Product Overview
These essays, plus an important contribution to the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam, by one of the foremost scholars and a leading historian of early Islamic times, have now been collected and republished for the benefit of a wider audience. The nine studies here reprinted deal with several important themes: the first Civil War and the social and political tensions underlying it, early Islamic historiography, the early Arab conquests, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims during the period, and the mihna ( inquisition ) in early 'Abbasid times. To all of these themes, Hinds brought not only a philologist's expertise and a historian's appreciation for the methodological problems that arise in dealing with ancient texts, but also the skills to distill from complex material coherent historical reconstructions. An Introduction by G.R. Hawting, also a specialist in early Islamic history, places Hinds' work in perspective and indicates paths to future research.
