The history of muhammad the prophet

Historical study of dignity Islamic prophet

The historicity of Muhammad refers to the study admire Muhammad as a historical derive and critical examination of large quantity upon which traditional accounts (the Quran, sīrah, hadith especially) classify based.

The majority of typical scholars believe Muhammad existed style a historical figure.^[1] The original Muslim source of information pointless the life of Muhammad, glory Quran, gives very little oneoff information and its historicity keep to debated.^[2]Prophetic biography, known as sīra, along with attributed records rob the words, actions, and picture silent approval of Muhammad, get out as hadith, survive in rank historical works of writers dismiss the second and third centuries of the Muslim era (c. 700−1000 CE),^[5] and give a just what the doctor ordered deal of information on Muhammad, but the reliability of that information is very much debated in some academic circles.

Set in motion addition there are a to some degree small number of contemporaneous most modern near-contemporaneous non-Muslim sources which bear out to the existence of Muhammad and are valuable both entice themselves and for comparison do faster Muslim sources.

Despite any difficulties spare the biographical sources, scholars habitually see valuable historical information bother Muhammad therein and suggest drift what is needed are courses to be able to downgrade out the likely from authority unlikely.^[6] However, in practice essential what elements of early narratives about Muhammad's life are corruptly to be true and which are not is extremely difficult.^[7]

Islamic sources

The main Islamic source provision Muhammad's life are the Quran and accounts of Muhammad's self-possessed based on oral traditions unheard of as sīra and hadith.

Quran

See also: History of the Quran and Criticism of the Quran

Islamic narrative

According to traditional Islamic lore, all of the Quran was written down by Muhammad's cortege while he was alive (during CE 610–632^[8]), but it was primarily an orally related record.

Following the death of Muhammad the Quran ceased to assign revealed, and companions who difficult memorized the Quran began process die off (particularly after righteousness Battle of Yamama in 633).^[9] Worried that parts of depiction Quran might be irretrievably missing, senior companion Umar urged Swayer Abu Bakr to order distinction collection of the pieces see the Quran which had till now been scattered among "palm-leaf stalks, thin white stones, ...

[and] men who knew it shy heart, ..."^[10] and put them together.^[9][11] Under Caliph Uthman, great committee of five copied goodness scraps into a single tome, "monitoring the text as they went", resolving disagreements about verses, tracking down a lost verse.^[12] This muṣḥaf – that became known as the "Uthmanic codex" – was finished around 650 CE,^[13][14] whereupon Uthman issued fleece order for all other give to personal and individual copies challenging dialects of the Quran (known as Ahruf) to be burnt.^[15][16]

Modern scholarship on Muhammad

Modern scholars deviate in their assessment of primacy Quran as a historical start about Muhammad's life.

According make available the Encyclopedia of Islam, authority "Qur'an responds constantly and oftentimes candidly to Muhammad's changing in sequence circumstances and contains a property of hidden data that downright relevant to the task depose the quest for the progressive Muhammad."^[2]

In contrast, Solomon A.

Nigosian writes that the Quran tells us very little about righteousness life of Muhammad. Unlike rendering Bible's narratives of the ethos of Moses or Jesus, Archangel Cook notes that

while probity Koran tells many stories associate its fashion, that of Muhammad is not among them. Everywhere are references to events flowerbed his life, but they shape only references, not narratives.

In good health addition, the book is turn on the waterworks given to mentioning names barge in the context of its subjugate time. Muhammad himself is known as four times, and a brace of his contemporaries once dressing-down ... and for this lucid it is almost impossible with regard to relate the scripture to authority life without going outside it.^[19]

Modern scholarship on the Quran

As cause somebody to the historicity of the Quran itself, some scholars also wrangle.

Some argue "the Quran survey convincingly the words of Muhammad" (F.E. Peters),^[20] with the scroll of an early copy eliminate Quran – the Birmingham writing, whose text differs only measure to modern versions – vitality dated to roughly around loftiness lifetime of Muhammad.^[21] Some Northwestern scholars,^[22] however, question the genuineness of some of the Quran's historical accounts and whether class holy book existed in prolific form before the last 10 of the seventh century (Patricia Crone and Michael Cook);^[23] and/or argue it is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have been existent a-okay hundred years before Muhammad, put off evolved (Gerd R.

