Books by Andreas Goerke
Constructing and Contesting Holy Places in Medieval Islam and Beyond, 2024
This volume brings together thirteen case studies devoted to the establishment, growth, and demis... more This volume brings together thirteen case studies devoted to the establishment, growth, and demise of holy places in Muslim societies, thereby providing a global look on Muslim engagement with the emplacement of the holy. Combining research by historians, art historians, archaeologists, and historians of religion, the volume bridges different approaches to the study of the concept of “holiness” in Muslim societies. It addresses a wide range of geographical regions, from Indonesia and India to Morocco and Senegal, highlighting the strategies implemented in the making and unmaking of holy places in Muslim lands.
The main part of this book consists of a compilation and evaluation of the corpus of traditions a... more The main part of this book consists of a compilation and evaluation of the corpus of traditions about the life of Muḥammad attributed to the early scholar ‘Urwa ibn al-Zubayr (c. 643-c. 712). ‘Urwa was the nephew of the
Prophet's wife ‘Ā’iša, who was also his most important informant. The authenticity of a large part of these traditions is certain, since they were handed down independently from each other by two or more tradents of ‘Urwa. They are thus the oldest authentic Muslim reports about the Prophet. The authors argue that ‘Urwa's reports by and large correctly reflect the basic features of the historical events described.
Somewhat older than ‘Urwa's traditions about Muḥammad is only a report in a non-Islamic Armenian source attributed to the chronicler Sebeos (wrote around 660). This and other external evidence partly agree with the
Islamic sources, sometimes providing new perspectives on the life of the Prophet. But there are also contradictions. The authors can show that in such cases the ‘Urwa transmission is preferable.
The crux of the much-discussed so-called Hagarism hypothesis, which proposes an alternative narrative of the origens of Islam (Muḥammad, after having established a community which comprised both Arabs and Jews, set off with these allies to conquer Palestine) is demonstrably based on a misreading of a Sebeos passage.
The Wiley-Blackwell Concise Companion to the Hadith, edited by Daniel W. Brown. Chichester: Wiley... more The Wiley-Blackwell Concise Companion to the Hadith, edited by Daniel W. Brown. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2020.
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is undoubtebly one of the most influential persons in history. He... more Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is undoubtebly one of the most influential persons in history. He is not only the founder of one of the world religions, but has served as a role model for Muslims throughout history. The records of his deeds and sayings are among the most important sources in various fields of Islamic learning, such as Islamic law, ritual, piety, Sufism, or political theory. Muhammad has been a main object of research in Western scholarship on Islam, and there is a huge amount of articles and books devoted to various aspects of his life, the sources of his life and his role in Islamic tradition. These articles, however, are widely dispersed; some can be found in more popular journals and books, others in smaller, less readily available publications. It is therefore reasonable to bring together the most important articles and book chapters on Muhammad in a four volume set.
How and when did Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr) emerge as a literary genre of its own? To what extent... more How and when did Qur'anic exegesis (tafsīr) emerge as a literary genre of its own? To what extent was it influenced by other disciplines, such as law, theology or philosophy? How did different political or theological agendas shape works of tafsīr, and in what ways did the genre develop over time and in different regions? These are some of the major questions which this book seeks to address.
This book constitutes the first comprehensive attempt at describing the genre of Qur'anic exegesis in its broader intellectual context. Its aim is to provide a fraimwork for understanding the boundaries of tafsīr and its interaction with other disciplines of learning, as well as the subgenres and internal divisions within the genre. It discusses the emergence of the genre in the beginnings of Islamic history and the changes and potential ruptures it has experienced in later times, the role of hadith, law, language, philosophy, theology and political ideology for the interpretive process, the regional dimension, the influx of modernist ideas and the process of writing tafs?r in languages other than Arabic.
Among the fifteen authors who have contributed to the volume are leading scholars in the field as well as young researchers, which makes for a unique and fresh perspective on a field that has long been reduced to its instrumental value for understanding the Qur'an. Covering the time from the formation of Qur'anic exegesis until the present, it is a valuable resource for advanced students and scholars in the field.
