1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910819714303321

Autore

Hawting G. R (Gerald R.), <1944->

Titolo

The idea of idolatry and the emergence of Islam : from polemic to history / / G.R. Hawting

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 1999

ISBN

1-107-11713-5

1-280-15447-0

0-511-11766-3

0-511-00434-6

0-511-15023-7

0-511-32463-4

0-511-49749-0

0-511-04807-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvii, 168 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Collana

Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization

Disciplina

297/.09/021

Soggetti

Islam - Origin

Idolatry

Civilization, Arab

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-162) and index.

Nota di contenuto

; 1. Religion in the jahiliyya: theories and evidence -- ; 2. Idols and idolatry in the Koran -- ; 3. Shirk and idolatry in monotheist polemic -- ; 4. The tradition -- ; 5. Names, tribes and places -- ; 6. The daughters of God.

Sommario/riassunto

Why and under what circumstances did the religion of Islam emerge in a remote part of Arabia at the beginning of the seventh century? Traditional scholarship maintains that Islam developed in opposition to the idolatrous and polytheistic religion of the Arabs of Mecca and the surrounding regions. In this study of pre-Islamic Arabian religion, G. R. Hawting adopts a comparative religious perspective to suggest an alternative view. By examining the various bodies of evidence which survive from this period, the Koran and the vast resources of the Islamic tradition, the author argues that in fact Islam arose out of



conflict with other monotheists whose beliefs and practices were judged to fall short of true monotheism and were, in consequence, attacked polemically as idolatry. The author is adept at unravelling the complexities of the source material, and students and scholars will find his argument both engaging and persuasive.