Early Islam Between Myth And History

Mourad (religion, Smith College) examines an historical character who was transformed into a myth for various political and religious reasons in medieval Islam. Although al-Hasan was a very real holy man of Basra in what is now Iraq, and he attracted a large body of disciples who became influential in later religious trends and movements, it appears that some of those same disciples adjusted his sayings, stories and letters to suit their own purposes. As a result, writes Mourad, texts thought significant in the study of medieval Islamic thought are not entirely reliable. Mourad shows specific evidence of later interpretations creeping into the texts and, in some cases, outright forgeries committed a thousand years after many have thought al-Hasan uttered his sayings or penned his letters. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Suleiman A. Mourad, Ph.D. (2004) in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. He has published extensively on the images of Jesus in the Qur’an and Islam.