A Short History of Islam

by Watt, William Montgomery

• ISBN13: 9781851681099
• ISBN10: 1851681094
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-07-01
• Publisher: Oneworld Pubns Ltd

Summary

Includes a balanced examination of contemporary developments such as fundamentalism, jihad and the status of women. An excellent introduction.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
The Beginnings
Arabia and Mecca Before Islam	p. 9
Muhammad's Early Life and Call	p. 11
The Response at Mecca	p. 16
Muhammad's Years at Medina	p. 26
The Political History of the Islamic World
The Formation of the Caliphate	p. 34
The Expansion of the Islamic State	p. 36
The Control of the Islamic State	p. 40
The Islamic World After the Abbasids	p. 44
The Teaching of the Qur'an
The Text of the Qur'an	p. 48
The Doctrine of God	p. 49
Prophethood	p. 61
Other Religions	p. 70
The Five Pillars	p. 78
Islamic Law
The Development of Islamic Law	p. 87
Some Particular Areas of Law	p. 91
Islamic Theology
The Early Sects	p. 101
The Development of Sunnite Theology	p. 111
The Arabic Philosophers	p. 117
The Intellectual Influence of Islam on Western Europe	p. 118
Sunnite Theology After al-Ghazali	p. 122
Shiite Theology	p. 125
Sufism	p. 126
The Challenge of the Modern World
The Advance of Europe and the West	p. 131
Globalization	p. 135
The Problems Facing Islam Today	p. 139
Appendix: The Creed of al-Ashari	p. 143
Select Bibliography	p. 151
Index	p. 154
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.