Chapter 1Prehistory For an illustration of a variety of scholarly views on the pre-Islamic period see the collection of articles assembled in F. E. Peters (ed.), Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam, Aldershot, Ashgate Variorum, 1999. The foundations of Islam For a sense of the world at the time prior to the rise of Islam, the power elements at play, and the extent of continuity between the Islamic empire and late antiquity see Garth Fowden, Empire to Commonwealth: Consequences of Monotheism in Late Antiquity, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1993. The Near East before Islam For an excellent overview of pre-Islamic Arabia, including historical, cultural and religious elements with illustrations and generous provisions of source texts see Robert G. Hoyland, Arabia and the Arabs From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam , London, Routledge, 2001. The situation in the Arabian peninsula For Christians in Arabia, the standard source is J. Spencer Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times, London, Longman, 1979, chapter 5. The issue of the nature and extent of pre-Islamic trade is much debated. On the specific point of the role of trade in South Arabia and its bearing on the rise of Islam see Patricia Crone, Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1987. Extensive debate about this thesis has arisen; Crone has added valuable supplements in “How did the Quranic Pagans make a Living?” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 68 (2005), 387–99, and “Quraysh and the Roman Army: Making Sense of the Meccan Leather Trade,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 70 (2007), 63–88. A different approach with contrary conclusions is undertaken in Gene W. Heck, including some South Arabian examples making reference to ʿAthtar and Almaqah. pp. 139–55. 1987. 225–36. Communication and Interaction. esp. 2000.persee. pp. Judaism and Islam: Boundaries. available online at http://www. “RḤMNN and the Ḥanīfs. 82 (1970). Princeton.” Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies.” in Benjamin H. 3 (1958). Donald P. Islamic Studies Presented to Charles J.” in Wael B. Ryckmans. Variorum. 2001. 1991. The Qur’ān and its Interpretative Tradition. also note the follow-up articles by Crone and Heck mentioned above. 61 (1991). Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. pp. J.” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 149–67 for details on the likely extent of the trade and how it impacted Mecca. “Civilization and Religion in Ancient South Arabia. and Fred Astren (eds). Robin’s article “Du paganisme au monothéisme. “Les écritures de l’arabie avant l’Islam. also provides a valuable overview. Hary.“‘Arabia Without Spices’: An Alternate Hypothesis. 187–208. is found in Christian Robin. 1 (1999). “Above the Stars of El: El in Ancient South Arabic Religion. Hallaq. John L. On the use of raḥmanan also see Jonas C. “From ʾil rḥmn to al-raḥmān – The Source of a Divine Epithet.” Journal of Semitic Studies. On the religious aspects of South Arabian inscriptions see G. Brill. . Also see Gerald Obermeyer. Essays in Honor of William M.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/issue/remmm_09971327_1991_num_61_1 In the same issue. 547–76. Leiden.” Journal of the American Oriental Society . 381–93. 153–68. Brill. Brinner. Little (eds). Princeton University Press. E. reprinted in Andrew Rippin. and for its significance in the later Islamic context see Andrew Rippin. Hayes. 127–37. chapter 3. A helpful introduction to early inscriptions.” pp. Adams. 35–63.” Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée . Aldershot. Leiden. 123 (2003). The significance of Central Arabia See Patricia Crone. “Heaven and Earth in the South Arabian Inscriptions. Greenfield. Religion in the Arabian peninsula On South Arabian religion see Ulf Oldenburg. pp. “The Origins of the Muslim Sanctuary at Mecca. Amman: Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. See.).asp. translated by Mokrane Guezzou. edited by Yousef Meri.” Studia Islamica. Hawting. Kitāb Asbāb al-Nuzūl. and ed. For the place of Mecca in pre-Islamic ritual see G. For some understanding of the way in which the idea of jāhiliyya was transmitted and controlled in classical times see Rina Drory.For Arab Bedouin religion see Joseph Henninger. pp. Oxford University Press.” Comparative Studies in Society and History . 83 (1996).altafsir. Louisville KY. 122–59. H. The notion of jāhiliyya A concordance of the Qur’ān can be helpful in seeing the sense of the word jāhiliyya in the scripture. Swartz (trans. A. for example.com/morphologicalsearch. George Allen and Unwin. is available in English translation in published form: Asbab Al-Nuzul: The Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur’an .jsp one may enter the “root” letters (in lower case letters) jhl (the root of the word jāhiliyya) and return the 24 passages in which it is found in both Arabic (with the word containing the root jhl highlighted) and in English. J. Edward Shils. Pre-Islamic poetry is documented in A. available online at http://www. 1982. Discontinuity of Islam with the past Al-Wāḥidī’s book on the “contexts” of revelation. 33–49. the same text is available online: http://www. Prehistory in Muslim identity The notion of “tradition” is well theorized among cultural historians. although much of the detail in this chapter is open to debate.quran.pdf (note that an 18. Studies on Islam. R. 13 (1971).com/books/odes. “The Abbasid Construction of the Jahiliyya: Cultural Authority in the Making. 2008. Juynboll (ed. using the tools available at http://corpus. A selection of the material is also available .).5 MB file is downloaded).” in Merlin L. Southern Illinois University Press. For example. Fons Vitae. Carbondale.muslimphilosophy. 23–47. Arberry’s The Seven Odes: the first chapter in Arabic literature.com/WahidiAsbabAlnuzul. “Tradition. “Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion. London.” in G. Studies in the First Century of Islamic Society. 1981. 1957. New York. 3–22. On the interpretation of asbāb al-nuzūl anecdotes see A. 7 (1986). Ayoub. The role of the Abrahamic myth On Ibn al-Kalbī’s book see G. volume 1. The book is also available online at http://answeringislam. A full English translation of Ibn al-Kalbī is available: Nabih Amin Faris. Rippin. 2/158 see Mahmoud M. 1952. especially pp. The Qur’ān and its Interpreters. 1983. “The Function of Asbāb al- Nuzūl in Qur’ānic Exegesis. 2001. Princeton. 217–77. 1984. Cook. R. 270–1. For other examples of the uncertainty in facts among Muslim writers in dealing with preIslamic times see M. Cambridge. chapter 7. The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History. On the ambivalence when dealing with food laws see M. section 4. pp. The significance of prehistory For an illustration of the difficulties involved in dealing with the pre-Islamic period as it blends into the conception of Islam itself see G. “Abraham’s Association with the Meccan Sanctuary and the Pilgrimage in the Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Periods. 1–20. For the overall interpretation of Q. Muhammad. State University of New York Press. Routledge. 104 (1991). Jawid Mojaddedi and Andrew Rippin.” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. The Qur’ān and its Interpretative Tradition . 1999. The Book of Idols: being a Translation from the Arabic of the Kitāb al-Aṣnām by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī. Hawting. Aldershot. . chapter 4. 359–87. R. London. Oxford. Oxford University Press. “Early Islamic Dietary Law. Cook. Cambridge University Press. chapter 17. 2003. 1999. Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature. Cambridge.” Le Muséon. 51 (1988). Hawting. Cambridge University Press. 176–9. A. Albany.3. Princeton University Press. Ashgate Variorum.in Norman Calder. The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History.org/Books/Al-Kalbi/ On Abraham and Mecca see Reuven Firestone. reprinted in Andrew Rippin.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies .