The Emergence of Islam

Abstract

Gabriel Said Reynolds’ The Emergence of Islam, with a new interpretation andnew (although somewhat critical and controversial) insights, is an illustrated,lucidly, and comprehensively contribution to the study and history of the “emergence”of Islam. Usually such an account is rather “straightforward,” whereasthe question of “how much of this story is historically accurate” is “less straightforward”(p. ix). The book’s three parts – “The Prophet Muhammad and theRightly Guided Caliphs” (chapters 1 through 3), “The Qur’an” (chapters 4through7), and “Contemporary Perspectives” (chapter 8) – discuss the emergenceof Islamic history from its origins to the contemporary views ...