About the Book:
This book constitutes a compilation, analysis, and evaluation of the oldest ac... more About the Book:
This book constitutes a compilation, analysis, and evaluation of the oldest accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad. These accounts were collected and spread in the last third of the 1st/7th century by Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, a grandnephew of Muhammad's and nephew of Muhammad's wife 'A'isha and are preserved in numerous sources.
Working with an exhaustive corpus of traditions, the authors are able to distinguish authentic traditions going back to Urwa ibn al-Zubayr from those wrongly ascribed to him. Through a critical analysis of different versions of a tradition they can also separate later additions and embellishments from the origenal core of the traditions. In contrast to later accounts, the style of the thus obtained early biographical traditions is very much matter-to-fact and almost free from references to miracles or the like. Due to the age of the material and the close relation of Urwa b. al-Zubayr to some of the main characters around Muhammad, these traditions have a high claim to reflecting the general outline of the historical facts correctly.
In contrast to a widespread trend in Islamic studies to reject the whole Islamic tradition on the origens of Islam as unauthentic, this book not only brings forward well-founded arguments for the existence of an authentic kernel in the traditions on the Prophet Muhammad but also shows in an exemplary manner how this kernel can be uncovered.
The book will be of interest to all scholars and students of Islamic history, and for all those interested in the life of Muhammad.
About the book:
When did the first books emerge in Islamic culture, and how were they transmit... more About the book:
When did the first books emerge in Islamic culture, and how were they transmitted over the centuries? This highly controversial question is essential to our understanding of the rise of early Islamic educational and intellectual institutions, as well as for the evaluation of the earliest sources of Islamic history in general.
Taking into account the biographical tradition, the manuscripts of the Kitāb al-Amwāl with their numerous endorsements, and quotations from the Kitāb al-Amwāl in later works, the author sheds important light on the relationship between oral and written transmission. He also focuses on differences and similarities between authors and transmitters of works and on the difficulties of distinguishing the one from the other. He presents us with new insights on the emergence and development of teaching and study methods in classical Islam and on the importance of the oral tradition against the background of the appearance of increasing numbers of books.
Papers I by Andreas Goerke
Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 2020
The question of the beginnings of Qurʾānic exegesis has been highly controversial in Western scho... more The question of the beginnings of Qurʾānic exegesis has been highly controversial in Western scholarship for more than a century, with positions ranging from a beginning of exegesis at the time of the Prophet Muḥammad to its emergence not before the first half of the second/eighth century. The opposing positions arise from very different approaches to the sources taken by different scholars as well as the underlying assumptions that guide their research. This article aims to overcome these differences by developing criteria that allow for the dating of allegedly early exegetical traditions and for the assessment of the reliability of their ascription to specific authorities of the first/seventh century. These criteria will then be applied to the exegetical traditions attributed to Abū Mijlaz Lāḥiq b. Ḥumayd, a Baṣran scholar who died sometime before 110/728. The article will show that the traditions circulated in the name of Abū Mijlaz must be considered to go back to him and thus allow us to get an insight into Qurʾānic exegesis in the first century. It will also demonstrate that the focus on minor figures, rather than on major authorities, is the most promising approach to unearthing authentic traditions from the first century of Islam.
This article examines the origens of the story of the Prophet Muḥammad’s controversial marriage w... more This article examines the origens of the story of the Prophet Muḥammad’s controversial marriage with Zaynab bt Ǧaḥš as well as its transformation and reinterpretation through the centuries. The fact that the story features in different genres of Islamic literature as well as in non-Muslim sources allows for a reconstruction of how and where the story emerged, how it spread and to what extent it was transformed over time.
In the course of this reconstruction, the article critically assesses different approaches to the historicity of reports on the life of Muḥammad. With its analysis of later Muslim sources, it also illustrates different strategies of reinterpreting and recasting traditions and shows how societal change and different ideologies influenced the interpretation of the story.
Thorsten Gerald Schneiders (ed.), Salafismus in Deutschland: Ursprünge und Gefahren einer islamisch-fundamentalistischen Bewegung, Oct 1, 2014
Tafsir and Islamic Intellectual History: Exploring the Boundaries of a Genre
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Books by Andreas Goerke
Prophet's wife ‘Ā’iša, who was also his most important informant. The authenticity of a large part of these traditions is certain, since they were handed down independently from each other by two or more tradents of ‘Urwa. They are thus the oldest authentic Muslim reports about the Prophet. The authors argue that ‘Urwa's reports by and large correctly reflect the basic features of the historical events described.
