F. E. Peters is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures and History at New York University and the author of many books on Islam, including The Hajj (forthcoming from Princeton).

"For a text to use in an introductory course on Islam, this volume would make an excellent choice. Islam is presented here as understood by Muslims themselves, and where Muslims themselves are in disagreement."--MESA Bulletin

• Preface xv Introduction: A Primer on Islam 3 CHAPTER I The Past, Sacred and Profane 1. The Quran on Creation 8 2. Adam and the Angels 10 3. The Primordial Ka'ba I I 4. The Covenant with Abraham 13 5. Abraham and Ishmael in the Holy Land 16 6. Abraham the Builder 17 7. The Beginning of the Pilgimage Ritual 20 8. The Prophet Moses 22 9. The Wisdom of Solomon 24 10. The Muslims' Jesus 27 11. A Muslim Account of Pentecost 34 12. Mecca in the Era of Ignorance 35 13. The Religion of Mecca 37 14. Pre-Islamic Monotheism 39 15. The Hanifs 40 CHAPTER 2 The Life and Work of the Prophet 1. Muhammad's Descent from Adam 44 2. The Birth of the Prophet 44 3. The Scriptural Prediction of the Coming of the Prophet of Islam 46 4. Marriage with Khadija 49 5. Muhammad's Call and First Revelation so 6. Sadness, Doubt, Consolation 53 7. The Conversion of Ali 54 8. The Earliest Public Preaching of Islam SS 9. The Opposition of the Quraysh 59 10. Persecution and Migration to Abyssinia 6 1 11. The Boycott 63 12. Muhammad's Night Journey 64 13. Losses, Personal and Political 67 14. An Invitation from Yathrib 68 15. A Turn to Armed Resistance 70 16. The Hijra or Migration to Medina (622 C.E.) 71 17. The Constitution of Medina 74 18. Jewish Opposition 75 19. Fighting in the Sacred Month 76 20. The Battle at the Badr Wells 77 21. The Fate of the Banu Qaynuqa' 78 22. From Badr to the Battle of the Trench 79 23. The Banu Qurayza 83 24. The Arrangement at Hudaybiyya 85 25 The Pilgrimage Fulfilled 88 26. "The Truth Has Come and Falsehood Has Passed Away" 89 27. Consolidation of Gains 90 28. The Submission of the Idolators 91 29. A Primer on Islam 92 30. The Farewell Pilgrimage 94 31. Muhammad's Illness and Death (June 632 C.E.) 95 32. The Beginning of the Muslim Era 97 CHAPTER 3 The Community of Muslims 1. The Peoples of the Book 99 2. The Errors of the Jews 100 3. The Jews Warned by Their Own Prophets 102 4. The Error of the Christians 103 S. The Muslim Community 104 6. An Arabic Quran 106 7. "Catholic" Islam: Staying Close to the Tradition 109 8. A shi'ite View of the Community 112 9. Wrong Belief and Unbelief 113 10. The Caliphate 117 11. Caliph and Imam 12o 12. The Ruler, Chosen by the People or Designated by God? 122 13. Ali, the First Imam 124 14. The Pool of Khum 127 15. The Martyrdom of Husayn 128 16. The "People of the House" 131 17. The shi'ite Succession 133 18. Awaiting the Hidden Imam 135 19. "Twelvers" and "Seveners" among the Shi'ites 140 20. A juridical Portrait of the Sunni Caliph 142 21. The Powers of the Caliph-Imam 144 22. The Delegation of the Royal Power: The Sultanate 14-7 23. The Religious Powers of the Caliph 148 24. The Five Pillars of Islam ISO 25. Moral Islam 152 26. Alms and Charity 153 27. The Sixth Pillar: War in the Path of God 154 28. "There Is No Compulsion in Religion" 156 CHAPTER 4 The Word of God and Its Understanding 1. A Muslim History of Prophecy 158 2. Did the Jews and Christians Tamper with Scripture? 161 3. The Divine Origin of the Quran 165 4. Muhammad's Ascension into Heaven 168 5. The Night of Destiny 16q 6. The Heavenly Book 170 7. The Quran: Created or Uncreated? 172 8. "Bring a Sura Like It" 173 9. The Earliest Sura 175 10. The Heart of the Quran: The "Throne Verse" 176 11. The "Satanic Verses" 177 12. The Revelation and Its Copy 178 13. Uthman's Recension of the Quran 179 14. Who Put Together the Suras? 181 15. The Seven "Readings" of the Quran 181 16. Textual Corruptions? The Shi'ite View 183 17. The Proofs of Prophecy 18S 18. Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets 18S 19. Muhammad among the Prophets 187 20. Avicenna on the Prophethood of Muhammad 189 21. The Clear and the Ambiguous in the Quran 191 22. How the Muslim Should Read the Quran 194 23. Quranic Exegesis 19S 24. Where Did the Muslim Commentators Get Their Information? 