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The Histories of Mas'udi
Tarif Khalidi - Author
Hardcover - 180 pages
Release Date: 6/30/1975
ISBN: 0-87395-282-0
Published by Suny Press New York
This work is a study of Al-Mas'udi, a major
figure in Muslim historical writing
Abul Hasan Ali Al-Masu'di (Masoudi) (d346H)
Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Husain Ibn Ali Al-Masu'di was a descendant of
Abdallah Ibn Masu'd, a companion of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). An
expert geographer, a physicist and historian, Masu'di was born in the last
decade of the 9th century C.E., his exact date of birth being unknown. He was a
Mutazilite (or Shi'ite according to some sources) Arab, who explored distant
lands and died at Cairo, in 957 C.E. (346H)
He is known as the 'Herodotus of the Arabs' because he was the
first Arab to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work. He
travelled extensively in India, the Middle East, and Africa. Al-Masudi wrote a
30-volume history of the world and recounted the experiences of his travels form
Europe to India
Table Of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
1. Sources and Style
Range of Sources
The Historian's Craft
History and adab
Mas'udi's Style
The isnad
2. Reflections on
Historical Method
Reasons for Reflecting on History
The Background: History, Theology and the Natural
Sciences
The Value of History
The Modes of Apprehension
Nature and the Supernatural
The Concept of bahth
3. Divine and Natural
Factors in Human History
Introductory RemarksThe Creation of the World
Prophecy and Prophets
Natural Religion: Reason and Revelation
Nature and Society
Religion and Kingship
The Sources of Mas'údi's Views
4. The Ancient
Nations
The Ancient Nations and Islam
Genealogy of Ancient Nations
The Seven Ancient Nations
Patterns in the History of Ancient Nations
The Problem of Progress
5. The Pre-Islamic
Arabs and Islam
General Problems
Pre-Islamic Arabia
The Prophet's Life
The First Four Caliphs
The Umayyads
The Abbasids
Mu'tazilism and Shi'ism
Conclusion
Appendixes
A. Fragments of a Biography
B. Reconstruction of Lost Works
Index
The Last Years of the Prophet: The Formation of the
State A.D. 630-632/A.H. 8-11
Translated By Ismail K. Poonawala
Paperback
This
volume deals with the last two and a half years of the
Prophet's life. In addition to the three major
expeditions to Hunanyn, Ta'if, and Tabuk, it describes
in detail the circumstances surrounding the illness from
which he died and the subsequent crisis of leadership
faced by the nascent Muslim community. The author
depicts with admirable fairness all the various opinions
and divisions that existed within the community. He also
presents a vivid picture of the Prophet's physical
appearance, his personal life, and his marriages. Among
other topics discussed in this volume are all the
deputations that came to Medina; a summary of all the
expeditions and raiding parties; and his scribes,
freedmen, horses, camels, goats, swords, coats of mail,
and so on. It also covers the apostasy of Musaylimah,
Aswad, and Tulhahah and the Prophet's attempts to deal
with them.
The translation not only preserves the original lively
flavor of al-Tabari but also, in its annotations, draws
extensively on both parallel Arabic sources and the
intensive research of recent years. Readers who seek a
deeper understanding of the Prophet's personality and of
the reasons for antagonisms engendered among various
factions will find this volume most informative.Preface
Table of Contents
Translator's Foreword
The Events of the Year 8
(cont'd) (629/630)
An Account of the Messenger of
God's Expedition against the Hawazin and the Battle of
Hunayn
[The Siege of al-Ta'if]
[The Division of the Booty Captured
at Hunayn and Gifts of Conciliation]
The Events of the Year 9
(630/635)
An Account of the Military
Expedition to Tabuk
[An Account of the People Who
Accepted Islam]
The Events of the Year 10
(635/632)
The Deputation of the Banu `Amir b.
Sa`sa`ah
Disagreement about the Number of
the Armies and the Raiding Parties (Saraya) Sent by the
Messenger of God
Report about the Messenger of God's
Pilgrimages
Report about the Messenger of God's
Wives, Those Who Survived Him, Those Who Left Him, the
Reason for Which They Left, and Those Who Died before Him
The Reason Why the Messenger of God
Asked for the Hands of Both `A'ishah and Sawdah in
Marriage and the Received Reports as to with Whom He First
Contracted the Marriage
An Account of Those Women to Whom
the Prophet Proposed But Did Not Marry
An Account of the Messenger of
God's Slave Concubines
The Events of the Year 10
(cont'd) (631/632)
An Account of the Messenger of
God's Freedmen
An Account of the Messenger of
God's Scribes
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Horses
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Mules
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Camels
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Milch Camels
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Milch Sheep (Mana'ih)
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Swords
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Bows and Lances
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Coats of Mail
The Names of the Messenger of God's
Shields
The Messenger of God's Names
The Messenger of God's
Characteristics
The Seal of Prophethood Which He
Had
His Bravery and Generosity
The Description of His Hair and
Whether He Used to Dye It or Not
Report about the Beginning of the
Messenger of God's Illness in Which He Died, and What He
Did Just Prior to It When He Was Bewailed [for His
Approaching Death]
The Events of the Year 11
(632/633)
An Account of the Day on Which the
Messenger of God Died and His Age
An Account of the Saqifah
The Disagreements about His Age
When He Died
The Day and the Month in Which the
Messenger of God died
Bibliography of Cited Works
Index
Index of Qur'anic Verses
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