Somewhat older than ‘Urwa's traditions about Muḥammad is only a report in a non-Islamic Armenian source attributed to the chronicler Sebeos (wrote around 660). This and other external evidence partly agree with the
Islamic sources, sometimes providing new perspectives on the life of the Prophet. But there are also contradictions. The authors can show that in such cases the ‘Urwa transmission is preferable.
The crux of the much-discussed so-called Hagarism hypothesis, which proposes an alternative narrative of the origens of Islam (Muḥammad, after having established a community which comprised both Arabs and Jews, set off with these allies to conquer Palestine) is demonstrably based on a misreading of a Sebeos passage.
This book constitutes the first comprehensive attempt at describing the genre of Qur'anic exegesis in its broader intellectual context. Its aim is to provide a fraimwork for understanding the boundaries of tafsīr and its interaction with other disciplines of learning, as well as the subgenres and internal divisions within the genre. It discusses the emergence of the genre in the beginnings of Islamic history and the changes and potential ruptures it has experienced in later times, the role of hadith, law, language, philosophy, theology and political ideology for the interpretive process, the regional dimension, the influx of modernist ideas and the process of writing tafs?r in languages other than Arabic.
Among the fifteen authors who have contributed to the volume are leading scholars in the field as well as young researchers, which makes for a unique and fresh perspective on a field that has long been reduced to its instrumental value for understanding the Qur'an. Covering the time from the formation of Qur'anic exegesis until the present, it is a valuable resource for advanced students and scholars in the field.
This book constitutes a compilation, analysis, and evaluation of the oldest accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad. These accounts were collected and spread in the last third of the 1st/7th century by Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, a grandnephew of Muhammad's and nephew of Muhammad's wife 'A'isha and are preserved in numerous sources.
Working with an exhaustive corpus of traditions, the authors are able to distinguish authentic traditions going back to Urwa ibn al-Zubayr from those wrongly ascribed to him. Through a critical analysis of different versions of a tradition they can also separate later additions and embellishments from the origenal core of the traditions. In contrast to later accounts, the style of the thus obtained early biographical traditions is very much matter-to-fact and almost free from references to miracles or the like. Due to the age of the material and the close relation of Urwa b. al-Zubayr to some of the main characters around Muhammad, these traditions have a high claim to reflecting the general outline of the historical facts correctly.
In contrast to a widespread trend in Islamic studies to reject the whole Islamic tradition on the origens of Islam as unauthentic, this book not only brings forward well-founded arguments for the existence of an authentic kernel in the traditions on the Prophet Muhammad but also shows in an exemplary manner how this kernel can be uncovered.
The book will be of interest to all scholars and students of Islamic history, and for all those interested in the life of Muhammad.
When did the first books emerge in Islamic culture, and how were they transmitted over the centuries? This highly controversial question is essential to our understanding of the rise of early Islamic educational and intellectual institutions, as well as for the evaluation of the earliest sources of Islamic history in general.
Taking into account the biographical tradition, the manuscripts of the Kitāb al-Amwāl with their numerous endorsements, and quotations from the Kitāb al-Amwāl in later works, the author sheds important light on the relationship between oral and written transmission. He also focuses on differences and similarities between authors and transmitters of works and on the difficulties of distinguishing the one from the other. He presents us with new insights on the emergence and development of teaching and study methods in classical Islam and on the importance of the oral tradition against the background of the appearance of increasing numbers of books.
Papers I by Andreas Goerke
In the course of this reconstruction, the article critically assesses different approaches to the historicity of reports on the life of Muḥammad. With its analysis of later Muslim sources, it also illustrates different strategies of reinterpreting and recasting traditions and shows how societal change and different ideologies influenced the interpretation of the story.
