THE BEGINNING OF MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Author(s): M. Kmil 'Ayd and M. S. Khn

Source: Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1 (SPRING 1978), pp. 1-26, 26a
Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad
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THE BEGINNING OF MUSLIM

RESEARCH*
M.
Translated

Kamil

'Ayad

fromGerman
M.

HISTORICAL

and annotated by

S. Khan

following discussions form a part of the preliminary study of

a larger work on the philosophy of history and society of Ibn Khaldun(A),
The

the famous Muslim

historian of North Africa

(1332-1406).

In his original work, Muqaddima

ft 'Urn at-Ta'rlkh (Introduction
this
remarkable
thinker, presumably the first
of History)

to the Science

in the history of man, deliberately made historical genesis as such the sub
ject-matter of a special scientific discipline.1

The content of this new science, of which he consciously emerged

as the founder, corresponded in its essence with the problems which since
the beginning of the era of enlightenment in the history of European culture
has been treated multifariously as "philosophy of history" and "science

of sociology"; moreover, in this case as also precisely in the case of Ibn

thematters are not treated in separate fashion.
Khaldun
It is astonishing

to notice how deep is this agreement and how many individual questions
it embraces so that one dealing with Ibn Khaldun has often the feeling that
one is reading a work of a European writer of the 18th or even of the
19th century.

Already his claim to have founded a new science which would

explore human society* and culture as the one and only content of histo
rical life reminds us of Vico(B), that equally unique and great thinker.
And indeed his ambition to elevate history to the order of a science,3 on
the basis of his own discoveries, was

firstcherished by Buckle(c).

In addition to this quite modern and agreeable method of treat

ment of history, there are other no less
significant and rich results of his
efforts to achieve a causal explanation of historical process, for example,
*
K.

From
Breysig

"Die

Anfange

Festschrift,

dcr arabischen
III,

pp.

35-48

Geschictschreibung'in
(Breslau,

Geist

und Gesellschaft,

n.d.).

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M. KAMIL 'AYAD

his investigations into the ethnographical, economic and socio-psycholo

gical factors in the life of peoples, which likewise remind us of the
writers of modern

times.

Consequently,
present-day European
This must
Khaldun.

it is obviously important from the standpoint of

science, to deal with such a phenomena as Ibn
take place within the framework of Islamic science
research in particular, because, inspite of the

in general and of historical

of IbnKhaldun inposing problemsand

veryhighdegreeof originality

in the exposition of the basic thoughts which underlie his work, in connexion
with which certainly he has the right to speak4 of "Divine Inspiration"
in order to explain the creative aspects of his writings, Ibn Khaldun's

(historical science) can be understood only as one of the connecting links

in the long chain which stretches through the Islamic sciences. For this

subject-matter of his work and indeed for a substantial portion of his pro
found knowledge, he owes much to his predecessors.

historical research, which attained a remarkable stage of

with
Ibn Khaldun,
deserves general recognition also for its
development
own worth as a significant production of the human mind.
The Muslims
Muslim

have left a very rich historical literature which is by itself one of the grea
test achievements of its kind5 and which furnishes an interesting example
of the development of a branch of science, which in its process of develop
In parti
ment and in its final tendency is analogous to that of Europe.

cular, the discipline of history such as Breysig(D) seeks to build it up,6

as the science of the essence and the forms of historical growth based on

from the history of historical science and

from attempts in which tentative approaches towards a developmental
attitude to the writing of history or even towards a distinct and deliberate
philosophy of history are traceable.
experience,

can

learn much

It is, therefore, of great use in this connexion to trace the course of

development of historical research in all cultural contents, ifpossible.
historical research in its origin and further
one
must
delve
deep into the root of the revolution which
development,
It was a great
was brought about inArabia by the Prophet Muhammad.
religious, social and political revolution in comparison with which the
In order to traceMuslim

everlasting battles among the Arab tribes and the Sermons and Prophe
cies of the priests must appear as child's play. The Prophet introduced
In glowing words
a completely new element into the life of the Arabs.

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

he made known to them the path of salvation in thisworld and the next and
directed their outlook from the narrow limits of tribal life towards thewide
After consolidating the foundation of the new faith, he himself
emerged as the political leader possessed of ingenuity and wide outlook

world.

and capable

of performing great administrative tasks.

successors propagated
the new faith within the world-empire
which they had founded within a short time (thereafter). In this religion,
which stirred up theArabs from within and united them firmlyby spiritual
His

ties, are traceable the roots of the process which was to lead to that asto
nishing spiritual and cultural development which distinguishes the migra

as instituted by the Prophet from other migrations, as

which were nothing but predatory
for example, that of the Mongols(E),
had already begun
incursions7. The next generations after Muhammad
tion of the Arabs

to collect and arrange his sayings and interpret theQur'an in differentways

the
according to their requirements. On the basis of the Qur'an and
tradition of the Prophet, people moulded their teachings about the faith

In the political quarrels also which broke out among the

even in the early period, each side tried to vindicate its stand by
Soon criticism of the trans
citing the Qur'an or a saying of the Prophet.
in theological
mitters of the traditions(F) also became a preoccupation
and its duties.

Muslims

Through contact with members of the nations with ancient civi

most
of whom embraced Islam, discussion soon started on philo
lisations,

activity.

sophical problems also, for example, the attributes of God, freedom of

human will etc. The different statements of theQur'an and of the Prophet
on these questions provided scope for dogmatic differences of opinions.
For the exegesis of theQur'an, thorough knowledge of theArabic language
For this reason philological studies were widely undertaken.
was essential.
Thus we find

how out of

the preoccupation with Muhammad

and his
arose
all
the
scientific
of
activities
the
Muslims
which
then
teachings
quite
naturally became differentiated and out of which a great number of inde
pendent branches of science developed.8

The Muslim historical research was also in the first instance only
a part of the Hadith(G)
science.
The earliest attempts to write history
were concerned with the life of the Prophet, his Companions
and the early

exponents of Islam. Along with this there followed the accounts of

the battles which were fought for the new Islamic faith and the State.
The close relation with Haolith

science also manifested

itself in the

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M. KAM1L 'AYAD

forms of descriptions: the first historical works were exactly like the other
traditional sciences, simple collections of oral traditions presented through
a long, unbroken chain of authorities, who either witnessed these events or
narrations were preserved mostly in the words
transmitted them first.. And when one event was reported
differently by a number of contemporary persons, the traditions are trans
mitted in the usual form side by side, even though the variations may be
heard about

them. The

of those who

immaterial and irrelevant.

The oldest available texton theProphet's lifeis by IbnHisham(H)

(d. 834 A.D.).

It is, in fact, only a recension of thework of another older

scholarIbn Isfraq(i)(d. 776) who had with greatdiligencecollectedall the

traditions about the Prophet, about his genealogy, his birth, his youth,
his family life, about his preaching of themessage of God, which he defen
his actions and
ded with unshaken firmness, and about his Companions,
sayings.
Ibn Hisham, who did not make any change in the text of Ibn
own notes and
Ishaq, goes a step beyond his predecessor in that he with his
commentaries tried to verify the reliability of each individual tradition.
This book constitutes one of themost important sources concerning
the Prophet10 and is highly valued by the most modern orientalists,
whereas opinion about the author was much divided among theMuslims.

writesabout themilitarycampaigns
Al-Waqidl(j) (d. 823) especially

of the Prophet. He had at his disposal a comprehensive collection of

traditions which he did not arrange simply in serial order as Ibn Isfraq
had done but worked over the sources independently and narrated them
Besides, he tried to ascertain the exact
in a lively style in his own words.
non-Islamic sources shows that al
with
dates of events. A comparison

descriptions are mostly correct.11 His pupil and secretary Ibn

his
Sa'd(K) (d. 845) utilized the same large amount of source-material of
His life of the Prophet is followed by the
teacher for a different purpose.
women towhose faithful reports posterity
men
and
those
of
all
biographies
owes its fairly exact knowledge of the beginnings of Islam. These trans

Waqidl's

mitters of the traditions of Islam have been classified according to their

This categorization
generation beginning from the time of Muhammad.
under classes was first of all undertaken with a view to affecting control of
the science of tradition over the chain of transmitters, and itwas necessary

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

to add a new dimension to this division by generation, i.e., the classification

Ibn Sa*d divided the transmitters
according to regions. Consequently,
also according to the regions where they had lived.12
the sciences began to develop and purely historical interest
was awakened, the biographical work was later initiated even by the re*
When

of other branches of science. There appeared numerous

on theologians, mystics, physicians, philologists, poets,
works
biographical
etc. Impressed by these facts Sprenger made the following apt remark:

presentatives

"Self-respect is the noble fundamental principle of the Arabs and Islam.

Each individual is recognized for his greatness and, for this reason, the
Muslims have written more biographies and genealogical works than other
(taken to
peoples both prior to and contemporary with the Muslims
*
gether).'
In the above-mentioned

works

the personality of the Prophet

and

everything connected with him were the real objects of consideration.

The influence of the Prophet was still too strong and the magic of his
no other question could attract attention
personality was so profound that
was
and remained theMessenger of God,
for its own sake. Muhammad
whose

instructions were regarded as laws.

It is on this religious character that the reliability of most accounts

In contrast to the later
of the oldest biographers of the Prophet is based.
that were written with the object of
accounts of the life of Muhammad

him and buildingup thefaithof thebelievers,theauthorsof the

glorifying

early period engaged themselves inwriting the biography of the Prophet(L)

in order to learn his way of life and his teachings, because they considered
his sayings and actions as fundamental dogmas (of Islam). They were
still too religiously overawed and conscientious to change the transmitted

texts or to invent false reports as often occurred later during the political
and religious debates or for the sake of polemics against the Jews and
Christians.
Apart from the unverifiable reports about the youth of the
Prophet, his oldest biographers deserve recognition, even when they are
judged by themodern standard of historical criticism, in so far as the cor
rectness of the reports rather than the objective
tions is concerned.14

validity of the descrip

These religiously inspired biographies deserve attention in the history

of historical sciences not only for this reason alone and also not only
because

they have become

the only authentic sources in the eyes of posterity

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M.

KAMIL

*AYAD

for the life of the Prophet and the beginning of Islam but also because
they have a place in historical literature due to their subject-matter itself.
In addition to all this, their contents included much that led to the awaken
ing of pure historical interest, and just for this reason they have become in
fact of great significance for further development of Muslim historical
research.
In these biographies of theProphet was found much information
about the genealogy of the pre-Islamic Arabs and their conditions of life.

Only after the differentiation of these constituent elements, to which may be

added others which arose in the course of historical development, could
the pure historical interest of theMuslims

first evolve.

The attention to genealogy proved to be of great political importance

in Islam especially because according to the system introduced by the
second Caliph 'Umar, state stipends were paid according to the degree of
While
relationship with the Prophet and his meritorious Companoins.
constructing the genealogical tables(M), the history of the different tribes
attracted attention. The knowledge of Arabia's past was for the greater
part promoted through philological studies which was primarily ancillary

to theology; for the latter are concerned above all with the poetic litera
ture of the pre-Islamic Arabs,
which faithfully mirrors their life.
reasons
Political
led the national Arab regime of the Umayyads
to pro

mote

these activities with great success.

On

the other hand, the commentators of the Qur'an were much

to collect information about the ancient peoples, who were
mentioned in the Holy Book and who were cited as examples.
People
learnt in this way above all the traditions of the Jews and the Christians.
concerned

All these contained many original elements, which had a tendency

to awaken pure historical interest among the Muslims:
(1) The Biblical
the
ancient
in
theQur'an; (2) the epic poetry
peoples mentioned
legends and
that is, the famous "Battle Days"(N)
of theArabs, inwhich the "Days",
of the tribes were described; and (3) the genealogical collections; with the
evolution of theological disciplines, those elements which mainly pertained
to history were separated from the science of Hadith; (4) the purely bio

graphical
campaigns

the Prophet and his Companions;

and (5) the
were
that
of the Prophet
followed by the conquests of the

details about

Caliphs.
Besides, theMuslims at the timewhen they took up literary activities,
could look back on an eventful past of more than two hundred years,

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

which presented a great task for the science of history. To this could be
added the expansion of the geographical horizon, as the Arabs had con
Persia, Syria, Egypt, the rest of the north Africa,
quered Mesopotamia,
Spain

and Asia

they came into

succession. Through these conquests

in quick
close contact with members of the ancient cultured peo

Minor

ples in these countries, with whom they became partially intermingled.

Thus an Islamic unity grew up which developed with the enthusiastic co
operation of the non-Arabs, a lively intellectual life.
of the time are the following
of a learned scholar whose work is described as showing a new
stage inMuslim historical research: "Special meetings for good purposes
seldom take place without there being mentioned in conversation a pro
Indicative of the cultural conditions

conclusions

phet, a king, or a scholar or some historical period or one of the battle

The participants must know correctly which event is
days of the Arabs.
meant or where the habitat of the said tribe is located, or when that parti
cular king lived or what was the lifehistory of the person mentioned".15
In order to satisfy this need for general knowledge, Ibn Qutayba(o)
(d.
ca. 889), the author of a classical Book on Poets, also wrote his Kitab al

This book brings together the above-men

Ma'drif (Book ofKnowledge).
It begins with the history of creation,
five
elements.
tioned
original
for
Bible
word
from
the
translated
word, and then records the history of the
Biblical Prophets, the genealogies of the Arabian
tribes, the appearance
the biographies of his most well-known Com
of the Prophet Muhammad,
of
the
the
and
The biographies of the famous
history
Caliphs.
panions
events of history occupy the
of
curious
various
narrations
and
persons,
a
of the south Arabian and
brief
chronicle
and
of
the
work;
greater portion
the Persian kings forms the conclusion.
The thing that interests us about this work is that it clearly shows
how the historical horizon of theMuslims has widened and how the events
of the past are now valued for their own sake. Here the biography of the
rather only a part of the
Prophet is no more the centre of all interest; it is
whole.16
Before Ibn Qutayba, al-Mada'ini(p)
(d. ca. 840) had written a his
of
which
of
the
we,
unfortunately, know only from the quota
tory
Caliphs
tions in theworks of other writers. Some of them are, however, fairly long
knew Islamic
quotations, which show clearly how thoroughly al-Mada'inl
on
comments
events.17
were
various
his
how
and
pertinent
history

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M. KAMIL *AYAD

As we also find fromthe laterworks, thehistoryof theCaliphs

a good opportunityto theMuslim historianstoexercisetheirjudg
offered
ment in research by comparing the numerous variations of the same tradi
tion. Certainly, since itwas the people of immediate past with which it
dealt, political passions were not conducive to allowing a sense of impar
tiality to appear in thewriting of history. In contrast, however, to religious
inhibitions that were apparent in the biographers of the Prophet, this in
duced the rival parties to undertake a more thorough investigation of the
sources

in order to refute their opponents.

the writing of Islamic history encouraged thoroughness in

the investigation of individual facts, and while the acquaintance with the
While

traditions of the Jews, Christians

and Zoroastrians

contributed

to the

widening of temporal horizons of the distant past, the spread of Muslims

over a large part of the world led to the attempt to collate historical
this reason
For
material from a geographical
point of view(Q).

al-Baladhuri(R) (d. 891) records in an important work the history of the

In this, as in his other
conquest of the individual Islamic countries.18
genealogical works, we find in al-Baladhuri a historian of importance, who

does not concern himself with matters of secondary importance, but seeks
to carry out research into the facts of the past and has also left behind
valuable data, concerning the origin of the Islamic state.
With

this the second stage of the development ofMuslim historical

An examination of the works of the first two

research comes to an end.

periods shows that their concept of human history was more a product of
the previous period rather than of their own. This fundamentally conserva
tive characteristic of historical science manifests itself also in the works of
the third period.
In the 9th century A.D., inwhich the historical works of the second
In this
period appeared, the Caliphate was at the height of its power.
the
Muslims
the
with
of
trade
the
all
relations
world,
parts
developed
period
which they came to know and thereby became acquainted
and traditions of all peoples.

with the customs

The scientific activities of the Muslims witnessed a remarkable pro

as
theywere now acquainted with the philosophy and sciences of the
gress
Greeks, the wisdom of the Indians, the astronomy of the Babylonians(s),
the literature of the Persians and the arts and industries of the Chinese.
Due

to this theworld picture of theMuslims

became more comprehensive

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

To characterise the cultural

and their philosophy of lifemore profound.
atmosphere in this and the following century, the expression Islamic re
has even been used.19
This development, which indeed
naissance(T)
constituted a kind of humanism, ismost
in the works of al-Mas'ud!(u)
(d. 956).

strongly and faithfully expressed

Amongst his predecessors was

the geographer al-Ya'qubi(v)

(d. ca. 900) whose history of the 'Abbasids
a
world history, which begins with the creation and
presents, in fact,
all
nations
then known to the Muslims.20
And in the
comprehends
Annals of at-Jabari(w) (838-923), the famous Qur'an Commentator,
the

most

extensive Chronology
of the Muslims
was produced.21
With
the high water mark of this period of development ofMuslim
historical research was reached. He gives themost valuable account of
all lands, inmost of which he had himself travelled. He narrated the cus

al-Mas'udi22

toms and religious professions of all nations, and often compares their
of life. Through his extensive cultural and
religions and philosophies
historical perspective he exercised the greatest influence on Ibn Khaldun,

who rightly considers him to be the leader (Imam) of theMuslim

But even he could not go beyond descriptive historical writing.

historians.

Ibn Khal
the first to put forward, at least in theory, a programme of his
torical research on an evolutionary and conceptualised basis, whereas
before him, the philosopher Ibn Miskawayh(x)
(d. ca. 1043), had repre

dun was

sented a pragmatic method

of historical writing in his "Experiences

of the

Nations".

Author's Notes
1. This significant
position of IbnKhaldun in thehistoryof sciencehas been brought
into prominence by R. Flint in his History of thePhilosophy ofHistory (Edin
burgh: 1893),pp. 157-171.
2.

Prolegomena

of Ibn Khaldun,

in notices

et extraits des manuscrits

de

la bibliotheque

du roU vols. 16, 17, 18 (Arabic text) 19.20.21 (French translationby de Slane),
16 Paris 1858, p. 56, (19, Paris: 1863: p. 71). The French translation,"Vetat
social de
Ijtimd*

I'homme"
al-Insdni

does

not give

which means

the exact

"the process

rendering
of human

of the Arabic
association

or

expression

al

the formation

of human groups". Here theactivemeaning of theverbal form is to be taken into

considerationwhich also getspriorityin thedescriptionof IbnKhaldun.
3. Proleg. I, p. 2(4)
4. Proleg. I, p. 66(83).
5. C. Brockelmann,Geschichteder arahischenLitteratur (Literaturesof theEast, Vol.
6.B). (Leipzig: 1901),p. 101.

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10 M. KAMIL *AYAD
6. See theFestschriftforG. Schmoller, 1908 inwhich he had outlined the fundamentals
of such historical principles.His new work comprisingmany volumes "Vom ges
Werden" now provides thematerial for future structure.
chichtlichen
7. C.H. Becker alongwithLeone Caetani advances the thesisthat thismovementof the
Arabs was due to thegradual drying-upof theirlandand thefamineconnected there
with; thisview is, to say the least,veryone-sided. [Cf.C.H. Becker, Islamstudien,
vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1924),pp. 7 fF.and 69 ff.]In the case of Islamic historyinparticular,
one can recognize

how

Marx's

isKarl

one-sided

economic

interpretation

of history.

on
8. Of course, this isnot to betaken to belittle the importanceof foreigninfluences
Islamic sciences; it is beyond all doubt thatpeople belonging to the ancient civili
zationswho had been convertedto Islammade thegreatestcontributionto scientific
pursuits and that the scientificsystemsofMuslims, specially thenatural sciences
and philosophy,containmany foreignelements. But itwill be a travestyof truth,
ifpeople deny the existenceof an independentand original Islamic culture,which
developed graduallyfromthe teachingsof theProphet and which likeothercultures
elements.

the foreign

transformed

and

absorbed

des Orients unterden Khalifen, (Vienna, 1877),

9. Cf. A.Von Kremer,Kulturgeschichte
vol. VI,

pp. 415.

10. It is published in two vols. by F. W^stenfeld (Gottingen,1858). German transla

tion isbyG. Weil. (Stuttgart,1864).
11.

1, 7, Literatures

der Gegenwart"

in "Kultur

de Goeje

M.J.

of the Orient,

Leipzig

Berlin 1925,p. 161.Cf. forexample,alsoNoldeke's examinationof theSyriac sources

in theZeitschriftderDeutschenMorgenlandischen Gesellschaft, vol. 29 (Leipzig,
1876),pp. 76 ff.

12. Cf. Otto Loth: Das klassenbuchdes IbnSa'd (Leipzig: 1869). See also the same auth
or's

i.e., theBook

der Tabaqat,

(Ursprung undBedeutung

of Classes)

in the Z.D.M.G

vol. 23 (Leipzig: 1869),pp. 593ff. This book was edited and published innine vol
with many

collaboration
13.
14.

De

inM.J.

Quoted
See M.J.

of the Prussian

the auspices

under

umes

other

Goeje,

op. cit., p.

op. coit., p.

Geje,

Academy

scholars.

(Leiden:

of Sciences

1904-1921),

by Edward

Sachau,

in

14 parts.

162.

161.

15. IbnQutayba, Kitab al-Ma'drif ed. by F. Wiistenfeld (Gottingen,1850),p. 3.

op. cit., p. 420.

von Kremer,

16.

17.

M.J.

de Goeje,

p. 161.

Arabic Text published byM.J. de Goeje, (Leiden,

18. Al-Baladhuri, "Fut&b al-Bulddrf\
1886). Two vols. of theGerman translationhave so far been published by O.
Rescher (Leipzig, 1917-1923). An English translationappeared in 2 volumes by
and Fr. Black Margotten,

Hitti

P.K.

(New York,

1916-1924).

Economics, and Public Law, editedby the Faculty

Columbia
19.

Adam

University,

Metz,

Die

volume

Renaissance

of

(Studies

Political

in History,

Science of

68).
des Islams,

(Heidelberg,

(1922)

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH 11

20. IbnWadih al -Ya'qubi, Ta'rikh, 2 vols. edited byM. Th.H outsma (Leiden, 1883).
21 At-Tabari, Ta'rikh ar-RusulWa'l-Mutuk, published byM.J. de Goeje incollabora
tionwith other scholars. 13vols. (Leiden, 1879-1898).
22. Preserved in the
Murfy adh-Dhahab,edited and tr.byBarbier deMeynard and Pavet
de Courteille, 9 vols. (Paris, 1861-1877),and hisKitfb at-Tanbihwa'l-Ishraf,transla
ted intoFrench by Carra de Vaux (Paris, 1896).
IbnMiskawayh's history,edited by Leone Caetani, vols. 1, 5 and 6. (London
1909-1913),Gibb Memorial series,vol. 7).

23.

Translator's

(A)

Notes

Ibn Khaldun (732-808/1332-1406),

Abu Zaid Walfuddin

4Abdur Rahman;

al-Zirekli, Qdmus al-A'ldm, IV, 106-107; 'Umar Rada

al Mu'allifin, V, 188-191; XIII, 296; Hasan Saab, "Ibn
Kahhala, Mu'jam
in Encyclopedia of Philosophy, IV, 107-109. Selected Biblio
Khaldun"
J. Fischel in the English trans, of Ibn Khaldun's
Walter
graphy by
Muqad

dima by Franz Rosenthal, III, 485-512; H.K. Sherwani, "Ibn Khaldun and
his Politico-Economic
in the Islamic Culture
Thought"
(Hyderabad)
F.
"II
Concetto della 'asabiyya nel pensiero
Gabrieli,
(April, 1970), 71-80;
storico di Ibn Khaldun"
inLTslam nella Storia, 211-252; Buddha Prakash,
"Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History", in the Islamic Culture, (Oct.
1954),

XXVIII, No. 1,412-508; Muhammad Mahmud Rabf, The Political Theory

of Ibn Khaldun (1967), pp. IX + 178; C.J. Blacker and Salih H. Alich,
International Bibliography of theHistory of Religions (1970), 94-95. C.

Brockelmann, Geschichte Der Arabischen Litteratur, II, 314-17; S II>

342-44. A. Zeki Velidi Togan, Tarihte Usul, 142, 146, 155, 157-70; 172,
"Ibn Khaldun: An Interpretation", Islamic Quarterly,
205. S. Dabydeen,
(1969), XIII,

S. Pines, "Ibn Khaldun

and Maimonides",
a
2, 79-101.
between two texts in the Studia Islamica, J. Schacht Memorial

comparison
volume, II, 265-2TF4; F. Wxistenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber
und Ihre Werke, No. 456, 26-31.
For Ibn Khaldun's
classification of
in the Cambridge History of Islam,
sciences see G. Anawati, "Science"
has been pub
II, 745-46. An abridged Hebrew trans, of theMuqaddima
lished by Immanuel Koplewitz,

Sifre Mofet mi-Sifrut ha-'Olam,

pp. 407;

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M. KAM1L *AYAD

12
E. Gellner, "From

Ibn Khaldun

toKarl Marx"

inPolitical Quarterly, No.

32 (1961), 385-392. The political and social philosophyof IbnKhaldun

has been critically examined by Jaha Husain

and others; see Falsafat
Ibn Khaldun al-Ijtima'lya, and Etude analytique et critique de la philosophic
Ibn Khaldun has
social d' Ibn Khaldun; but these are now out of date.

been called "an Oriental Montesquiue",

"a Darwinist before Darwin", "a
forerunner of the 17th century Geschichts-Philosophie",
and his work has
been compared with that ofMachiavelli, Battista Vico, Hegel and Herbert
Julian Obermann,
in The Idea of History in
Spencer".
"Early Islam"
theAncient Near East, ed. by Robert C. Den tan, 307; H. Ritter's "Irrational
inOriens, 1/1 (1948), is the critical and analytical study
Solidarity Groups",
F. Rosenthal
of the 'asabiya\
attempts to trace the sources of Ibn
117-118; Muhsin
thought, A History ofMuslim Historiography,
A
in
Ibn
Khaldun's
the Philosophic
Mahdi,
Philosophy ofHistory,
Study
Foundations of the Science of Culture (1957), pp. 325 (with good biblio
graphy). Nassif Na?sar, La Pensee realiste d' Ibn Khaldun (1967), pp.
Khaldun's

Et La Sens De L' Histoire"

in the
"Ibn Khaldun
279; M.
Jalibl,
-in the Encyclo
-, Ibn Khaldun
Studia Islamica, XXVI, (1967), 73-148;
contribution
with
825-831
substantial
Islam,
HI,
(useful
(2),
pedia of
Yves Lacoste, Ibn Khaldun, Naissance de Vhistoire, 2nd
bibliography).
ed. (1968), pp. 320. See the new French translation of theMuqaddima
by Vincent Monteil, 3 vols. Khuda Bakhsh, "Ibn Khaldun and His History
in Contributions to theHistory of Islamic Civiliza
of Islamic Civilization"

tion (1930), 201-261; W.J. Fischel, "Ibn Khaldun's Activities inMamluk

Studies Presented to William Popper
Egypt", in Semitic and Oriental
of Ibn Khaldun's
Political Theory"
(1951); "The Islamic Background
some per
Civilization
the
in
in
Studies
Gibb
Islam,
H.A.R.
166-175;
of
by
are
'Abdul
on
made
Ghani
Muhammad
Ibn
Khaldun
tinent comments
by

ind al-'Arab, 246-262; A.A. Dehkhoda,

Lughat
A
A.J.
1325
305-306;
Toynbee,
Sa'd,
A.H.),
Study
of
Name,
(A-Abu
'Abdullah
Muhammad
473-476.
Enan,
History (1934), III, 321-328;
'Umar Farrukh, Ta'rikh
Ibn Khaldun, His Life and Works (1944), pp. 200.
al-Fikr al-'Arabi, 2nd ed. (1386/1966), 691-709 (with a bibliography of
Hasan,

7/m at-Ta'rikh

A very detailed study of his philosophy of history and

works).
is
presented by the same author but it is not very critical; see
sociology
his Ta'rikh al-'Ulum 'indal-'Arab (1390/1970), 442-517 (good bibliography
For a comparison between
of Arabic and European works, 512-517).

Arabic

'Ulum
and Montesquieu with IbnKhaldun
seeQadriHafizTogan,a/was
writ
of
Ibn
Khaldun
'indal-'Arab (1960), 226-231. A long biography

Vico

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

ten by al-MaqrlzI;

see Mafcmud

al-Jalill, Majallat

13
al-Majma'

aUTlml al

XIII, 215-242.Al-Jalillhas also studiedthe illnessof

Traqi, (1386/1966),
on hiswritings;ibid,243-246; 'Abbis 'Ammar,
IbnKhaldun and itseffect
Prolegomena toHistory", Ph. D. Dissertation, (Cambridge,
S.
Turner, "Ibn Khaldun and Western Sociology, Ibn Khal
Bryan

"Ibn Khaldun's
1941).

dun and Emile Durkheim" inIslamicReview,LVIII/9 (1970), 7-9. For

Ibn Khaldun's

theory of the Khildfa and Imdma see P.V.

und
Sivers, Khalifat, Konigtum
Verfall, Die politische Theorie Ibn Khaldfln,
pp. 159. The following three unpublished American Doctoral Disserta
tionsmay be mentioned here. Muhammad.
A.M. Nour, "An Analytical
political

Study of the Sociological Thought of Ibn Khaldun",

Kentucky Thesis,
a fourteenth century
1954; Zahida H. Pasha, Ibn Khaldun, "Sociologist:
pioneer", Thesis, American, 1951 and 'AH H. Wardi, "A Sociological ana

theory: a Study in the Sociology of Knowledge",

lysis of Ibn Khaldun's
'indlbn
al-Makki, AUFikr al-Falsafi
Thesis, Texas, 1950. 'Abdu'l-Razzaq
Khaldun (1970), pp. 350. D.S. Margoliouth, Arabic Historians, 156-58; M.

The Encyclopedia of Islam, New ed. vol. Ill (1971), 825-31. S.M.
Batseva: "The Social foundations of Ibn Khaldun's Historico-Philosophical
tr. from the Russian by JanW.Weryho
in the Islamic Quarterly,
Doctrine",
nos
see
2
and
also
3,
XV,
121-132;
A'mdlMihrjdn Ibn
(April-Sept. 1971),
Khaldun (papers read at his millenary anniversary held at Cairo)
(1962).
His Lubdb al-Mubtassilft Usul ad-Din was edited, translated and annotated
Talibi,

has given a
by L. Rubio, vol. I Arabic text(1952), pp. 149. GeorgeSarton
and
account
works
their
his
and
of
life
to the
Introduction
criticism,
long

See also Muhammad

of Science, III, pt. 2, (1948), 1767-1779.
Tufail, IbnKhaldun ka nazarfya-i-Ta'lim in Fikr wa Nazar (August, 1970),
?
a Selection",
VIII,
131-139; S. 'AH, "The Economics of Ibn Khaldun

History

African Quarterly, X, no. 3 (October to Dec.

70), 251-59.

(B) VICO, Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). Patrick Gardiner, "G.

Vico" in theEncyclopedia ofPhilosophy, VIII, 247-51 (good bibliography).
His autobiography has been
There are good studies on Vico by B. Croce.
translated from the Italian by M.H. Fisch and T.G. Bergin, (1944), pp.
240; The New Science of Vico, new translation of the 3rd ed. (1744) by T.G.

Bergin and M.H. Fisch, (1948), pp. 441. See the bibliography of Vico
in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, XX, 1035. A. Zeki Velidi Togan, Tarihte
Usul, 162, 172. Winkler Prins Encyclopedia
(1954), XVIII,
118-19; Her
mann Heimpel

and others, Die

Gros0en Deutschen,

Friedrich Heer, The Intellectual History of Europe,

(Berlin, 1957), V. 216.

51, 134, 308-309.

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His

M. KAMIL 'AYAD

14

philosophyof historyhas been discussedbyWill andArielDurant, Rous

seau and Revolution
des Historismus

Friedrich Meinecke, Die Entstehung

(1967), 251-254.
(1959), 53-59 and passim. Alexandra Randa, Handbuch

Der Weltgeschtchte
(4 vols), (1954), 1962, 1470, 1820. A.R. Caponigri,
New Catholic Encyclopedia, XIV,

644-45;

Thomas
Buckle, Henry
in
The
Buckle",
Encyclopedia
(C)

"H.T.

bibliography);

L. Stephen

in Dictionary

(1821-1862).

Patrick

Gardiner,

I, 413-15

of Philosophy,
of National Biography,

(good
III, 208

211; A.H. Hutti, Life andWritingsofHenry Thomas Buckle (1880); G.

St. Aubyn, A Victorian Eminence;

the life and works of Thomas Buckle.
Brockhaus Enzyklopadie, III, 407 (very short). J.Kutolowski, New Catho
licEncyclopedia, II, 846-47.

(D)
Breysig. Kurt Breysig (b. 5th July, 1866, d. Berlin, 16th June,
III, 273, which gives details of his
1940). See Brockhaus Enzyklopadie,
works and contains up to date bibliography.
"Breysig felt strongly that
one
dominant
not
of
the
is
record
factor, such as the
seemingly
history
He
state, but rather of the interrelationship between all phenomena.
held that it should deal with all peoples, including the so-called primitives
Just as the individual
who may appear to lack historical development.
passes from infancy through child-hood, adolescence and maturity to seni
lity,every cultural unit, according to Breysig, passes through corresponding
historical
IV, 57-58.
Biographic

in Colliers Encyclopedia
stages". Paul Honigsheim
(1955),
For a detailed account of his life and works see Neue Deutsche
II, 609-610.

B. Spuler, Les Mongols dansVhistoire, (1961): ?,

Die
(E) Mongols:
3rd
W.
in
Khanate
in
ed.;
Barthold/J.A. Boyle, Chaghtay
Iran,
Mongolen
new
trans,
ed. II, 3-4; J.A. Boyle,
of theTa'rikh
theEncyclopedia of Islam,
i-Jahan Kusha of 'Ata' Malik
vols."Juwaini
Mongols",
Mongol

Juwaini (History of theWorld Conqueror), 2

al-Din as sources on the History of the

and Rashid

in theHistorians of the
Middle East, 133-37. See for a list of the
rulerswith the dates of their accession, QazwM,
Yaddasht-ha'i III,

306-309 and the JamV at-Tawarikh by Rashid'uddin Fadlullah, Eng. tr. as

The Successors of Genghis Khan by J.A. Boyle; on the Ilkhans see B. Spuler,
- - Die
theEncyclopedia of Islam, new ed., III, 1120-1123.
Goldene Horde,
-,

+ 636. The Persian sources

inRussland, 1223-1502, XVIII
Die Mongolen
on
the
have
the
of
been discussed briefly by B.
history
bearing
Mongols

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

und Geographische Literatur",
Spuler, in his "Historische
Der Orientalistik, IV/2/1, Iranistik, 122-136. The Second

15
inHandbuch
International

Congress of theMongolistswas held atUlan Bator (2-9September,1970)

in which many

important and original papers dealing with all aspects of

Mongol history and culture were read. For a list of the titles of these
407-419.
The history of
papers see Journal Asiatique (1970), CCLVII/3-4,
Iran from theMongol
invasion to the establishment of the Timurid dynasty

has been studied by 'Abbas Iqbal in his Ta'rlkh-i-Moghol, 2nd ed. (1341
A.H. Shamsi), X, pp. 619. J.J. Saunders, The History of theMongol Con
+ 275. D.
"The European-Asiatic
quests (1971), pp. XIX,
Ayalon,
Steppe: A Major
tions, II, 47-52.

Reservoir

of Power

See The Mongol

in the Islamic World",

Disaster',

in Transac

inA History ofMedieval

Islam

V. Barthold,
by JJ. Saunders(1965), 170-186(speciallythe jbibliography).

v epokhu Mongolskago Nashestviya; Mu'In

166-172; B.Y. Vladimirtsov, The
(1898),
al-Fuqara',
Life ofChingis Khan, tr.by D.S. Mirksy, (1930, repr. 1972), pp. XII + 172.
See the papers concerning the history and culture of the Mongols
in
Teksty, vol.

I of Turkestan

Kitdb-i-Mulldzdde

The Cambridge History of Iran, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, V, 303
invasion of Europe see G. Barraclough,
679; 691-94. For the Mongol
a
in
Changing World, 51, 134, 189-90. See "Turks and Mongols:
History
inHistory of theIslamic Peoples by Carl Brockel
the End of theCaliphate"
mann, (1952) 240-255; W. Barthold, "Changiz Khan and theMongols",
and "Turkestan

under Mongol Domination",

in Turkestan Down to the
For Arabic historiography
Invasion, 3rd ed. (1968), 381-494.

Mongol
see Jurjl Zaydan, Ta'rikh al-Adab
under theMongols
al-Lughat al-Arablya,
B.
in The Cambridge History of
III, 148-153;
Spuler, The "Mongols"
For the Mongols
Islam, I, 160-174; Bernard Lewis, ibid., 211-219.
in
see Osman Turan in The Cambridge
Anatolia
246
Islam,
I,
History of
262. A short but useful bibliography on-the Mongols
is provided by Jean
Muslim East,
Sauvaget and Claude Cahen, Introduction to theHistory of the
Bertold
The
Muslim
168-170;
Spuler/F.R.C.
World, A His
Bagley,
torical Survey, The Mongol Period, (1969)11, 1-56; see
"Religion under the
in The Cambridge History of Iran, V, 538-549
Mongols"
by A. Bausani
and "The Mongols"

by Herbert M.J.

Loewe

in The Cambridge Medieval

History (1923) IV, 627-652 (out of date); Ludwig Forrer/Bertold

Spuler
(eds), Der Vordere Orient, 85-86; 99-102. B. Spuler, "Quellen Kritik der
vol. 92, (1939); see the different
Mongolengeschichte
Irans", inZDMG,
of
editions
theSecret History of theMongols,
tr. by P. Pelliot (1949), A.D.

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M. KAMIL 'AYAD

16

Walcy (1963) and others. Ligeti,Histoire SecrSte desMongols (1971),

pp. 268. See also Brockhaus Enzyklopadie, XII, 739-745. M. Prawdin, The
Mongol Empire: Its Rise and Legacy, 2nd revised edition (1961), pp. 581.

(F) On the originof the Isnad (Chain of authorities)in Hladtth

see M.Z.
?iddlqi, "Islamic Studies", in Islamic Culture, XXXV, 4 (1961),
218 ff; Bertold Spuler, "Islamische und abendlandische Geschichtsschrei
'Urn ar-Rijal, in the
bung" in Sdeculum, VI, 126; B. Scarcia Amoretti,
new
"Arabic
ed. Ill, 1150-52; Use Lichtenstadter,
Encyclopedia of Islam,

and IslamicHistoriography",in,TheMedievalWorld, (1945)XXXV, 131.

Among the sciences that developed out of the critical study of theFfadith,
'Ulum
See Kitab Ma'rifat
that of the Isnad was of first importance.
al-Hadith by an-Naisaburi,
(1937) 6-18. For a discussion regarding the
origin of the Isnad seeM.Z. ?iddiqf, As-Siyaral-Hathith, 43-51; at-Thanawi,
Kashshdf Istilahat al-Funun, I, 27, 642-46. There is a note (five lines)
on Isnad in the Encyclopedia of Islam (1), II, 552. New light has been
thrown on the question of the Isnad or chain of transmitters by the publica

tionofSabifahHammdmIbnMunabbih (d. 101/719)editedbyM. Hamld

5th Rev. edition (Hyderabad,

ullah (trans, by Muhammad
Rahimuddin),
trans, and foot-notes,pp.
Intro,
Arabic
text, pp. 1-42; English
1380/1961);
ibn
'Abdullah al-Naisa
'Abdullah
Muhammad
116. Al-Hakim Abu

as
buri, al-Madkhal ilaMa'rifat al-Iklil, ed. and trans, by James Robson,
Introduction to theScience of Tradition, VII, 54, 48. For a general discus
sion of Hadith see Ahmad Amin, Fajr al-Islam, 208-224
(based on the
best available Arabic sources) and Fu'at Sezgin, Geschichte Des Arabischen

Shrifttums, I, 53-233 (latest and very informative); see S.J. Horowitz's

article "Alter und Ursprung des Isnad", Der Islam, VIII
(1917), 39-47;
James Robson, Isnad, in theEncyclopedia of Islam, new ed. IV, 207 (very
short).
Muhammad

in Da'irat
"Hadith"
Farid Wajdi,
al-Ma'arif,
Muhammad
6Ashar,
III, 360-77;
Zubayr ?iddiql, Hadith
al-Qarn-RabV
Literature, pp. 211; J. Brugmann, editor and others, Concordance et In
dices De La Tradition Musalmane
I-VH, pts 1-47 (1936-69). A.J. Wensinck,
A Handbook
Muhammadan
Tradition, alphabetically arranged
of Early
(G)

(1927, Reprint, 1972). Cf. G. Richter's statement in Das Geschichtsbild

der arabischen historiker, 8. About a discussion on theHadith literature see
Juynboll. The Authenticity of the tradition literature, Discussions
inModern Egypt, pp. X-f 171. M.Z.
'Ulum al-IJadith", Studia
?iddiql,

G.H.A.

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Islamica, V, 4 (1968),
197-211; Mohammad
in Cahiers
La Pcnsce Islamique Classique",

17

Arkun, "Introduction A
D' Histoire Mondial, XI,

4, 585; AlfredGuillaume, "ApostolicTradition" inIslam (Penguin,1966)

betweenIfadtthandFiqh, (fullof hostile
88-110,discusses therelationship

Studien, II; Eng. tr.Muslim

criticism); L Goldziher, Mohammadanische
at-Tha
of
Studies, II, 420 (earliest critical study
IJadith by a European);
nawl, Kashshaf Isfilaftdt al-Funun, I, 279-281. A. Guillaume, The Tradi

tions of Islam, pp. 184; Th. W. Juynbul, Ifadis, Isl. Ans. V, 47-54; Muham
mad Flamldullah, "Early History of theCompilation of Iladlth" in Islamic
Literature, (1966), XII/3, 5-9 (discusses the value and importance of the
$ahifa Hammdm ibnMunabbih, compiled in the early thirties of the second
Two recent studies by two Arab Muslim scholars
century of the Hijra).
'Ulum al-IJadith Wa musfalahdtuhd
may be mentioned here; ?ubhia?-?abih,
wa Tim al-Ifadith,
(1965), pp. 447 and 'Abdul Razzaque Nawfal, aUIslam

of theIJadithon
(1965) pp. 244. Naji Ma'ruf has studiedthe influence

see aUAqlam, II, 9

the origin of history writing among the Muslims;
or La Trans
(Baghdad, 1966), 116-149; al-Khatlb al-Baghdadf, al-Kifaya

mission ecrite du Hiadith, critical edition by Yusuf al-'Ishsh, pp. 199. A

good number of Afyddithhave been interpreted and commented upon by Ibn
Furak in his Kitab Mushkil al-Hadith (1362. A.H.), pp. 214. Collections

of Ifadithover and above theSijjBbSitta (Six Authentic

Collections)and

books concerning the sciences of Ifadith are legion but one of the important
works in the latter category may be mentioned here i.e. 'Ulum al-Ifadlth
of Ibn as-?alah on which some commentaries were
or theMuqaddima

al-Masrf, "An Introduction to the Study of the Traditional

1958
Criteria used in the Criticism of EEadlth", Ph. D. Thesis, Cambridge
in
the
Literature"
Hadith
"Pre-Bukharl
M.
Yusufuddln,
Proceedings
59;

written.

A.

'Abdus ?amad ?arim al-Azharl, Tabrirat Risalat in the

17-19. It contradicts
Tarjumdn al-ITadith, Urdu (Lahore, Jan. 1970), I,
the statement that Hadith was recorded inwriting two centuries after the
death of the prophet and mentions some compilations made in the first
(1970),

357-361;

Muwaffa\of ImamMalik, ?ahlfa of 'Aliand$ablfaAfradith

centurylikethe

of Anas

ibnMalik.

See also the articles of Hafiz Muhammad

Gondalwl

in the Tarjumdn al-Ifadlth, published in the different issues of 1970. J.

Robson, IJadith, Encyclopedia of Islam, newed. Ill, 23-28 (contains good

bibliography);Muhammad Mujtafa A'?aml, Studies in Early Ijfadlth

Literature with a critical edition of some early texts (1968). Afcmad ash
selections from
Sharbasi, Adab al-Ahddlth aUQudsiyah, which contains

themajor works of traditionpublishedby theGovt. of the UAR, I

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M. KAMIL 'AYAD

18
(1969). M.
pp. 270.

(H)

Ishaq, India's Contribution to theStudy of ffadith Literature,

Abu Muhammad 'Abdu'l-Malik

IbnHisham (d. ca. 218/833),

in the
ibn Ayyub; W. Montgomery Watt, "Ibn Hisham"
new
Jean
ed.
Ill, 800-801;
Sauvaget/Claude Cahen,
Encyclopedia of Islam,
Introduction to theHistory of theMuslim East, 116; Eng. tr. of his Sir a
by Alfred Guillaume, The Life ofMuhammad with introduction and notes;
ibn Hisham

A.L. Tibawi, The Life ofMuhammad; A critique of A. Guillaume's English

translation of the Slra, The Islamic Quarterly, HI, No. 3, 196-214. Joseph
in the Journal
De Somogyi, "The Development of Arabic Historiography"

C. Brockelmann, Geschichte Der Ara

of Semitic Studies (1958) III, 373-87;
bischen Litteratur, I, 141; Studia Islamica, 206-207; 'Umar Rada Kahhala,
aUKutub al-'Arabiya, VI, 192;
al Mu'allifin, Tarajim Musannafi
Mu'jam

Over and above the edi

al-Zirekli, Al-A 'lam, Qamus Tarajim, IV, 214.
3
vols
edition published in 1859,
tion of his Slra by F. Wustenfeld (original
a fairly reliable edition by Mustafa as-Saqqa
reprint in 1961) there is also
Ibn Syed an-Nas, 'Uyun aUAthar fi funun
and others, published at Cairo.
al-Maghazi wash-Shama'il was-Siyar, 2 vols. F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschi
chteschreiber der Araber undIhre Werke, no 48,16; Abu Dhar, Commentary
Arabic text ed. by P. Bronnle,
on Ibn Hisham's Biography ofMuhammad,
2 vols. (Cairo,
'A/A. ad-Duri

Ibn Hisham is not noticed by

1911; repr. London,
1969).
'Ilm at-Ta'rikh 'indal-'Arab. M.A.H.
in his Bahth fi Nash'at

'Azzam, A Critical Study of the Verse Content of the Sira of Ibn Hisham,
London University Ph. D thesis, 1952-53; D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilisation
toAD 1500, 72-74; Al-Zirekli (loc. cit.) notes the difference regarding the
date of his death.

(I)

Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibnYasar al

Ibn Ishaq (d. 151/768),

Kahhala,
al-MiCallifin, IX, 44-45; Al
Mu'jam
Zirekli, AUA'lam, VI, 252; C. Brockelmann, Geschichte Der Arabischen
'Abdu'l 'Aziz ad-Duri, Bahth fi Nash'at
Litteratur, I, loc. cit.; SI, 205-206.
W.
'Ilm at-Ta'rikh 'indaWArab, 168-86;
Montgomery Watt, "The Materials

Muttalibi;

'Umar Rada

J.M.B. Jones,
Middle East, 23-24.
of the
new
810-11
ed.
(good bibliography);
of Islam,
Ishaq," Encyclopedia
Jean Sauvaget/Claude Cahen, Introduction to theHistory of the Muslim
in the
East, 116. Alfred Guillaume, "A Note on the Sira of Ibn Ishaq"
used by Ibn Ishaq"

inHistorians

"Ibn

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,

J. Fuck, Mubammadbin
Isbaq, (1923); James Robson,

1956, XVIII/I,
"Ibn Ishaq's

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1-4.
use

MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

19

in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, vol. 38, No. 2,

F.
Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber und Ihre
(March, 1956).
No.
8.
ibn Isfraq
As regards the reporters of Muhammad
Werke,
28,
see A. Fischer, Biographien vonGewahrsmannern deslbn Ishaq hauptsachlich
aus adh-Dhahabi, pp. XVIII
-f 116 and Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morge
of the Isnad"

nlandischen Gesellschaft, XLIV, 401-444. Gordon D. Newby, "An Example

of Coptic Literary Influence on Ibn Ishaq's Sira, in the Journal of Near
loc. cit. It is
Eastern Studies, (Jan. 1972) XXXI,
1, 22-28. D.M. Dunlop,
of
has
Sira
Ibn
been
found
and M.
that the original
understood
Ishaq
of Paris is editing itunder the auspices of the Government of
see
Islam aur 'Asr-i-Jadid, Urdu Quarterly (New Delhi, 1969),
Morocco;
note
1.
vol. 1/1, 51
Hamldullah

Abu 'Abdullah,Muhammad
(J) Al-Waqidi (130-207/747-823),

ibn 'Umar

ibn WaqidI

al-Zirekli, Al-A'ldm, VII, 200-201;

al-Aslami;
U.R. Kahhala, Mu'jam alMu'allifin, XI, 95-97 (with bibliography). George
Sarton, Introduction to theHistory of Science, I, 541, 523; F. Rosenthal,
A History ofMuslim Historiography, passim; ad-Duri, Bahth fi Nash'at
Tim at-Ta'rikh 'ind al-Arab,
187-206; C. Brockelmann, Geschichte Der
Arabischen Litteratur, I, 141-42. His Kitdb al-Maghdzi was published
in 1856. Its reprint was published
by Alfred von Kremer at Calcutta
critical edition has
in 1948. A
been published
at Cairo
recently
by Marsden Jones (1968), 3 vols. His Futuh ash-Sham was edited byW.

Lees, 2 pts (1854) and Futuh Misr was edited byKabiruddm Ahmad
J.M.B. Jones, "The Chronology
of theMaghazi ?
A Textual
(1861).
the
Bulletin
School
and
Oriental
Survey"
of
of
African Studies, 1957, XIX/2
245-280; F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber und Ihre Werke,
theEncyclopedia of Islam (1),
No. 43; 11-14; J.Horowitz, "al-Wakidi,"in
Nassau

Arabic Historians, 92-95. For argu

IV, 1104-1105. D.S. Margoliouth,
ments and opinions for and against al-Waqidi's reliability seeD.M. Dunlop,
Arab Civilisation toAD 1500, 73-79. It is stated that there is a MS. of al
Waqidi's

Kitdb ar-Ridda

in the Bankipore

Library, Patna.

Cahen/Jean Sauvaget think that the various accounts of the

in the name of al-Waqidi "are fictitiousworks of a later
circulated
conquests
to
Introduction
theHistory of theMuslim East, 123. The present
date",
Claude

translator is infull agreement with this opinion but D.S.Margoliouth

states,
the judgements of Muslim
authorities on
95,"...
his work, though by no means unanimous, are in the majority of cases
The text of his Futuh ash-Sham (1854) is in the process of
favourable".

Arabic

Historians,

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M. KAMIL *AYAD

20
being reprinted.

condensed German

trans, of the Kitab

aUMaghazl

was publishedby J.Wellhausen (1882),pp. 472. MulyammadNairn ?id

Waqidi mua'rrikhki haithiyatse9 in theBurhdn
dlql Nadwl, %Alldma
(Delhi, Dec.

(K)

1970), vol. LXV,

Ibn Sa'd

410-424.

(168-230/784-845).Muhammad

ibn Sa'd ibn

al-Zirekli, AUA'lam, VII, 6; 'Umar Ratfa Kahfcala,

Mu'jam al-Mu'allifin, X, 21-22; George Sarton, Introduction to theHistory
of Science, I, 579-80. F. Rosenthal, A History ofMuslim Historiography,
Man!'

al-Zuhrl-al-Ba$ri;

ad-Durl, Bafithfi Nash'at

93-95;

'Ilm auTa'rlkh

'ind aU'Arab,

207-214;

F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber und Ihre Werke.

No.

53, 17;Otto Von Loth,Das Classenbuchdes IbnSa'd (1869).

His Kitab

230 A.H.

General

at-fabaqat aUKabir contains biographies upto the year

editor Edward Sachau; edited and published in colla

J. Lippert, B. Meissner, E.
Brockelmann, J. Horovitz,
F.
and
K.
9
vols.
Published
Mittwoch,
Zettersteen,
Schwally,
(1940-41).
under the auspices ofKoniglichPreussischen Akademie derWissenschaften.
boration with C.

Information about the author and his work has been provided by Edward
in vol. Ill, pt. I (1904) under Einleitung, V to XLIII.
The index

Sachau

vol. IX, pt. Ill was published in 1940, pp. 258. These have been reprinted
at Baghdad ca. 1967. D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilisation to AD 1500, 79
(short).
J. Horovitz, "The Earliest Biographies of the Prophet and
(L)
in Islamic Culture, (1927), I, 535-59; (1928), II, 22-50;
their Authors"
495-526.
Tr. by Husain Na??ar as al-Maghazi al-Awwal wa Mu'al
164-82;

lifuha (1949); G. Levi Delia Vida, Storiae Religione nelle' Oriente Semitico,
111-37. Mahir IJasan Fahmi, as-Slra, Ta'rikh wa fann^ (1970), 131-149
discusses some modern biographies of the Prophet. G. Levi Delia Vida,
It is difficult to agree
in the Encyclopedia of Islam (1), IV, 439-43.
'Alawi concerning his criticism of the Stra; see his
with Ishaqun NabI
Stra,

in Dr. Zakir Hussain Presentation Volume,

Literature"
"Chronological
458-504. For a hostile criticism of the Slra literature see H.L ammens, "L
4AgeDe Mahomet et La Chronologie De La Slra," in the Journal Asiatique,
(1911), 209-250. The Sirat Muhammad Rasul Allah of Ibn Ishaq/Ibn Hi

sham was

in 3 vols. (1858-60),
edited and published by F. Wustenfeld
sec
of
the Slra9* in the
"The Impact
reissued in 1961;
Husayn Mu'nis,

Islamic Review, (Jan. 1970), 12-13.

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

21

S.D.F. Goitein, "Introduction"

to vol. V of Al-BaladhurTs
(M)
KitSb aUAnsab al-Ashrdf (1936), 14-24; Jamharat an-Nasab: Das Genealo
Band I, Einleitung Von.
gische Werk des Hishdm binMuhammad al-Kalbl.

W. Caskel. Die Tafeln von Gert Strenzick, 1-132; 1-334. Band II Erlau
von. W.
terungen zu den Tafeln: Bcgoncn von Gert Strenzick, Vellendet
F.
A
Muslim
1-616.
Caskel,
Rosenthal,
History of
(1966).
Historiography,
al-Jawahir, IV,
95-100; see al-Mas'udl, Muruj adh-Dhahab wa Ma'adin

112, 118, 119, 292, 323; V, 150, 181 for the views of the Prophet
on the subject and the book of genealogy compiled by Zubayr ibn

Bakkar.

IJamidullah,
Muframmad
Etudes
in Bulletin D'
Baladhuri"
fragment of the Ansdb

"Les

of al-Baladhuri

Livres

Orientales,

des

genealogie d'al
A
XIV.

( 1952-54),
concerning the reign

of 'Abdul

Malik was edited and published by W. Ahlwardt froma BerlinMS

It is difficult to agree with Julian Obermann

who remarks
seen
must
to
be
and
far
greater popularity
poetry
enjoy
".genealogy
in the early Islamic era than Koran and IJadlth." See "Early Islam", in
in

1883.

The Idea ofHistory in theAncient Near East, 289 and ibid., 290-305 where
it is stated that Dagfal and Ibn Sharya headed the list of the genealogists
of early Islam. The vast literature on the genealogy of the Arab tribes

in his two works Genealo

has been studied thoroughly by F. Wustenfeld
The value and importance of the science of
gische Tabellen und Register.
been discussed by ?alahuddin al-Munajjid
has
genealogy (?/m al-Ansdb)

inhis introduction
flMa'rifat aU
(3-31) to theeditionof Turfatal-Asbdb

Ansdb by 'Umar ibn Yusuf ibn Rasul, edited by K.W. Zettersteen (1369/
so much interested in this science that
1949). Text 1-248. The Arabs were
on
the genealogy of horses.
See al-KalbFs
they have compiled works
Kitab Nasab al-Khayl, pp. 141. Books on ansdb in Arabic are legion but
the two outstanding works are to be mentioned here: The aUIkmal by
Ibn Makula
(d. 475/1095) and aU Ansdb of as -Sam'anI (d. 562/1166). The
'Abdur Rahman
text editions of both these works edited by Ash-Shaikh
were
al-Yamani
al-Mu'allaml
ibnYahya
being published by theDa'iratu%
of Hyderabad but only six volumes of each have been
Ma'arifi'l-'Osmdnia
published so far and they have stopped publication due to the death of
edition by D.S.
the said editor. Sam'anFs aU Ansdb published in fasc.

Margoliouth (1912) is available.

(N) AyyamaU'ArabtbyE. Mittwoch in theEncyclopediaof Islam,new

ed. I, 793-94; W. Caskel, Aijam aWArab in the Islamica, III, (1931), 1-99;
E. Meyer, Der historische Gehalt der aiyam aU'arab, (1971), pp. VII + 132.

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M. KAMIL 'AYAD

22

Julian Obermann, "Early Islam" in the The Idea ofHistory in the Ancient
Near East, 253-264, where the "Days" and the important battles fought in
It is a critical study no doubt but contains
ancient Arabia are described.
suggests that the narrations of the
prejudiced remarks. F. Rosenthal
in pre-Islamic Arabia;
show historical consciousness
"Battle Days"
see A History ofMuslim Historiography,

(O)

18-ff.

Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah

IbnQutaybah (213-276/828-889),

'Umar Rada Kahhala, Mu'jam

ad-Dinawari;
al-Mu'allifin, VI, 150-51; XIII, 402. Al-Zirekli, Al-A'lam, IV, 280; Gerard
Lecomte, Ibn Qutayba, L'homme, son oeuvre, ses idees, (Damascus,
1965),
- - -, Ibn
Kutayba, Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed. Ill, 844-47; C
pp. 527;
I, 124; SI, 184-87;
Brockelmann, Geschichte Der Arabischen Litteratur,
ibnMuslim

ibn Qutaybah

'Ilm at-Ta'rikh
"md al-'Arab,
'Aziz ad-Duri, Babth fi Nash'at
une
de
la
k
Ibn
relation
Qutayba"
Saqifa attribue
385-394; G. Lecomte, "Sur
in Studia Islamica, J.Schacht Memorial Volume, I, 171-183; F. Wustenfeld,
'Abdul

Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber und Ihre Werke. No. 73, 24-25. ?adri
Afshar, Ta'rikh Dar Iran, 17-18. His use of the Old and theNew Testa

ments has been studied by G. Lecomte, see Arabica (Paris, 1948), 34-36.
For the merits and demerits of his works see D.S. Margoliouth, Arabic
second
119-125. A good critical and profusely annotated
Historians,

has been published by Ahmad

edition of his ash-Sh'ir wash-Shu'ara'
in
2
vols.
Shakir
Muhammad
1387/1967), pp. 1036. For
(1386/1966,
critical comments of Syed Ahmad ?aqar on this book see vol. I, 7-24.
A reprint of 1904 edition of this book by De Goeje appeared in ca. 1968.
Muhammad

Kurd

and

'Abd Allah

Shurait, Shakhsiyat
"The Life and Works of Ibn
I.M.
Hussein!,
191-202;
(1966),
Adabiyah
at Beirut, pp. 106.
Qutayba", Ph. D. Dissertation, London, 1934, published
His Adab al-Katib, ed. by M. Grunert and published in 1900 has been reis
sued at Beirut in 1967, and his Kitabal-Ma'drif
published by F.Wustenfeld
See Abu'l-Qasim

in 1950 has been printed by as-Sawy Press in 1935. D.M. Dunlop, Arab
The natural history section of
Civilisation toAD 1500, 50-52 and passim.
L.
his 'Uyun al-Akhbar is translated by
Kopf ed. by F.S. Bodenheimer

(1949)pp. VIII + 88.

(P) Al-Mada'ini (135-225/752-840); 'All ibnMuhammad ibn

'Umar Rada Kahhala, Mu'jam

al
(Abu'l-Hasan);
C.
Geschichte
Brockelmann,
Mu'allifin, VII, 211; Al-Zirekli, Al-A'lam, 140;
Der Arabischen Literatur, I, 146; SI, 214-15;
ad-Dun, Bahth fi Nash'at
'Abdullah

al-Ba?rf

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

23

270-91; F. Wiistenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber

der Araber und Ihre Werke. No.
"al-Mada'
47, 16; G. Brockelmann,
inl" in The Encyclopedia of Islam, (1), III, 81-82. See D.S. Margoliouth's

7/ro at-Ta'rlkh Hnd aUArab,

study of al-Mada'ini,
SI, 214-215 and U.R.

Arabic Historians,
85-92; C. Brockelmann, GAL,
loc. cit., record the date of his death as

Kahhala,

foot-note indicates that

234/849 and 225/840 respectively. As Kahhala's
there is a wide difference in the original sources regarding the exact date
of his death. They range from 215 to 228 A.H. Only one of his monogra

phs Kitdb aUMurdifdt min Quraysh or 'On Qurayshite Women who had more
than one Husband" ed. and published by 'Abd as-Salam M.
Harun,
Nawddir al-Makhfutdt, (1370/1951), I, 57-80, show genealogical
interest.
F. Rosenthal, A History
liouth, Arabic Historians,

ofMuslim Historiography, 69-70. D.S. Margo

85-91 gives the English translation of all the titles

of his works recorded in original sources but they are not available.
D.M.
to
AD
84.
An
Arab
Civilisation
1500,
Dunlop,
important historian,
ibn al-Sayyib al-Kalbi (d. ca. 206. A.H.) may
ibn Muhammad
Hisham
be considered

to belong to the school of al-Mada'inl.

(Q) The Islamic state in the middle of the 8th century A.D ex
tended from the borders of China in the east to the shores of the Atlantic
Ocean

in the west and from Asia Minor

in the north to the Arabian

Sea

in the south covering vast areas of Europe, Asia and Africa.

The annual
to
Mecca
increased
the
for
Muslims'
thirst
pilgrimage
knowledge about

It is true that they

travelled mainly in the Islamic world but they also visited the "foreign"
countries. The eight volumes of theArabic geographical works edited by
M.G. De Goeje and published under Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabi
corum bear ample evidence to the vast and varied knowledge theMuslims
other countries which

resulted in their wanderlust.

This literature has been

thoroughly
possessed about the then world.
Arabskoi Geograficheskoi Literatury
Istoria
I.U.
studied by
Krachkovski,
(1957) tr. into Arabic as Ta'rikh al-Adab al-Jughrafi al-'Arabi by Salah

2 vols. (1963-65). Andre Miquel has also studied

literature in La Geographie Humaine Du Monde
Musulman Jusqu'au Milieu Du Xle Siecle (1967), pp. 420. S.M. Ziauddin
'Alawi, Arab Geography in theNinth and the Tenth Centuries (1965), pp.
uddln 'Uthman Hashim,
the Arabic geographical

in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Suppl.

134. J.H. Kramers, "Djughrafiya"
Fr.
and
Ahmad
S.
vol. 61-73;
Taeschner, Djughrafiya, Encyclo
Maqbul
new
ed.
575-90.
Islam,
II,
pedia of

(R) Al-Baladhurl (d. 279/892),Ahmad ibnYahya ibn Jabir ibn

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M. KAMIL *AYAD

24

D^ud

al-Baghd&dl;'UmarRatfaKahfcala,Mu'jam al-Mu'allifln,II, 201,

202; Al-Zireklf, al-A'lam, 1,252 gives sources in the foot-notes. C. Brockel

mann, Geschichte Der Arabischen Litteratur, I, 147-48; SI, 216; C.H.
in the Encyclopedia of Islam,
Becker, and F. Rosenthal, "al-BaladhurP\
(2), I, 971-72; ad-Duri, Babthft Nash'at

71m at-Ta'rikh

'indal-'Arab, 344

367; A. Zeki Velidi Togan, TarihteU$ul, 184. His Futub aUBuidan

editedbyMJ. De Goeje was published in 1866,pp. 228 + 539. ?alafr

uddfn al-Munajjid has published a good and critical edition of the same
from Cairo in 3 vols. A cheap edition was published at Cairo in 1381/1901,
pp. 480; F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber undlhre Werke.
It is stated
74, Kitab al-Wafi bVl Wafayat, VIII, No. 3676, 239-41.
A part of his Kitab
that he was a translator from Persian into Arabic.
Ansab al-Ashraf was translated and annotated by O. Pinto and G. Levi

No.

in // Califo Mu'amya,
Arabic
I, (1938); D.S. Margoliouth,
116-119. C.H. Becker, Islam Ansiklopedisi, II, 468-69; S.D.F.
Goitein, Introduction to vol. V of al-Baladhuri's Kitab al-Ansab (1936),
14-24. The full text of the Ansab has not yet been published.
For the
volumes published so far see Jean Sauvaget and Claude Cahen, Intro
Delia

Vida

Historians,

duction to theHistory of theMuslim East, 123. See Bulletin D' Etudes

Orientates, XIV
(1952-1954) for an article "Le Livre des genealogies d'
The Ansab aUAshraf, vol. IVA edited
al-Baladhuri" by M. Hamfdullah.
has
been
and annotated by J.M. Kister (1971).
revised
M.
Schloessinger
by

See ?alah
Dunlop, Arab Civilisation toAD 1500,84-87 and passim.
uddln al-Munajjid, A'ldm at-Ta'rikh wa'l Jughrafiyah 'ind al-'Arab, No. 1,
al-Baladhuri (1959), pp. 9-57. The English translation of his Futub (see
note 18 below) has been reissued recently.

D.M.

(S) The excavation work carried on in the different sites of Baby

lonia has yielded valuable results and this has helped the study of Baby
lonian astronomy immensely. See M.S. Khan, "A Chapter on Ancient
Chaldean Sciences in an Eleventh Century Hispano Arabic Work"
in the

IslamicQuarterly,volumeXVI (1 and 2) (1972) pp. 12-35, specially, its

foot-note No.

graphy.

117 and books dealing with the subject listed in the biblio
For a detailed account of Babylonia see Brockhaus Enzyklopadie,

(1967) II, 185-192(withuptodate bilbliography).FaridWajdl, Da'irat al

Ma'arif, al-Qarn ar-RabV 'Ashar, II, 4, 5. Encyclopedia

951; Grand, I, 817-19, bibl. p. XV.

Britannica, II, 949,

(T) Adam Metz suggests in his book The Ranaissance of Islam,

that Islamic renaissance took place in the 4th/10th century but about this
century Taha Ilusain writes, "During the course of theirhistory, theMus

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MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

25

lims have not known another century as rich in striking contradictions.

Great material wealth and intellectual prosperity of the firstorder coexist
Introduction to the Rasd'il of Ikhwdn a^-Safa'
with political decadence".
(1928),

An Introduction to Islamic
by Sayyed Hossein Na?r,
a
no.
For
25.
fn.
modern view see 'Abdur
Doctrines,
12,

3, quoted

Cosmological
Ra'uf, Islamic Culture inIndia and Pakistan
Julian Obermann's
History

explanation
in theAncient Near East,

1975), pp. 97. See

(Lahore,
of this renaissance of Islam in The Idea of
306.