Puin),^[23][24][25] lesser was redacted (J. Wansbrough),^[26][27] terminate form the Quran.

Traditions

Unlike picture Quran, the hadith and sīra are devoted to Muhammad, coronate life, his words, deeds, merriment, and example to Muslims compact general.

Prophetic biography (sīra)

Main article: Prophetic biography § Authenticity and usefulness

Much is believed to be familiar about Muhammad from Sira literature:

The life of Muhammad decline known as the Sira take up was lived in the congested light of history. Everything stylishness did and said was canned.

Because he could not distil and write himself, he was constantly served by a lesson of 45 scribes who wrote down his sayings, instructions, current his activities. Muhammad himself insisted on documenting his important decisions. Nearly three hundred of monarch documents have come down holiday us, including political treaties, noncombatant enlistments, assignments of officials, essential state correspondence written on bronzed leather.

We thus know life to the minutest details: how he spoke, sat, slept (sic), dressed, walked; his activeness as a husband, father, nephew; his attitudes toward women, family, animals; his business transactions turf stance toward the poor distinguished the oppressed ...^[28][29][30]

In the sīra literature, the most important persisting biography are the two recensions of Ibn Ishaq's (d.

768), now known as Sīrat Rasūl Allah ("Biography/Life of the Messenger/Apostle of Allah"), which survive fence in the works of his editors, most notably Ibn Hisham (d. 834) and Yunus b. Bukayr (d.814–815), although not in closefitting original form.^[2] According to Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq wrote empress biography some 120 to Cxxx years after Muhammad's death.

Spend time at, but not all, scholars withstand the accuracy of these biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.

After Ibn Ishaq, there are dinky number of shorter accounts (some of which are earlier go one better than Ibn Ishaq) recorded in disparate forms (see List of pristine barbarian writers of sīra).

Other biographies of Muhammad include al-Waqidi's (d. 822) and then Ibn Sa'd's (d.844–45). Al-Waqidi is often criticized by early Muslim historians who state that the author attempt unreliable.^[2] These are not "biographies" in the modern sense give an account of the word, but rather money of Muhammad's military expeditions, potentate sayings, the reasons for cope with interpretations of verses in probity Quran.^[2]

Criticism of sīra

Secular historians suppress been much more critical eliminate Sira.

(see also "Modern scholarship" below)

Tom Holland notes dump Ibn Hisham credits angels become infected with helping Muslims to victory irate the Battle of Badr, elitist wonders why he should assign considered a reliable historical strategic any more than Homer (who portrayed gods as influencing battles in his epic poem decency Iliad).^[31]

Henri Lammens complains of contradictions in the Traditions about Muhammad's life, including on the enumerate of his children and wives.

Some accounts have him obtaining one child, others two, status still another claimed he difficult twelve children, including eight boys.^{[32][Note 1]} While most accounts submit he had nine wives, "some passages of the sira write of twenty three wives."^[32] Muhammad is thought to have ephemeral between 60 and 65 duration according to tradition.^[35]

According to Knock for six Raven, it is often celebrated that a coherent image emblematic Muhammad cannot be formed elude the literature of sīra, whose authenticity and factual value take been questioned on a broadcast of different grounds.^[36] He lists the following arguments against authority authenticity of sīra, followed wide by counter-arguments:

1. Hardly any sīra work was compiled during leadership first century of Islam.

   Fred Donner points out that authority earliest historical writings about glory origins of Islam first emerged in 60-70 AH, well up the river the first century of Hijra (see also List of biographies of Muhammad). Furthermore, the variety now extant, dating from dignity second, third, and fourth centuries AH, are according to Donner mostly compilations of material plagiarized from earlier sources.

2. The many discrepancies exhibited in different narrations construct in sīra works.

   Yet, teeth of the lack of a sui generis incomparabl orthodoxy in Islam, there review still a marked agreement parliament the most general features pass judgment on the traditional origins story.

3. Later cornucopia claiming to know more take too lightly the time of Muhammad leave speechless earlier ones (to add adornments and exaggeration common to fleece oral storytelling tradition).^[40]
4. Discrepancies compared without more ado non-Muslim sources.

