosophie médiévale , 41 (1999): 85-106.

Sarnowsky, Jürgen, "Place and Space in Albert of Saxony's Commentaries on thePhysics ,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 25-45.

Serra, Giuseppe, "Note in Margine a M. Zonta, Le traduzioni di Zerahya Gracian e la versione ebraica delDe Generatione et corruptione ," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 319-23.

-----, "Da commedia e tragedia a punti e inchiostro. Ar., Gen. Corr., 315b 14-15, tradotto dell'arabo in latino e in ebraico," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 221-29.

Simon, Robert, "Remarks on Ramon Lull's Relation to Islam,"Acta Orientalia , 51 (1998): 21-29.

Van Oppenraay, Aafke M.I., "Michael Scot's Arabic-Latin Translation of Aristotle'sBooks on Animals . Some Remarks Concerning the Relation Between the Translation and Its Arabic and Greek Sources," inAristotle's Animals , pp. 31-43.

-----, "Michael Scot's Latin Translation of Avicenna's Treatise on Animals. Some Preliminary Remarks on the Future Edition," inTradition et Traduction , pp. 107-14, see above.

Wippel, John, "Thomas Aquinas, Siger of Brabant, and Their Use of Avicenna in Clarifying the Subject of Metaphysics," inThe Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, vol. 2: Metaphysics , ed. by Tom Rockmore (Bowling Green: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1999), pp. 15-26.

Zonta, Mauro, "Le traduzioni di Zerahyah Gracian e la versione ebraica delDe Generatione et corruptione ," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 299-318.

-----, "Sulla tradizione ebraica di alcuni commenti arabi alla Metafisica (Abû l-Fara? Ibn al-?ayyib e Averroè),"Documenti e Studi , 12 (2001): 155-77.

-----, "The Relationship of European Jewish Philosophy to Islamic and Christian Philosophies in the Late Middle Ages,"Jewish Studies Quarterly , 7 (2000): 127-40.

-----, "Medieval Hebrew Translations:ethods and Textual Problems," inLes Traducteurs , pp. 129-42.

-----, "The Zoological Writings in the Hebrew Tradition. The Hebrew Approach to Aristotle's Zoological Writings and their Ancient and Medieval Commentators in the Middle Ages," inAristotle's Animals , pp. 44-68.

-----, "Linee del pensiero islamico nella storia della filosofia ebraica medievale (parte prima),"Annali (Istituto Universitario Orientale) , 57 (1997): 101-44.

f. General Studies

Arkoun, Mohammed, "Peut-on parler de l'humanisme en contexte islamique?,"Israel Oriental Studies , XIX (1999): 11-22.

Black, Antony,The History of Islamic Political Thought From the Prophet to the Present . New York: Routledge, 2001, xviii-377 pp., ISBN 0-415-93242-4 (hb) & 0-415-93243-2 (pb).

Black, Deborah L., "Imagination and Estimation: Arabic Paradigms and Western Transformations,"Topoi , 19 (2000): 59-75.

-----, "Aesthetics in Islamic Philosophy," inRoutledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , vol. V.1 (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 75-79.

-----, "Logic in Islamic Philosophy," inRoutledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , vol. V.5 (1998): pp. 706-13.

-----, "Traditions and Transformations in the Medieval Approach to Rhetoric and Related Linguistic Arts," in L'enseignement de la philosophie au XIIIe siècle. Autour du "Guide de l'étudiant" du ms. Ripoll 109. Actes du

Colloque International, ed. by Claude Lafleur with Joanne Carrier (Studia Artistarum, 5) (Laval: 1997), pp. 233-54.

Carter, M.G., "Infinity and Lies in Medieval Islam," inPhilosophy and the Arts , pp. 233-42.

Deledalle, Gérard, "La philosophie à Carthage de l'Africa Vetus à l'Ifriqiyya: Apulée, Augustin, Ibn Khaldûn,"Les Cahiers de Tunisie , 49, n. 179 (1997): 87-102.

Druart, Thérèse-Anne, "Medieval Islamic Thought and the "What is x?" Question,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 1-8.

Endress, Gerhard, "Philosophische Ein-Band-Bibliotheken aus Isfahan,"Oriens , 36 (2001): 10-58.

Fakhry, Majid, "Rationality in Islamic Philosophy," inA Companion to World Philosophies , pp. 504-14.

-----, A Short Introduction to Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism. Oxford: Oneworld, 1997, x-151 pp., ISBN 1-85168-134-5.

Fontaine, Resianne, "Between Scorching Heat and Freezing Cold: Medieval Jewish Authors on the Inhabited and Uninhabited Parts of the Earth,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 101-37 [independence of Averroes].

Gocer, Asli, "A Hypothesis Concerning the Character of Islamic Art,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 60 (1999): 683-92.

Goodman, Lenn E.,Jewish and Islamic Philosophy: Crosspollination in the Classic Age . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1999, xvi-256 pp., ISBN 0-8135-2760-0.

Griffel, Frank, Apostasie und Toleranz im Islam. Die Entwicklung zu al-?azâlîs Urteil gegen die Philosophie und die Reaktionen der Philosophen (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, 40). Leiden: Brill, 2000, xii-521 pp., ISBN 90-04-11566-8.

Gutas, Dimitri, "The Study of Arabic Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: An Essay on the Historiography of Arabic Philosophy,"British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies , 29 (2002): 5-25.

Hechaïmé, Camille, "Lecture sereine d'une biographie tempêtueuse. 'Abd ar-Rahmân Badawî entre les outrances et les sophismes,"al-Machriq , 74 (2000): 397-415 [in Arabic].

Hosseini, Hamid, "Seeking the Roots of Adam Smith's Division of Labor in Medieval Persia,"History of Political Economy , 30 (1998): 653-81.

Ivry, Alfred, "The Utilization of Allegory in Islamic Philosophy," inInterpretation and Allegory: Antiquity to the Modern Period , ed. by Jon Whitman (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 101) (Leiden: Brill, 2000), pp. 153-80.

Jolivet, Jean, "Le commentaire philosophique arabe," inLe Commentaire , pp. 397-410.

Kochin, Michael S., "Weeds: Cultivating the Imagination in Medieval Arabic Political Philosophy,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 60 (1999): 399-416.

Kukkonen, Taneli, "Plenitude, Possibility, and the Limits of Reason. A Medieval Arabic debate on the Metaphysics of Nature,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 61 (2000): 539-60.

Landolt, Hermann, "Henry Corbin, 1903-1978: Between Philosophy and Orientalism,"Journal of the American Oriental Society , 119 (1999): 484-90.

Leaman, Oliver,An Introduction to Classical Islamic Philosophy , 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, xvi-253 pp., ISBN 0-521-79757-8 [1st ed. 1985].

-----, "Islamic Philosophy and the Attack on Logic,"Topoi , 19 (2000): 17-24.

-----,A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy . Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1999, xii-199 pp., ISBN 0-7456-1961-4.

Lomba Fuentes, Joaquín,La idea de felicidad en el Aragón musulmán (Lección Inaugural del Curso Académico MMI-MMII). Saragossa: Universidad de Zaragoza, 2001, 158 pp., no ISBN but D.L.:Z-2359-2001. [particularly on Ibn Gabiral, Ibn Paqûda & Avempace].

-----, "ElCriticón de Gracián y la tradición hispanomusulmana anterior. Defensa de la unidad cultural,"Boletín de la Fundación Federico García Lorca , 29-30 (2001): 193-206.

Marcotte, Roxanne, "An Attempt at Deconstruction of Islamic Thought: Ian Netton and His "Semiotic Project","The Islamic Quarterly , 43, n. 2 (1999):89-99.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, "Islamic Aesthetics," inA Companion to World Philosophie , pp. 448-59.

Netton, Ian,Seek Knowledge: Thought and Travel in the Hosue of Islam . Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1996, 160 pp., ISBN 0-7007-0340-3 [includes "Foreign Influences and Recurring Ismâ'îlî Motifs in theRasâ'il of the Brethern of Purity,": 27-41; "The Neoplatonic Substrate of Suhrawardî's Philosophy of Illumination:Falsafa asTasawwuf ,": 43-58; "The Breath of Felicity:Adab, Ahwâl, Maqâmât and Abû Najîb al-Suhrawardî,": 71-91].

O'Sulliva, P., "The Comparison and Contrast of the Islamic Philosophy, Ideology and Paradigms of Sayyid Qutb. Mawlana Abul A'la Mawdudi and Fazlur Rahman,"The Islamic Quarterly , 42, n. 2 (1998): 99-124.

Puig Montada, Josep, "Reality and Divinity in Islamic Philosophy," inA Companion to World Philosophies , pp. 460-71.

Rámon Guerrero, Rafael, "La religión por filósofos andalusíes," inEl saber en al-Andalus: Textos y Estudios, III , ed. by Fátima Roldán Castro & Isabel Hervás Jávega (Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla: 2001), pp. 57-75.

-----, "El Lenguaje del ser: de Ibn Sina a Mulla Sadra,"Convivium , 14 (2001): 113-27.

-----, "Discurso filosófico y discurso místico. Divergencias,"Anales del Seminario de Historia de la Filosofía , n. 17 (2000): 53-75.

Saliba, George, "Artisans and Mathematicians in Medieval Islam,"Journal of the American Oriental Society , 119 (1999): 637-45.

Schöller, Marco, "Zum Begirff des "islamischen Humanismus","Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft , 151 (2001): 275-320.

Smirnov, Andrey, "Truth and Islamic Thought," inA Companion to World Philosophies , pp. 437-47.

-----, "Causality and Islamic Thought," inA Companion to World Philosophies , pp. 493-503.

Spinelli, Miguel, "Neoplatonismo e aristotelismo da filosofia árabe medieval,"Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia , 55 (1999): 59-98.

Street, Tony, "Towards a History of Syllogistic After Avicenna: Notes on Rescher's Studies in Arab Modal Logic,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 11 (2000): 209-28.

Tamer, Georges,Islamische Philosophie und die Krise der Moderne: das Verhältnis von Leo Strauss zu Alfarabi, Avicenna und Averroes (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 43). Leiden: Brill, 2001, xvii-345 pp., ISBN 90-04-12029-7.

Urvoy, Dominique & Marie-Thérèse, "Un aspect particulier de relation entreadab etfalsafa ,"Israel Oriental Studies , 11 (1999): 207-20.

Wahba, Mourad, "The Concept of the Good in Islamic Philosophy," inA Companion to World Philosophie ss , pp. 484-92.

Walbridge, John, "Selfhood/Personhood in Islamic Philosophy," inA Companion to World Philosophies , pp. 472-83.

Averroes

[Averroës]The Book of the Decisive TreatiseDetermining the Connection between the Law and Wisdom & Epistle Dedicatory , transl. with Intro. and Notes by Charles E. Butterworth (Islamic Translation Series). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2001, xlii-63 + 42 Arabic pp., ISBN 0-8425-2479-7 [with Arabic facing].

[Averroès]La Béatitude de l'âme , Latin ed., annotated transl. by Marc Geoffroy & Carlos Steel (Sic et Non). Paris: Vrin, 2001, 338 pp., ISBN 2-7116-1519-7 [ed. ofAverroys De animae beatitudine &Tractatus Averoys De perfectione naturali secundum mentem philosophi ].

[Averroès]Commentaire Moyen sur le De interpretatione, Intro. transl. and notes by Ali Benmakhlouf & Stéphane Diebler (Sic et Non). Paris: Vrin, 2000, 206 pp., ISBN 2-7116-1441-7.

[Averroès]L'Islam et la raison. Anthologie de textes juridiques, théologiques et polémiques , transl. by Marc Geoffroy with a Foreward by Alain de Libera (GF 1132). Paris: Flammarion, 2000, 225 pp., ISBN 2-08-071132-7 [Livre du discours décisif, Dévoilement, L'Incohérence ].

[Averroes]Faith and Reason in Islam: Averroes' Exposition of Religious Arguments , transl. by Ibrahim Y. Najjar (Great Islamic Writings). Oxford: Oneworld, 2001, xiv-146 pp., ISBN 1-85168-263-5 [transl. of al-Kashf ].

Averroes and the Aristotelian Tradition, see above.

Endress, Gerhard, "A Bibliography of Editions and Contributions to the Text," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 339-81.

Arnaldez, Roger,Averroes: A Rationalist in Islam , transl. by David Streight. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000, 158 pp., ISBN 0-268-02008-6.

Aouad, Maroun & Rashed, Marwan, "Commentateurs "satisfaisants" et "non satisfaisants" de laRhétorique selon Averroès," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 83-124.

Bauloye, Laurence, "Le genre des substances dans la métaphysique d'Averroès,"Documenti e Studi , 12 (2001): 143-53.

Benmakhlouf, Ali,Averroès (Figures du Savoir, 22). Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2000, 208 pp. ISBN 2-251-76028-8.

-----, "Averroès et les propositions indéfinies," inThéories de la phrase , pp. 269-79.

Black, Deborah L., "Conjunction and the Identity of Knower and Known in Averroes,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 159-84.

Burnett, Charles, "The 'Sons of Averroes with the Emperor Frederick' and the Transmission of the Philosophical Works by Ibn Rushd," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 259-99.

Butterworth, Charles E., "A Propos du traitéal-Darûrî fî l-mantiq d'Averroès et les termestasdîq ettasawwur qui y sont développés," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 163-71.

-----, "Averroes' Platonization of Aristotle'sArt of Rhetoric , inLa Rhétorique, pp. 227-40.

de Libera Alain & Geoffroy, Marc, "Le philosophe barbu,"Critique (Vies de Philosophes) , 627-628 (August-September 1999): 668-85 [a review article of Urvoy, Dominique,Averroès. Les ambitions d'un intellectuel musulman . Paris: Flammarion, 1998].

de Libera, Alain, "Averroïsme éthique et philosophie mystique: De la félicité intellectuelle à la vie bienheureuse," inFilosofia e teologia nel trecento. Studi in ricordo di Eugenio Randi (Textes et études du moyen âge) (Louvain-la-Neuve: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d'Etudes Médiévales, 1994), pp. 33-56.

Eichner, Heidrun, "Ibn Rushd's Middle Commentary and Alexander's Commentary in their relationship to the Arab commentary tradition on theDe Generatione et corruptione ," inAristotele e Alessandro , pp. 281-97.

Elamrani-Jamal, Abdelali,"La démonstration du signe (burhân al-dalîl) selon Ibn Rushd (Averroès),"Documenti e Studi , 11 (2000): 113-31.

-----, "La proposition assertorique (de inesse ) selon Averroès," inThéories de la phrase , pp. 249-67.

El Ghannouchi, Abdelmajid, "Du syncrétisme philosophico-religieux auFasl al-Maqâl ,"Les Cahiers de Tunisie , 49, n. 178 (1997): 61-90.

-----, "Ibn Rochd ou la double vérité (Essai de résolution des questions litigieuses de l'averroïsme),"Les Cahiers de Tunisie , 49, n. 172 (1996): 71-98.

Endress, Gerhard, "Le Projet d'Averroès," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 3-31.

Fakhry, Majid,Averroes (Ibn Rushd): His Life, Works, and Influence (Great Islamic Thinkers). Oxford: Oneworld, 2001, xvi-187 pp., ISBN 1-85168-269-4.

-----, "Averroës, Dante et la naissance de la laïcité moderne,"al-Machriq , 74 (2000): 303-20 [in Arabic].

Fierro, Maribel, "The Legal Policies of the Almohad Caliphs and Ibn Rushd'sBidâyat al-Mujtahid ,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 10 (1999): 226-48.

Freudenthal, Gad, "The Medieval Astrologization of Aristotle's Biology: Averroes on the Role of the Celestial Bodies in the Generation of Animate Beings,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 12 (2002): 111-37.

Geoffroy, Marc, "L'almohadisme théologique d'Averroès (Ibn Ru_d),"Archives d'Histoire doctrinale et littéraire du moyen âge , 66 (1999): 9-47.

Glasner, Ruth, "Ibn Rushd's Theory ofMinima Naturalia ,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 11 (2001): 9-26.

Gutas, Dimitri, "Averroes on Theophrastus, through Themistius," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 125-44.

Harvey, Steven, "Conspicuous by His Absence: Averroes' Place Today as an Interpreter of Aristotle," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition, pp. 32-49.

Hissette, Roland, "Le vocabulaire philosophique des traductions d'Averroès attribuées à Guillaume de Luna," inL'Elaboration , pp. 99-110.

Hugonnard-Roche, Henri, "La formulation logique de l'argumentation dans les commentaires d'Averroès auDe Caelo ," inLe Commentaire , pp. 387-95.

