"Misquoting Muhammad is a book I wish I had the money to buy for all my friends and colleagues, because it presents readers with a guide to Islamic thought that portrays it not as a fixed entity but as a complex product of utterly human machinations... Ultimately, Brown teaches a simple, if vital, lesson: Authenticity is elusive in religion, and those who claim it tend not to be searching for the truth but grasping for power."
-- Pacific Standard

Sometimes rumor, sometimes based on fact and often misunderstood, the tenets of Islamic law and dogma were not set in...

Contrary to popular opinion, the bulk of Islamic law does not come from the Qur'an but rather from hadith, first-hand reports of the prophet Muhammad's words and deeds, passed from generation to generation. However, with varying accounts often only committed to paper a century after the death of Muhammad, Islamic scholars, past and present, have been faced with complex questions of historical authenticity.

Informative and accessible, this wide-ranging introduction provides a detailed exploration of the collection and criticism of hadith and examines the controversy surrounding its role in...

A thorough exploration of slavery from the perspective of Islam's authoritative texts as well as moral and philosophical debates on the subject