This page is a subset of texts derived from the three major online Sourcebooks listed below, along with added texts and web site indicators. For more contextual
information, for instance about Western imperialism, or the history of a given period,
check out these web sites.
The Pre-Islamic poems of Imru-Ul-Quais, Antar, and Zuhair which Muhammad allowed
to remain hanging in the Ka'aba.
2ND Irfan Shahid: Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth
Century. (Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Washington, D.C. 1989), Vll.
BYZANTINISM AND ARABISM: INTERACTION, 528-539
2ND Maxime Rodinson: Muhammad (New York:
Pantheon Books. 1980), pp. 38. ff, Chapter 3
2N Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri: AR-RaheeQ Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) Memoirs of the Noble Prophet [At Witness Pioneer]
It is unclear what exactly this document is.
Sunan
Abu-Dawud, Partial translation, translator: Prof. Ahmad Hasan [At USC-MSA]
"Sunan Abu-Dawud is a collection of sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) (also known as the sunnah). The reports of the Prophet's sayings and deeds are
called ahadith. Abu-Dawud lived a couple of centuries after the Prophet's deat and worked
extremely hard to collect his ahadith."
Malik (93-179 AH): Muwatta,
Translated by `A'isha `Abdarahman at-Tarjumana and Ya`qub Johnson. [At USC-MSA]
"Malik's Muwatta ("the well-trodden path") is a collection of two items:
the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) (also known as the sunnah). The reports
of the Prophet's sayings and deeds are called ahadith."
WEB Companions of The Prophet [At
Witness Pioneer]
A sort of Muslim hagiography. Unfortunately, with no sources cited.
The Qu'ran,
trans. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, [At The Noble Qu'ran]. This is an English
translation endorsed by the Saudi government. Includes Arabic commentary by Ibn Katheer,
Tabari, and Qurtubi. See also Catholic
Encyclopedia:
KORAN
The Qu'ran, translated
Maulvi Sher Ali, Full Text, [At Al Islam]
Demetra Vaka: Aïshé Hanoum, c. 1888
Life of a Turkish woman.
WEB Women in Islam [At Answering
Islam]
The website is a site devoted to arguments with Muslims. This web page contains links to
explanations, defences, and attacks on the subject of women in Islam.
2ND M. Rafiqul-Haqq and P. Newton: The Place of Women in Pure Islam [Ar Venus Project]
Decidely critical of Muslim practice, but quotes a large number of sources.
WEB Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project
Lots of interesting stuff, and discussion within the context of Islam. Also discusses
"male genital mutilation" - such discussions in the past have ended up with
distinct anti-Semitic overtones.
Accounts of the Arab
Conquest of Egypt, 642 CE
The Coptic account from The History of The Patriarchs of Alexandria and an Arab
account - Al-Baladhuri: The Conquest of Alexandria
2ND Fred Donner: The Early Islamic Conquests, (Princeton:
Princeton Univ Press, 1981), pp.251 ff - Chapter VI. "Conclusions: 1. Tribe and State
in Arabia: Second Essay"
2ND Judith Herrin: The Formation of Christendom.
"Byzantium Confronted by Islam", (Princeton: Princeton Univ, Press. 1987),
183-213
WEB Islam
and Indigenous African Culture [At Internet Archive, from Harvard]
A clear narrative, and excellent maps on the penetration of Islam across the Sahara and in
East Africa.
Abû Ûthmân al-Jâhiz: The
Essays, excerpts, c. 860 CE
On the Zanj (Black Africans). Arab Muslim opinions.
Abul Hasan Ali Al-Masu'di (Masoudi) (ca. 895?-957 CE): The Book of Golden Meadows,
c. 940 CE
Masu'di - "the Arab Suetonius" or "the Arab Herodotus" -
specialized in a history which went beyond chronology to look at themes and individual
anecdotes. This is an extensive selection on various caliphs.
Famous Muslim Scientist Lists
The lists below seem to be part of a certain genre of list creation, usually to
make the claim (which is true) that Islam had a glorious role in the history of science.
Non of them seem to address what happened after c. 1500 (the Western Intrusion was not
until c. 1800, so it will not do as an "excuse".)
Al Hariri of Basrah (446-516 A.H./1054-1122 CE): Maqamat, (The
Assemblies), c. 1100 CE, 12 of the 50 "assemblies". Maqamat (singular Maqamah) were a popular sort of Arabic entertainment literature (adab).
This is perhaps the most popular example.
The Arabian Nights, translated Sir.
Richard Francis Burton. Full Text - Sacred Texts]
Ibn Fadlan. Risala 921 CE [At
VikingAnswerLady]
Ibn Fadlan -an Arab chronicler. In 921 C.E., the Caliph sent Ibn Fadlan with an embassy
to the King of the Bulgars of the Middle Volga. Ibn Fadlan wrote an account of his
journeys with the embassy, called a Risala. This Risala is of great value as a
history, although it is clear in some places that inaccuracies and Ibn Fadlan's own
prejudices have slanted the account to some extent.
Nasir-i-Khusraw (1046-1052): Book
of Travels (Safarnama) [At Traveling to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
2ND Oleg Grabar: Ceremonial and Art at the
Umayyad Court. PhD Dissertation, Princeton Univ 1955. Chap. I. The Umayyad Royal
Idea and its Expression under Mu'awiyah I. pp 18 ff
2ND Oleg Grabar: The Formation of Islamic Art, (New Haven: Yale Univ Press, 19??), pp. 43- 71,.Chap. 3 "The Symbolic
Appropriation of the Land" chapter 3
Ibn Rushd (Averroës) (1126-1198 CE): Religion & Philosophy,
c. 1190 CE.
