In this Book
- The Expeditions: An Early Biography of Muḥammad
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: NYU Press
One of the earliest surviving biographies of Prophet Muḥammad, translated into readable, modern English for the first time
The Expeditions is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet Muḥammad to survive into the modern era. Its primary author, Maʿmar ibn Rāshid (96-153/714-770), was a prominent scholar from Basra in southern Iraq who was revered for his learning in prophetic traditions, Islamic law, and the interpretation of the Qurʾan. This fascinating foundational seminal work contains stories handed down by Maʿmar to his most prominent pupil, ʿAbd al-Razzāq of Sanaa, relating Muḥammad’s early life and prophetic career as well as the adventures and tribulations of his earliest followers during their conquest of the Near East.
Edited from a sole surviving manuscript, the Arabic text offers numerous improved readings over those of previous editions, including detailed notes on the text’s transmission and variants as found in later works. This new translation, which renders the original into readable, modern English for the first time, is accompanied by numerous annotations elucidating the cultural, religious, and historical contexts of the events and individuals described within its pages.
The Expeditions represents an important testimony to the earliest Muslims’ memory of the lives of Muḥammad and his companions, and is an indispensable text for gaining insight into the historical biography of both the Prophet and the rise of the Islamic empire.
A bilingual Arabic-English edition.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgements
- pp. xiii-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. xv-xxix
- Note on the Text
- pp. xxx-xxxvi
- Notes to the Frontmatter
- pp. xl-xlvi
- The Expeditions
- pp. 1-2
- The Expedition of Hudaybiyah
- pp. 27-50
- The Incident at Badr
- pp. 51-58
- The Incident at Uhud
- pp. 77-82
- The Incident at Khaybar
- pp. 91-94
- The Expedition of the Triumph
- pp. 95-104
- The Incident Hunayn
- pp. 105-112
- Those Who Emigrated to Abyssinia
- pp. 113-130
- The Story of the Three Who Remained Behind
- pp. 131-140
- The Story of the Aws and the Khazraj
- pp. 145-148
- The Story of the Slander
- pp. 149-160
- The Story of the People of the Pit
- pp. 161-166
- The Story of the Companions of the Cave
- pp. 167-172
- The Construction of the Temple of Jerusalem
- pp. 173-176
- The Oath of Fealty Pledged to Abū Bakr
- pp. 213-216
- The Story of al-Hajjāj ibn Ilāt
- pp. 239-244
- The Dispute between Alī and al-Abbās
- pp. 245-252
- The Story of Abū Luluah, Umar’s Assassin
- pp. 253-262
- The Story of the Shura
- pp. 263-266
- The Marriage of Fāimah
- pp. 273-282
- Glossary of Names, Places, and Terms
- pp. 315-344
- Bibliography
- pp. 346-355
- Further Reading
- pp. 356-357
- About the Typefaces
- p. 371