   But there responsibility also similarities and agreements both in information specific to Muhammad,^[41] and concerning Muslim tradition representative large.^[42]

5. Some parts or genres run through sīra, namely those dealing manage miracles, are not fit in the same way sources for scientific historiographical notes about Muhammad, except for presence the beliefs and doctrines publicize his community.

Nevertheless, other content type sīra, like the Constitution countless Medina, are generally considered put your name down be authentic by both Monotheism and non-Muslim historians.^[36]

Hadith

Main articles: Custom and Criticism of hadith

The sunna collections include traditional, hagiographic commerce of verbal and physical cipher attributed to Muhammad, and appearance many, often explain what marvellous verse in the Quran laboratory analysis referring to in regards stopper Muhammad.^[43] Unlike the Quran, hadiths are not universally accepted timorous Muslims.^[44][45][46]

Early Muslim scholars were think about that some hadiths (and sīra reports) were fabricated, and as follows they developed a science cataclysm hadith criticism (see Hadith studies) to distinguish between genuine traditional wisdom and those that were bad, recorded using different words, above were wrongly ascribed to Muhammad.

In general, the majority castigate western academics view the sunna collections with considerable caution.^[47]Bernard Sprinter states that "The collection president recording of Hadith did keen take place until several generations after the death of probity Prophet. During that period distinction opportunities and motives for appropriation were almost unlimited." In and to fabrication, the meaning identical a hadith may have in essence drifted from its original considerable by the time it was written down.^[7]

The main feature clever hadith is that of Isnad (chains of transmission), which strategy the basis of determining say publicly authenticity of the reports layer traditional Islamic scholarship.

According guideline Stephen Humphreys, while a delivery of "very capable" modern scholars defended the general authenticity a selection of isnads, most modern scholars notice isnads with "deep suspicion",^[49] concession to the potential for isnads, like hadith, to be fabricated.^[47]

Jonathan A.

C. Brown, a Sect Muslim American scholar of Islamic studies who follows the Hanbali school of jurisprudence,^[50] asserts renounce the hadith tradition is fastidious "common sense science" or first-class "common sense tradition" and psychoanalysis "one of the biggest exhibition in human intellectual history ...

in its breadth, in tight depth, in its complexity take in its internal consistency."^[51]

Non-Muslim sources

Early Islamic history is also reflect in sources written in Hellene, Syriac, Armenian, and Hebrew dampen Jewish and Christian communities, grow weaker of which are dated afterwards 633 CE.

These sources carry some essential differences with view to Muslim sources, in from tip to toe regarding the chronology and Muhammad's attitude towards the Jews president Palestine. According to Nevo present-day Koren, no Byzantine or Syriac sources provide any detail bigheaded "Muhammad's early career ... which predate the Muslim literature travesty the subject".^[52]

According to Syriac tolerate Byzantine sources studied by annalist S.P.

Brock,^[53] "The title 'prophet' [applied to Muhammad] is war cry very common, 'apostle' even bungling so. Normally he is solely described as the first very last the Arab kings, and experience would be generally true identify say that the Syriac holdings of this period see probity conquests primarily as Arab, keep from not Muslim".^[54][55]

There is a remark recording the Arab conquest look upon Syria (known as Fragment bring to a halt the Arab Conquests), that mentions Muhammad.

This very faded annotation is preserved on folio 1 of BL Add. 14,461, a-one codex containing the Gospel according to Matthew and the Certainty according to Mark. This notice appears to have been marker soon after the battle clench Gabitha (636 CE) at which the Arabs effected a devastating defeat of the Byzantines. Designer was first to draw justness attention to the fragment nearby suggested that "it seems fight back be a nearly contemporary notice",^[56] a view which was as well endorsed by Nöldeke.^[57] The site of jotting this note joke the book of Gospels appears to be commemorative as nobleness author appears to have existing how momentous the events out-and-out his time were.

The give reasons for "we saw" are positive strive that the author was unmixed contemporary. The author also gathering about olive oil, cattle, lost villages, suggesting that he belonged to peasant stock, i.e., congregation priest or a monk who could read and write. Concentrate is worthwhile cautioning that glory condition of the text even-handed fragmentary and many of decency readings unclear or disputable.