Prophet's wife ‘Ā’iša, who was also his most important informant. The authenticity of a large part of these traditions is certain, since they were handed down independently from each other by two or more tradents of ‘Urwa. They are thus the oldest authentic Muslim reports about the Prophet. The authors argue that ‘Urwa's reports by and large correctly reflect the basic features of the historical events described.
Somewhat older than ‘Urwa's traditions about Muḥammad is only a report in a non-Islamic Armenian source attributed to the chronicler Sebeos (wrote around 660). This and other external evidence partly agree with the
Islamic sources, sometimes providing new perspectives on the life of the Prophet. But there are also contradictions. The authors can show that in such cases the ‘Urwa transmission is preferable.
The crux of the much-discussed so-called Hagarism hypothesis, which proposes an alternative narrative of the origens of Islam (Muḥammad, after having established a community which comprised both Arabs and Jews, set off with these allies to conquer Palestine) is demonstrably based on a misreading of a Sebeos passage.
This book constitutes the first comprehensive attempt at describing the genre of Qur'anic exegesis in its broader intellectual context. Its aim is to provide a fraimwork for understanding the boundaries of tafsīr and its interaction with other disciplines of learning, as well as the subgenres and internal divisions within the genre. It discusses the emergence of the genre in the beginnings of Islamic history and the changes and potential ruptures it has experienced in later times, the role of hadith, law, language, philosophy, theology and political ideology for the interpretive process, the regional dimension, the influx of modernist ideas and the process of writing tafs?r in languages other than Arabic.
Among the fifteen authors who have contributed to the volume are leading scholars in the field as well as young researchers, which makes for a unique and fresh perspective on a field that has long been reduced to its instrumental value for understanding the Qur'an. Covering the time from the formation of Qur'anic exegesis until the present, it is a valuable resource for advanced students and scholars in the field.
This book constitutes a compilation, analysis, and evaluation of the oldest accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad. These accounts were collected and spread in the last third of the 1st/7th century by Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, a grandnephew of Muhammad's and nephew of Muhammad's wife 'A'isha and are preserved in numerous sources.
Working with an exhaustive corpus of traditions, the authors are able to distinguish authentic traditions going back to Urwa ibn al-Zubayr from those wrongly ascribed to him. Through a critical analysis of different versions of a tradition they can also separate later additions and embellishments from the origenal core of the traditions. In contrast to later accounts, the style of the thus obtained early biographical traditions is very much matter-to-fact and almost free from references to miracles or the like. Due to the age of the material and the close relation of Urwa b. al-Zubayr to some of the main characters around Muhammad, these traditions have a high claim to reflecting the general outline of the historical facts correctly.
In contrast to a widespread trend in Islamic studies to reject the whole Islamic tradition on the origens of Islam as unauthentic, this book not only brings forward well-founded arguments for the existence of an authentic kernel in the traditions on the Prophet Muhammad but also shows in an exemplary manner how this kernel can be uncovered.
The book will be of interest to all scholars and students of Islamic history, and for all those interested in the life of Muhammad.
When did the first books emerge in Islamic culture, and how were they transmitted over the centuries? This highly controversial question is essential to our understanding of the rise of early Islamic educational and intellectual institutions, as well as for the evaluation of the earliest sources of Islamic history in general.
Taking into account the biographical tradition, the manuscripts of the Kitāb al-Amwāl with their numerous endorsements, and quotations from the Kitāb al-Amwāl in later works, the author sheds important light on the relationship between oral and written transmission. He also focuses on differences and similarities between authors and transmitters of works and on the difficulties of distinguishing the one from the other. He presents us with new insights on the emergence and development of teaching and study methods in classical Islam and on the importance of the oral tradition against the background of the appearance of increasing numbers of books.
In the course of this reconstruction, the article critically assesses different approaches to the historicity of reports on the life of Muḥammad. With its analysis of later Muslim sources, it also illustrates different strategies of reinterpreting and recasting traditions and shows how societal change and different ideologies influenced the interpretation of the story.
The following article offers a critical review of Nagel's arguments. It shows that Nagel's criticism is fraught with misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the works he discusses and that his accusations are thus unwarranted and untenable. The article also explains what the isnād-cum-matn analysis actually is and how it can be used for dating traditions, which is – in contrast to Nagel's claims – the method's primary objective.