Narrating Early Islamic History.

Abstract

Early Islamic historiography is at a critical juncture. For over a century, source-critical, tradition-critical, and skeptical historians have grappled with the Arabic historical tradition without reaching a consensus. In fact, recent studies demonstrating the unreliability of sources once held to be foundational have only further compounded the problem. As a result, the history of early Islam continues to elude historians. In addition to the lack of archaeological evidence, the source limits for narrating the history of early Islam are marked by the late provenance of textual sources, their high rate of attrition, and the shortcomings inherent in the literary genre itself. These source limits raise three research questions: (i) How is the problem of early Islamic history framed? (ii) What is the entry point into the past? (iii) How can early Islamic history be reconstructed? As a critical introduction to early Islamic historiography, this dissertation grapples mainly with methodological issues in order to rethink past approaches and develop new ones. The dissertation is divided into two sections: (i) historiography and (ii) historical reconstruction. Following a historiographical survey of both primary and secondary sources, Chapter 1 investigates the operative theories and assumptions employed by classical and modern historians. As an exercise in applied method, it uncovers the earliest thematic stratum of Arabic historical writing. After challenging the basic assumption of this stratum’s chronological limits, a viable alternative that fits the fragmented historical record is advanced. Subsequently, this chapter substantiates the use of the comparative method to repair the damaged narrative. Having accomplished these essential tasks, the three subsequent chapters narrate a historical reconstruction of early Islam. The publication of this dissertation will undoubtedly prove to be a substantial contribution to the international, academic debate on the genesis and development of Islam.