Epigraphy and Theory in the Study of Early Islam by Lindstedt, Ilkka;

Short description:

The studies of this book deal with religious groups and notions in late antique Arabia (ca. 150–750 CE), drawing especially on inscriptions and other contemporary sources. They explore the religious and societal dynamics of Arabia during this pivotal period in world history.

Long description:

The studies in this book deal with religious groups and notions in late antique Arabia (ca. 150–750 CE), drawing especially on inscriptions and other contemporary sources. They explore the religious and societal dynamics of Arabia during this pivotal period in world history. Islam did not emerge in a vacuum, nor was it completely sui generis; rather, the book emphasizes the existence of shared aspects and dynamic interactions with the existing faith communities in the Near East and, more specifically, the Arabian Peninsula. The studies in the book also highlight the importance of theory, which is still underutilized in the field.

The studies argue for a piecemeal process of changes in religious and other social identities.They underscore the value of epigraphic evidence in studying Arabian social history – evidence that challenges conventional notions such as the portrayal of pre-Islamic Arabians as barbaric baby-murderers. This collection of studies contends that the formatting of a distinct Islamic identity was a rather slow process: before the materialization of the category Muslims, with their religion Islam, the community called themselves “believers” – a group that, according to contemporary evidence, comprised some Jews and Christians who retained aspects of their earlier identities and beliefs.

This book is intended for scholars and students of pre-Islamic Arabia, early Islam, and Arabian epigraphy. It will also be of interest to anyone interested in the study of the late antique world more broadly.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Reflections on Method and Theory in the Study of Islam’s Origins

Previously unpublished.

Chapter 2

Pre-Islamic Arabia and Early Islam

Herbert Berg (ed.), Routledge Handbook on Early Islam, 159–176, London: Routledge (2018). Reproduced by permission of Taylor & Francis Group.

Chapter 3

The Qurʾan and the Putative Pre-Islamic Practice of Female Infanticide

Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association 8/1 (2023): 5–29. Reproduced by permission of The International Qur’anic Studies Association.

Chapter 4

Arabic Rock Inscriptions until 750 CE

Andrew Marsham (ed.), The Umayyad World. London: Routledge (2021), 411–437. Reproduced by permission of Taylor & Francis Group

Chapter 5

Religious Groups in the Quran

: Raimo Hakola, Outi Lehtipuu, and Nina Nikki (eds.), Common Ground and Diversity in Early Christian Thought and Study: Essays in Memory of Heikki Räisänen, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck (2022), 289–311. Reproduced by permission of Mohr Siebeck.

Chapter 6

Signs of Identity in the Quran

Ilkka Lindstedt, Nina Nikki, and Riikka Tuori (eds.), Religious Identities in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Walking Together & Parting Ways, Leiden: Brill (2022), 66–91. Reproduced by permission of Brill.

Chapter 7

“One Community to the Exclusion of Other People” – A Superordinate Identity in the Medinan Community

M.B. Mortensen, G. Dye, T. Tesei, and I. Oliver (eds.), The Study of Islamic Origins: New Perspectives and Contexts, Berlin: De Gruyter (2021), 325–376. Reproduced by permission of De Gruyter.

Chapter 8

Muhājirūn as a Name for the First/Seventh Century Muslims

Journal of Near Eastern Studies 74/1 (2015): 67–73. Reproduced by permission of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies.

Chapter 9

Who Is in, Who Is out? Early Muslim Identity through Epigraphy and Theory

Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 46 (2019): 147–246. Reproduced by permission of the Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation.

Chapter 10

The Last Roman Emperor, the Mahdī, and Jerusalem

Antti Laato (ed.), Understanding the Spiritual Meaning of Jerusalem in Three Abrahamic Religions, Leiden: Brill (2019), 205–225. Reproduced by permission of Brill.