Hugonnard-Roche, Henri, "Averroès et la tradition desSeconds Analytiques ," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 172-87.

Hyman, Arthur, "Averroes' Theory of the Intellect and the Ancient Commentators," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 188-98.

Ivry, Alfred L., "Averroes' Three Commentaries onDe Anima ," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 199-216.

Janssens, Jules, "Averroïstica,"MIDEO , 24 (2000): 415-22.

Jéhamy, Gérard, "D'Aristote à Averroès: Genèse et évolution d'une terminologie," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 50-72.

Kukonen, Taneli, "Possible Worlds in theTahâfut al-tahâfut : Averroes on Plenitude and Possibility,"Journal of the History of Philosophy , 38 (2000): 329-47.

Langhade, Jacques, "Foi et raison: le destin d'Averroès. Aspects historiques et philosophiques,"al-Machriq , 72 (1998): 395-408 [in Arabic].

Maiza Ozcoidi, Idoia,La Concepción de la filosofía en Averroes. Análisis crítico del Tahâfut al-tahâfut (Al-Andalus, Textos y Estudios). Madrid: Trotta, 2001, 446 pp., ISBN 84-8164-426-9.

Mc Aleer, Graham J., "The Presence of Averroes in the Natural Philosophy of Robert Kilwarby,"Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie , 81 (1999): 33-54.

Mesbahi, Mohamed, "Ibn Rushd critique d'Ibn Sinâ ou le retour à Aristote," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 73-80.

Mohamed, Ismail, "Concept of Predestination in Islam and Christianity: Special Reference to Averroes and Aquinas,"The Islamic Quarterly , 44 (2000): 393-413.

Peres-Estevez, Antonio, "Substantiality of Prime Matter in Averroes,"The Modern Schoolman , 78 (2000): 53-70.

Pozzo, Riccardo, "Res considerata andModus considerandi rem : Averroes, Aquinas, Jacopo Zabarella, and Cornelius Martini on Reduplication,"Medioevo , 24 (1998): 151-75.

Puig Montada, Josep, "Zur Bewegungsdefinition im VIII. Buch der Physik," inAverroes and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 145-59.

Rosemann, Philipp W., "Is Kant Doctrine on theBewusstsein überhaupt Averroistic?,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 185-230.

Schmieja, Horst, "Urbanus Averroista und die Mittelalterlichen Handschriften des Physikkommentars von Averroes,"Bulletin de Philosophie médiévale , 42 (2000): 133-53.

-----, "Secundum aliam translationem —Ein Beitrag zur arabisch-lateinischen Übersetzung des Grossen Physikkommentar von Averroes," inAverreos and the Aristotelian Tradition , pp. 316-36.

Taylor, Richard C., "Cogitatio, Cogitativus andCogitare : Remarks on the Cogitative Power in Averroes," inL'Elaboration , pp. 111-46.

-----, "'Truth Does Not Contradict Teruth': Averroes and the Unity of Truth,"Topoi , 19 (2000): 3-16.

-----, "Averroes' Epistemology and Its Critique by Aquinas," inMedieval Masters: Essays in Memory of Mgr. E.A. Synan , ed. by R.E. Houser (Thomistic Papers) (Houston, TX: Center for Thomistic Studies, 1999), pp. 147-77.

-----, "Remarks on Cogitatio in Averroes' Commentarium Magnum in Aristotelis De Anima Libros," in Averroes and the Aristotelian Tradition, pp. 217-255.

-----, "Personal immortality in Averroes' Mature Philosophical Psychology,"Documenti e Studi , 9 (1998): 87-110.

Avicenna

[Ibn Sînâ]Lettre au Vizir Abû Sa'd , ed. & transl. by Yahya Michot (Sagesses musulmanes, 4). Beirut: Al-Bouraq, 2000, 130*+61 & 61 pp. of facing French and Arabic+63-186 pp., ISBN 2-84161-150-7 [includes also an ed. & transl. of a brief letter on Divine Decree].

"Commentaire par Ibn Sînâ, de la sourate "Al-Ihlâs"," intro. and ed. by 'Abd-Allâh 'Abd-ar-Rahmân al-Hatîb,al-Machriq , 75 (2001): 383-433 & 76 (2002): 121-200.

[Avicenne]Le Livre des directives et remarques (Kitâb al-'isharât wa l-tanbîhât) , transl. by A.-M. Goichon (Bibliothèque des textes philosophiques). Paris: Vrin, 1999 [reprint of 1951 ed.].

"Mathématiques, ch. XII, Kitâbu' sh-shifâ'," [Treatise on Music] in Rodolphe d'Erlanger,La Musique arabe , vol. II (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 2001, pp. 102-210, ISBN 2-84306-070-2 [reprint of 1935]

"The Healing: On Theodicy and Providence, Metaphysics, IX," transl. by Shams Inati inAn Anthology , pp. 226-37 [ch. 6].

"The Healing: On Time, Physics," transl. by Yegane Shayegan inAn Anthology , pp. 241-50.

"The Logic of the Orientals," transl. by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, inAn Anthology , pp. 268-70 [partial, beginning].

"On the Stations of the Knowers," transl. by Shams Inati, inAn Anthology , pp. 251-59 [partial].

"Remarks and Admonitions," transl. by Shams Inati, inAn Anthology , pp. 218-26 & pp. 237-41 [part III, partial].

"Treatise on Knowledge, Dedicated to Prince 'Alâ' al-Dawlah," transl. by Thomas Gaskil, inAn Anthology , pp. 198-218 [Met. 28-37 & Phys. 42-50].

McGinnis, Jon, "Ibn Sînâ on the Now: Text and Commentary,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 73-106 [translation from theShifâ', Physics ].

Sabri, Tahani, "Risâla fî l-'ishq , Le traité sur l'amour d'Avicenne. Traduction et Etude (2 ndpart)," Revue des Etudes islamiques , 61-62 (1993-19994), in fact 1998,: 175-218.

Janssens, Jules, An Annotated Bibliography on Ibn Sînâ: First Supplement (1990-1994), see above.

Aspects of Avicenna, see above.

Avicenna and his Heritage, see above.

Journées d'études Avicenne, see above.

Aouad, Maroun, "Les prémisses rhétoriques selon lesI_arât d'Avicenne," inThéories de la phrase , pp. 281-304.

Ayada, S., "Le modèle avicennien de la subjectivité,"Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques , 83 (1999): 491-526.

Bäck, Allan, "The Ontological Pentagon of Avicenna,"Journal of Neoplatonic Studies , 7, n. 2 (1999): 87-109.

Benjelloun, Thérèse, "Connaissance, rupture, exil chez Ibn Sînâ," inJournées d'études , pp. 115-22.

Benmokhtar, Rachid, "Réflexions sur la transmission du savoir à partir de la biographie d'Avicenne," inJournées d'études , pp. 11-20.

Bertolacci, Amos, "Albert the Great and the Preface of Avicenna'sKitâb al-Shifâ' , inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 131-52.

-----, "From al-Kindî to al-Fârâbî: Avicenna's Progressive Knowledge of Aristotle'sMetaphysics according to his Autobiography,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 11 (2001): 257-95.

-----, "Le citazioni implicite testuali della Philosophia prima di Avicenna nel Commento alla Metafisica di Alberto Magno: analisi tipologica,"Documenti e Studi , 12 (2001): 179-274.

-----, "'Subtilius speculando'. Le citazioni della 'Philosophia prima' di Avicenna nel Commento all 'Metafisica' di Alberto Magno,"Documenti e Studi , 9 (1998): 261-339.

Black, Deborah L., "Mental Existence in Thomas Aquinas and Avicenna,"Mediaeval Studies , 61 (1999): 45-79.

Bonmariage, Cécile, "L'intellection comme identification. Mullâ Sadrâvs . Avicenna," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 99-112.

Brown, Deborah J., "Aquinas' Missing Flying Man,"Sophia , 40 (2001): 17-31.

Butterworth, Charles E., "The Political Teaching of Avicenna,"Topoi , 19 (2000): 35-44.

Caster, Kevin J., "The Distinction between Being and Essence according to Boethius, Avicenna, and William of Auvergne,"The Modern Schoolman , 63, n. 332 (May 1996): 309-32.

Cherkaoui, Abdelmalek, "La lecture du futur à travers l'oeuvre et la vie d'Ibn Sînâ," inJournées d'études , pp. 93-102.

Counet, Jean-Michel, "Avicenne et son influence sur la pensée de Jean Duns Scot," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 225-52.

Cruz Hernández, Miguel, "El concepto de Metafísica de Avicena," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 47-56.

Decorte, Jos, "Avicenna's Ontology of Relation: A Source of Inspiration to Henry of Ghent," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 197-224.

De Smet, Daniel, "Avicenne et l'ismaélisme post-fatimide, selon laRisâla al-Mufîda fî îdâh muldjaz al-Qasîda de 'Alî b. Muhammad b. al-Walîd (ob . 1215)," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 1-20.

-----, "La doctrine avicennienne des deux faces del'âme et ses racines ismaéliennes,"Studia Islamica , n. 93 (2001): 77-89.

Djebbar, Ahmed, "Les mathématiques dans l'oeuvre d'Ibn Sînâ (370/980-428/1037)," inJournées d'études , pp. 70.

Dobbs-Weinstein, Idit, "Maimonides' Reticence toward Ibn Sînâ," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 281-96.

Druart, Thérèse-Anne, "Avicenna's Influence on Duns Scotus' Proof for the Existence of God in theLectura ," in Avicenna and his Heritage , pp. 253-66.

-----, "Shay' or Res as Concomitant of 'Being' in Avicenna," Documenti e Studi, 12 (2001): 125-42.

-----, "The Human Soul's Individuation and its Survival after the Body's Death: Avicenna on the Causal Relation between Body and Soul,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 259-73.

Elamrani-Jamal, Abdelali, "Vision contemplative dans lesIshârât et "Philosophie orientale " d'Ibn Sînâ," inJournées d'études , pp. 145-52.

El-Bizri, Nader, "Avicenna and Essentialism,"The Review of Metaphysics , 54, 216 (June 2001): 753-78.

El Kochairi, Jamal-Eddine, ""Urjûzatu Ibn Sînâ: poétique médicale et vertus de la métaphore," inJournées d'études , pp. 103-13.

Finianos, Ghassan, "La philosophie de l'être (al-mawjûd ) chez Ibn Sînâ," inJournées d'études , pp. 123-44.

Gutas, Dimitri, "The Heritage of Avicenna: The Golden Age of Arabic Philosophy, 1000-ca. 1350," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 81-97.

-----, "Intuition and Thinking: The Evolving Structure of Avicenna's Epistemology," inAspects of Avicenna , pp. 1-38.

-----, "Avicenna's Eastern ("Oriental") Philosophy. Nature, Contents, Transmission,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 159-80.

Hasnawi, Ahmad, "LaPhysique duShifâ' : aperçus sur sa tructure et son contenu," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 67-80.

-----, "La définition du mouvement dans laPhysique du_ifâ' d'Avicenne,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 11 (2001): 219-55.

-----, "Commentaire et démonstration. Brèves remarques sur la Physique duShifâ' d'Avicenne," inLe Commentaire , pp. 509-19.

Hasse, Dag Nikolaus, "Avicenna on Abstraction," inAspects of Avicenna , pp. 39-72.

-----, "King Avicenna: the Iconographic Consequences of a Mistranslation,"Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes , 60 (1997): 230-43.

Houser, R.E., "Let Them Suffer into the Truth: Avicenna's Remedy for Those Denying the Axioms of Thought,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 107-33 [onShifâ' ,Metaphysics , I, 8].

Jacquart, Danielle, "Lectures universitaires duCanon d'Avicenne," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 313-24.

Janssens, Jules, "L'Avicenne latin: particularités d'une traduction," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 113-129.

Jolivet, Jean, "Le vocabulaire de l'être et de la création dans laphilosophia prima de l'Avicenna latinus ," inL'Elaboration , pp. 35-49.

Kâya, Esin, "One of the Samples of the Influences of Avicenna on the Ottoman Medicine, Shams Al-Din Itaqi,"Belleten , 64, n. 239 (2000):63-68.

Karliga, Bekir, "Un nouveau traité d'éthique d'Ibn Sînâ inconnu jusqu'à nos jours," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 21-35.

Kruk, Remke, "Ibn SînâOn Animals : Between the First Teacher and the Physician," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 325-41.

Maróth, Miklos, "Stylistics in Ibn Sînâ's Philosophy," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 57-66.

Mayer, Toby, "Ibn Sînâ'sBurhân al-Siddîqîn ,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 12 (2001): 18-39 [on the proof of the existence of God].

Mourad, Khireddine, "Ibn Sînâ: Mythe et réalité," inJournées d'études , pp. 3-10.

Rashed, Marwan, "Théodicée et approximation: Avicenne,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 223-57.

Reisman, David C., "Avicenna at the ARCE [American Research Center in Egypt]," inAspects of Avicenna , pp. 131-82.

Rizvi, S., "Roots of an Aporia in Later Islamic Philosophy: The Existence-Essence Distinction in the Metaphysics of Avicenna and Suhrawardî,"Studia Iranica , 29 (2000): 61-108.

Rosheger, John P., "A Note on Avicenna and the Divine Attributes,"The Modern Schoolman 77 (2000): 169-77.

Sanagustin, Floreal, "LeCanon de la Médecine d'Avicenne," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 297-311.

Sebti, Meryem,Avicenne. L'âme humaine (Philosophies). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 2000, 129 pp., ISBN 2-13-050654-2.

-----, "L'imagination est-elle rationnelle selon Ibn Sînâ?," inJournées d'études , pp. 153-62.

Segovia, Carlos, "Avicena en Oriente,"Revista de Filosofia , 11, n. 20 (1998): 285-98.

Steel, Carlos, "Avicenna and Thomas Aquinas on Evil," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 171-96.

Steigerwald, Diane, "L'apport avicennien à la cosmologie à la lumière de la critique d'al-Shahrastânî et d'Averroès,"Laval théologique et philosophique , 52 (1996): 735-59.

Stone, Abraham D., "Simplicius and Avicenna on the Essential Corporeity of Material Substance," inAspects of Avicenna , pp. 73-130.

Street, Tony, "'The Eminent later Scholar' in Avicenna'sBook of the Syllogism ,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 11 (2001): 205-18.

Strohmaier, Gotthard, "Avicenne et le phénomène des écrist pseudépigraphiques," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 37-46.

Syamsuddin, Arif, "Intuition and its Role in Ibn Sînâ's Epistemology,"Al-Shajarah , 5, n.1 (2000): 95-126.

Teske, Roland, "William of Auvergne's Debt to Avicenna," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 153-70.

Tougui, Mohamed, "Le rôle de l'observation et de l'expérimentation dans l'évolution des sceinces chez Ibn Sînâ,' inJournées d'études , pp. 43-49.

Wisnovsky, Robert, "Notes on Avicenna's Concept of Thingness (_ay'iyya ),"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 181-221.

Zonta, Mauro, "Avicenna in Medieval Jewish Philosophy," inAvicenna and his Heritage , pp. 267-79.

Bahmanyâr

"The Book of the Exposition," transl. by Everret K. Rowson, inAn Anthology , pp. 334-50 [partial].

Al-Barâdi'î

Fierro, Maribel, "ElTahdîb de al-Barâdi'î en al-Andalus: A Propósito de un manuscrito aljamiado de la Real Academia de la Historia," al-Qantara , 21 (2000): 227-36.

al-Bîrûnî

"Questions and Answers," transl. by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, inAn Anthology , pp. 396-99 [partial].

Khan, M.S., "Al-Bîrûnî, the Pioneer Indologist,"Islamic Culture , 76, n.1 (2002):33-67.

Strohmaier, G., "Al-Bîrûnî und der griechische Parthenoperoman," inGraeco-Arabica , vol. V (Athens: 1995), pp. 72-78.

al-Fârâbî

[al-Fârâbî]L'Harmonie entre les opinions de Platon et d'Aristote , Arabic ed. by Fawzi Mitri Najjar, transl. and Notes by Dominique Mallet. Damascus: Institut Français de Damas, 1999, 208+24 pp., ISBN 2-901315-52-6.

[Al-Fârâbî]L'Epître sur l'intellect (al-Risâla fî-l-'aql) , transl. by Dyala Hamzah, Foreword by Jean Jolivet and Postword by Rémi Brague (Traduire la philosophie). Paris: L'Harmattan, 2001, 109 pp., ISBN 2-7475-1501-X.

[Alfarabi]Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle , transl. with an Intro by Muhsin Mahdi, rev. ed., Foreword by Charles E. Butterworth & Thomas L. Pangle. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2001, xxxvi-158 pp., ISBN 0-8014-3857-8 [reprint of 1969; includes alsoThe Attainment of Happiness ].

[Alfarabi]The Political Wrtings: "Selected Aphorisms" and Other Texts , transl. and annotated by Charles E. Butterworth. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 2001, xiv-179 pp., ISBN 0-8014-3857-8 [includes also ch. 5 ofEnumeration of the Sciences ,Book of Religion &The Harmonization of the Two Opinions of the Two Sages: Plato the Divine and Aristotle ].

"Grand Traité de la Musique (Kitâbu l-Mûsîqî al-Kabîr," in Rodolphe d'Erlanger,La Musique arabe , Vol. I-II. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 2001, Vol. I [Bk I-II}, 329 pp. & Vol. II [Bk III], pp. 1-101, ISBN 2-84306-069-9 & 2-84306-070-2 [reprint of 1930 & 1935]

"Paraphrase of Aristotle'sAnalytica Posteriora ," transl. by Majid Fakhry, inAn Anthology , pp. 93-110 [ch. I & II, plus beginning of III].

"Reconciliation of the Opinions of the Two Sages, Spiritual Plato and Aristotle," transl. by Shams Inati, inAn Anthology , pp. 110-18 [ch. I-X]].

Aouad, Maroun, "Le texte arabe du chapitre sur la rhétorique d'Ibn Ridwân et ses correspondants dans laDidascalia in Rhetoricam Aristotelis ex glosa Alpharabii : Fragments duGrand Commentaire à la Rhétorique d'al-Fârâbî," inLa Rhétorique, pp. 169-225.

Fakhry, Majid,Al-Fârâbî, Founder of Islamic Neoplatonism: His Life, Works and Influence (Great Islamic Thinkers). Oxford: Oneworld, 2002, viii-168 pp., ISBN 1-85168-302-X.

López Farjeat, Luis Xavier, "El silogismo poético y la imaginación en Alfarabi,"Topico: Revista de filosofía , n. 18 (2000): ????

Lucchetta, Francesca Picchetti, "Le Bonheur suprême de l'homme selon l'"Epître sur l'intellect" de Fârâbî,"Les Caheirs de Tunisie , 49, n. 176 (1997): 105-14 [translated fromAnnali di Ca' Foscari , 14, n.3 (1975): 185-91].

Mahdi, Muhsin S.,Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic Political Philosophy , Foreword by Charles E. Butterworth. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001, xviii-264 pp., ISBN 0-226-50186-8 [the English version is superior to the French one]..

-----,La Cité vertueuse d'Alfarabi. La fondation de la philosophie politique en Islam , transl. by François Zabbal (Chaire de l'I.M.A.). Paris: Albin Michel, 2000, 343 pp., ISBN 2-226-11749-0 [translation of the previous].

Netton, Ian Richard,Al-Fârâbî and his School . Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 1999, 128 pp., ISBN 0-7007-1064-7 [reprint of 1992].

Ramón Guerrero, Rafael, "Razón práctica e intelecto agente en Alfarabi,"Topicos: Revista de filosofía , n. 18 (2000): 73-95.

-----, "LaÉtica a Nicómaco en la obra de Alfarabi," inÉtica y sociologia. Estudios en memoria del professor José Todolí, O.P. (Salamanca: Editorial SanEsteban, ????), pp. 201-12.

Rosier-Catach, Irène, "Roger Bacon, al-Fârâbî et Augustin. Rhétorique. Logique et philosophie morale," inLa Rhétorique , pp. 87-110.

Zonta, Mauro, "Al-Fârâbî's commentaries on Aristotelian logic: new discoveries," inPhilosophy and Arts , pp. 219-32.

Ibn Abî al-Ash'ath

Kruk, Remke, "Ibn Abî al-Ash'ath'sKitâb al-Hayawân : A Scientific Approach to Anthropology, Dietetics and Zoological Systematics," Zeitschrift für Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften , 14 (2001): 119-68.

Ibn Bâjjah

For his Commentary on the Meteorology, seeAristotle's Meteorology, above.

Lomba Fuentes, Joaquín, Le idea de felicidad en al Aragón musulmán, see above.

-----,Avempace o la pasión por el espíritu (Pliegos de Encuentro Islamo-Cristiano, 24). Madrid: Darek-Nyumba, 1999, 56 pp., ISBN 84-88059-11-6.

Ibn Khaldûn

Alatas, Syed Farid, "Introduction to the Political Economy of Ibn Khaldun,"The Islamic Quarterly , 45 (2001): 307-24.

Evstatiev, Simeon, "Ibn Khaldûn on the Correlation "Spiritual Authority-Secular Power" in the Theory and Historical Practice of Medieval Islam,"al-Masâq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean, 11 (1999): 121-36.

Gierer, Alfred, "Ibn Khaldûn on Solidarity ('Asabiyah') – Modern Science on Cooperativeness and Empathy: a Comparison,"Philosophia naturalis , 38 (2001): 91-104.

Irwin, Robert, "Toynbee and Ibn Khaldun,"Middle Eastern Studies, 33 (1997): 461-79.

Kayadibi, Fahri, "Ibn Khaldûn on Education, " Hamdard Islamicus, 24, n.2 (2001): 7-12.

Ikhwân al-Safâ'

Khoury-Samani, Mariana, "Les Ikhwân al-Safâ' et la mystique. Etude et traduction partielle de l'épître XLVI,"Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph , 53 (1993-1994): 307-52.Aguiar Aguilar, M., "'Ilm al-misâha en las epístolas de los Ikhwân al-Safâ'," in Philosophy and Arts , pp. 193-200.Baffioni, Carmela, "Different conceptions of religious practice, piety and God-man relations in the epistles of the Ikhwân al-?afâ'," Al-Qan?ara , 21 (2000): 381-86.Baffioni, Carmela, "Bodily resurrection in the Ikhwân al-Safâ'," in Philosophy and Arts , pp. 201-208.Marquet, Yves, "Ibn al-Rûmî et les Ikhwân al-Safâ'," Arabica , 47 (2000): 121-23.-----, La Philosophie des Ikhwân al-Safâ', 2nd rev. ed. ( Textes et Travaux de Chrysopoeia , 5). Paris: S.E.H.A. Milan: ARCHE , 1999, xvi-620 pp., ISBN88-7252-211-0.-----, "Socrate et les Ikhwan a?-?afâ'," Journal Asiatique , 286 (1998): 409-49.al-JâbirCapezzone, L, "?âbir ibn Hayyân nella città cortese," Rivista degli Studi orientali , 71 (1997): 99-146.Gannagé, Emma, "Alexandre d'Aphrodise 'In De Generatione et corruptione' apud ?âbir b. Hayyân, 'K. al-Ta?rîf'," Documenti e Studi , 9 (1998): 35-86.

Al-Jâhiz

Aarab, A., Provencal, Philippe, & Idaomar, Mohamed, "Eco-Ethological Data according to ?âhiz through his Work Kitâb al-Hayawân,"Arabica , 47 (2000): 278-86.

al-Kindî

Adamson, Peter, "Before Essence and Existence: al-Kindî's Conception of Being,"Journal of the History of Philosophy, 40 (2002): 297-312.D'Ancona Costa, Cristina, "Aristotelian and Neoplatonic Elements in Kindî's Doctrine of Knowledge," American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 9-35.Druart, Thérèse-Anne, "Philosophical Consolation in Christianity and Islam: Boethius and al-Kindî," Topoi , 19 (2000): 25-34.Kennedy-Day, Kiki, "Al-Kindî: A New Dîbâjah?," The Islamic Quarterly , 44 (2000): 429-33.

al-Marwazî

Kruk, Remke, "Of Rukhs and Rooks, Camels and Castles,"Oriens , 36 (2001): 288-98 [on Book of Animals ].

Miskawayh

"Perennial Philosophy," transl. by Alma Giese, inAn Anthology , pp. 276-302 [partial].Marcotte, Roxanne, "The Role of Imagination in Ibn Miskawayh's Theory of Prophecies," American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 37-72.Nasir Bin Omar, Mohamed, "Preliminary Remarks on Christian Sources of Muslim Ethics: Miskawayh's Experience," Hamdard Islamicus , 23, n. 3 (2000): 53-56.

Mullâ ?adrâ al-Shîrazî

Burrell, David B., "Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and Mulla Sadra Shirazi (980/1572-1050/1640) and the Primacy of esse/wujûd in Philosophical Theology,"Medieval Philosophy and Theology , 8 (1999): 207-19.

Janssens, Jules, "Mullâ Sadrâ's Use of Ibn Sînâ's Ta'lîqât in the Asfâr,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 13 (2002): 1-13.

al-Râzî (Abû Bakr)

Goodman, Lenn E., "Râzî vs. Râzî—Philosophy in the Majlis," inThe Majlis , pp. 84-107 [see below, Kalam].

Rashed, Marwan, "Abû Bakr al-Râzî et le Kalâm,"MIDEO , 24(2000): 39-54.

Stroumsa, Sarah, Freethinkers of Medieval islam: Ibn al-Râwandî, Abû Bakr al-Râzî, and Their Impact on Islamic Thought (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, XXXV). Leiden: Brill, 1999, xii-261 pp., ISBN 90-04-11374-6.

Tornero, Emilio, "Falsafa versus 'Arabiyya: al-Râzî,"al-Qantara , 21 (2000): 3-16.

al-Shahrastânî

Struggling with the Philosopher: A Refutation of Avicenna's Metaphysics. A New Arabic Edtion and English Translation of Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karîm al-Shahrastânîs Kitâb al-Musâra'a, ed. and transl. by Wilferd Madelung & Toby Mayer (The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, 2). London: I.B. Tauris, 2001, x-106 & 136 pp., ISBN 1-86064-693-X.

Jolivet, Jean, "Al-_ahrastânî critique d'Avicenne dans laLutte contre les philosophes (quelques aspects),"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 10 (2000): 275-92.

Al-Shahrazûrî al-Ishrâqî

Privot, Michael, "Some Notes on the Typology of the Works of Al-Shahrazûrî Al-Ishrâqî,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 12 (2001): 312-21.

al-Sijistânî

Walker, Paul E.,Abû Ya'qûb al-Sijistânî: Intellectual Missionary (The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Ismaili Heritage Series, 1). London: I.B. Tauris, 1998, xvi-132 pp., ISBN pb. 1-86064-294-4.

al-Suhrawardî

[Suhrawardî]The Philosophy of Illumination. A New Critical Edition of the Text of Hikmat al-ishrâqwith Translation, Notes, Commentary and Introduction by John Walbridge & Hossein Ziai (Islamic Translation Series). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8425-2457-6.

Huda, Qamar-ul, "The Remembrance of the Prophet in Suhrawardî's'Awârif al-Ma'ârif ,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 12 (2001): 129-50.

Latiri Azouz, Rajet, "Esthétique et mystique chez Sohrawardi,"IBLA , 61, n. 182 (1998): 245-62.

Yahyâ ibn 'Adî

Baffioni, Carmela & Nasti de Vincentis, Mauro, "Archimedean Influences on Yahyâ ibn 'Adî (died 974),"Parole de l'Orient , 24 (1999): 203-33.

Yûhannâ Ibn Mâsawayh

Troupeau, Gérard, "Le premier traité arabe de minéralogie: le livre de Yûhannâ Ibn Mâsawayh sur les pierres précieuses [transl. with glossary],"Les Annales islamologiques , 32 (1998): 219-38.

Section II: Kalâm

a. Collective Works

The Majlis: Interreligious Encounters in Medieval Islam , ed. by Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Mark R. Cohen, Sasson Somekh & Sidney H. Griffith (Studies in Arabic Language and Literature, 4). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1999, 204 pp.

b. General Studies

"The Almohad Creed," transl. by Madeleine Fletcher, inMedieval Iberia , pp. 190-97 [ch. 1-11].

"Two Arguments in Support of Christian Faith: A. Mozarabic Refutation of Islam; B. In Support of the Trinity," transl. by Thomas E. Burman, inMedieval Iberia , pp. 143-51.

Abisaab, Rula, "Shî'ite Beginnings and Scholastic Tradition in Jabal 'Âmil in Lebanon,"The Muslim World , 88, n. 2 (1998): 1-21.

Abrahamov, Binyamin,Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998, xii-112 pp., ISBN 0-7486-1102-9.

Abu Bakar, Ibrahim, "Some Epistemological Issues in Shî'ism and Sunnism,"Hamdard Islamicus , 34, n.2 (2001): 31-39.

Ahmed, Shahab, "Mapping the World of a Scholar in Sixth/Twelfth-Century Bukhâra: Regional Tradition in Medieval islamic Scholarship as Reflected in a Bibliography,"Journal of the American Oriental Society , 120 (2000): 24-43.

Amir-Moezzi, M.A., "Seul l'homme de Dieu est humain. Théologie et notes d'anthropologie mystique à travers l'exégèse imamite ancienne,"Arabica , 45 (1998): 193-214.

Bar-Asher, Meir M.,Scripture and Exegesis in Early Imâmî Shiism (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 37). Leiden: Brill, 1999, xvi-274 pp., ISBN 90-04-114955.

Brinner, W.M., "A Fifteenth-century Karaite-Raabanite Dispute in Cairo," inThe Majlis , pp. 184-96.

Calverley, Edwin E. & Pollock, James W., Nature, Man and God in Medieval Islam: 'Abd Allah Baydawi's Text Tawali' al-Anwar min Matasli' al-Anzar Along With Mahmud isfahani's Commentary Matali' al-Anzar, Sharh Tawali' al-Anwar Edition and Translation, 2 vol. (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, 45). Leiden: Brill, 2002, xlvi-723 pp. & xiv-724-1183 pp.

Cameron, Averil, "Interfaith Relations in the First Islamic Century,"Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies , 1, n.2 (1999): 1-12.

Clarke, L., "The Shî'î Construction ofTaqlîd ,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 12 (2001): 40-64.

Cohen, M.R. & Somekh, S., "InterreligiousMajâlis in Early Fatimid Egypt," inThe Majlis , pp. 128-36.

Crone, Patricia, "A Statement by the Najdiyya Khârijites on the Dispensability of the Imamite,"Studia Islamica , n. 88 (1998): 55-76.

Fierro, Maribel, "Christian Success and Muslim Fear in Andalusî Writings During the Almoravid and Almohad Periods,"Israel Oriental Studies , 17 (1997): 155-78.

Frank, Richard M., "The non-existent and the possible in classical ash'arite teaching,"MIDEO 24 (2000): 1-37.

-----, "The A_'arite Ontology: I Primary Entities,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 9 (1999): 163-231.

-----, "Contrastes entre trois systèmes: Mu'tazilisme. Ash'arisme et Ghazâlî,"Les Cahiers de Tunisie , 49, n. 173 (1996): 87-104.

Genequand, Charles, "Idolâtrie, astrolâtrie et sabéisme,"Studia Islamica , n. 89 (1999): 109-28.

Gilliot, Claude, "La théologie musulmane en Asie centrale et au Khorasan,"Arabica , 49 (2002): 135-203.

-----, "Une leçon magistrale d'orientalisme: l'Opus Magnum de J. Van Ess (II),"Arabica , 47 (2000): 141-93.

-----, "Al-Dhahabî contre la "pensée spéculative","Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft , 150 (2000): 69-106.

-----, "Les sciences coraniques chez les Karrâmites du Khorasan: leLivre des foundations ,"Journal Asiatique , 288, n. 1 (2000): 5-81.

-----, "De l'impossible censure du récit légendaire:Adab ettafsîr : deux voies pour édifier l'ethos de l'homo islamicus ,"Israel Oriental Studies , 19 (1999): 49-96.

-----, "Mythe et théologie: calame et intellect, prédestination et libre arbitre,"Arabica , 45 (1998): 151-92.

Griffith, Sidney H., "The Monk in the Emir'sMajlis : Reflections on a Popular Genre of Christian Literary Apologetics in Arabic in the Early Islamic Period," inThe Majlis , pp. 13-65.

-----, "Arab Christian Culture in the Early Abbasid Period,"Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies , 1, n.2 (1999): 25-44.

Hallaq, Wael B.,A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunnî Usûl al-fiqh. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, x-294 pp., ISBN 0-521-59986-5.

Hamarnek, Saleh K., "Al-Mutawakkil, Imâm al-Shâfi'î and the Mu'tazilites (Revival of theSunnah ),"Hamdard Islamicus , 23, n. 1 (2000): 7-13.

