08.30.07

History of Islam - What is Hadith?

Posted in UIS at 11:18 am by Stephanie

Basically, hadith is Arabic for oral traditions. According to DrB:

The earliest Muslim literature outside of the Qur’an includes collected stories and sayings attributed to Muhammad. These accounts were recorded at least a century later, and assigned to Muhammad through a transmission (isnād, اسناد) of authorities. These lists gave an account of a saying stretching back to a Companion (الصحابة) of Muhammad through Followers (التابعون) and later disciples of Islam, which were recorded later. … The term has taken on a specialized meaning in Islam, meaning what is attributed to the prophet. In Islamic tradition, the Hadīth and Sunna formed the basis of communal life. In many cases they were identical, yet there are many divergences. The Sunna described the method of doing something, particularly in regard to ritual. Hadith served as a means of incorporating customs and traditions into the authoritative body of the society. In this respect, ahādīth (pl. of hadith) were used to inculcate into Islamic practice the traditions about Muhammad during his life. The hadīth functioned as a system to verify contemporary Islamic practice by relating what the prophet did in his life and thus abide by his example.

There’s more about hadith at Wikipedia but as always caveat emptor.

08.28.07

History of Islam

Posted in UIS, Books at 5:53 pm by Stephanie

This was the first. And for a cool $1,794US, all 16 volumes totaling 10,000 pages, Al-Tabari’s Annals of the Apostles and Kings: A Critical Edition can be yours. I’d love to get my hands on a copy, but more importantly I’d love to have the time to read it.

08.25.07

Samuel Pepys

Posted in Movies, Books at 8:06 pm by Stephanie

In the charming movie 84 Charing Cross Road, Anne Bancroft’s character, Helene Hanff, lovingly berates her transatlantic book dealer, Frank P. Doel played by Anthony Hopkins, for sending her an unacceptable copy of Pepys’ Diary. While cruising the internet, I found this article about a new film now in production in England based on his diaries.

08.22.07

Why I Want to Study the History of Islam

Posted in UIS at 7:43 pm by Stephanie

We were asked to write a 2 page paper explaining why we wanted to study this history, this sums it up for me:

I also want to study this history because I am curious and have learned that religion informs everything about history. But mostly, I want to study the history of Islam because I am a historian and this is what I do.

History of Islam

Posted in UIS at 6:21 pm by Stephanie

This week’s lecture contained a really interesting resource: Imperial History of the Middle East, 5,000 years in 90 seconds.

A Different Approach

Posted in Herodotus' Children at 6:15 pm by Stephanie

I just haven’t been able to nurture Breathing History the way I would like.  Events conspire to keep me busy elsewhere.  So I have decided that I am going to try to make it more personal and maybe write at least once a week about what I’m studying.  Just a few paragraphs with maybe some links if time allows.  Instead of reaching for the grand researched posts, I’m thinking that making it a bit more personal will allow for more frequent updates.  It’s always driven me up the wall that Breathing History goes stale so often.  So I’ll try smaller posts and that may satisfy me.  Reality really does bite from time to time.