197 25. The Outer and Inner Meanings of the Quran 198 26. Ghazali on the Sciences of Revelation 201 27. Allegorical Interpretation as a Resolution of Apparent Contradictions 203 28. Dull Masses and Minds Tied Down to Sensibles 205 29. The Pleasures of Paradise 207 CHAPTER 5 The Quran, the Prophet, and the Law 1. On the Usefulness of Tradition 213 2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Law in Islam 214. 3. The Word of God Is One: The Inspiration of the Prophetic Traditions 220 4. Their Transmission 220 5.Tendentious and Sectarian Traditions 221 6. The Criticism of Traditions 222 7. The Categories of Traditions 224 8. The Companions of the Prophet 224 9. Contradictory Traditions 22S 10. The Canonical Collections 226 11. The Derivation of God's Commands 227 12. On Consensus 229 13, Personal Initiative in the Law 231 14. Legal Knowledge and Legal Obligations 236 15. The Collective Obligation 237 16. The Evolution of Islamic jurisprudence 239 17. The Classical Schools 240 18. The End of the Age of the Fathers 242 19. Abrogation in Islamic Law 243 20. The Case of the Woman Taken in Adultery 246 21. Crimes and Their Penalties in the Quran 248 22. Divorce in Islamic Law 249 23. Controversial Questions 251 24. "0 Believers, Fasting Is Enjoined on You" 252 CHAPTER 6 The Worship of God 1. How Paganism and Idol Worship Came to Mecca 258 2. Islam and the Graven Image 260 3. The Muslims' Prayer 263 4. Prophetic Traditions on Prayer 26S 5. The Direction of Prayer 268 6. The Prophet Builds His Mosque 270 7. The Institution of the Call to Prayer 271 8. On the Manner and Intent of Prayer 272 9. The Friday Service 274 10. The Two Liturgical Festival Days 276 11. A Muslim Holy Day: The Tenth of Muharram 277 12. The Pilgrimage of Islam 279 13. Muhammad's Farewell Pilgrimage 280 14. Islamicizing the Hajj 28S 15. The Twelfth-Century Haram 289 16. Ghazali on the Proper Performance of the Hajj 294 17. The Prophet's Mosque and Tomb at Medina 298 18. A Visit to Medina 302 CHAPTER 7 Saints and Mystics 1. This World and the Next: The Islamic Preaching 307 2. The Historical Origins of the Sufi Movement 310 3. Conversions and Affirmations 3 1 2 4. Two Sufi Autobiographies: Ibn Abi al-Khayr and al-Ghazali 315 5. "No Monasticism in Islam" 321 6. Monks and Sufis 322 7. Sufi. Communities 32S 8. Convent Life in Islam 328 9. The Lamp in the Niche 330 10. What Is the Mystic Way? 332 11. Junayd on Oneness of and with God 33S 12. Self-Obliteration 337 13. Oneness with God Is Not Identity with God 338 14. The Life and Death of a Mystic: Al-Hallaj 339 15. "I Am the Truth" 341 16. Ecstatic Utterances 342 17. The Face in the Mirror 343 18. Al-Jili and the Perfect Man 349 19. Ibn Khaldun: An Evaluation of the Sufi. Tradition 351 20. Sufis and shi'ites 353 CHAPTER 8 Islamic Theology 1. The Origins of Theology in Islam 358 2. The Intrusion of Philosophy into Dialectical Theology 361 3. The Limited Role of Dialectical Theology 363 4. The Fundamentalist Position: "Without Howing" versus Dialectical Theology 365 5. Ash'ari on the Charge of Heretical Innovation 367 6. Rationalist Theology 368 7. Farabi on God's Providence 369 8. Ghazali on Theology and Muslim Belief 370 9. The Truth of Philosophy 371 10. Rationalist Ethics and Revealed Morality 372 11. Ibn Rushd: The Law Commands the Study of Philosophy 374 12. The Mystic's Gnosis and the Theologian's Science 377 13. The Illumination of the Intellect 382 14. The Life after Death 388 15. The Second Coming: The Muslim Tradition 389 16. "A Man from My Family" 391 17. The Preaching of God's Final Judgment 392 18. The End Defined 401 19. The Torments of the Grave 403 20. The Incoherence of the Philosophers on the Afterlife 405 21. An End to Hell? 409 22. The Vision of God 411 Sources Cited 413 Index 417

F. E. Peters is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Literatures and History at New York University and the author of many books on Islam, including The Hajj (forthcoming from Princeton).

