A Prophet Has Appeared: The Rise of Islam through Christian and Jewish Eyes, A Sourcebook

by Stephen J. Shoemaker

Overview

Early Islam has emerged as a lively site of historical investigation, and scholars have challenged the traditional accounts of Islamic origins by drawing attention to the wealth of non-Islamic sources that describe the rise of Islam. A Prophet Has Appeared brings this approach to the classroom. This collection provides students and scholars with carefully selected, introduced, and annotated materials from non-Islamic sources dating to the early years of Islam. These can be read alone or alongside the Qur'an and later Islamic materials. Applying historical-critical analysis, the volume moves these invaluable sources to more equal footing with later Islamic narratives about Muhammad and the formation of his new religious movement.

Included are new English translations of sources by twenty authors, originally written in not only Greek and Latin but also Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, and Arabic and spanning a geographic range from England to Egypt and Iran. Ideal for the classroom and personal library, this sourcebook provides readers with the tools to meaningfully approach a new, burgeoning area of Islamic studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520299610
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Stephen J. Shoemaker is Professor of Religious Studies and Ira E. Gaston Fellow in Christian Studies at the University of Oregon. He is a specialist on early Christian apocrypha, devotion to the Virgin Mary, and the rise of Islam. He is the author of The Death of a Prophet, The Apocalypse of Empire, and Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion, among many other publications.
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 The Teaching of Jacob the Newly Baptized 37

2 Synodical Letter, Homily on the Nativity, and Homily on Epiphany 45

Sophronius Of Jerusalem

3 A Syriac Fragment Concerning the Believers' Invasion of Syria 55

4 Letter 14 57

Maximus The Confessor

5 Chronicle 60

Thomas The Presbyter

6 The Armenian Chronicle of 661 attributed to Sebeos 62

7 The Spiritual Meadow, Appendix to the Georgian Version 73

John Moschus

8 Homily on the End-Times 80

Ps.-Ephrem The Syrian

9 Letter 14C 93

Isho'yahb III Of Adiabene

10 Edifying Tales, Homily on the Lord's Passion, The Hodegos, and Questions and Answers 101

Anastasius Of Sinai

11 The Khuzistan Chronicle 128

12 The Apocalypse of Rabbi Shim 'n b. Yohai, The Secrets of Rabbi Shim 'n b. Yohai 138

13 Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer 30 144

14 The Maronite Chronicle 150

15 On the Holy Places 164

Adomnán / Arculf

16 The Apocalypse of Ps.-Shenoute 171

17 The Book of Main Points 185

John Bar Penkaye

18 Fourth Letter to John the Stylite 202

Jacob Of Edessa

19 The Passion of Peter of Capitolias 209

20 Excerpts from a Lost Seventh-Century Greek Source, The Chronicle of Theophanes, The Chronicle of Agapius, The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian, and The Chronicle of 1234 224

Notes 235

Bibliography 269

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

"This sourcebook is a valuable contribution to reliable historical data concerning theologically based approaches to the rise of Islam."

CHOICE

"A marvel of concision and originality; best of all, it is readily accessible to the general reader. . . . A Prophet Has Appeared is one of the most readable and exciting books in Islamic history."

Middle East Quarterly

"This is an excellent book and essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Islam during its formative period."

Journal of Near Eastern Studies

"Indeed, Shoemaker provides one of the most cohesive alternative visions to the emergence of Islam. A Prophet Has Appeared is a pivotal piece of this vision."

Reading Religion