Muhammad and the Origins of Islam

F. E. Peters is Professor and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature and History at New York University's Near Eastern Center. He has written a number of books, including The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Jerusalem; and Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The Classical Texts and Their Interpretation. Most recently, he has published a three-volume history of Mecca and the celebrated Islamic pilgrimage called the Hajj.

"Peters writes very well. The scholarship is excellent, and the book fills a gap in the available material. There are several lives of the Prophet, but none that does what this one does. Most are written to prove a particular thesis about the nature of the Prophet's career. This one simply puts down what can be known with any certainty about the career of Muhammad from the point of view of the contemporary secular historian." — William C. Chittick"This book will become a major point of reference for years to come." — Said Amir Arjomand

• Preface Acknowledgments 1. The Founding Fathers Abraham and Ishmael in the HijazFather Qusayy and the QurayshThe Sons of Qusayy 2. The Colonial Era in Arabia Arabian Clients and TributariesThe Tribes of the SouthThe Abyssinians Invade 3. The Arabian Oikoumene Hashim the TraderNorthern NeighborsThe Shahs and ArabiaThe Commerce of Mecca 4. The Family and City of Muhammad A Celebrated GrandfatherAbraha"The Men Who Have the Elephant"The Security of the QurayshBuying and Selling in the Sacred MonthsA Religious Sodality: The HumsThe Persian Occupation of the Kingdom of HimyarThe Birth of Muhammad ibn Abdullah 5. The Gods and the Shrine The Gods and Worship at MeccaThe Pilgrimage Before IslamThe Worship of the One True GodPersonal DevotionsMuhammad and Meccan Paganism 6. A Prophet at Mecca Coming of Age in MeccaThe Prophetic SummonsA Heavenly JourneyThe Earliest Sura?Muhammad's Public PreachingThe WarningGod on HighThe Call to Prayer 7. The Migration to Medina The Opposition of the QurayshThe Deaths of Khadija and Abu TalibAn Invitation from a Distant OasisA Turn to Armed ResistanceThe Hijra (622 A.D.) 8. The City of the Prophet YathribJews and ArabsMuhammad Settles InThe Medina AgreementInnovations 9. Fighting in God's Cause Violence in the Sacred MonthThe Battle at the Badr WellsFrom Badr to the Battle of the TrenchThe Banu QurayzaA New TacticThe Northern OasesThe `Umra FulfilledA Daring Raid into Syria 10. "The Truth Has Come and Falsehood Has Passed Away" The Fall of MeccaThe Smashing of the IdolsHunayn, Ta’if, and the `UmraThe MalingerersThe Establishment of an Islamic Umma, with DuesThe Hajj of Year 9: The Break with the PagansThe Idolators Submit 11. The Pilgrimage of Farewell An Islamic PilgrimageThe Ban on the PagansThe Calendar Reformed 12. Illness and Death Appendix: The Quest of the Historical Muhammad Notes References Index