Hamdani, Sumaiya, "The Dialectic of Power: Sunni-Shi'i Debates in Tenth-Century North Africa,"Studia Islamica , n. 90 (2000): 5-21.

Harrak, Amir, "Christianity in the Eyes of the Muslims of the Jazîrah at the End of the Eighth Century,"Parole de l'Orient , 20 (1995): 337-56.

Hawting, Gerald R., "Shirk and "Idolatry" in Monotheist Polemic,"Israel Oriental Studies , 17 (1997): 107-126.

Jackson, Sherman A., "The Alchemy of Domination? Some Ash'arite Responses to Mu'tazilite Ethics,"International Journal of Middle East Studies , 31 (1999): 185-201.

Juynboll, G.H.A., "An Excursus on theahl as-unna in Connection with Van Ess, "Theologie und Gesellschaft" , IV, "Der Islam , 75 (1998): 318-30.

Kedar, B.Z., "The Multilateral Disputation at the Court of the Grand Qan Möngke, 1254," inThe Majlis , pp. 162-83.

Klein-Franke, F., "The Relation between Knowledge and Belief in Islam. Annotations to Rashîd ad-Dîn's "Book of Questions and Answers","Le Muséon , 113 (2000): 205-19.

Marquet, Yves, "La tolérance dans l'ismailisme médiéval," inPhilosophy and the Arts , pp. 209-18.

Nagel, Tilman,The History of Islamic Theology From Muhammad to the Presen t, transl. by Thomas Thornton. Princeton: Markus Wiener, 2000, xii-329 pp., ISBN 1-55876-203-5.

Onur, Yildirim, "L'instruction du procès d'Ibn Tumart et Muvahhid,"Belleten , 62, n. 234 (1998): 403-34 [in Turkish].

Perler, Dominik & Rudolph, Ulrich,Occasionalismus. Theorien der Kausalität im arabisch-islamischen und im europäischen Denken (Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, 235). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000, 278 pp., ISBN 3-525-82507-2.

Poya, Abbas, "'I?tihâd ' und Glaubensfreiheit: Darstellung einer islamisch-glaubensfreiheitlichen idee anhand sunnistisch-rechtsmethodologischer Diskussion,"Der Islam , 75 (1998): 226-58.

Rahman, A.K.M. Shamsur, "Al-Mu'tazilah and the Unity of God,"Hamdard Islamicus , 34, n.2 (2001): 67-71.

Reynolds, Gabriel Said, "The Ends ofal-Radd al-Jamîl and its Portrayal of Christian Sects,"Islamochristiana , 25 (1999): 45-65.

Saadi, Abdul-Massih, "Apologetic Literature Between Christians and Mulims & Bar Hebraeus (d. 1286),"KARMO , 1, n. 2 (1999): 2-7.

Sklare, D., "Responses to Islamic Polemics by Jewish Mutakallimûn in the Tenth Century," inThe Majlis , pp. 137-61.

Stapa, Zakaria, "A Discussion on the Concept ofTawhîd : The Viewpoint of the Early Islamic Sources,"Hamdard Islamicus , 24, n.4 (2001): 7-35.

Straface, Antonella, "Il concetto di estremismo nell'eresiografia islamica,"Annali , 56 (1996): 471-87.

Strohmaier, Gotthard, "Die christliche Schulen in Bagdad und der alexandrinische Kanon der Galenschriften: eine Korrektur in Hunains Sendschreiben an 'Alî ibn Yahyâ," inOriens , 36 (2001): 268-75.

Tabbaa, Yasser,The transformation of Islamic Art during the Sunni Revival . Seattle 7 London: University of Washington Press, 2001, xiv-210 pp., ISBN 0-295-98125-3.

Talmom, "Tawaddud—The Story of aMajlis ," inThe Majlis , pp. 120-27.

van Ess, Josef,Prémices de la théologie musulmane (La Chaire de l'I.M.A.). Paris: Albin Michel, 2002, 164 pp., ISBN 2-226-13285-6.

-----, "Die Pest von Emmaus. Theologie und Geschichte in der Frühzeit des Islams,"Oriens , 36 (2001): 248-67.

Walbridge, John, "Explaining Away the Greek Gods in Islam,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 59 (1998): 389-403.

Walker, Paul, "The Identity of One of the Ismailidâ'îs Sent by the Fatimids to Ibn Haf?ûn,"Al-Qan?ara , 21 (2000): 387-88.

Wasserstein, D.J., "The "Majlis al-Ridâ': A Religious Debate in the Court of the Caliph Al-Ma'mûn as Represented in a Shî'î Hagiographical Work about the Eighth Imâm 'Alî ibn Mûsâ Al-Ridâ," inThe Majlis , pp. 108-19.

-----, "The Muslims and the Golden Age of the Jews in Al-Andalus,"Israel Oriental Studies , 17 (1997): 179-96.

Az-Zubaydi, Mohammad Abdallah, "L'homme est-il créateur de ses actes? La notion de "Kasb" et la justice de l'imposition des obligations ches les premiers ash'arites,"al-Machriq , 72 (1998): 409-40.

'Abd al-Jabbâr

Heemskerk, Margaretha T., Suffering in the Mu'tazilite Theology. 'Abd al-Jabbâr's Teaching on Pain and Divine Justice (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 41). Leiden: Brill, 2000, x-217 pp., ISBN 90-04-11726-1.

al-Ash'arî

Stapa, Zakaria, "A Discussion on the Concept ofTawhîd : The Viewpoint oa al-Ash'arî," Hamdard Islamicus , 23, n.2 (2000): 55-60.

Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî

[Ar-Râzî], Traité sur les noms divins (Lawâmi' al-bayyinât fî al-asmâ' wa al-çifât) (Le Livre des preuves éclatantes sur les noms et les qualités), transl. with Intro. and notes by Maurice Gloton, Foreword by Pierre Lory. Beirut: Al-Bouraq, 2000, 669 pp., ISBN 2-84161-111-6.

Lagarde, Michel,Index du Grand Commentaire de Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî . Leiden: Brill, 1996, 82+360 pp.

Abrahamov, Benjamin, "Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî on the Knowability of God's Essence and Attributes,"Arabica , 49 (2002): 204-30.

?skendero?lu, Muammer,Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî and Thomas Aquinas on the Question of the Eternity of the World (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, XLVIII). Leiden: Brill, 2002, xiv-198 pp., ISBN 90-04-12480-2.

Jomier, Jacques, "L'index duGrand Commentaire de Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî,"MIDEO , 24 (2000): 423-34.

Kafrawi, Shalahudin, "Fakhr al-Dîn al-Râzî's Sources ofTa'wîl : Between Revelation and Reason," The Islamic Quarterly , 43 (1999): 186-202.

al-Ghazâlî

Bidayatu-l-Hidaya , ed. by 'Abdu-l-Hamîd Muhammad al-Darwîsh. Beirut: Dar Sader, 1998, 176 pp.

al-Munqidh min al-Dalâl , ed. by Muhammad Muhammad Abûlaylah & Nûrshîf Abdul-Rahim Rif'at. Washington, D.C.: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2001, iii-321 pp., ISBN 1-56518-082-1.

[Al-Ghazâlî]Deliverance from Error & Mystical Union with the Almighty (Al-Munqidh min al-Dalâl) , transl & Intro. by Muhammad Abûlaylah, Intro. and notes by George F. McLean (Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IIA, Islam, 2B). Washington, D.C.: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2001, 142 pp., ISBN 1-56518-081-X.

[Al-Ghazâlî]Deliverance from Error: Five Key Texts Including His Spiritual Autobiography al-Munqidh min al-Dalal , transl. by Richard J. McCarthy. Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, s.d. 1999?, 334 pp., ISBN 1-887752-27-7 [some kind of reprint of McCarthy's Freedom and Fulfillment , 198; includes The Clear Criterion for Distinguishing between Islam and Godlessness, The Infamies (Enormities) of the Bâtinites and the Virtues (Merits) of the Mustazhirites [partial], The Correct Balance, The Noblest of Aims in the Explanation of God's Fairest Names [selections], The Book of the Marvels of the Heart [selections from one of the parts of the 'Ihya ']].

[Al-Ghazali] Faith in Divine Unity & Trust in Divine Providence (Kitâb al-tawhîd wa'l-tawakkul, Bk. XXXV of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, Ihyâ' 'ulûm al-dîn), transl. with Intro. and notes by David B. Burrell. Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2001, xxvi-177 pp., ISBN 1-88775-235-8

[Al-Ghazâlî]Initiation à la foi: Bidyatu-l-Hidaya [Revivifaction des sciences de la religion] , transl. by Muhammad Diakho, 2nd ed. Beirut: Al-Bouraq, 1999, 166 pp., ISBN 2-84161-026-8.

[Al Ghazali] La Balance juste ou La connaissance rationnelle dans la tradition musulmane (Qistâs al mustaqîm), transl. by Victor Chelhot. Paris: IQRA, 1998, 247 pp., ISBN 2-911509-17-X.

al-'Ajam, Rafîq, "'L'espace' de Ghazâlî et ses dimensions,"al-Machriq , 76 (2002): 435-70 [in Arabic].

Burrell, David, "Al-Ghazali on Created Freedom,"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 73 (Winter 1999): 135-57.

Dutton, Blake D., "Al-Ghazâlî on Possibility and the Critique of Causality,"Medieval Philosophy and Theology , 10 (2001): 23-46.

Ghazanfar, S.M., "The Economic Thought of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali and St. Thomas Aquinas: Some Comparative Parallels and Links,"History of Political Economy , 32 (2000): 857-88.

Giacaman, George & Bahlul, Raja, "Ghazali on Miracles and Necessary Connection,"Medieval Philosophy and Theology , 9 (2000): 39-50.

Gianotti, Timothy J.,Al-Ghazâlî's Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the Ihyâ' (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 104). Leiden: Brill, 2001, xii-205 pp., ISBN 90-04-12083-1 [includes a translation of The Epistle of Presence ].

Griffel, Frank, Apostasie und Toleranz im Islam, see above.

Halevi, Leor, "Natural Philosophy and al-Ghazâlî,"Journal of the History of Ideas , 63 (2002): 19-39.

Harvey, Steven, "Why Did Fourteenth-Century Jews Turn to Alghazali's Account of Natural Science?,"The Jewish Quarterly Review , 91 (2001): 359-76.

Janssens, Jules, "Al-Ghazzâlî'sTahâfut : Is It Really a Rejection of Ibn Sînâ's Philosophy?,"Journal of Islamic Studies , 12 (2001): 1-17.

Kukkonen, Taneli, "Possible Worlds in theTahâfut al-Falâsia : Al-Ghazâlî on Creation and Contingency,"Journal of the History of Philosophy , 38 (2000): 479-502.

Marmura, Michael E., "Ghazali and Ash'arism Revisited,"Arabic Sciences and Philosophy , 12 (2002): 91-110.

Mat Akhir, Noor Shaskirah, "Al-Ghazâlî's Concept of Personality,"Hamdard Islamicus , 25, n.2 (2002): 29-34.

Mitha, Farouk,Al-Ghazâlî and the Ismailis: A Debate on Reason and Authority in Medieval Islam (The Institute of Ismaili Studies, Ismaili Heritage Series, 5). London: I.B. Tauris, 2001, xxiv-128 pp., ISBN 1-86064-819-3 [A study ofKitâb al-Mustazhiri ].

Rafiabadi, Hamid Nassem, "Ghazzâlî's Approach to Natural Sciences and Philosophy,"Hamdard Islamicus , 24, n.4 (2001): 37-58.

Sambur, Bilal, "Al-Ghazali on Ritualism and Spirituality,"The Islamic Quarterly , 44 (2000): 565-73.

Hasan al-Basrî

Bodiur Rahman, Muhammad, "Imam Hasan al-Basri's Unique Logical Reflections on Some Important Qur'anic Terms Concerning Human Choice,"The Islamic Quarterly , 42, n.1 (1998): 53-67.

Ibn Hanbal

Williams, Wesley, "Aspects of the Creed of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Study of Anthropomorphism in Early Islamic Discourse,"International Journal of Middle East Studies , 34 (2002): 441-63.

Ibn Hazm

"On Forgetting a Beloved:The Ring of the Dove ," transl. by A.J. Arberry inMedieval Iberia , pp. 77-80 [very partial].

"On the Inconsistencies of the Four Gospels:Al-Fasl fî al-milal ," transl. by Thomas E. Burman, inMedieval Iberia , pp. 81-83 [very partial].

Adang, Camilla, "Islam as the Inborn Religion of Mankind: The Concept offitra in the Works of Ibn Hazm,"al-Qantara , 21 (2000): 391-410.

Coope, Jessica A., "With Heart, Tongue, and Limbs: Ibn Hazm on the Essence of Faith,"Medieval Encounters , 6, nn.1-3 (2000): 101-113.

Kaddouri, Samir, "Identificación de un manuscrito andalusí anónimo de una obra contra Ibn Hazm al-Qurtubî (m. 456/1064),"al-Qantara , 22 (2001): 299-320.

Makin, Al, "The Influence of Zâhirî Theory on Ibn Hazm's Theology: The Case of his Interpretation of the Anthropmorphic Text "The Hand of God","Medieval Encounters , 5, n.1 (1999): 112-20.

Ibn al-Jawzî

Rosenbaum, Gabriel M., "A Certain Laugh: Serious Humor and Creativity in theAdab of Ibn al-Jawzî,"Israel Oriental Studies , 19 (1999): 97-129.

Swartz, Merlin,A Medieval Critique of Anthropomorphism: Ibn al-Jawzî's Kitâb Akhbâr a?-_ifât, cirtical ed. with transl, intro. and notes (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 46). Leiden: Brill, 2002, xvi-330+116 (Arabic) pp., ISBN 90-04-123768.

Ibn al-Râwandî

Stoumsa, Sarah, "Ibn al-Râwandî'ss adab al-mujâdala : The Role of Bad Manners in Medieval Disputations," in The Majlis , pp. 66-83.

Stroumsa, S., Freethinkers of Medieval Islam, see above.

Ibn Taymiyya

"Mas'alat al-Kanâ'is (The Question of the Churches)," presentation and transl. by Benjamin O'Keeffe,Islamochristiana , 22 (1996): 53-78.

Isfahânî

Mohamed, Yasien, "Knowledge and Purification of the Soul: An Annotated Translation with Introduction of Isfahânî'sKitâb al-Dharî'a ilâ Makârim al-Sharî'a (58-76; 89-92) ," Journal of Islamic Studies , 9, n.1 (1998): 1-34.

al-Juwaynî

Chaumont, Eric, "En quoi le madhab shâfi'ite est-il shâfi'ite selon tle Mudjit al-khalq de Juwaynî?,"Annales Islamologiques , 35 (2001): 17-26.

al-Mâturîdî

Thomas, David, "Abû Mansûr al-Mâturîdî on the Divinity of Jesus Christ [ed. and transl.],"Islamochristiana , 23 (1997): 43-64.

Özcan, Hanifi, "Abû Mansûr al-Mâturîdî's Remarks on the relation Between Faith, Islam, Beneficence and Infidelity,"Hamdard Islamicus , 25, n.1 (2002): 7-19.

-----, "Abû Mansûr al-Mâturîdî's Religious Pluralism,Islamochristiana , 23 (1997): 65-80.

al-Mufîd

Marcinkowski, Muhammad Ismail, "Selected Aspects of the Life and Works of al-Shaykh al-Mufîd (336-413/498-1022),"Hamdard Islamicus , 23, n.2 (2000): 41-54.

Qutâ ibn Lûqâ

Zilio-Grandi, Ida, "La refutazione della profezia di Muhammad e del miracolo coranico di Qu?ta ibn Lûqâ,"Parole de l'Orient , 22 (1997): 677-89.

Rashîd al-Dîn

Klein-Franke, F., "Rashîd al-Dîn's Self-Defence through his Commenting on al-Ghazzâlî's "Reply to the Opponents of the 'Proof of Islâm'". A Philosophical

Interpretation of the Koranic Expression "al-Amâna","Le Muséon , 115 (2002): 197-214.

al-Râzî (Abû Hâtim)

Goodman, Lenn E., "Râzî vs. Râzî—Philosophy in theMajlis ," in The Majlis , pp. 84-107.

al-Sanûsî, Muhammad ibn Yûsuf

Kenny, Joseph, O.P., "TheMuqaddimah : An Introductory Summary of Kalâm by Muhammad ibn Yusûf al-Sanûsî [edition]," Hamdard Islamicus , 23, n.2 (2000): 31-40.

