The Rebel and the Imãm in Early Islam: Explorations in Muslim Historiography
Cambridge University Press, 9/19/2019
EAN 9781107026056, ISBN10: 1107026059
Hardcover, 316 pages, 23.5 x 15.9 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Engaging with contemporary debates about the sources that shape our understanding of the early Muslim world, Najam Haider proposes a new model for Muslim historical writing that draws on Late Antique historiography to challenge the imposition of modern notions of history on a pre-modern society. Haider discusses three key case studies - the revolt of Mukhtar b. Abi 'Ubayd (d. 67/687), the life of the Twelver Shi'i Imam Musa al-Kazim (d. 183/799) and the rebellion and subsequent death of the Zaydi Shi'i Imam Yahya b. 'Abd Allah (d. 187/803) - in calling for a new line of inquiry which focuses on larger historiographical questions. What were the rules that governed historical writing in the early Muslim world? What were the intended audiences for these works? In the process, he rejects artificial divisions between Sunni and Shi'i historical writing.
1. Modeling Islamic historical writing
2. The rise and fall of Mukhtâr b. Abî 'Ubayd (d. 67/687)
3. The life of Mûsâ b. Ja'far al-Kâẓim (d. 183/799)
4. The last years of Yaḥyâ b. 'Abd Allâh (d. 187/803)
5. Reconsideration
Appendix. The narrative elements of Mukhtâr's revolt.