(d. 345/956), Abu'l Hasan

(U) Al-Mas'udi
ibn 'AH al-Mas'udl;
'Umar Rada Kahhala,
Mu'jam
80-81; al-Zirekli, Al-A'ldm, V, 87 (with bibliography),

'All ibn al-Husain

al-Mu'allifin, VII,
Jawad 'All,Mawa

rid Ta'rlkh al-Mas'udi,

in the Sumer, (Baghdad, 1964) vol. XX/1, 2; 1-48;

S. Maqbul Abmad and A. Rahman, al-Mas'udl Millenary Commemoration
Volume, (1960) pp. 146 (Bibliography 113-116); S. Maqbul
Ahmad, "al
Mas'udFs
Contributions to Medieval Arab Geography",
Islamic Culture,
Geschichte Der
1, 275-286; C. Brockelmann,
(Jan. 1954), XXVII, No.
Arabischen I, 150-52; SI, 220-21. F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber
der Araber undIhre Werke. No. 119, 38-40. Useful information about the
life and works of al-Mas'udi can be gathered from hisMuruj;
see Paris ed.
in the Encyclopedia
184; C. Brockelmann, "al-Mas'udl"
of Islam, (1) III, 403-404. Three volumes of the French translation of the
al-Jawahir, revised by Charles Pellat have
Muruj adh -Dhahab wa Ma'adin
Index (vol. IX)

of Paris (1962-1971).
Charles
by the Societe Asiatique
revised the text of theMuruj which is published by the
I, pp. 327 and II, pp. 419. S.
University of Lebanon, 2 vols. (1965-66).
in
Materials
the writings of al-Mas'udl",
Maqbul Ahmad, "Geographical
been published
Pellat has also

B. Litt. Thesis, Oxford, 1947. His Muruj adh-Dhahab wa Ma'adin

al-Ja
wdhir has also been edited by M. Muhiy ad-Din
'Abdu'l-Hamid. 4 vols.
For a critical appreciation of the works of al
in 2; 4th ed. (1964-67).
see D.M. Dunlop, Arab Civilisation toAD 1500, 99-114.
Mas'udi
In the
is called "the Hero
Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. XIV, p. 1050 al-Mas'udi
Ta'rif Khalidi, Islamic Historiography, The Histories
dotus of theArabs".
(Albany; State University of New York Press,
ofMas'udU
1975), pp.
180. See also M.S.

the ZDMG

Khan,

"Al-Mas'udi

and

theGeography

of India"

in

(forthcoming).

(V) Al-Ya'qubf (d. 284/897),Ahmad ibnAbi Ya'qub Ishaq ibn

'Umar Ratfa Kahfrala, Mujam

al
294
with
informative
Mu'alliftn, I, 161; al-Zirekli, al-A'ldm, I, 90-91; VI,
-Vurt, Bahthft Nash'at Tim at-Ta'rlkh 'ind al-'Arab, 368-84;
footnotes)M
R.Y.
Account of the Israelite
Ebied, and L.R. Wickham, "Al-Ya'qabi's
Ja'far ibnWahb

ibnWatfih al-'Abbasi;

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26

M. KAMIL 'AYAD

Prophets and Kings" in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, XXIX, 2

in The Encyclopedia of Islam,
(1970)80-89; C. Brockelmann, "al-Ya'qub!"
1152-53
Der
Geschichte
Arabischen
;-,
Litteratur, I, (1943),
IV,
(I),
was
405.
Ta'rikh
Th. Houtsma
His
M.
in two
258-60; SI,
published by

parts at Leiden in 1883. Two reprints have been published at Najaf in 3

vols. in 1358/1939 and at Beirut in two vols. in 1379/1960. For a critical
see E.L.
and al-Ya'qubi,
and analytical study of al-Baladhuri,ad-Dinawari

in Early Arabic Tradition, (Studies in the

Peterson, 'All and Mu'awiya
Genesis
and Growth of Islamic Historical
Writing (1964), pp. 203;
Arabic Historians,
D.S.
125-127; D.M.
Margoliouth,
Dunlop, Arab
to AD

lo have used a Syriac

1500, 87-88. He is supposed
Gazze.
See Houtsma's
to his text
preface I, p. VIII
work
the
edition. Al-Ya'qubfs
Kitab
has
al-Buldan
also been
geographical
F.
A
Muslim
note 3
409
Rosenthal,
History of
published.
Historiography,

Civilisation

work Me'arath

William Guy Millward, "A Study of

gives information about al-Ya'qubi.
with special reference to his alleged Shfa Bias", Ph.D
al-Ya'qubi
Dissertation. (Princeton University, 1962), pp. 325.

ibn
(W) At-Tabari
(224-310/839-923); Abu Ja'far Muhammad
Jarir ibn Yazid at-Jabari. 'Umar Rada Kahhala, Mu'jam
al-Mu'allifin,
IX, 147-48; al-Zirekli, Al-A'ldm, Vi, 294 (with useful foot-notes). Over
and above the 15 volumes edition of his Tarikh published by D. Goeje

and its recent reprint (1964-65), there are at least three other reprints of this
'Urnat-Ta'rikh 'ind aWArab, 407-425;
history; ad-Duri, Bahth ft Nash'at
account of the reign of al-Mu'ta?im
142.
Martin
Forstner, Das Kalifat des Abbasiden al
(833-842), (1951), pp.
Musta'in
(248/862-252/866), Ph. D. Dissertation.
(Mainz, 1968). For a
see E.L.
critical analysis of at-Jabari's account of 'All and Mu'awiyah
Elma Marin

has studied at -TabaiTs

Geschichte Der Arabischen Litteratur,

Peterson, op. cit., C. Brockelmann,
'All
Jawad
has published a detailed and critical study
I, 148-49; SI, 217-18.

see his Mawdrid Tarikh at-Jabari in the

of the sources of at-Tabari;
al-'Ilmi
Translated
al-'Iraqi, vols. 1, 2 and 3 (1950-54).
Majalla Majma'
into Urdu
of Delhi.

by Nisar Ahmad Faruqi and published in the monthly Burhan

Its 17th instalment has been published in itsMarch
1971 issue,

in the Encyclopedia of Islam, (1), IV,

pp. 195-202; R. Paret, "Al-Tabarl"
578-79. For a comparison of at-Tabari and Ibn al-Athir see.W. Barthold
op. cit., 2-3; the sources of at-Jabari are discussed on pp. 5-6; F. Rosenthal,
A History ofMuslim Historiography, pp. 53-55; 69-73,120-122; 134-136 and
Arabic Historians,
101-112.
For a critical
passim; D.S. Margoliouih,
see
of
M.J.
De
in
the
at-TabarTs history
study
Goeje, "Tabarf
Encyclopedia
Britannica,

ninth ed. XXIII,

1-5; F. Wustenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

26(a)

MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH

derAraberundIhreWerke, No. 94; 31ff;O.S.A. Ismail, The Reign of

Mu'tafim

218-227/833-42. Ph. D. Thesis, London

1962-63. D. M. Dunlop,

ArabCivilisationtoAD 1500, 89-92, adds a criticalappreciationof his

Ta'rlkh.Muhammad Ahmad al-Hawfl,Af-fabari,(Cairo, 1970)pp. 262.
The Annals ofJabari: theCaliphate of al-Mu#ta
PhilipM. Kimmelfield,

mid".

Ph. D. Dissertation

i-Jabarl,

(1957).

George

(Dropsie, 1955). A.A. Shihabl, Afrwal wa Athdr

Sarton, Introduction to theHistory of Science,

I, 642; A.A. Dehkhoda, LughatName No. 29 (1355A.H. Shamsi) 143

with references to Persian works.

For comments on at-Jabarl's histo
Hnd aWArab by Muhammad
4Abdu'l
riography see 7/m at-Tdrikh

Ghanl Hasan,
140-142; 171-173 where his annalistic treatment is discussed.
Fu'at Sezgin, Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums, I, 323-328 (very in
formative).

Ahmad ibnMufeammad
(X) IbnMiskawayh(d.421-1030),Abu 4A1I

ibn Ya'qub

called Miskawayh;
'Umar Rada Khafchala, Mu'jam
al-Mu'
168-69.
allifin, II,
Al-Zirekli, al-A'ldm, I, 204-205 (note 1 discusses the
different transcriptions of his name).
See Index Islamicus, second suppl.
Nos. 2780-2790.
as a
For the studies of this translator on Miskawayh
historian see his forthcoming book Studies inMiskawayh's
Contemporary

History to be published by Columbia University, New York, under the

Middle East Monographs
series. A. Zeki Velidi Togan, Tarihte U$ul,

55, 71, 85, 137, 154, 155, 185,283; Mohammad Arkun, "Ethique etHis
toire D'

in the Atti Del Terzo Congresso

Apres Les Tajdrib al-Umam"
Di Studi Arabi E IslamicU 83-112;-,
L'Humanisme arabe au IVe Siecle
de F Hegire: Miskawayh, philosophe et historien (1970), pp. 388; C. Broc
See
kelmann, Geschichte Der Arabischen Litteratur, 417-18; SI, 582-84.
this translator's book An Annotated Bibliography ofMiskawayh
to be

in the introduc
published soon and the short bibliography of Miskawayh
tion to the English translation of Miskawayh's
Tahdhib aUAkhldq or
The Refinement ofCharacter by Constantine K. Zurayk, (1968), XXI.
For
a

see D.S. Margoliouth,

and analytical study of Miskawayh
128-137 who states: "In the work of Miskawayh Arabic

critical

Arabic Historians,
historical

composition

seems to reach its highest point.'*

(p. 147).

The

EncyclopediaofIslam, (1), II, 404 under IbnMiskawaih (name of writer

not given).

D.M.

Dunlop,

Arab Civilisation

to AD

1500,

122-126.

of his TahdhibaUAkhldqor Traited*Ethiquewith

The French translation
an

introduction and notes has been published

by Mohammad

Arkun

(IFD, 1969), pp. (XXXII + 359; Ansari, The Ethical Philosophy of

Miskawaih (1963 ),pp.200.

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