Theodorus Abû Qurrah

Pizzo, Paola, "L'Islam e I musulmani nella difesa delle icone di Teodoro Abû Qurrah,"Parole de l'Orient , 22 (1997): 667-76.

Samir, Samir K., "Théodore Abû-Qurra. Du nouveau sur sa vie et son oeuvre,"al-Machriq , 73 (1999): 417-49 [in Arabic].

Birthplace of Islam

In order to acquire a close familiarization with Islam it is necessary to know the environment in which Islam took birth and started to spread since such an understanding greatly aids the recognition of that entity.

It is possible to have a superficial knowledge of certain matters without being familiar with their knowing their background or the conditions of their origin. But a profound understanding of a certain being or phenomenon depends wholly on a thorough familiarization of the background of that being or phenomenon. This applies equally to individuals or technical , artistic or social phenomena. For this reason, a deep understanding of the environments of Islam at the time of its birth is essential. The environments at the time of the birth of Islam may be misconstrued to mean the region including Mecca, or Mecca and Medina, or Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or Hejaz or Arabia. It should be noted though that the noble Prophet of Islam from the very outset as he began his call to Islam while he was still at Mecca and Islam had not yet spread to Medina, began his call in the following manner:

"Come and embrace a faith the light of which will spread over Iran, Rome, Abyssinia and all other places." Thus from beginning the Prophet's call was a universal one addressing the civilised world of that time. Moreover, in the 6th year of (Hijra) migration, namely six years after the prophet's immigration to Medina, he wrote letters all of which are found in historical records namely to Khusrow Parviz King of Persia, Heraclius[2] ruler of a part of the Roman Empire, Mequqass ruler of Egypt,[3] Najashi (or Negus) ruler of Abyssinia,[4] Ruler of Ghassan as a deputy of Rome,[5] and to the ruler of Hira of the tribe of AI-e-Mundir and a vice regent of the throne of Iran, inviting all of them to accept Islam. Thus it becomes apparent that in order to know the background of the rise of Islam, we cannot con fine ourselves to Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or to the Arab Lands but expand our view to at least include all such regions as the Prophet himself called to accept Islam in his own time.

A brief description of Arabia

The name Arabia is applied to a land populated by Arabic-speaking people. At the time of the birth of the Prophet, the Arabic-speaking region was not so vast as it is to-day; on one side it was bounded by the Persian Gulf much as it is to-day, since at that time, too, the southern borders of the Persian Gulf were inhabited by Arabs In Iraq the boundary was almost along the Tigris and the Euphrates namely that side of the Tigris where Arabic is now the main language In the region between Iran and the Tigris the main language was not Arabic, but Kurdish, Persian and some local dialects with Arabic as the main language that side of River Tigris. In fact the Arabs now inhabiting Khuzestan are not the original inhabitants but migrated to this region after Islam. In the north were the present countries of Shaam or Syria and Jordan where a number of Arab migrant tribes lived in the time of Islam, the period of that migration will be explained later. In the north, too, Arabic was not, unlike to-day, the main language, though a considerable Arab migrants had settled in the valley of the Jordan River. It may be observed that at present the Arab land, have extended as far as Turkey, whereas at that time it was limited more to the south towards Jordan. The present Lebanon and Syria were not Arabic speaking. In Jordan, too, Arabic was not the main language, and only the Arab migrants spoke Arabic. In this respect Jordan resembled the present Khuzestan where a group speak Arabic and another speak Persian.

In the west, in a significant part of Africa where Arabic is now spoken, the main language at the time was not Arabic. Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and even Abyssinia and other parts where Arabic is now spoken, Arabic was not the main language at that time. Thus we see that at the time of the birth of Islam the region of Arabia and the Arab land from the viewpoint of the Arabic language was located in the south of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman extending in the west up to the Red Sea - beyond which Arabic was not prevalent - and in the north till the Jordan River valley beyond which Arabic was not prevalent, and in the east to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This, then was the extent of Arabia at the time of the birth of Islam.

Here it should be pointed out that the language spoken in the regions beyond these frontiers, namely in a part of Africa, Shaam, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and to the east of the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, had been branches of Semitic languages, having a common root with Arabic - in the same way that Persian has a common root with German, Indian Sanskrit and Indo-European languages. The local languages of Somalia, Abyssinia, Egypt and a part of Jordan (which was Hebrew) and those of the present Lebanon and Syria (which had been Phoenician), and those of other parts (which had been Chaldean, Assyrian etc.) were all like the Arabic language Semitic in origin and are recognised as Semitic languages and both from the viewpoint of script as well as vocabulary linked together.

Georgie Zeydan, in his book, 'History of Civilisation,[6] narrates that at that time if someone went from Arabia to Abyssinai, or from Jordan or the Lebanon to Hejaz, he did not feel like an alien, the languages were so much alike that he could understand the local language without the aid of an interpreter, and if he stayed there for a little while, he could learn the local language - the same way that a Persian-speaking person visiting Kurdestan can learn the local language within a short time. Thus the Arabic speaking region of to-day used to be the region of Semitic languages, which have common roots with Arabic, and is thus easily understood by their neighbours, while the Arabian peninsula was the home to Arabs who spoke pure unmixed Arabic.

Origin of Arab Tribes

The inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula who were generally called Arabs, were in two groups: Qahtani Arabs' and 'Adnani Arabs.' Qahtani Arabs were those whose original abode was Yemen. The Yeminis and Yemen of that time included the present Aden, the Sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf littoral and the Sea of Oman.

The Adnani Arabs were centered around Najd and Hejaz that is to say around Mecca stretching as far as the Hejaz Desert. Both the Qahtani and Adnani Arabs share a common historical root, originating from the same ancestors. You can imagine an Arab family of three thousand years ago steadily multiplying in numbers, then branching into two sections The descendants of Ya'rib Ibn Qahtan went to Yemen. Others who went to Mecca - and founded Mecca - the descendants of Ismail, because they had an ancestor named Adnan, came to be called Adnani.

Arabs who went to Yemen, the Qahtani Arab, had come to the land of good fortune, because Yemen was a better land compared with Mecca, Najd and the Arabian Desert from the viewpoint of natural potential climate and water. Accordingly in the lands of Yemen, civilisation and industry and urban development began much sooner. The history of urban development and civilisation in Yemen, the home of the Qahtani Arabs, dates several centuries before Hejaz and Najd, the home of the 'Adnani Arabs. It would be pertinent at this stage to consider how the factor of environment influenced the development of two branches of a common stock who shared common language as well as many other characteristics. According to historians, not only from the viewpoint of urbanisation and development, but also from the viewpoint of political organisations and government, Yemen and Qahtani Arabs were centuries ahead of Najd and Hejaz and the Adnani Arabs. Further explanations will follow about this aspect.

In Yemen the Hemyari Kings ruled as the crowned monarchs at the time when in Hejaz social organisations had not developed beyond tribal ways. Ya'qubi, the great Islamic historian narrates that the crown worn by Hemyar, founder of the Hemyari dynasty was made of silver with a large ruby set in the middle and such was the situation prevailing in Yemen several centuries before the establishment of a government in Hejaz, Najd and Arabia. From the viewpoint of technology and civilisation, long before the appearance of such developments over the ordinary tribal life in Najd and Hejaz, the historical 'Mareb Dam' had been constructed. In this regard a historian narrates that this dam was six kilometers in length situated between two mountains so that the winter rains and torrents would collect in the form of a lake. It had a number of sluice gates through which passed seventy irrigation channels passed for irrigating seventy agricultural sectors. Mareb Dam had been built eight centuries before Islam and as it happened two centuries before Christ, the object is to show the background of the birth place of Islam, as also to compare Yemen with Hejaz which was the location of the advent of Islam.

Mareb Dam

Mareb Dam played an effective role in the development of Yemen which flourished alongside of it. Strabon, the famous Greek geographer and traveller (about 63 B.C. to 26 A.D ) whose name is mentioned frequently in the annals of history, has written many strange accounts about the city of Mareb and its wonders and fine palaces which have been quoted in various books of history. This city had attracted travellers from many parts of the world and flourished until the second century A.D. From the beginning of the second century A.D. it started to deteriorate. The interesting point which historians have recorded is that since individuals were unable to maintain the Dam, this task had to be performed by their governments, but as public authorities had become inefficient and were too busy feasting and drinking, they neglected their responsibility of preserving the Dam. Consequently it fell into disrepair. This shows that in those times the people of Yemen expected their government to undertake such tasks. Mareb Dam began to deteriorate in the beginning of second country A.D. so that all realised that it would collapse within the next ten or twenty years So the Qahtani Arabs of Yemen began to abandon their homes fearing that with the collapse of the Dam no water would be available for irrigation or farming. They were also alarmed that when the Dam collapsed it would release a torrent which would destroy their homes and fields and everything else that came in its way Consequently such fears caused the Qahtani tribes to begin emigrating

One group emigrated towards Hira and the land of Iraq and settled along the banks of the Tigris, and founded the government of Munadherah or Al-e-Mundher. The people & Munadherah on account of their proximity to Iran, became tributaries of the Iranian governments possibly maintaining political relations with them. Another group migrated to the territory near the present day Jordan, and settled in the flourishing Jordan Valley. They were the earliest Arabs to settle there and set up the Ghassani dynasty which normally had relations with Rome. A third group of them in their migration came to Yathrib (the present Medina) which was at that time home to the Jews, however this subject will be discussed later in the chapter related to Judaism. These last Arabs formed the twin tribes of 'Aus' and 'Khazraj' whose names appear frequently in the course of the history of Islam. These two tribes settled in Yathrib where some farming land and water were available. Another group, namely Bani Khuza'a moved to Mecca and fought the Adnani Arabs of Mecca, drove them out and took control of Mecca themselves. Yet another group called Bani 'Addi went to Najd and became the rulers of the greater part of the desert.

What is note worthy here is that a civilised people accustomed to urbanisation and well developed social existence should as a result of an anticipated catastrophe, migrate from their home land, and then organise their communities wherever they set foot.

Those who went to Shaam, established the Ghassani rule; those who went to Hira, founded the dynasty of Al-e-Mundher, No'manian and Munadherah; whose who settled in Medina, namely the tribes of Aus and Khazraj, will be discussed in subsequent chapters; and the group that went to Mecca, pushed away the Adnanis who were the least developed. These were the ones who went to the desert, dominated the waste lands of the Arabian Desert. The remaining Arabs who stayed back in Yemen, either on account of laziness or hoping that no calamity such as the collapse of the Dam would occur, were annihilated by the well-known flood of 'Arem in the end of the second century A.D. which has been mentioned in the Chapter of Saba of the holy Qur'an, where a brief history of Yemen is narrated.

Thus the structure of Arabia in the second century A.D. consisted of the government of one group of Arabs in the present day Jordan neighbouring ancient Rome; another group building a city state in the present Iraq and Hira set up a state neighbouring Iran; another group settled in Yathrib as neighbours of the Jews, and lastly another group of Qahtani Arabs settled in Mecca and its suburbs. This then was the situation four centuries before the birth of Islam.

Cultural Situation

All historians are agreed that the highest manifestation of the development of Arab culture in the century preceding Islam was poetry which was not known before that time. A well known historian named Ya'qubi has written that poetry among the Arabs had taken the place of science, philosophy, history and everything else.[7] If an Arab had a bright idea he would give it the form of a few verses and thus express it. Thus if someone should question what Arab culture was at that time, the answer would be 'a few stanzas of poetry'.

The Arabs were a people with a poetic bent even though their land was no land of flowers and nightingales, but only thorns and sand, yet it nurtured many a poet. As poetry was esteemed by them to be the highest manifestation of culture, their poets were on the lookout for a suitable spot to present their poems. The finest of their poems were then inscribed on posters and hung on the walls of the Ka'aba in the annual rendezvous of the Arabs. They called these posters 'Mu'allaqat' meaning 'hanging verses'. Such display on the walls of the Ka'aba was the the reward for the poets, who as a result became famous. Amra' al-Qais and other contemporary poets of early Islam were among the poets thus honoured. They were the authors of 'the seven hanging pieces' that had found place of honour on the walls of the Ka'aba and in history Beside poetry there was another cultural source in the Arabia of that time, namely Jewish culture which will be discussed in detail later on.

Economic Situation

The leading aspect of the Arabs economy of that time from the viewpoint of production was animal husbandry and agriculture wherever it was possible. As far as trade and exchange were concerned, their main trade was with foreign lands. Both the Arabs of Yemen and Hejaz were engaged in this activity, but since foreign trade must have links with home trade in order to exchange home-made products with foreign goods, the Arabs of that age resorted to the same practice in keeping with the level of their civilisation as they do in modern times. In the developed world of today one of the most significant essential and effective of economic practices is the organising of commercial and industrial fairs. The Arabs, too, at that time arranged fairs in the form of seasonal bazaars In the same way that today in each season a fair is held in a city or locality in relation to local conditions, the Arabs, too, followed the same practice at different times and in particular places. A few examples of the extensive and famous exhibitions which were held in Hejaz and Najd were as follows:

The 'Dumatul-Jandal Fair', held in the month of Rabial-Awwal under the auspices of two local tribes of Ghassan and Kalb near Shaam.

The Mashqar Fair' held in the month of Jamadi-al-'Ula in a place of the same name, under the auspices of Banu-Tim tribe.[8]

The 'Sahar Fair', held on the first of the month of Rajab.[9]

The 'Ria Fair' following their Sahar Fair' in the same month of Rajab, under the patronage of the Jalandi tribc and its ruler.[10]

The 'Aden Fair', held at the beginning of the month of Ramadhan, According to historians since this fair dealt exclusively with perfumes and scents, it was the great market of perfumers.[11]

The 'San'a Fair', held in the middle of Ramadhan

The 'Rabia Fair', held in the present Hadamut.

The 'Ukaz Fair', held in the month of Dhil-Qa'dah near Ta'if

The 'Dhil Majaz Fair', held when all other fairs had concluded and the merchants who had been busy making a round of these fairs during those months, finally headed to Mecca, making a pilgrimage to the Ka'aba in the month of Dhil Hajjah, and dispersed after performing the Hajj ceremonies.

These fairs and seasonal bazaars were the most valuable and cherished commercial events in Arabia of those days. The merchant class who profited from those fairs did their best not to let them become mere exhibitions. They organised colourful ceremonies and musical shows and other celebrations as well as exhibits of literary works, poetry and arts. Thus these exhibitions were show places worth a visit both for those who intended to buy new and fineries and goods, or listen to the latest and the finest pieces of verse, or fine music. Thus the poets, too, were drawn to these exhibitions to recite their poems before judges who judged their poems. In this manner the fairs served both as commercial shows and literary societies.

Form of Government in Pagan Times

Sociologists say that in those days when man lived alone (if indeed there were such days!) he had no need of a master, since he was his own master and servant; his own ruler, his own government and his own nation. But as soon as he emerged from this solitary state and formed a family, and as soon as their number rose to four, there rose the question of who headed the family and who was the chief. Sociologists claim that in most parts of the world headship belonged to the men while in certain parts to the women, that is to say the father acting as the head in the former case, and the mother in the latter. As the family grew larger, several families formed a group, called tribe, the family then acquired a tribal form. Thereby the question of the chief, the elder, the senior and the 'grey-beard' of the tribe came up who should settle the affairs of the group.

When several tribes took form, the issue became more extensive and there came into existence national government, and the issues in turn became international though yet such a government has not appeared.

With the rise of several tribes, these tribes that lived alongside each other neither knew their common ancestors nor did they regard each other as kith and kin. As they coexisted in one area and shared common interests, they found that they had need for a government in order to preserve their social system. Thus the formation of a government from the viewpoints of history and sociology began with the tribes' realisation of a need for a guardian to safeguard their common interests and social system. This guardian then became their government.

From the viewpoint of political process, this was the most critical phase, namely the transfer of power from the tribal system and tribal chief to a central government. This critical phase had been accomplished in Yemen many centuries before Islam where a central government in its true sense had been formed and this was also the case in Ghassan and Hira where governments ruled. On the other hand in the interior of Arabia such a governments did not exist except in very rare instances.

Ya'qubi says in his book of history: "The tribal disputes or problems between individuals were usually settled by a number of persons known to be wise and far-sighted as well as unprejudiced and impartial. They settled the disputes through elderly intervention and arbitration. Such arbitrators were called magistrates. Ya'qubi mentions in his book of history (Vol. 1, p. 337) the names of a large number of such magistrates, who were not heads of a government but only arbitrators who adjudicated in the matters of disputes. In the history of the corresponding period in Arabia we come across only one or two cases when government is mentioned in connection with the interior of Arabia, namely in Hejaz and Najd. Among these accounts a Jewish historian writes that in the fifth century A.D., that is one century before Islam, Abu Karab, king of Yemen had assigned his son as the regent of Median. Since this governor had been installed by the ruler of Yemen, it could hardly be called the government of Medina.

