Muhammad and the supernatural : medieval Arab views / Rebecca R. Williams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, Rebecca R., author.

Series:

Routledge studies in classical Islam ; 3.

Routledge Studies in Classical Islam ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Muḥammad, Prophet, -632.

Muḥammad.

Supernatural.

Prophecy--Islam.

Prophecy.

Miracles (Islam).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Mu?ammad and the Supernatural: Medieval Arab Views examines the element of the supernatural (or miracle stories) in the life of the Prophet Mu?ammad as depicted in two genres: prophetic biography (s?ra) and Qur??n exegesis (tafs?r).

Contents:

Cover; Muhammad and the Supernatural; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Preface; Introduction; PART I Sex; Introduction; 1 The light of prophecy: Christian, Jewish, and Pagan attempts; The Christian attempt; The Jewish attempt; The Pagan attempt; 2 ""God knows very well where to place His Message""; The unbelievers and signs from God; Heraclius and the proofs of prophethood; 3 Muhammad's conception and the supernatural; Abd al-Muttalib and the People of the Book; Authorial control of the supernatural in the sira; The supernatural and the will of God in the tafsir; Observations

PART II PoliticsIntroduction; 4 Muhammad's public announcement and the absence of the supernatural; Prelude to the call; The call as response to a Quranic command - al-Tabari?; The call as response to a Quranic command - Ibn Kathir; Who was called; The public call as vehicle for promotion - Ibn Kathir and Ahmad b. Hanbal; 5 ""Who will aid me in this matter?""; Politicization of the supernatural - al-Tabari; Politicization of the supernatural - Ibn Kathir; 6 Abu Lahab: The villain; Abu Lahab and the publication of Muhammad's mission; Umm Jamil and the theme of divine protection

Villains and the supernaturalObservations; PART III Betrayal; Introduction; 7 Questions of character: Hatib's letter to the Meccans; The theme of forgiveness; Characters and archetypes; Moral lessons; 8 Hatib's story in the tafsir; Quran versus tafsir; Asbab al-nuzul or Quranic afterthought; A matter of time - Mecca, al-Hudaybiya, and the supernatural; 9 The necessity of the supernatural; Sira: structural analysis and the support for the supernatural; Tafsir: individual autonomy, traditional authority, and the supernatural; Observations; PART IV Wrath; Introduction

10 Amir b. al-Tufayl and Arbad b. Qays: control and chaos in the SiraIbn Ishaq's version of events - the literary nature of divine wrath; Questions of chronology - Bir Mauna or the year of the delegations; Amir or Arbad? Character placement in the sira; 11 ""And God sent upon him a thunderbolt""; Nature and folk magic in the Quran and tafsir; Amir and Arbad: character placement in the tafsir; Asbab al-nuzul: rubies, gold, silver, and lightning; 12 Authorial control and the supernatural; Muhammad's power and God's wrath in the sira; Chaos and control: the supernatural in the tafsir

ObservationsConclusion: the significance of the supernatural; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from title page (ebrary, viewed May 11, 2013).

ISBN:

1-135-94085-1

0-203-37034-1

1-135-94078-9

9780203370346

OCLC:

841912491