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List of contents
Contents: Preface. The Non-Islamic Near East: Kavad's heresy and Mazdak's revolt; Zoroastrian communism; Islam, Judeo-Christianity and Byzantine Iconoclasm. Law: Jahili and Jewish law: the qasama; Two legal problems bearing on the early history of the Qur'an; Weber, Islamic law, and the rise of capitalism. Political Thought: Shura as an elective institution; 'Even an Ethiopian slave': the transformation of a Sunni tradition; A statement by the Najdiyya Kharijites on the dispensability of the imamate; Ninth-century Muslim anarchists; The Kharijites and the caliphal title; Did al-Ghazali write a mirror for princes?. Index.
About the author
Patricia Crone (1945 - 2015) was Professor Emerita in the School of Historical Studies at The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA.
Summary
This volume brings together twelve articles by Patricia Crone dealing with pre-Islamic and Islamic religion, law and political thought. The first section focuses on the centuries before Islam, with studies on Mazdakism in Iran and on Islam as the key factor behind the outbreak of Iconoclasm in Byzantium. The second group of studies looks at problems in legal history, including the codification of the Qur'an, while the third investigates questions of political thought, amongst them a study of early Muslim anarchists, and an examination of the authorship of a work ascribed to al-Ghazali.
Additional text
’The articles demonstrate a meticulous attention to detail in both the key primary and key secondary works.’ Journal of Semitic Studies ’[Crone's] first volume of collected studies is a chance to celebrate her intellectual journey, as well as being a useful and precious instrument.’ Oriente Moderno 'The publisher has done scholars a service by making these articles available in one volume...' Heythrop Journal