Thus at that time while there existed governments along the borders outside of Arabia, such as the Chassanis and Mundherian, and those who had remained in Yemen and in the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf, no progress had been made from a tribal society towards a central government in the central parts of Arabia.

Role of Judaism and Christianity

In order to make a thorough study of the history of Islam, we should also make a survey of the part played by Judaism and Christianity in side Arabia.

We are not altogether certain of the date of the Jews migration to Arabia, however the writer of the 'History of Judaism' writes in this connection: "There are different views concerning the migration of the Jews to Arabia and its causes and factors, but there is little doubt that most of the Jews abandoned their homes owing to the oppression of Roman rulers and sought refuge in Arabia. If the Jews had been denied peace and tranquility in Palestine, Europe and in the Roman holdings, in Arabia on the contrary their living conditions were satisfactory, since there they were no longer subjected to threats and persecution by Christian priests, being treated kindly by their neighbours.

What is certain is that owing to the remoteness of the Hejaz and Najd regions, a number of Jews had migrated to Arabia centuries before the birth of Islam, and in all probability concurrent with the appearance of Jesus (a s.) Christ or in the second and third centuries A.D.

According to the existing books of history, their migrations to the Hejaz must have begun at least about five centuries before Islam, that is to say by the end of the first century A.D. The Jews had realised that in that region they could live freely far removed from the oppression of Roman governors. The most important center of Jewish settlements was Yathrib, the present Medina. The Jews who came to Arabia, found that there was land and water in the Yathrib region, so they built a fort for themselves and settled down. In Mecca, too, the Jews were present but in small numbers.

Those who migrated from the north to the south found their way to Yemen, where the number of the Jews was not so great, but there occurred an event as a result of which Judaism became the official religion of Yemen. It so happened that Abu Karab's son was the governor of Yathrib, when his father was king of Yemen in the fifth century A.D. The inhabitants of Medina rose in revolt against this governor and killed him. Abu Karab, despite being engaged in a war with the kings of Iran over Yemen, on his way came to Yathrib and in order to punish the Jews and Arabs of Yathrib who had risen against him, and thereafter to proceed to the war with Iran. When he reached Yathrib, the inhabitants went inside their forts and shut the gates and took refuge within: Abu Karab besieged the forts, and as the siege drew on, the people in the forts were faced with acute shortage of food. At this time a number of Jewish rabbis came out of the forts and approached Abu Karab and declared that only four foolish men had killed his son, and begged the king for his forgiveness. In this meeting they started reciting some Jewish teachings for Abu Karab who was a heathen; their ardor so influenced him that he embraced Judaism and at once returned to Yemen. When Abu Karab and his courtiers accepted Judaism as their religion, they began to propagate that faith. After Abu Karab died some time later, one of his sons, named 'Dhunavas' or 'Dhunuvas' became the king of Yemen and formally and zealously propagated the Jewish faith in Yemen and so it became the official religion of Yemen where they set about building a number of synagogues for the Jews. This happened about eighty or a hundred years before the rise of Islam.

Thus we witness that in the Arabia of that time, in the north existed the Jews and Christians, in the east the Zoroastrians and followers of Mazdak, the Iranians' religion, in the south and in a part of Yathrib the Jews, and in other parts were idolaters and Sabeans and followers of numerous other religions.

Judaism in Arabia

The author of the 'History of Judaism' has recorded that the Arabs treated the Jews kindly and associated with them treaty resulting in frequent intermarriages among them. On the whole the Jews exerted a great influence upon the Arabs since, firstly, they were well versed in economics and could hence manage the economy of those regions and, secondly, compared to the Arabs lettered and a people of the Book and consequently possessed higher learning than the Arabs who were quite illiterate. They could narrate tales and talk about many topics with the Arabs and hence gained considerable respect. While the Arabs could neither read nor write, most of the Jews were familiar with reading and even writing to some extent. Judaism exerted such a strong influence that a group of the Quraish tribe, namely Banu Kunanah had embraced Judaism.

Christianity in Arabia

The position of Christianity was a special one in Hejaz and in the Arabian peninsula. This religion had not made any inroads into Arabia till about the time of the Prophet of Islam, that is to say about a century and a half before the birth of Islam. Just as today the Christian missionaries go to African and South American lands and penetrate into the forests to propagate their faith, at that time, too, they went to the dry deserts of Arabia with the object of spreading their religion. The first group of Christian missionaries went to the Najran area. They so greatly influenced the people there that the first Christian sector took shape in Arabia. The Christians of Najran commenced their missionary work, and alongwith other missionaries who arrived from outside, founded a center of propagation in the interior of Arabia. At this time, as it has already been stated, Dhunuvas, the King of Yemen had embraced Judaism. Then there occurred a collision between this Jewish king who applied much pressure to spread Judaism in Arabia and the Christians of Najran. This clash had a political background in that the Emperor of Abyssinia coveted Yemen, the neighbour across the sea. To retaliate this clash, Dhunuvas came to Najran to wipe out the Christians of Najran. Thhis episode has been narrated in the holy Qur'an under the title of "the story of Ukhdood"[12] where this deed has been condemned. Dhunuvas killed many of the Najran Christians and burnt a number of them alive. This roused the Christian Emperor of Abyssinia as well as the Roman Emperor to come to the aid of the Najran Christians. But as the Emperor of Rome was too far from Yemen he asked the Emperor of Abyssinia for help and asked him to take the revenge of this massacre from Dhunuvas and the people of Yemen. That is how the episode of Abraha and the Abyssinian campaign to Yemen occurred. Abyssinian troops reached Yemen and captured it. Dhunuvas and a large number of Yemenese were killed, and thus Christianity replaced Judaism in Yemen By the order of the Abyssinian governor officially churches were built there, eventually resulting in the story of Abraha and 'Amul-Feel.'

In this way, in Arabia at the time of the rise of Islam, Judaism took the first place, Christianity the second, Zoroastrianism third, Sabeans, who followed a kind of idol worship reaching as far back as the creeds of the time of the Prophet Abraham (a.s.) came fourth and some local faiths followed fifth in place as mentioned in the holy Qur'an.[13] Thus from the viewpoint of religion, the Arabian peninsula of that time was under of influence of multiple faiths.

To get better acquainted with the peculiar conditions prevailing in Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, the three cities closest to the birthplace of Islam, further explanations are in order As already stated, in the second and third centuries A.D. the Qahtani Arabs migrated to various parts of Arabia, and a group of them named Banu Khuza'ah went to Mecca and seized the reins of affairs there however, before the arrival of Banu Khuza'ah group, various Isma'ili tribes of the 'Adnani Arabs had dominated that region, the most important of whom were the Quraish tribe. Till that time however, this tribe had not assumed the importance it gained later on. When Banu Khuza'ah gained predominance in Mecca and secured control over the affairs of the Ka'aba, a child was born in the house of Quraish named Qussi bin-kalab, whose mother was of Banu Khuza'ah and father from belonged a branch of the Quraish tribe. As Qussi grew up, he decided to take back from the non-Quraish all the positions which had been taken away from the Quraish family at whatever the cost. This included the custody of the keys and coverings of the holy Ka'aba, positions that were highly esteemed and which position should have been inhabited by his uncle on the mother's side. Qussi's uncle was a drunkard and a libertine.[14] Qussi as it happened, bought this position from his own uncle for a wine skin and one camel to barbecue and this idiotic deal became proverbial in the history of Arabia,[15] thus the phrase 'Qussi Deal' implying an infamous and a stupid deal.

Qussi was a competent youth who gradually came to dominate Mecca completely and took control over all its affairs. From the time of Qussi bin Kalab onward, although no government had been formed, however a set up in Mecca takes shape as a result of his policies and ideas. According to his views the various tribes of Mecca, especially the branches of the Quraish tribe were involved into creating a central organisation and establishing a relative order in the society.

Situation of the Heading Tribes of the Quraish

The Quraish tribe had many sub-tribes, however the leading ones were: The Hashemis, Umavis, Nufelis, Abduddaris, Asadis, Timis, Makhzumis, 'Adavis, Jamhis and the Sahmis.

There were the prominent sub-tribes' branches, but there were also others, less significant clans. At that time there existed only two or three positions in connection with the Ka'aba. To make these clans to co-operate with one another, Qussi bin Kalab created a number of new positions, giving each of the clans a position to be content with, and so abstain from internecine fighting. Thus it would appeal that the creation of designations had a long precedent! Concurrent with the birth of the Prophet of Islam there existed about 15 positions in Mecca, each of which pertained to one of the prominent clans of the Quraish as follows:

Position of the Keeper and custodian of the Ka'aba was the top most in first-rate precedence.

Position of the provider of water to the pilgrims. During the pre-Islamic pilgrimage those who visited Mecca were not familiar with the water wells, and as they all needed water, the task of bringing water from the neighbouring wells and offering it to pilgrims was assigned to a branch of the Quraish to act as wardens over water Georgie Zeydan narrates that they devised open tanks of hides and filled them with water for the pilgrims to take.

Position of reception and hospitality. To attract more visitors to Mecca and make their market brisk, as well as to preserve the Arab custom of acting as lordly hosts, they laid out feasts for the pilgrims as their guests, and this task was assigned to a particular branch of the Quraish tribe For this purpose they collected contributions to provide free meals to the pilgrims.

Position of flag-bearer. Mecca had a flag called the Eagle banner which was used in the time of war. This flag was kept in the family whose chief would bring it out in the event of war. In the time of the Prophet this banner was in the hands of the Bani Umayya.

Position of Dar-un-Nadwa or Dar-u-Showra. One of Qussi's initiatives was to build a house near the Ka'aba, called Dar-en-Nadwa.[16] Dar-ul-Nadwa means a meeting place or assembly for consultation. Whenever an issue of importance rose for the Quraish in general, their chiefs and elders who were truly the people's representative assembled in that place, discussed the matter and came to a decision about it and whatever the majority's decision carried it out. What is noteworthy however is that according to the laws of elections of Qussi bin kalab, one of the pre-conditions was that the tribes and clans representatives should not be less than forty years of age. Today young people could well protest against such a law on the plea that it meant favouring the old people as they accepted only over forty years old. In those days, however, they wished to have well tried and experienced peoples' representatives, though at the same time we read in the biography of the holy Prophet of Islam that Abdul-Mutallib took Muhammad (a s.) as a child along with him to Dar-un-Nadwa, even though the admission of a person below the age of forty was forbidden. The first time Muhammad (a.s.) was taken there, they were displeased, but after that they agreed that he could enter - but that is another story.

The charge and leadership of trade caravans was held by the Bani-Umayya.

The institution for the payment of blood-money and compensation. Sometimes when a member of a tribe was killed by someone from another tribe, in the first place was a demand for compensation and indemnity or a fight would ensue. Thus the fine had to be collected, and one of these families was responsible for this task of determining the share, collecting them, and handing them over to the claimants. This was in fact a kind of office for public funds related of course to blood-money and reparations.

Administration of the arsenal. This was a large tent where arms and weapons were collected in the event of war and distributed judicially among the soldiers.

Management of army stables: a task given to a branch of Quraish tribe to take care of the remounts such as horses and camels necessary far the war effort.

Assigning of envoys or ambassadors: Sometimes it became necessary to dispatch envoys abroad. As we shall see later, envoys were required to travel to Abyssinia to pursue the question of Muslim emigrants to that country.

Position of administering justice was given to a special committee of Arabs.

Position of the Key Bearer of the Ka'aba, as distinct from the position of the custodian. As you may be aware, pilgrims to the holy shrines often made offerings of gold coins in the holy shrines. The pilgrims who visited the Ka'aba often brought vowed offering for dropping them within the sacred grille. Once a year or every six months the custodian would open the door of the Ka'aba, collect whatever had been offered and then divide that amongst the various clans.

Position of the repairs and maintenance of the holy Ka'aba and other buildings of Mecca which were entrusted to one particular clan

Position of "Ansab and Azlam", which could be called the office of lottery. There was a custom among the Arabs called "Isar" (from "Yusr" meaning ease and plenty) incidentally the Arabic word is also related to 'gambling and lottery' At present, too, in winter there comes a time when a villager has consumed whatever he has in store, is left with nothing, and is in dire need Such conditions often occurred in Arabia during winters particularly when rainfall was scanty in spring and summer Such a custom also exists in remote parts of Iran near the annual spring festival. So to provide relief the Arabs resorted to a measure by which a part of the wealth of the rich would be contributed to help the needy. Such practices are common among people who have not developed a secure economic system and are faced with straitened circumstances.

The Arabs invented a lottery as a game of chance This game of luck was played as follows: They took ten wooden shafts, on seven of which they wrote a number of shares from one to seven serially and the remaining three were left blank. These shafts were then handed over to a trustworthy man. Then a camel was bought, and the price of it was paid by drawing lots with these wooden beams which determined the share of the money to be paid by the participants. With this money the camel was bought and slaughtered, and the meat was distributed on the basis of lottery members again. These wooden shafts were called 'Ansab' which in from 'Naseeb' meaning destiny. They also had another form of lottery called 'Azlam' which served for divining whether a step should be taken in a matter or not.

Here they prepared seven small wooden shafts on each of which either a positive load as 'do it', or negative indication such as 'don't do it' or 'to your advantage' or 'to the advantage of the other side' etc. were written and one of them was left blank. Whenever a person was undecided about what he should do in a matter, he would go to a diviner who employed these shafts for fortune-telling, and drew a lot from under a cloth, and that shaft indicated to him what he should do.

The above systems of 'Ansab' and 'Azlam' were entrusted to another clan of the Quraish tribe. Thus the allocation of the said positions was intended to prevent disputes and war, but clashes nonetheless occurred from time to time. However, sometimes disputes would rise and through the application of this organisation, albeit defective, they managed to prevent wars.

After Qussi bin-kalab no armed clashes occurred between the branches of the Quraish tribe, except an old one and that too a minor one. The period following Qussi in Mecca was a period of transition between the tribal and control government's establishment. For, as you can see, in this period discussions regarding types of organisation, positions, division of responsibilities and political order were taking place in Mecca. That was the situation as it prevailed in Mecca.

Ta'if, on the other hand, was more or less under the influence of a single tribe named Bani Thaqif It was a small but a flourishing city controlled by that tribe. However Medina offered an interesting perspective. As already stated, it has been predicted at the beginning of the second century A.D. that the Mareb Dam would collapse, consequently a large number of the Qahtani Arabs of Yemen migrated to the north and north-east. Two of these clans namely the Aus and Khazraj having reached Yathrib, found it to be a suitable place and decided to settle down there. But before the arrival of the Arabs, the Jews had chosen it to be their home, and thus they were its original residents. The new-comers, namely the Aus and the Khazraj were delighted at the beginning to pay tribute to the Jews because they were weak, alien and emigre guests. Meanwhile the Jews, too, were politically astute and for a long time coexisted with the newcomers.

After a time the Jews found a rather powerful and despotic ruler who encroached upon the Aus and Khazraj, giving rise to continued fighting between the Jews and the Aus and Khazraj tribes. The latter, owing to their relations with the neighbouring Arabs who had a common race and spoke the same language, grow in numbers and enhanced their influence, as well as received assistance from their Arab allies in their conflicts with the Jews. Gradually therefore the power of the Arabs went on the increase while that of the Jews diminished in Medina. So long as the Aus and Khazraj remained united, everything was in their favour. But an incident occurred that caused a rift between them resulting in a war. The sly Jews made the utmost use of this difference, and did their best to intensify this dispute.

Close to the time of the Prophet's ordainment, this dispute between the Khazraj who were the larger tribe and the Aus who were the smaller, carried on. The Khmazraj who were sub-divided into several clans, decided to choose a king for themselves. As you are aware, Mecca was then passing through a transition phase between the tribal and centralised governmental systems, and Medina, too, was passing through a similar process trying to pass from the tribal phase to a governmental stage.

Thus for the first time in the history of the Arabs in Medina, this became the common topic and ground was prepared that all should swear allegiance to Abdullah bin Abi, a respected man among the Khazraj tribe, and make him the king and make ready a throne and crown for him This matter had a lasting effect from various aspects on the future history of Islam. This subject which might appear small and trifling, was really quite consequential and will be discussed further. It was under such socio-economic and political conditions and the state of religious beliefs that the Prophet of Islam declared his mission in Mecca inviting people to the new faith.