"For a text to use in an introductory course on Islam, this volume would make an excellent choice. Islam is presented here as understood by Muslims themselves, and where Muslims themselves are in disagreement."--MESA Bulletin

• Preface xv Introduction: A Primer on Islam 3 CHAPTER I The Past, Sacred and Profane 1. The Quran on Creation 8 2. Adam and the Angels 10 3. The Primordial Ka'ba I I 4. The Covenant with Abraham 13 5. Abraham and Ishmael in the Holy Land 16 6. Abraham the Builder 17 7. The Beginning of the Pilgimage Ritual 20 8. The Prophet Moses 22 9. The Wisdom of Solomon 24 10. The Muslims' Jesus 27 11. A Muslim Account of Pentecost 34 12. Mecca in the Era of Ignorance 35 13. The Religion of Mecca 37 14. Pre-Islamic Monotheism 39 15. The Hanifs 40 CHAPTER 2 The Life and Work of the Prophet 1. Muhammad's Descent from Adam 44 2. The Birth of the Prophet 44 3. The Scriptural Prediction of the Coming of the Prophet of Islam 46 4. Marriage with Khadija 49 5. Muhammad's Call and First Revelation so 6. Sadness, Doubt, Consolation 53 7. The Conversion of Ali 54 8. The Earliest Public Preaching of Islam SS 9. The Opposition of the Quraysh 59 10. Persecution and Migration to Abyssinia 6 1 11. The Boycott 63 12. Muhammad's Night Journey 64 13. Losses, Personal and Political 67 14. An Invitation from Yathrib 68 15. A Turn to Armed Resistance 70 16. The Hijra or Migration to Medina (622 C.E.) 71 17. The Constitution of Medina 74 18. Jewish Opposition 75 19. Fighting in the Sacred Month 76 20. The Battle at the Badr Wells 77 21. The Fate of the Banu Qaynuqa' 78 22. From Badr to the Battle of the Trench 79 23. The Banu Qurayza 83 24. The Arrangement at Hudaybiyya 85 25 The Pilgrimage Fulfilled 88 26. "The Truth Has Come and Falsehood Has Passed Away" 89 27. Consolidation of Gains 90 28. The Submission of the Idolators 91 29. A Primer on Islam 92 30. The Farewell Pilgrimage 94 31. Muhammad's Illness and Death (June 632 C.E.) 95 32. The Beginning of the Muslim Era 97 CHAPTER 3 The Community of Muslims 1. The Peoples of the Book 99 2. The Errors of the Jews 100 3. The Jews Warned by Their Own Prophets 102 4. The Error of the Christians 103 S. The Muslim Community 104 6. An Arabic Quran 106 7. "Catholic" Islam: Staying Close to the Tradition 109 8. A shi'ite View of the Community 112 9. Wrong Belief and Unbelief 113 10. The Caliphate 117 11. Caliph and Imam 12o 12. The Ruler, Chosen by the People or Designated by God? 122 13. Ali, the First Imam 124 14. The Pool of Khum 127 15. The Martyrdom of Husayn 128 16. The "People of the House" 131 17. The shi'ite Succession 133 18. Awaiting the Hidden Imam 135 19. "Twelvers" and "Seveners" among the Shi'ites 140 20. A juridical Portrait of the Sunni Caliph 142 21. The Powers of the Caliph-Imam 144 22. The Delegation of the Royal Power: The Sultanate 14-7 23. The Religious Powers of the Caliph 148 24. The Five Pillars of Islam ISO 25. Moral Islam 152 26. Alms and Charity 153 27. The Sixth Pillar: War in the Path of God 154 28. "There Is No Compulsion in Religion" 156 CHAPTER 4 The Word of God and Its Understanding 1. A Muslim History of Prophecy 158 2. Did the Jews and Christians Tamper with Scripture? 161 3. The Divine Origin of the Quran 165 4. Muhammad's Ascension into Heaven 168 5. The Night of Destiny 16q 6. The Heavenly Book 170 7. The Quran: Created or Uncreated? 172 8. "Bring a Sura Like It" 173 9. The Earliest Sura 175 10. The Heart of the Quran: The "Throne Verse" 176 11. The "Satanic Verses" 177 12. The Revelation and Its Copy 178 13. Uthman's Recension of the Quran 179 14. Who Put Together the Suras? 181 15. The Seven "Readings" of the Quran 181 16. Textual Corruptions? The Shi'ite View 183 17. The Proofs of Prophecy 18S 18. Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets 18S 19. Muhammad among the Prophets 187 20. Avicenna on the Prophethood of Muhammad 189 21. The Clear and the Ambiguous in the Quran 191 22. How the Muslim Should Read the Quran 194 23. Quranic Exegesis 19S 24. Where Did the Muslim Commentators Get Their Information? 