In light of my recent posts and research interests, this could not come more timely: An article written by Jonathan Brown on Holland's ideas on the origins of Islamic ritual practice of the Salaat, or the five daily prayers that Muslims. Brown is a published scholar on the authenticity of Hadith and other related topics. I highly recommend … Continue reading The origins of the 5 daily Islamic prayers: Jonathan Brown on Tom Holland’s “In the Shadow of the Sword”
Historical Criticism
Abraha, the year of the elephant, and the location of Mecca in Tom Holland’s “In the Shadow of the Sword”
So I've finished reading Holland's book on the origins of Islam and I have to say I am not very impressed. I've revised my goals a bit and I will no longer be doing a point-by-point refutation of his book since much (as Holland himself admits) is speculatory, far too broad to refute directly and simply … Continue reading Abraha, the year of the elephant, and the location of Mecca in Tom Holland’s “In the Shadow of the Sword”
A new Arabic papyrus dating within 12 years of the Prophet Muhammad
بسم الله In 2014 Islamic historian Fred Donner gave a talk on an very curious papyrus page dating from the very early Islamic era. The letter is of tremendous interest for reasons I will mention in this post. Papyrus E17861 The text is a personal letter talking about the distribution of a sum of money among relatives. It … Continue reading A new Arabic papyrus dating within 12 years of the Prophet Muhammad
I’m currently reading…
"The Canonization of Islamic Law" by Ahmed El Shamsy. This is a great book! It's a new theory on the development of Islamic Law during the earliest centuries of Islam. I've gotten through 1/3rd of it so far, my current chapters are exploring the reasons for the rise and entrenchment of Shafi'ism in Arabian lands. … Continue reading I’m currently reading…
Pondering Islam 