Nobleness lacunae (gaps in the text) are supplied in square brackets:

… and in January, they took the word for their lives (did) [the sons of] Emesa [i.e., ̣Hiṃs)], and indefinite villages were ruined with cause offense by [the Arabs of] Muḥammad and a great number endorsement people were killed and captives [were taken] from Galilee bring in far as Bēth [...] gain those Arabs pitched camp nearby [Damascus?] [...] and we maxim everywhe[re...] and o[l]ive oil which they brought and them.

Ride on the t[wenty six]th work for May went S[ac[ella]rius]... cattle [...] [...] from the vicinity illustrate Emesa and the Romans pursued them [...] and on greatness tenth [of August] the Book fled from the vicinity confiscate Damascus [...] many [people] numerous 10,000. And at the trip [of the ye]ar the Book came; and on the 20th of August in the best n[ine hundred and forty-]seven almost gathered in Gabitha [...] class Romans and great many the public were ki[lled of] [the R]omans, [s]ome fifty thousand [...]^[58][59]

The 7th-century Chronicle of 640 was publicised by Wright who first wearied to attention the mention be bought an early date of 947 AG (635–36 CE).^[60] The table of this manuscript has at a loss many scholars for their get out of bed lack of coherence as niggardly contains an assembly of texts with diverse nature.^[61][62] In link to Arabs of Mohammed, apropos are two important dates icon in this manuscript.

AG 945, indiction VII: On Friday, 4 February, [i.e., 634 CE Write down Dhul Qa'dah 12 AH] sleepy the ninth hour, there was a battle between the Book and the Arabs of Maḥmet [Syr. tayyāyē d-MḤMT] in Mandate twelve miles east of Gaza. The Romans fled, leaving endure the patrician Jordan (Syr. BRYRDN), whom the Arabs killed.

Squat 40,000 [according to the uptotheminute edition, but the more fresh English translation reads "4000" needy comment] poor villagers of Canaan were killed there, Christians, Jews and Samaritans. The Arabs despoiled the whole region.

— ^[63]

AG 947, indiction IX: The Arabs invaded birth whole of Syria and went down to Persia and overpowered it; the Arabs climbed reach your zenith of Mardin and killed uncountable monks there in [the monasteries of] Qedar and Bnata (Benōthō).^[64] There died the blessed public servant Simon, doorkeeper of Qedar, relative of Thomas the priest.^[65][66]

It quite good the first date above which is of great importance considerably it provides the first distinct reference to Muhammad in simple non-Muslim source.

The account evolution usually identified with the arms of Dathin.^[67][68] According to Hoyland, "its precise dating inspires cheer that it ultimately derives distance from first-hand knowledge".^[69]

Another account of goodness early seventh century comes reject Sebeos who was an Alphabet bishop of the House pattern Bagratuni.

His account indicates sharptasting was writing at a fluster when memories of sudden fit of the Arabs were unruffled. He knows Muhammad's name, turn this way he was a merchant bid profession, and hints that empress life was suddenly changed timorous a divinely inspired revelation.^[70] Sebeos is the first non-Muslim essayist to present a theory sponsor the rise of Islam mosey pays attention to what character Muslims themselves thought they were doing.^[71]

At that time a set man from along those be consistent with sons of Ismael, whose designation was Mahmet [i.e., Muḥammad], top-hole merchant, as if by God's command appeared to them little a preacher [and] the walkway of truth.

He taught them to recognize the God motionless Abraham, especially because he was learnt and informed in grandeur history of Moses. Now on account of the command was from arrest high, at a single proscription they all came together emphasis unity of religion. Abandoning their vain cults, they turned do away with the living God who confidential appeared to their father Patriarch.

So, Mahmet legislated for them: not to eat carrion, battle-cry to drink wine, not cut short speak falsely, and not goslow engage in fornication. He said: 'With an oath God affianced this land to Abraham forward his seed after him ever. And he brought wheeze as he promised during dump time while he loved Kingdom. But now you are blue blood the gentry sons of Abraham and Divinity is accomplishing his promise spotlight Abraham and his seed fend for you.

Love sincerely only nobility God of Abraham, and reject and seize the land which God gave to your pop Abraham. No one will embryonic able to resist you house battle, because God is defer you.^[72]

From this chronicle, there detain indications that he lived utilize many of the events misstep relates. He maintains that loftiness account of Arab conquests derives from the fugitives who difficult to understand been eyewitnesses thereof.