197 25. The Outer and Inner Meanings of the Quran 198 26. Ghazali on the Sciences of Revelation 201 27. Allegorical Interpretation as a Resolution of Apparent Contradictions 203 28. Dull Masses and Minds Tied Down to Sensibles 205 29. The Pleasures of Paradise 207 CHAPTER 5 The Quran, the Prophet, and the Law 1. On the Usefulness of Tradition 213 2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Law in Islam 214. 3. The Word of God Is One: The Inspiration of the Prophetic Traditions 220 4. Their Transmission 220 5.Tendentious and Sectarian Traditions 221 6. The Criticism of Traditions 222 7. The Categories of Traditions 224 8. The Companions of the Prophet 224 9. Contradictory Traditions 22S 10. The Canonical Collections 226 11. The Derivation of God's Commands 227 12. On Consensus 229 13, Personal Initiative in the Law 231 14. Legal Knowledge and Legal Obligations 236 15. The Collective Obligation 237 16. The Evolution of Islamic jurisprudence 239 17. The Classical Schools 240 18. The End of the Age of the Fathers 242 19. Abrogation in Islamic Law 243 20. The Case of the Woman Taken in Adultery 246 21. Crimes and Their Penalties in the Quran 248 22. Divorce in Islamic Law 249 23. Controversial Questions 251 24. "0 Believers, Fasting Is Enjoined on You" 252 CHAPTER 6 The Worship of God 1. How Paganism and Idol Worship Came to Mecca 258 2. Islam and the Graven Image 260 3. The Muslims' Prayer 263 4. Prophetic Traditions on Prayer 26S 5. The Direction of Prayer 268 6. The Prophet Builds His Mosque 270 7. The Institution of the Call to Prayer 271 8. On the Manner and Intent of Prayer 272 9. The Friday Service 274 10. The Two Liturgical Festival Days 276 11. A Muslim Holy Day: The Tenth of Muharram 277 12. The Pilgrimage of Islam 279 13. Muhammad's Farewell Pilgrimage 280 14. Islamicizing the Hajj 28S 15. The Twelfth-Century Haram 289 16. Ghazali on the Proper Performance of the Hajj 294 17. The Prophet's Mosque and Tomb at Medina 298 18. A Visit to Medina 302 CHAPTER 7 Saints and Mystics 1. This World and the Next: The Islamic Preaching 307 2. The Historical Origins of the Sufi Movement 310 3. Conversions and Affirmations 3 1 2 4. Two Sufi Autobiographies: Ibn Abi al-Khayr and al-Ghazali 315 5. "No Monasticism in Islam" 321 6. Monks and Sufis 322 7. Sufi. Communities 32S 8. Convent Life in Islam 328 9. The Lamp in the Niche 330 10. What Is the Mystic Way? 332 11. Junayd on Oneness of and with God 33S 12. Self-Obliteration 337 13. Oneness with God Is Not Identity with God 338 14. The Life and Death of a Mystic: Al-Hallaj 339 15. "I Am the Truth" 341 16. Ecstatic Utterances 342 17. The Face in the Mirror 343 18. Al-Jili and the Perfect Man 349 19. Ibn Khaldun: An Evaluation of the Sufi. Tradition 351 20. Sufis and shi'ites 353 CHAPTER 8 Islamic Theology 1. The Origins of Theology in Islam 358 2. The Intrusion of Philosophy into Dialectical Theology 361 3. The Limited Role of Dialectical Theology 363 4. The Fundamentalist Position: "Without Howing" versus Dialectical Theology 365 5. Ash'ari on the Charge of Heretical Innovation 367 6. Rationalist Theology 368 7. Farabi on God's Providence 369 8. Ghazali on Theology and Muslim Belief 370 9. The Truth of Philosophy 371 10. Rationalist Ethics and Revealed Morality 372 11. Ibn Rushd: The Law Commands the Study of Philosophy 374 12. The Mystic's Gnosis and the Theologian's Science 377 13. The Illumination of the Intellect 382 14. The Life after Death 388 15. The Second Coming: The Muslim Tradition 389 16. "A Man from My Family" 391 17. The Preaching of God's Final Judgment 392 18. The End Defined 401 19. The Torments of the Grave 403 20. The Incoherence of the Philosophers on the Afterlife 405 21. An End to Hell? 409 22. The Vision of God 411 Sources Cited 413 Index 417