Classical Islam

A History, 600 A.D. to 1258 A.D.

G. E. von Grunebaum

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780202307671
• eBook ISBN: 9781351528092
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Islamic Theology

In a book written with the poignancy and beauty appropriate to its subject matter, the author opens by reminding us that the essence of a society is in a sense identical with its history. Classical Islam also serves as a reminder that in the case of Islam, despite its triumphs on the fields of battle, telling its history is the only way open to us to render that essence accessible and show it from all sides. The work offers a grand narrative of a faith that offers an interpretation of the world, a way of life, and a style of thinking, that goes far beyond institutional or political supports. The relevance of this historical perspective is beyond dispute. The period from 610 A.D. when Muhammad received his call until the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 is known as the classical period of Islam. This was the period of the great expansion of Islam both as a political structure and as a religious and intellectual community. It established the base for the development of the high Islamic civilization of North Africa, the Near East, Persia, and India, as well as further expansion of the Islamic religious and intellectual community throughout the world. This book presents an authoritative history of the period written by one of the world's leading experts on the subject.Classical Islam examines the relationships, both cultural and political, between the Islamic world and the Mediterranean countries and India and elaborates on the economic, social, and intellectual factors and forces that shaped the Muslim world and molded its interactions with infidels. The work is written in a clear and direct narrative form, emphasizing simultaneously the major intellectual trends and the political events and tendencies of the formative period in Islamic history that still resonates today.

Index

The index contains the names of persons, places, and countries that are mentioned in the text as well as Arabic terms and many subject headings. The Arabic article al has been disregarded in the alphabetical order.

al-‘Abalät 24

‘Abbad, Banū 177

al-‘Abbās 44, 77

al-‘Abbās ibn al-Aḥnaf 136

‘Abbāsids 44, 74, 77-98, 101, 107, 112, 114, 120, 123, 126, 141, 142, 167, 171, 175, 180, 186, 191, 194, 204, 206, 210

‘Abdallāh ibn al-Mu‘tazz 206

‘Abdallāh ibn az-Zubair 72, 203

‘Abd al-Latīf 200

‘Abd al-Malik 25, 69, 72, 75, 97, 203

‘Abd al-Mu’min 182, 185, 186, 187, 190, 209

‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jïlï 195, 209

‘Abd ar-Raḥmān I 121, 204

‘Abd ar-Raḥmān II 120, 205

‘Abd ar-Raḥmān III 121, 123, 146, 177, 206

‘Abd al-Wad, Banū 190

Abélard 133, 199

Abīd ibn al-Abras 17

abnā’ 46

Abraha 22,...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Pre-Islamic Arabia
• Muhammad
• External Power and Internal Division
• The Umayyads
• The ‘Ahbāsids
• Islamic Society and Social-Religious Movements
• Egypt under the Fāṭimids and Ṭūlūnids
• The Arab West
• The Horizon of Islam: Theology, Philosophy, Literature
• ‘The Downfall of the Caliphate
• The Latin States
• Divisions in the Islamic World
• Religious Reform and Berber Nationalism
• Withdrawal and Mysticism at the end of the Caliphate
• Bibliography
• Index