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”
Refutations
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”
Are the variant readings of the Qur’an caused by the lack of dots in the Uthmanic Qur’an?
It is a well known phenomenon among scholarship, both Muslim and non-Muslim, that the Qur'an today contains several well recognized variants in the text itself. For example, in Surah Baqarah, Ayah 85, we see a difference in the last word between the "Qaloon" reading and the "Khalaf" reading [1]. There are many more examples to … Continue reading Are the variant readings of the Qur’an caused by the lack of dots in the Uthmanic Qur’an?
Pondering Islam 