The text is On the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy, or in Arabic Kitab
fasl al-maqal, with its appendix (Damina). Appended is an extract from Kitab al-kashf`an manahij al-adilla. Averroes was also a major influence on
Western thinkers.
2ND Ibn
Rushd (Averroës) (1126-1198 CE), from Enc. Brit. [At Internet Archive, from Purdue]
Sa'di (1184-1292 CE): Gulistan,
13th Century CE, Full text of Persian prose/poetry text with significant homoerotic
content.
Rumi: Poetry
Sa'di (1184-1292 CE): The
Gulistan, c. 1256 CE. another translation.
Sheikh Nefzaoui: The Perfumed
Garden, 16th Cent. CE/c. A.H 925, translated by Sir Richard Burton , in chapter files,
full text, [At Bibliomania]
A guide to sex by a Tunisian writer of the 16th century. Does not discuss male
homosexuality, but does discuss Lesbianism (in chap. 20).
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1522 - 1592 CE): Lesbian Love in A
Turkish Bath, 1560 [At Internet Archive, from Letters Magazine]
2ND Richard Burton: Terminal Essay, from his
edition of the Arabian Nights.
Burton' compilation of data on variety of societies was meant to explain some of the
stories in The Nights. In doing so, he provided first overview of Islamic
homosexuality.
2ND Islam and Homosexuality [At Geocities]
An extremely homophobic article which claims Islam never tolerated homosexuality.
Successor States: Ummayyad Spain
2ND David J. Wasserstein: The Caliphate in the West, (Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1993), chap. 1. "The Caliphal Institution in al-Andalus
until 422/1031"
Ibn al-Athir: On The Tatars, 1220-1221CE
The effects of the Mongols in Persia.
Bar Sauma (c. 1278-1313): The Monk of Kublai Khan, Emperor of
China; or The History of the Life and Travels of Rabban Sawma, Envoy and
Plenipotentiary of the Mongol Khans to the Kings of Europe and Markos who as Yahbh-Allaha
III Became Patriarch of the Nestorian Church. Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge,
London: The Religious Track Society, 1928. [At Traveling to Jerusalem/U Sth
Colorado]
Omar Khayyam (d. 1123 CE): The Rubaiyat, c.
1120
This is not the famous translation by Edward Fitgerald, but a more complete version by
E. H. Whinfield.
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1522 - 1592): The Turkish Letters,
excerpts, 1555-1562 [At this Site]
The Millet System
The Status of Jews
and Christians in Muslim Lands, 1772 CE
A question on the position of Jews in Islam, and the answer of the Shaikh Hasan Al
Kafrawi, The Shafiite [Professor of canon law in Cairo, d. 1788 CE]
Sidi Ali Reis (16th Century CE): Mirat ul Memalik (The
Mirror of Countries), 1557 CE
A Turkish traveler's account of the world of India and the Middle East.
Nedim (?1681-1730): SONG,
"Come, let's grant the joy to this heart of ours that founders in distress: / Let's
go to the pleasure gardens, come, my sauntering cypress . . ."
Ahmet Hasim: PROMISED
LAND, "Let it play with your hair, this gentle breeze / Blowing from the seven
seas."
Benjamin of Tudela (1160-1173): The Itinerary of Benjamin of
Tudela Critical Text, Translation and Commentary by Marcus Nathan Adler. [At Traveling
to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
Anonymous: Guide-book
to Palestine. (c. 1350). Translated by. J. H. Barnard. London: Palestine
Pilgrims’ Text Society, 1894. [At Traveling to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
John Poloner (1422): Description
of the Holy Land (c. 1421), based on the translation of Aubrey Stewart from the Tobler
text. London, 1894. [At Traveling to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
Felix Fabri (1480 & 1483-84): The Book of the Wanderings of Felix
Fabri (Circa 1480-1483 A.D.) trans. Aubrey Stewart. 2 vols. London: Palestine
Pilgrims' Text Society, 1896 [At Traveling to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
Islamic World: Country Studies
Prepared for Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. These are full descriptions of the countries
concerned, in terms of history, geography, economy, etc. There are also useful
bibliographies. [At LOC]
V.S. Naipaul: Among the
Believers, The Atlantic Monthly, July 1981, [At The Atlantic, subscription required][Added 7/23/98]
Shia Islam in Revolutionary Iran.
Iran Constitution, 1992 [At
ICL]
Includes a history of the 1979 revolution, and specific comments on the position of women.
The First Crusade, 1099 (Col) A clickable map of all of Europe in 1099 Source: Adaptation of "Europe at the
time of the First Crusade", in Muir's Historical Atlas: Medieval and Modern,
(London: 1911) [At Medieval Sourcebook]
The Crusader States in the
Early 12th Century (BW) Source: George Richard Potter, The Autobiography of Ousama,
(New York: 1929 [copyright seems to be expired]) [At Medieval Sourcebook]
Crusader States, (Col)
Adapted from Muir's Historical Atlas: Medieval and Modern, (London: 1911)
[At Medieval Sourcebook]
Jerusalem, (Col)
Adapted from Muir's Historical Atlas: Medieval and Modern, (London: 1911)
[At Medieval Sourcebook]
Second and Third Crusades,
(Col) Adapted from Muir's Historical Atlas: Medieval and Modern, (London: 1911)
[At Medieval Sourcebook]
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