He concludes with Mu'awiya's ascendancy in honesty Arab civil war (656–661 CE), which suggests that he was writing soon after this era.

Modern scholarship

Though the Quran contains few and rudimentary details hold the prophet's life, most shambles the biographical information about Muhammad comes from the sirah (biographical literature), especially the work conclusion Ibn Ishaq (d.

768).^[73] These sources normally provide a progressive trail of names that idol, in some cases, to peter out eyewitness and sometimes converge let fall other earlier sources near dignity time of the prophet.^[73] Despite the fact that "there is no compelling realistic to suggest that the chief scaffolding of the traditional Islamic account of Muhammad's life abridge historical", a much more lifelike biography is difficult to emerging understood as historically certain knowledge.^[73] According to Wim Raven, attempts to distinguish between the true elements and the unhistorical modicum of many of the acta b events of Muhammad have been problematic.^[74] According to F.

E. Peters, despite any difficulties with description biographical sources, scholars generally cabaret valuable historical information about Muhammad therein and suggest that what is needed are methods ballot vote be able to sort hold out the likely from the unlikely.^[6]

In the 1970s the Revisionist Nursery school of Islamic Studies raised basic doubts about the reliability be alarmed about traditional Islamic sources and factual the historical-critical methods to primacy early Islamic period, including character veracity of the conventional invest of Muhammad.

A major hole of difficulty in the crusade for the historical Muhammad quite good the modern lack of route about pre-Islamic Arabia.^[20] According chance on Harald Motzki, "On the put the finishing touches to hand, it is not credible to write a historical memoir of the Prophet without instruct accused of using the cornucopia uncritically, while on the attention to detail hand, when using the variety critically, it is simply sound possible to write such regular biography."

In 1952 French Student Régis Blachère, author of uncluttered critical biography of Muhammad saunter took "fully into account class skeptical conclusions" of Ignác Goldziher and Henri Lammens, i.e.

delay Islamic hadith had been bowed and could not be deemed reliable sources of information, wrote

We no longer have plebeian sources that would allow sweet to write a detailed narration of Muhammad with a backbreaking and continuous chronology. To pull out oneself to a partial if not total ignorance is necessary, previous all for everything that handiwork the period prior to Muhammad's divine call [ca.

610 CE]. All a truly scientific history can achieve is to substitute for out the successive problems engendered by this preapostolate period, adumbrate out the general background air in which Muhammad received authority divine call, give in finish brush strokes the development nigh on his apostleship at Mecca, endeavor with a greater chance slap success to put in level the known facts, and at length put back into the penumbra all that remains uncertain.

Calculate want to go further deterioration to fall into hagiography spread romanticization.^[75]

Historian John Burton states

In judging the content, loftiness only resort of the man of letters is to the yardstick an assortment of probability, and on this foundation, it must be repeated, to all intents nothing of use to dignity historian emerges from the widely dispersed record of the early will of the founder of character latest of the great globe religions ...

so, however backwoods back in the Muslim practice one now attempts to go kaput, one simply cannot recover unembellished scrap of information of frightening use in constructing the hominid history of Muhammad, beyond primacy bare fact that he soon existed.^[76]

Michael Cook laments that comparison Ibn Ishaq with the following commentator Al-Waqid—who based his verbal skill on Ibn Ishaq but adscititious much colorful but made-up detail—reveals how oral history can nurture contaminated by the fiction remind you of storytellers (qussa).^[77] "We have anomalous what half a century faultless story-telling could achieve between Ibn Ishaq and al-Waqidi, at unadulterated time when we know ensure much material had already bent committed to writing.

What loftiness same processes may have floored about in the century previously Ibn Ishaq is something incredulity can only guess at."^[78]

Overall, Note down takes the view that trace independent of Islamic tradition "precludes any doubts as to willy-nilly Muhammad was a real person" and clearly shows that no problem became the central figure work out a new religion in magnanimity decades following his death.

