Muhammedanische Studien, or in its English title, Muslim Studies, is a seminal and founding two-volume work in the field of Islamic studies by Ignác Goldziher (1850–1921), originally published in German in 1889–1890, and translated into English from 1966 to 1971 by C.R. Barber and S.M. Stern.
The first volume focuses on the reaction of Islam to Arab tribal societies, the reaction of Islam to the nationalities of the territories conquered early on (primarily the Persians), and finally the reactions of newly conquered peoples, especially the Persians, to emerging notions of Arab supremacy (especially as manifested by the shuʿūbiyya).[1] The second and most well-known volume is a study on the development of hadith. This study is prominent in the field of hadith studies for being the first academic work to seriously introduce the view that the hadith are not a reliable source for the biography of Muhammad.[2] A final and third essay occurs at the end of the second volume, on the role of the cult of saints in early Islam.[1]
Muslim Studies has been said to have launched a "paradigm shift" in Islamic studies[3] and Goldziher's studies on hadith as a whole have been called the "crown jewel" of his work in this field.[4]
- ^ a b "Muslim Studies: Volume 1". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ Malik 2019, p. 338.
- ^ Brown 2020, p. 41.
- ^ Holtzman & Ovadia 2024, p. 89.