Presentation

The sixth volume of the translation of al-Tabari’s History deals with the ancestors of Muhammad, with his own early life, and then with his prophetic mission up to the time of his Hijrah or emigration to Medina. The topics covered mean that this volume is of great importance both for the career of Muhammad himself and for the early history of Islam. Al-Tabari was familiar with, and made use of, the main early source of these matters, the Sirah or life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq, a work which is still extant. Although his own treatment is briefer than that of Iban Ishaq, it complements the latter in important ways by making use of other sources. Where Ibn Ishaq gave only the version of an event which he preferred, al-Tabari includes any variants which he considered of value. Thus he mentions the dispute about the first male to become a muslim—’Ali or Abu Bakr or Zayd—and has also several variant accounts of the call to hostility toward Muhammad from many of the leading Meccans and their attempts to put pressure on his family to stop his preaching. The negotiations with the men of Medina which eventually led to the Hijrah are fully described, and there is then an account of how Muhammad escaped an assassination attempt and arrived safely in Medina. A concluding section discusses some chronological questions. This volume does not merely give a straightforward account of the earlier career of Muhammad and the beginnings of Islam, but also contains valuable source-material not easily accessible otherwise, or not accessible at all.

Table des matières

• Preface
• Translator’s Foreword
• The Lineage of the Messenger of God
• Abdallah (His Father) -*Abd al-Muttalib (His Grandfather)
• Hashim
• Abd Manaf -* Qusayy -* Kilab -* Murrah -* Kab
• Lu’ayy
• Ghalib
• Fihr
• Malik
• Al-Nadr
• Kinanah
• Khuzaymah
• Mudrikah
• Ilyas
• Mudar
• Nizar
• Maadd -*Adnan
• Adnan's Descent from Ishmael, Abraham, and Adam -* The Account of the Messenger of God and His Life -* The Messenger of God Is Recognized by the Monk Bahira -* The Messenger of God Is Protected by God from Participating in Pagan Practices -* The Prophet's Marriage to Khadijah -* Events of the Life of the Messenger of God -* The Rebuilding of the Kabah
• History of the Kabah -* The Rebuilding of the Kabah (Continued)
• The Beginning of the Prophetic Mission
• The Day and the Month on Which the Messenger of God Became a Prophet, and the Accounts Concerning This
• First Revelation of the Qur’an
• Signs of the Approach of Prophethood
• Predictions of the Appearance of the Prophet
• Proofs of Prophethood
• The Manner in Which the Qur’an Was First Revealed
• Khadijah the First to Believe in the Messenger of God
• The First Rituals of Islam Are Prescribed
• The Prophet Ascends to the Seventh Heaven
• The First Male to Believe in the Messenger of God
• Events of the Life of the Messenger of God (Continued)
• The Messenger of God Begins to Preach Openly
• Other Events up to the Hijrah
• Quraysh Begin to Oppose the Messenger of God
• The Emigration to Abyssini
• Quraysh Show Increased Hostility to the Messenger of God
• Hamzah Accepts Islam
• Abdallah b. Masud Recites the Qur’an Aloud to Quraysh
• Quraysh Boycott the Banu Hashim and the Banual-Muttalib
• Quraysh Attempt to Induce the Messenger of God to Cease His Attacks on Their Gods
• Satan Casts a False Revelation on the Messenger of God’s Tongue
• The Boycott Is Repealed
• The Messenger of God Is Subjected to Further Insults
• The Deaths of Abu Talib and Khadijah
• The Messenger of God Goes to al-Ta’if
• The Messenger of God Returns to Mecca
• The Messenger of God Preaches to the Arab Tribes
• The First Madinans Said to Have Accepted Islam
• The First Deputation from al-Madinah
• The First Pledge of al-Aqabah -* Islam Begins to Spread in al-Madinah -* The Second Pledge of al-Aqabah
• The Messenger of God Commands the Muslims to Emigrate to al-Madinah
• The Quraysh Plot to Kill the Messenger of God
• The Messenger of God Escapes from the Attempt to Kill Him
• The Messenger of God Emigrates to al-Madinah
• The Messenger of God Arrives in al-Madinah
• The Beginning of the Prophetic Mission (Continued)
• The Institution of the Islamic Calendar
• The Date of the Institution of the Islamic Era
• Reports on This Subject
• Summary of Meccan Chronology
• Abbreviations
• Bibliography of Cited Works
• Index

(Source SUNY)