Islam in the Middle Ages: The Origins and Shaping of Classical Islamic Civilization (Praeger Series on the Middle Ages) [Hardcover]

Jacob Lassner (Author), Michael Bonner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Praeger Series on the Middle Ages | Publication Date: November 19, 2009

In the Middle Ages, a varied and vibrant Islamic culture flourished in all its aspects, from religious institutions to legal and scientific endeavors. Lassner, Reisman, and Bonner detail how all three montheist traditions are linked to the same sacred history. They trace the most current scholarship on the Arabian background to Islam, the prophet's early religious message and its appeal. They the Qur'an and how it would have been understood by the earliest generations of Muslims. How much does historical memory come into play in current depictions of this early era? Beyond religious institutions, Muslim scholars and scientists were vital to both the transmission of knowledge from the Greek civilization and to the uninterrupted progress of science. The authors explore the role that non-Muslim minorities played within this culture and they detail the splits within the Muslim world that continue to this day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lassner (emeritus Jewish civilization, Northwestern U., Illinois) and Bonner (Medieval Islamic history, U. of Michigan-Ann Arbor) boil down the extensive temporal, geographic, and cultural breadth of Islam into an overview for general readers of the religion during the Middle Ages of Christian Europe. Most of their treatment is chronological, describing such stages of the history and Arabia on the eve of Islam, the Prophet's mission in Mecca and Medina, the ummah becomes an Arab kingdom, Alids versus Abbasids and Shi'ites versus Sunnites, and the end of the formative period of Medieval Islam. The final section explores various aspects of the religion, including the Qur'an and its commentators, the formation of Islamic law and legal tradition, and Islamic theology and popular religion."

-

Reference & Research Book News

Review

"The reading public's interest in Islam and Islamic civilization has never been higher or more significant. So the need for a nuanced, comprehensive narrative history of Islam in its classical age that is both very learned and accessible has never been greater. With Islam in the Middle Ages: The Origins and Shaping of Classical Islamic History, Michael Bonner and Jacob Lassner deliver a work that is breathtaking in its depth and scope and exacting in its attention to detail and the problems of intepretation.

Here are two gifted scholars at the top of their form, in command of the primary sources and in control of various methods of social-historical and religious-historical study required to provide the reader with a narrative history of Islam in its classical age. It is necessary reading for the public, students and scholars."

(

Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies Cornell University

)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (November 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275985695
• ISBN-13: 978-0275985691
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.