This was the brief situation in Arabia concurrent with the rise of Islam with reference to its historical background which bears relation with our subsequent discussions.

Birthplace of Islam

In order to acquire a close familiarization with Islam it is necessary to know the environment in which Islam took birth and started to spread since such an understanding greatly aids the recognition of that entity.

It is possible to have a superficial knowledge of certain matters without being familiar with their knowing their background or the conditions of their origin. But a profound understanding of a certain being or phenomenon depends wholly on a thorough familiarization of the background of that being or phenomenon. This applies equally to individuals or technical , artistic or social phenomena. For this reason, a deep understanding of the environments of Islam at the time of its birth is essential. The environments at the time of the birth of Islam may be misconstrued to mean the region including Mecca, or Mecca and Medina, or Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or Hejaz or Arabia. It should be noted though that the noble Prophet of Islam from the very outset as he began his call to Islam while he was still at Mecca and Islam had not yet spread to Medina, began his call in the following manner:

"Come and embrace a faith the light of which will spread over Iran, Rome, Abyssinia and all other places." Thus from beginning the Prophet's call was a universal one addressing the civilised world of that time. Moreover, in the 6th year of (Hijra) migration, namely six years after the prophet's immigration to Medina, he wrote letters all of which are found in historical records namely to Khusrow Parviz King of Persia, Heraclius[2] ruler of a part of the Roman Empire, Mequqass ruler of Egypt,[3] Najashi (or Negus) ruler of Abyssinia,[4] Ruler of Ghassan as a deputy of Rome,[5] and to the ruler of Hira of the tribe of AI-e-Mundir and a vice regent of the throne of Iran, inviting all of them to accept Islam. Thus it becomes apparent that in order to know the background of the rise of Islam, we cannot con fine ourselves to Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, or to the Arab Lands but expand our view to at least include all such regions as the Prophet himself called to accept Islam in his own time.

A brief description of Arabia

The name Arabia is applied to a land populated by Arabic-speaking people. At the time of the birth of the Prophet, the Arabic-speaking region was not so vast as it is to-day; on one side it was bounded by the Persian Gulf much as it is to-day, since at that time, too, the southern borders of the Persian Gulf were inhabited by Arabs In Iraq the boundary was almost along the Tigris and the Euphrates namely that side of the Tigris where Arabic is now the main language In the region between Iran and the Tigris the main language was not Arabic, but Kurdish, Persian and some local dialects with Arabic as the main language that side of River Tigris. In fact the Arabs now inhabiting Khuzestan are not the original inhabitants but migrated to this region after Islam. In the north were the present countries of Shaam or Syria and Jordan where a number of Arab migrant tribes lived in the time of Islam, the period of that migration will be explained later. In the north, too, Arabic was not, unlike to-day, the main language, though a considerable Arab migrants had settled in the valley of the Jordan River. It may be observed that at present the Arab land, have extended as far as Turkey, whereas at that time it was limited more to the south towards Jordan. The present Lebanon and Syria were not Arabic speaking. In Jordan, too, Arabic was not the main language, and only the Arab migrants spoke Arabic. In this respect Jordan resembled the present Khuzestan where a group speak Arabic and another speak Persian.

In the west, in a significant part of Africa where Arabic is now spoken, the main language at the time was not Arabic. Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and even Abyssinia and other parts where Arabic is now spoken, Arabic was not the main language at that time. Thus we see that at the time of the birth of Islam the region of Arabia and the Arab land from the viewpoint of the Arabic language was located in the south of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman extending in the west up to the Red Sea - beyond which Arabic was not prevalent - and in the north till the Jordan River valley beyond which Arabic was not prevalent, and in the east to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This, then was the extent of Arabia at the time of the birth of Islam.

Here it should be pointed out that the language spoken in the regions beyond these frontiers, namely in a part of Africa, Shaam, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and to the east of the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, had been branches of Semitic languages, having a common root with Arabic - in the same way that Persian has a common root with German, Indian Sanskrit and Indo-European languages. The local languages of Somalia, Abyssinia, Egypt and a part of Jordan (which was Hebrew) and those of the present Lebanon and Syria (which had been Phoenician), and those of other parts (which had been Chaldean, Assyrian etc.) were all like the Arabic language Semitic in origin and are recognised as Semitic languages and both from the viewpoint of script as well as vocabulary linked together.

Georgie Zeydan, in his book, 'History of Civilisation,[6] narrates that at that time if someone went from Arabia to Abyssinai, or from Jordan or the Lebanon to Hejaz, he did not feel like an alien, the languages were so much alike that he could understand the local language without the aid of an interpreter, and if he stayed there for a little while, he could learn the local language - the same way that a Persian-speaking person visiting Kurdestan can learn the local language within a short time. Thus the Arabic speaking region of to-day used to be the region of Semitic languages, which have common roots with Arabic, and is thus easily understood by their neighbours, while the Arabian peninsula was the home to Arabs who spoke pure unmixed Arabic.

Origin of Arab Tribes

The inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula who were generally called Arabs, were in two groups: Qahtani Arabs' and 'Adnani Arabs.' Qahtani Arabs were those whose original abode was Yemen. The Yeminis and Yemen of that time included the present Aden, the Sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf littoral and the Sea of Oman.

The Adnani Arabs were centered around Najd and Hejaz that is to say around Mecca stretching as far as the Hejaz Desert. Both the Qahtani and Adnani Arabs share a common historical root, originating from the same ancestors. You can imagine an Arab family of three thousand years ago steadily multiplying in numbers, then branching into two sections The descendants of Ya'rib Ibn Qahtan went to Yemen. Others who went to Mecca - and founded Mecca - the descendants of Ismail, because they had an ancestor named Adnan, came to be called Adnani.

Arabs who went to Yemen, the Qahtani Arab, had come to the land of good fortune, because Yemen was a better land compared with Mecca, Najd and the Arabian Desert from the viewpoint of natural potential climate and water. Accordingly in the lands of Yemen, civilisation and industry and urban development began much sooner. The history of urban development and civilisation in Yemen, the home of the Qahtani Arabs, dates several centuries before Hejaz and Najd, the home of the 'Adnani Arabs. It would be pertinent at this stage to consider how the factor of environment influenced the development of two branches of a common stock who shared common language as well as many other characteristics. According to historians, not only from the viewpoint of urbanisation and development, but also from the viewpoint of political organisations and government, Yemen and Qahtani Arabs were centuries ahead of Najd and Hejaz and the Adnani Arabs. Further explanations will follow about this aspect.

In Yemen the Hemyari Kings ruled as the crowned monarchs at the time when in Hejaz social organisations had not developed beyond tribal ways. Ya'qubi, the great Islamic historian narrates that the crown worn by Hemyar, founder of the Hemyari dynasty was made of silver with a large ruby set in the middle and such was the situation prevailing in Yemen several centuries before the establishment of a government in Hejaz, Najd and Arabia. From the viewpoint of technology and civilisation, long before the appearance of such developments over the ordinary tribal life in Najd and Hejaz, the historical 'Mareb Dam' had been constructed. In this regard a historian narrates that this dam was six kilometers in length situated between two mountains so that the winter rains and torrents would collect in the form of a lake. It had a number of sluice gates through which passed seventy irrigation channels passed for irrigating seventy agricultural sectors. Mareb Dam had been built eight centuries before Islam and as it happened two centuries before Christ, the object is to show the background of the birth place of Islam, as also to compare Yemen with Hejaz which was the location of the advent of Islam.

Mareb Dam

Mareb Dam played an effective role in the development of Yemen which flourished alongside of it. Strabon, the famous Greek geographer and traveller (about 63 B.C. to 26 A.D ) whose name is mentioned frequently in the annals of history, has written many strange accounts about the city of Mareb and its wonders and fine palaces which have been quoted in various books of history. This city had attracted travellers from many parts of the world and flourished until the second century A.D. From the beginning of the second century A.D. it started to deteriorate. The interesting point which historians have recorded is that since individuals were unable to maintain the Dam, this task had to be performed by their governments, but as public authorities had become inefficient and were too busy feasting and drinking, they neglected their responsibility of preserving the Dam. Consequently it fell into disrepair. This shows that in those times the people of Yemen expected their government to undertake such tasks. Mareb Dam began to deteriorate in the beginning of second country A.D. so that all realised that it would collapse within the next ten or twenty years So the Qahtani Arabs of Yemen began to abandon their homes fearing that with the collapse of the Dam no water would be available for irrigation or farming. They were also alarmed that when the Dam collapsed it would release a torrent which would destroy their homes and fields and everything else that came in its way Consequently such fears caused the Qahtani tribes to begin emigrating

One group emigrated towards Hira and the land of Iraq and settled along the banks of the Tigris, and founded the government of Munadherah or Al-e-Mundher. The people & Munadherah on account of their proximity to Iran, became tributaries of the Iranian governments possibly maintaining political relations with them. Another group migrated to the territory near the present day Jordan, and settled in the flourishing Jordan Valley. They were the earliest Arabs to settle there and set up the Ghassani dynasty which normally had relations with Rome. A third group of them in their migration came to Yathrib (the present Medina) which was at that time home to the Jews, however this subject will be discussed later in the chapter related to Judaism. These last Arabs formed the twin tribes of 'Aus' and 'Khazraj' whose names appear frequently in the course of the history of Islam. These two tribes settled in Yathrib where some farming land and water were available. Another group, namely Bani Khuza'a moved to Mecca and fought the Adnani Arabs of Mecca, drove them out and took control of Mecca themselves. Yet another group called Bani 'Addi went to Najd and became the rulers of the greater part of the desert.

What is note worthy here is that a civilised people accustomed to urbanisation and well developed social existence should as a result of an anticipated catastrophe, migrate from their home land, and then organise their communities wherever they set foot.

Those who went to Shaam, established the Ghassani rule; those who went to Hira, founded the dynasty of Al-e-Mundher, No'manian and Munadherah; whose who settled in Medina, namely the tribes of Aus and Khazraj, will be discussed in subsequent chapters; and the group that went to Mecca, pushed away the Adnanis who were the least developed. These were the ones who went to the desert, dominated the waste lands of the Arabian Desert. The remaining Arabs who stayed back in Yemen, either on account of laziness or hoping that no calamity such as the collapse of the Dam would occur, were annihilated by the well-known flood of 'Arem in the end of the second century A.D. which has been mentioned in the Chapter of Saba of the holy Qur'an, where a brief history of Yemen is narrated.

Thus the structure of Arabia in the second century A.D. consisted of the government of one group of Arabs in the present day Jordan neighbouring ancient Rome; another group building a city state in the present Iraq and Hira set up a state neighbouring Iran; another group settled in Yathrib as neighbours of the Jews, and lastly another group of Qahtani Arabs settled in Mecca and its suburbs. This then was the situation four centuries before the birth of Islam.

Cultural Situation

All historians are agreed that the highest manifestation of the development of Arab culture in the century preceding Islam was poetry which was not known before that time. A well known historian named Ya'qubi has written that poetry among the Arabs had taken the place of science, philosophy, history and everything else.[7] If an Arab had a bright idea he would give it the form of a few verses and thus express it. Thus if someone should question what Arab culture was at that time, the answer would be 'a few stanzas of poetry'.

The Arabs were a people with a poetic bent even though their land was no land of flowers and nightingales, but only thorns and sand, yet it nurtured many a poet. As poetry was esteemed by them to be the highest manifestation of culture, their poets were on the lookout for a suitable spot to present their poems. The finest of their poems were then inscribed on posters and hung on the walls of the Ka'aba in the annual rendezvous of the Arabs. They called these posters 'Mu'allaqat' meaning 'hanging verses'. Such display on the walls of the Ka'aba was the the reward for the poets, who as a result became famous. Amra' al-Qais and other contemporary poets of early Islam were among the poets thus honoured. They were the authors of 'the seven hanging pieces' that had found place of honour on the walls of the Ka'aba and in history Beside poetry there was another cultural source in the Arabia of that time, namely Jewish culture which will be discussed in detail later on.

Economic Situation

The leading aspect of the Arabs economy of that time from the viewpoint of production was animal husbandry and agriculture wherever it was possible. As far as trade and exchange were concerned, their main trade was with foreign lands. Both the Arabs of Yemen and Hejaz were engaged in this activity, but since foreign trade must have links with home trade in order to exchange home-made products with foreign goods, the Arabs of that age resorted to the same practice in keeping with the level of their civilisation as they do in modern times. In the developed world of today one of the most significant essential and effective of economic practices is the organising of commercial and industrial fairs. The Arabs, too, at that time arranged fairs in the form of seasonal bazaars In the same way that today in each season a fair is held in a city or locality in relation to local conditions, the Arabs, too, followed the same practice at different times and in particular places. A few examples of the extensive and famous exhibitions which were held in Hejaz and Najd were as follows:

The 'Dumatul-Jandal Fair', held in the month of Rabial-Awwal under the auspices of two local tribes of Ghassan and Kalb near Shaam.

The Mashqar Fair' held in the month of Jamadi-al-'Ula in a place of the same name, under the auspices of Banu-Tim tribe.[8]

The 'Sahar Fair', held on the first of the month of Rajab.[9]

The 'Ria Fair' following their Sahar Fair' in the same month of Rajab, under the patronage of the Jalandi tribc and its ruler.[10]

The 'Aden Fair', held at the beginning of the month of Ramadhan, According to historians since this fair dealt exclusively with perfumes and scents, it was the great market of perfumers.[11]

The 'San'a Fair', held in the middle of Ramadhan

The 'Rabia Fair', held in the present Hadamut.

The 'Ukaz Fair', held in the month of Dhil-Qa'dah near Ta'if

The 'Dhil Majaz Fair', held when all other fairs had concluded and the merchants who had been busy making a round of these fairs during those months, finally headed to Mecca, making a pilgrimage to the Ka'aba in the month of Dhil Hajjah, and dispersed after performing the Hajj ceremonies.

These fairs and seasonal bazaars were the most valuable and cherished commercial events in Arabia of those days. The merchant class who profited from those fairs did their best not to let them become mere exhibitions. They organised colourful ceremonies and musical shows and other celebrations as well as exhibits of literary works, poetry and arts. Thus these exhibitions were show places worth a visit both for those who intended to buy new and fineries and goods, or listen to the latest and the finest pieces of verse, or fine music. Thus the poets, too, were drawn to these exhibitions to recite their poems before judges who judged their poems. In this manner the fairs served both as commercial shows and literary societies.

Form of Government in Pagan Times

Sociologists say that in those days when man lived alone (if indeed there were such days!) he had no need of a master, since he was his own master and servant; his own ruler, his own government and his own nation. But as soon as he emerged from this solitary state and formed a family, and as soon as their number rose to four, there rose the question of who headed the family and who was the chief. Sociologists claim that in most parts of the world headship belonged to the men while in certain parts to the women, that is to say the father acting as the head in the former case, and the mother in the latter. As the family grew larger, several families formed a group, called tribe, the family then acquired a tribal form. Thereby the question of the chief, the elder, the senior and the 'grey-beard' of the tribe came up who should settle the affairs of the group.

When several tribes took form, the issue became more extensive and there came into existence national government, and the issues in turn became international though yet such a government has not appeared.

With the rise of several tribes, these tribes that lived alongside each other neither knew their common ancestors nor did they regard each other as kith and kin. As they coexisted in one area and shared common interests, they found that they had need for a government in order to preserve their social system. Thus the formation of a government from the viewpoints of history and sociology began with the tribes' realisation of a need for a guardian to safeguard their common interests and social system. This guardian then became their government.

From the viewpoint of political process, this was the most critical phase, namely the transfer of power from the tribal system and tribal chief to a central government. This critical phase had been accomplished in Yemen many centuries before Islam where a central government in its true sense had been formed and this was also the case in Ghassan and Hira where governments ruled. On the other hand in the interior of Arabia such a governments did not exist except in very rare instances.

Ya'qubi says in his book of history: "The tribal disputes or problems between individuals were usually settled by a number of persons known to be wise and far-sighted as well as unprejudiced and impartial. They settled the disputes through elderly intervention and arbitration. Such arbitrators were called magistrates. Ya'qubi mentions in his book of history (Vol. 1, p. 337) the names of a large number of such magistrates, who were not heads of a government but only arbitrators who adjudicated in the matters of disputes. In the history of the corresponding period in Arabia we come across only one or two cases when government is mentioned in connection with the interior of Arabia, namely in Hejaz and Najd. Among these accounts a Jewish historian writes that in the fifth century A.D., that is one century before Islam, Abu Karab, king of Yemen had assigned his son as the regent of Median. Since this governor had been installed by the ruler of Yemen, it could hardly be called the government of Medina.

