al-Hajamat al-Mughridah ala al-Tarikh al-Islami
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar al-Sahwa lil-Nashr
al-Hajamat al-Mughridah ala al-Tarikh al-Islami (Tendentious Attacks on Islamic History) is a historical critical study by Muhammad Yasin Mazhar Siddiqi that examines and refutes tendentious interpretations and orientalist critiques of early Islamic history, specifically focusing on the prophetic era and the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs .
Background and Publication
The work was originally composed in Urdu by Siddiqi, a professor in the Department of Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University . It was translated into Arabic by Samir Abd al-Hamid Ibrahim and published in its first edition in 1408 AH / 1988 CE under the auspices of the League of Islamic Universities by Dar al-Sahwah .
Scope and Methodology
The author limits the scope of the study to the Prophetic mission and the Rightly Guided Caliphate, noting that addressing biased ideological attacks across the entirety of Islamic history would require a massive multi-volume work . Siddiqi argues that modern biased writers and orientalists erred by applying generalized judgments and anachronistic standards to historical events rather than critically analyzing narratives and sources .
The book traces the roots of historical bias back to early historical compilation in Iraqi centers such as Kufa, Basra, and Baghdad, where tribal rivalries and regional inclinations frequently influenced narrators . In surveying early authorities, the author contrasts reliable transmitters of the first and second centuries—such as Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, and Musa ibn Uqbah—with compilers whose accounts faced criticism from hadith scholars or contained weak and fabricated material, including Ibn Ishaq, al-Waqidi, and Ibn Sa'd . In its conclusion, the work presents guidelines for evaluating classical sources, underscoring that third-century historians were primarily collectors of reports and urging readers to understand each narrator's context, regional background, and intellectual inclinations .
Contents and Themes
The book is arranged chronologically across several core thematic divisions:
- Historiographical Introduction: Examines early Muslim historians of the first two centuries AH, orientalist methods, emerging trends in writing prophetic biography (sīrah), and the rise of partisan and tendentious writers .
- The Prophetic Era: Discusses the Prophet's lineage, early life, the encounter with the monk Bahira, the revelation and teachings of the Quran, the Meccan persecution, and the Hijrah to Medina . It also examines the establishment of the Medinan state, the Constitution of Medina, military campaigns including the Battle of Badr, relations with Jewish tribes, and the political frameworks governing interactions with non-Muslims .
- The Rightly Guided Caliphate: Analyzes the Ridda Wars, the motives, nature, and objectives behind the early Islamic conquests, and the consultative election of Uthman ibn Affan .
- Internal Strife and Political Turmoil: Addresses controversies surrounding the administration of Uthman, including the appointment and dismissal of provincial governors, land grants (qaṭāʾiʿ), and the public treasury (bayt al-māl), leading up to the First Fitna, Aisha's reform movement, the conduct of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Mu'awiya I's opposition .
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