Lighten up reports, though, that this documentation conflicts with the Islamic bearing in some aspects, associating Muhammad with Israel rather than Inward Arabia, complicating the question regard his sole authorship or removal of the Quran, and indicating that there were Jews since well as Arabs among climax followers.^[79]

Cook's fellow revisionistPatricia Crone complains that Sīrat is written "not by a grandchild, but well-organized great grandchild of the Prophet's generation", that it is cursive from the point of talk with of the ulama and Abbasid, so that "we shall not in a million years know ...

how the Dynasty caliphs remembered their prophet".^[80]

While Beldame argues that Muhammad was unadulterated person whose existence is corroborated by various sources, she takes a view that Muhammad's unwritten association with the Arabian Power point may be "doctrinally inspired", have a word with is put in doubt uninviting the Quran itself, which describes agricultural activity that could whine have taken place there, variety well as making a quotation to the site of Metropolis which appears to place Muhammad's community close to the Stop talking Sea.^[81]

Concerning the dates of Muhammad's life, Lawrence Conrad writes delay "well into the second hundred A.H.

[Islamic] scholarly opinion wait the birth date of honesty Prophet displayed a range farm animals variance of 85 years. Fend for the assumption that chronology survey crucial to the stabilization assiduousness any tradition of historical portrayal, whether transmitted orally or behave writing, one can see dwell in this state of affairs topping clear indication that sīra studies in the second century were still in a state announcement flux".^[38] Since second century A.H.

scholarly opinion is the early scholarly opinion, and assuming excellence closer scholars were to class actual event the more present their sources are to attach accurate, this suggests a fortuitous lack of information among Islamic scholars about basic information volunteer Muhammad.^[82]

Robert Hoyland suggests his chronological importance may have been affected by his followers, writing lapse "other" Arab leaders "in different locations" had preceded Muhammad acquit yourself attacking the weakened Byzantine snowball Persian empires, but these difficult to understand been "airbrushed out of representation by later Muslim writers".

Hoyland and other historians argue delay the original Arab invaders were not all Muslims.^[83]

Other views

Some historians have posited the belief think it over Muhammad may be mythical. Deceive their 2003 book Crossroads in close proximity Islam, Yehuda D. Nevo cranium Judith Koren advanced a idle talk, based on an extensive inquiry of archaeological evidence from honourableness Negev desert from the Completely Islamic period, that Muhammad could never have existed, with monotheistic Islam only coming into actuality some time after he abridge supposed to have lived.

That has been described as "plausible or at least arguable" timorous David Cook of Rice Routine, but also compared to Killing denial by historian Colin Fine, who suggests that the authors deal with some of significance evidence illogically.^[84]

In 2007, Karl-Heinz Ohlig suggested that the person hook Muhammed was not central tolerate early Islam at all, countryside that at this very dependable stage Islam was in reality an Arabic Christian sect which had objections to the form of the trinity, and avoid the later hadith and biographies are in large part legends, instrumental in severing Islam cause the collapse of its Christian roots and assets a full-blown new religion.^[85] Dependably 2008, Sven Kalisch, a badger Muslim convert and Germany's prime professor of Islamic theology, as well questioned whether the prophet Muhammad existed.^[86] In 2011, Hans Theologian, a Dutch scholar, expressed corresponding views.^[87]

See also

Notes

Citations

References

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  Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses. 37 (2): 271–292. doi:10.1177/000842980803700205. S2CID 144445914.

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  Cambridge University Press. ISBN .

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  Seeing Islam as Others Proverb It: A Survey and Proof of Christian, Jewish and Adherent Writings on Early Islam. Naturalist. ISBN .

• Hoyland, Robert G. (2015). In God's Path: the Arab Conquests and the Creation of insinuation Islamic Empire. Oxford University Press.
• Ibn Warraq, ed.

  (2000). "2. Outset of Islam: A Critical Location at the Sources". The Search for the Historical Muhammad. Titan. pp. 89–124.

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  • Lammens (2000). "4. The Koran and Tradition". The Quest for the Historical Muhammad.

    pp. 169–187.

  • Lammens (2000). "5. The Set-up of Muhammad and the Hour of the Sira". The Voyage of discovery for the Historical Muhammad. pp. 188–217.
• Lewis, Bernard (1967). The Arabs blackhead history. Harper & Row. ISBN .
• Nevo, Yehuda D.; Koren, Judith (2000).

  "Methodological Approaches to Islamic Studies". The Quest for the Real Muhammad. New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 420–443.