نشوء الإسلام: التقاليد الكلاسيكية من منظور معاصر

by Gabriel Said Reynolds, كبرئيل سعيد رينولدز

إن مؤلّف هذا الكتاب من أبرز روّاد التأريخ الإسلاميّ في جامعة نوتردام الأمريكيّة المرموقة. يعالج البروفسور كبرئيل سعيد رينولدز صعوبات استثنائيّة في تحرّي قصّة الإسلام التاريخيّة، في ظلّ صمت المصادر غير الإسلاميّة. فيقرّر الباحث قلب أقطاب المنهجيّة الّتي اتّبعتها الدراسات الأكاديّميّة التقليديّة، فلا يُرى القرآن من منظور التاريخ، بل العكس، دراسة التاريخ من منظور القرآن. هذا الكتاب دراسة فريدةٍ من نوعها وبحثٌ نقديّ لنشوء الإسلام، يُضاف إليه قاموس للمصطلحات التقنيّة، وخرائط مرجعيّة، ونبذ لأهمّ الشخصيّات في صدر الإسلام.

Genres: Islam, Religion, History, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabriel Said Reynolds does Great research in this book! Highly Recommended for an understanding of how Islam emerged and how it should be viewed in relation to the other religions that existed during that time.

[Jacob DeVries · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very helpful introduction to the modern state of scholarship surrounding the emergence of Islam. Though the book begins by recounting the traditional Islamic narrative regarding Muhammad and his rise from humble prophet to conquering warlord, the book does not shy away from the many historical problems with this narrative and the sources that it comes from. For this, it is to be commended. My only criticism of the book is that I wish there was more meat on the bone in the section of the book dealing with the historical reconstruction of the real history of the Islamic movement. To be fair, the author seems more concerned with arguing for a paradigm shift in the way researchers go about creating such reconstructions (focusing on what historical information can be mined from the Qur'an itself rather than the later biographies of Muhammad) than in setting out a complete reconstruction of his own. One of the more interesting insights that is offered is that the Qur'an seems to be much more in conversation with the Christianity of late antiquity and is often assumed. The discussion of the recent inscription evidence is particularly interesting in this regard. As someone who is attempting to learn more about this topic, this book was useful and informative.

[Evan Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was helpful to give me, as a follower of Jesus, a more round knowledge of Muslim traditions and their origins with special attention to the cultural context during Islam’s emergence. The first part and a half of this book was deeply educational. The quality of the writing and the helpfulness of the content devolved in the latter stages of the book.

Part 3’s “contemporary context” portion felt more like an unfocused addendum than a well-researched historical argument. It gave plenty of information, but drew few conclusions. This made for dense, non-compelling reading. Admittedly, in the author’s conclusion, he claims that the historical origins of Islam are in and of themselves unclear and widely disputed, thus making drawing widespread conclusions about how those origins reveal themselves in contemporary Islamic traditions very challenging. It seems as though the origins of the emergence of Islam are complex, and the global state of Islam is thus equally so.

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I had to read this for my college class "Biblical Application of Middle Eastern Literature"

Gabriel Said Reynolds does a great job with the structure of book and explaining the emergence and rise of Islam. Reynolds also shows a good comparison of Islam with Christianity, and how Islam samples from Christianity. Reynold educated me on Islam and its history, the Quran and the Hadith, and all the other things surrounding it.

[Usama Al-Binni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice introduction if you don't know much about Islam. If you know a lot though, you'd likely find it somewhat underwhelming compared to Reynold's Quran and the Bible youtube series. The book is written in a pedagogical style with study questions. Very useful for teaching.

[Kendra Fiddler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paradigm-shifting for the traditional narratives.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable to anyone studying Islam.

[Zaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best single volume secular introduction to Islam. Even experts will enjoy Part 2 where the author attempts to reconstruct glimpses of Islamic origins from the Quran alone.

[Caleb Hecox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hizstorical

Good comparison of Islam with Christianity. Shows th e history of Islamic religion well and how it has developed for today.

[Mano Chil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how the author had divided the sections of the book. I also liked the fact that he quoted from different who were for and against Islam.