Thus at that time while there existed governments along the borders outside of Arabia, such as the Chassanis and Mundherian, and those who had remained in Yemen and in the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf, no progress had been made from a tribal society towards a central government in the central parts of Arabia.

Role of Judaism and Christianity

In order to make a thorough study of the history of Islam, we should also make a survey of the part played by Judaism and Christianity in side Arabia.

We are not altogether certain of the date of the Jews migration to Arabia, however the writer of the 'History of Judaism' writes in this connection: "There are different views concerning the migration of the Jews to Arabia and its causes and factors, but there is little doubt that most of the Jews abandoned their homes owing to the oppression of Roman rulers and sought refuge in Arabia. If the Jews had been denied peace and tranquility in Palestine, Europe and in the Roman holdings, in Arabia on the contrary their living conditions were satisfactory, since there they were no longer subjected to threats and persecution by Christian priests, being treated kindly by their neighbours.

What is certain is that owing to the remoteness of the Hejaz and Najd regions, a number of Jews had migrated to Arabia centuries before the birth of Islam, and in all probability concurrent with the appearance of Jesus (a s.) Christ or in the second and third centuries A.D.

According to the existing books of history, their migrations to the Hejaz must have begun at least about five centuries before Islam, that is to say by the end of the first century A.D. The Jews had realised that in that region they could live freely far removed from the oppression of Roman governors. The most important center of Jewish settlements was Yathrib, the present Medina. The Jews who came to Arabia, found that there was land and water in the Yathrib region, so they built a fort for themselves and settled down. In Mecca, too, the Jews were present but in small numbers.

Those who migrated from the north to the south found their way to Yemen, where the number of the Jews was not so great, but there occurred an event as a result of which Judaism became the official religion of Yemen. It so happened that Abu Karab's son was the governor of Yathrib, when his father was king of Yemen in the fifth century A.D. The inhabitants of Medina rose in revolt against this governor and killed him. Abu Karab, despite being engaged in a war with the kings of Iran over Yemen, on his way came to Yathrib and in order to punish the Jews and Arabs of Yathrib who had risen against him, and thereafter to proceed to the war with Iran. When he reached Yathrib, the inhabitants went inside their forts and shut the gates and took refuge within: Abu Karab besieged the forts, and as the siege drew on, the people in the forts were faced with acute shortage of food. At this time a number of Jewish rabbis came out of the forts and approached Abu Karab and declared that only four foolish men had killed his son, and begged the king for his forgiveness. In this meeting they started reciting some Jewish teachings for Abu Karab who was a heathen; their ardor so influenced him that he embraced Judaism and at once returned to Yemen. When Abu Karab and his courtiers accepted Judaism as their religion, they began to propagate that faith. After Abu Karab died some time later, one of his sons, named 'Dhunavas' or 'Dhunuvas' became the king of Yemen and formally and zealously propagated the Jewish faith in Yemen and so it became the official religion of Yemen where they set about building a number of synagogues for the Jews. This happened about eighty or a hundred years before the rise of Islam.

Thus we witness that in the Arabia of that time, in the north existed the Jews and Christians, in the east the Zoroastrians and followers of Mazdak, the Iranians' religion, in the south and in a part of Yathrib the Jews, and in other parts were idolaters and Sabeans and followers of numerous other religions.

Judaism in Arabia

The author of the 'History of Judaism' has recorded that the Arabs treated the Jews kindly and associated with them treaty resulting in frequent intermarriages among them. On the whole the Jews exerted a great influence upon the Arabs since, firstly, they were well versed in economics and could hence manage the economy of those regions and, secondly, compared to the Arabs lettered and a people of the Book and consequently possessed higher learning than the Arabs who were quite illiterate. They could narrate tales and talk about many topics with the Arabs and hence gained considerable respect. While the Arabs could neither read nor write, most of the Jews were familiar with reading and even writing to some extent. Judaism exerted such a strong influence that a group of the Quraish tribe, namely Banu Kunanah had embraced Judaism.

Christianity in Arabia

The position of Christianity was a special one in Hejaz and in the Arabian peninsula. This religion had not made any inroads into Arabia till about the time of the Prophet of Islam, that is to say about a century and a half before the birth of Islam. Just as today the Christian missionaries go to African and South American lands and penetrate into the forests to propagate their faith, at that time, too, they went to the dry deserts of Arabia with the object of spreading their religion. The first group of Christian missionaries went to the Najran area. They so greatly influenced the people there that the first Christian sector took shape in Arabia. The Christians of Najran commenced their missionary work, and alongwith other missionaries who arrived from outside, founded a center of propagation in the interior of Arabia. At this time, as it has already been stated, Dhunuvas, the King of Yemen had embraced Judaism. Then there occurred a collision between this Jewish king who applied much pressure to spread Judaism in Arabia and the Christians of Najran. This clash had a political background in that the Emperor of Abyssinia coveted Yemen, the neighbour across the sea. To retaliate this clash, Dhunuvas came to Najran to wipe out the Christians of Najran. Thhis episode has been narrated in the holy Qur'an under the title of "the story of Ukhdood"[12] where this deed has been condemned. Dhunuvas killed many of the Najran Christians and burnt a number of them alive. This roused the Christian Emperor of Abyssinia as well as the Roman Emperor to come to the aid of the Najran Christians. But as the Emperor of Rome was too far from Yemen he asked the Emperor of Abyssinia for help and asked him to take the revenge of this massacre from Dhunuvas and the people of Yemen. That is how the episode of Abraha and the Abyssinian campaign to Yemen occurred. Abyssinian troops reached Yemen and captured it. Dhunuvas and a large number of Yemenese were killed, and thus Christianity replaced Judaism in Yemen By the order of the Abyssinian governor officially churches were built there, eventually resulting in the story of Abraha and 'Amul-Feel.'

In this way, in Arabia at the time of the rise of Islam, Judaism took the first place, Christianity the second, Zoroastrianism third, Sabeans, who followed a kind of idol worship reaching as far back as the creeds of the time of the Prophet Abraham (a.s.) came fourth and some local faiths followed fifth in place as mentioned in the holy Qur'an.[13] Thus from the viewpoint of religion, the Arabian peninsula of that time was under of influence of multiple faiths.

To get better acquainted with the peculiar conditions prevailing in Mecca, Medina and Ta'if, the three cities closest to the birthplace of Islam, further explanations are in order As already stated, in the second and third centuries A.D. the Qahtani Arabs migrated to various parts of Arabia, and a group of them named Banu Khuza'ah went to Mecca and seized the reins of affairs there however, before the arrival of Banu Khuza'ah group, various Isma'ili tribes of the 'Adnani Arabs had dominated that region, the most important of whom were the Quraish tribe. Till that time however, this tribe had not assumed the importance it gained later on. When Banu Khuza'ah gained predominance in Mecca and secured control over the affairs of the Ka'aba, a child was born in the house of Quraish named Qussi bin-kalab, whose mother was of Banu Khuza'ah and father from belonged a branch of the Quraish tribe. As Qussi grew up, he decided to take back from the non-Quraish all the positions which had been taken away from the Quraish family at whatever the cost. This included the custody of the keys and coverings of the holy Ka'aba, positions that were highly esteemed and which position should have been inhabited by his uncle on the mother's side. Qussi's uncle was a drunkard and a libertine.[14] Qussi as it happened, bought this position from his own uncle for a wine skin and one camel to barbecue and this idiotic deal became proverbial in the history of Arabia,[15] thus the phrase 'Qussi Deal' implying an infamous and a stupid deal.

Qussi was a competent youth who gradually came to dominate Mecca completely and took control over all its affairs. From the time of Qussi bin Kalab onward, although no government had been formed, however a set up in Mecca takes shape as a result of his policies and ideas. According to his views the various tribes of Mecca, especially the branches of the Quraish tribe were involved into creating a central organisation and establishing a relative order in the society.

Situation of the Heading Tribes of the Quraish

The Quraish tribe had many sub-tribes, however the leading ones were: The Hashemis, Umavis, Nufelis, Abduddaris, Asadis, Timis, Makhzumis, 'Adavis, Jamhis and the Sahmis.

There were the prominent sub-tribes' branches, but there were also others, less significant clans. At that time there existed only two or three positions in connection with the Ka'aba. To make these clans to co-operate with one another, Qussi bin Kalab created a number of new positions, giving each of the clans a position to be content with, and so abstain from internecine fighting. Thus it would appeal that the creation of designations had a long precedent! Concurrent with the birth of the Prophet of Islam there existed about 15 positions in Mecca, each of which pertained to one of the prominent clans of the Quraish as follows:

Position of the Keeper and custodian of the Ka'aba was the top most in first-rate precedence.

Position of the provider of water to the pilgrims. During the pre-Islamic pilgrimage those who visited Mecca were not familiar with the water wells, and as they all needed water, the task of bringing water from the neighbouring wells and offering it to pilgrims was assigned to a branch of the Quraish to act as wardens over water Georgie Zeydan narrates that they devised open tanks of hides and filled them with water for the pilgrims to take.

Position of reception and hospitality. To attract more visitors to Mecca and make their market brisk, as well as to preserve the Arab custom of acting as lordly hosts, they laid out feasts for the pilgrims as their guests, and this task was assigned to a particular branch of the Quraish tribe For this purpose they collected contributions to provide free meals to the pilgrims.

Position of flag-bearer. Mecca had a flag called the Eagle banner which was used in the time of war. This flag was kept in the family whose chief would bring it out in the event of war. In the time of the Prophet this banner was in the hands of the Bani Umayya.

Position of Dar-un-Nadwa or Dar-u-Showra. One of Qussi's initiatives was to build a house near the Ka'aba, called Dar-en-Nadwa.[16] Dar-ul-Nadwa means a meeting place or assembly for consultation. Whenever an issue of importance rose for the Quraish in general, their chiefs and elders who were truly the people's representative assembled in that place, discussed the matter and came to a decision about it and whatever the majority's decision carried it out. What is noteworthy however is that according to the laws of elections of Qussi bin kalab, one of the pre-conditions was that the tribes and clans representatives should not be less than forty years of age. Today young people could well protest against such a law on the plea that it meant favouring the old people as they accepted only over forty years old. In those days, however, they wished to have well tried and experienced peoples' representatives, though at the same time we read in the biography of the holy Prophet of Islam that Abdul-Mutallib took Muhammad (a s.) as a child along with him to Dar-un-Nadwa, even though the admission of a person below the age of forty was forbidden. The first time Muhammad (a.s.) was taken there, they were displeased, but after that they agreed that he could enter - but that is another story.

The charge and leadership of trade caravans was held by the Bani-Umayya.

The institution for the payment of blood-money and compensation. Sometimes when a member of a tribe was killed by someone from another tribe, in the first place was a demand for compensation and indemnity or a fight would ensue. Thus the fine had to be collected, and one of these families was responsible for this task of determining the share, collecting them, and handing them over to the claimants. This was in fact a kind of office for public funds related of course to blood-money and reparations.

Administration of the arsenal. This was a large tent where arms and weapons were collected in the event of war and distributed judicially among the soldiers.

Management of army stables: a task given to a branch of Quraish tribe to take care of the remounts such as horses and camels necessary far the war effort.

Assigning of envoys or ambassadors: Sometimes it became necessary to dispatch envoys abroad. As we shall see later, envoys were required to travel to Abyssinia to pursue the question of Muslim emigrants to that country.

Position of administering justice was given to a special committee of Arabs.

Position of the Key Bearer of the Ka'aba, as distinct from the position of the custodian. As you may be aware, pilgrims to the holy shrines often made offerings of gold coins in the holy shrines. The pilgrims who visited the Ka'aba often brought vowed offering for dropping them within the sacred grille. Once a year or every six months the custodian would open the door of the Ka'aba, collect whatever had been offered and then divide that amongst the various clans.

Position of the repairs and maintenance of the holy Ka'aba and other buildings of Mecca which were entrusted to one particular clan

Position of "Ansab and Azlam", which could be called the office of lottery. There was a custom among the Arabs called "Isar" (from "Yusr" meaning ease and plenty) incidentally the Arabic word is also related to 'gambling and lottery' At present, too, in winter there comes a time when a villager has consumed whatever he has in store, is left with nothing, and is in dire need Such conditions often occurred in Arabia during winters particularly when rainfall was scanty in spring and summer Such a custom also exists in remote parts of Iran near the annual spring festival. So to provide relief the Arabs resorted to a measure by which a part of the wealth of the rich would be contributed to help the needy. Such practices are common among people who have not developed a secure economic system and are faced with straitened circumstances.

The Arabs invented a lottery as a game of chance This game of luck was played as follows: They took ten wooden shafts, on seven of which they wrote a number of shares from one to seven serially and the remaining three were left blank. These shafts were then handed over to a trustworthy man. Then a camel was bought, and the price of it was paid by drawing lots with these wooden beams which determined the share of the money to be paid by the participants. With this money the camel was bought and slaughtered, and the meat was distributed on the basis of lottery members again. These wooden shafts were called 'Ansab' which in from 'Naseeb' meaning destiny. They also had another form of lottery called 'Azlam' which served for divining whether a step should be taken in a matter or not.

Here they prepared seven small wooden shafts on each of which either a positive load as 'do it', or negative indication such as 'don't do it' or 'to your advantage' or 'to the advantage of the other side' etc. were written and one of them was left blank. Whenever a person was undecided about what he should do in a matter, he would go to a diviner who employed these shafts for fortune-telling, and drew a lot from under a cloth, and that shaft indicated to him what he should do.

The above systems of 'Ansab' and 'Azlam' were entrusted to another clan of the Quraish tribe. Thus the allocation of the said positions was intended to prevent disputes and war, but clashes nonetheless occurred from time to time. However, sometimes disputes would rise and through the application of this organisation, albeit defective, they managed to prevent wars.

After Qussi bin-kalab no armed clashes occurred between the branches of the Quraish tribe, except an old one and that too a minor one. The period following Qussi in Mecca was a period of transition between the tribal and control government's establishment. For, as you can see, in this period discussions regarding types of organisation, positions, division of responsibilities and political order were taking place in Mecca. That was the situation as it prevailed in Mecca.

Ta'if, on the other hand, was more or less under the influence of a single tribe named Bani Thaqif It was a small but a flourishing city controlled by that tribe. However Medina offered an interesting perspective. As already stated, it has been predicted at the beginning of the second century A.D. that the Mareb Dam would collapse, consequently a large number of the Qahtani Arabs of Yemen migrated to the north and north-east. Two of these clans namely the Aus and Khazraj having reached Yathrib, found it to be a suitable place and decided to settle down there. But before the arrival of the Arabs, the Jews had chosen it to be their home, and thus they were its original residents. The new-comers, namely the Aus and the Khazraj were delighted at the beginning to pay tribute to the Jews because they were weak, alien and emigre guests. Meanwhile the Jews, too, were politically astute and for a long time coexisted with the newcomers.

After a time the Jews found a rather powerful and despotic ruler who encroached upon the Aus and Khazraj, giving rise to continued fighting between the Jews and the Aus and Khazraj tribes. The latter, owing to their relations with the neighbouring Arabs who had a common race and spoke the same language, grow in numbers and enhanced their influence, as well as received assistance from their Arab allies in their conflicts with the Jews. Gradually therefore the power of the Arabs went on the increase while that of the Jews diminished in Medina. So long as the Aus and Khazraj remained united, everything was in their favour. But an incident occurred that caused a rift between them resulting in a war. The sly Jews made the utmost use of this difference, and did their best to intensify this dispute.

Close to the time of the Prophet's ordainment, this dispute between the Khazraj who were the larger tribe and the Aus who were the smaller, carried on. The Khmazraj who were sub-divided into several clans, decided to choose a king for themselves. As you are aware, Mecca was then passing through a transition phase between the tribal and centralised governmental systems, and Medina, too, was passing through a similar process trying to pass from the tribal phase to a governmental stage.

Thus for the first time in the history of the Arabs in Medina, this became the common topic and ground was prepared that all should swear allegiance to Abdullah bin Abi, a respected man among the Khazraj tribe, and make him the king and make ready a throne and crown for him This matter had a lasting effect from various aspects on the future history of Islam. This subject which might appear small and trifling, was really quite consequential and will be discussed further. It was under such socio-economic and political conditions and the state of religious beliefs that the Prophet of Islam declared his mission in Mecca inviting people to the new faith.

This was the brief situation in Arabia concurrent with the rise of Islam with reference to its historical background which bears relation with our subsequent discussions.