1st Edition

People, Tribes and Society in Arabia Around the Time of Muhammad

By Michael Lecker Copyright 2005

    The emergence of Islam has in recent years become a matter of heated debate, mainly because Islamic historiography is a battle-field of contradictory versions of the past. In this second collection of studies, several of which appear here for the first time, Michael Lecker distances himself from the clash of theories, concentrating instead on several basic issues. They all belong to the preparatory work that still remains to be done on the social and economic environment in which Islam emerged. The volume includes the following sections: Arabia on the Eve of Islam; Muhammad and his Companions; and Arabian Tribes in Pre- and Early Islamic Arabia. The third section includes much extended and fully-documented versions of nine Encyclopaedia of Islam articles dealing with Arabian tribes and tribal society.

    Contents: Preface; Arabia on the Eve Of Islam: The levying of taxes for the Sassanians in pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib); King Ibn Ubayy and the qussas; Was Arabian idol worship declining on the eve of Islam?; A pre-Islamic endowment deed in Arabic regarding al-Wahida in the Hijaz; The emigration of `Utba b. Abi Waqqas from Mecca to Medina. Muhammad And His Companions: Did the Quraysh conclude a treaty with the Ansar prior to the Hijra?; Were customs dues levied at the time of the Prophet Muhammad?; The Medinan wives of `Umar b. al-Khattab and his brother, Zayd; The estates of `Amr b. al-`As in Palestine: notes on a new Negev Arabic inscription; The preservation of Muhammad's letters. Arabian Tribes In Pre- and Early Islamic Arabia: Tribes in pre- and early Islamic Arabia: The Ridda; al-Namir ibn Qasit; Salul (Khuza`a); Salul (Hawazin); Sulaym; Taghlib; Tamim; Thaqif; `Udhra. Bibliography; Addenda and corrigenda; Index.

    Biography

    Professor Michael Lecker is in the Department of Arabic at The Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel.