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The First Muslims: History and Memory
A fresh look at the origins and development of Islam, this is a fascinating reconstruction of the era of the first three generations of Muslims. Using a wealth of classical Arabic sources, it chronicles the lives of the Prophet Muhammad, his Companions, and the subsequent two generations of Muslims, together known as the "the Pious Forebears" (al-salaf al-salih). Examining...more
Paperback, 254 pages
Published
October 1st 2007
by Oneworld Publications
(first published September 1st 2007)
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Sep 07, 2011
Huma Rashid
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5 of 5 stars
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If I could give this book 7/5 stars, I would. It's an incredible read, exhaustively researched and just jam-packed with Islamic historical fact. It's illuminating, and I learned so much from it. It definitely reshaped my views on a lot of the things that I had previously been taught, which this book (and other works of scholarship on Islam, some new, and some really old, from the 8th and 9th centuries) revealed were not as authoritative (in some cases, not even as true) as I had been taught. Thi...more
This book by Asma Afsaruddin, who is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University is, on the face of it, a history of the earliest Muslims, in particular the Rashidun Caliphs (the four immediate successors to the Prophet Muhammad) and the Prophet’s other companions, both male and female, and successors. This part of the book is informationally valuable, if slightly marred by occasional digs at other religions like Christianity.
So far, so fairly ordinary; but then half w...more
So far, so fairly ordinary; but then half w...more
The first part of the book provides a historical survey of the first three generations of Muslims. It is in this area that Afsaruddin shines. She presents a history of the first three generations that presents the complexity of what occurred. She does not present the salaf as saliheen (the righteous predecessors) only through stories of legend (which, unfortunately a lot of Muslims have fallen susceptible to) but through rigorous historical accounts. I think this part is useful for both Muslims...more
As Bruce Lawrence has called it: "Highly readable and aptly revisionist..."
Excellent. This should be required reading for muslims in the West today. Even if you don't agree with her conclusions 100%, the book is a great summary of the history of our early forbears (salaf al-salih).
Excellent. This should be required reading for muslims in the West today. Even if you don't agree with her conclusions 100%, the book is a great summary of the history of our early forbears (salaf al-salih).
Excellent academic review of religious and political evolution of Islam. Written by a Notre Dame professor...always a plus :-)
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