Schedule

Week 1 (September 18) al-Silafi’s Mu?jam al-safar

*Quiz

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 12–19. [quiz: 12–19]


• Al-Silaf?, Mu?jam al-safar. Edited by ?Abdallah ?U al-B?r?d?. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 1993, 68–73.


• Al-?abar?n?. Al-Mu?jam al-Awsa?. Edited by ??riq ?I Mu?ammad and ?Abd al-Mu?sin I. al-?usayn?. Cairo: D?r al-?aramayn, 1995, vol.1, 199–202.

Further Reading

Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v “al-Silaf?.”

Zaman, S.M. “Silaf?’s Biography: His Birth and Family Background.” Islamic Studies 25, no. 1 (1986): 1–10.

———. “Sources for Silaf?’s Biography.” Islamic Studies 24, no. 4 (1985): 493–502.

Week 2 (September 25) Ibn al-Qif??

*Quiz

*Tutorials

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 20–39. [quiz: 21–30]


• Y?q?t, Mu?jam al-udab??. Edited by A?mad F. Rif???. Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922, vl.13, 104–105.

Tutorial Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 12–19.


• Al-Silaf?, Mu?jam al-safar. Edited by ?Abdallah ?U al-B?r?d?. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 1993, 68–73.

Further Reading

Dietrich, A. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “Ibn al-?if??.”

Week 3 (October 2) al-Mu??f?’s Kit?b al-Jal?s

*Quiz

*Tutorials

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 40–66. [quiz: 44–46]

Tutorial Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 20–39.


• Y?q?t, Mu?jam al-udab??. Edited by A?mad F. Rif???. Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922, vl.13, 104–105.

Further Reading

Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 291–293.

Al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?. T?r?kh Mad?nat al-Sal?m. Edited by Bashsh?r ?Aww?r Ma?r?f. Beirut: D?r al-Gharb al-Isl?m?, 2001, vl.15, 308.

Y?q?t, Mu?jam al-udab??. Edited by A?mad F. Rif???. Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922, vol.19, 151–154.

Week 4 (October 9) al-Mu??f?’s Kit?b al-Jal?s

*Quiz

Set Reading

• al-Mu??f?. Al-Kit?b Al-Jal?s Al-??li? Al-K?f? Wa-l-An?s Al-N??i? Al-Sh?f?. Edited by Mu?ammad M. al-Khawl?. Beirut: ??lam al-Kutub, 1993. vol.1, 217–232 [Quiz: 217–219].

Further Reading

Chejne, A.G. “The Boon-Companion in Early ’Abb?sid Times.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 85, no. 3 (1965): 327–335.

Week 5 (October 16) al-Mu??f?’s Biography

*Quiz

*Tutorials

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M.  A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 67–76. [quiz: 68–70]


• Al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?. T?r?kh Mad?nat Al-Sal?m. Edited by Bashsh?r ?A. Ma?r?f. Beirut: D?r al-Gharb al-Isl?m?, 2001, vol.15, 308–310. [quiz: 308–310]


• Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 291–293.


• Y?q?t, Mu?jam al-udab??. Edited by A?mad F. Rif???. Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922, vol.19, 151–154.

Tutorial Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 40–66.


• al-Mu??f?. Al-Kit?b Al-Jal?s Al-??li? Al-K?f? Wa-l-An?s Al-N??i? Al-Sh?f?. Edited by Mu?ammad M. al-Khawl?. Beirut: ??lam al-Kutub, 1993. vol.1, 217–219.

Further Reading

Sellheim, R. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “al-K?h?a??b al-Bag?h?d?d?.”

Gilliot, Cl. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “Y???t al-R?m?.”

Fück, J.W. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “Ibn al-Nad?m.”

Bori, C. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition, s.v. “al-Dhahab?.”

Stewart, Devin. “The Structure of the Fihrist: Ibn Al-Nadim as Historian of Islamic Legal and Theological Schools.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 39, no. 3 (2007): 369–87.

Week 6 (October 23)

*Quiz

*Tutorial

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 77–93. [quiz: 80–81]


• Al-Tan?kh?. Al-Faraj Ba?da Al-Shidda. Edited by ?Abb?d al-Sh?lij?. Beirut: D?r ??dir, 1978, vol.1, 173–176.

Tutorial Reading

• Al-Kha??b al-Baghd?d?. T?r?kh Mad?nat Al-Sal?m. Edited by Bashsh?r ?A. Ma?r?f. Beirut: D?r al-Gharb al-Isl?m?, 2001, vol.15, 308–310.


• Ibn Nadim. Al-Fihrist. Edited by Ri?? Tajaddud. Tehran: D?r al-Mas?ra, 1988, 291–293.


• Y?q?t, Mu?jam al-udab??. Edited by A?mad F. Rif???. Cairo: Ma?b???t al-Ma?m?n, 1922, vol.19, 151–154.

Further Reading

Fähndrich H. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “al-Tan?k?h??.”

Khalifa, N. Hardship and Deliverance in the Islamic Tradition: Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Al-Tanu?khi?. London: Tauris, 2010.

Week 7 (October 30)

*Quiz

*Tutorial

Set Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 127–142. [quiz: 131–132]


• Al-I?fah?n?. Kit?b Al-Agh?n?. Edited by Y?suf al-Baq??? and Ghar?d al-Shaykh. Beirut: Al Alami Library, 2000, vol.2, 5–11.

Tutorial Reading

• Bonebakker, S.A., and Fishbein, M. A Reader of Classical Arabic Literature. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2012, 77–93.


• Al-Tan?kh?. Al-Faraj Ba?da Al-Shidda. Edited by ?Abb?d al-Sh?lij?. Beirut: D?r ??dir, 1978, vol.1, 173–176.

Further Reading

Kilpatrick, Hilary. Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilations and the Author’s Craft in Ab? Al-Faraj Al-I?bah?n?’s Kit?b Al-Agh?n?. London: Routledge, 2003, 14–33; 258–277.

Günther, G. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition, s.v. “Ab? al-Faraj al-I?fah?n?.”

Week 8 (November 6) Midterm Examination – Oral

Week 9 (November 13) Midterm Examination - Written

Week 10–11 (November 20, 27) Yawm al-Saq?fa

*Tutorial

*Quiz

Set Reading

• Al-?abar?. T?r?kh Al-Rusul Wa-l-Mul?k. Edited by Mu?ammad A. Ibr?h?m. 2nd ed. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, 1968, vol.3, 203–210 [quiz: 203–206].


• al-Bukh?r?. ?a???. Riyadh: Bayt al-Afk?r al-Dawliyya, 1998, 3667–3668.

Tutorial Reading

• Sulaym b. Qays al-Hil?l?. Kit?b. Edited by Mu?ammad B?qir al-An??r? al-Zanj?n?. Qom: Ma?ba?at al-H?d?, 1999, 143–145.


• Ibn A?tham, A?mad b. Mu?ammad al-K?f?. Kit?b Al-Fut??. Edited by ?Al? Sh?r?. Beirut: D?r al-A?w??, 1991, vol.1, 6–9­.


• Al-Ya?q?b?, A?mad b. Ab? Ya?q?b. T?r?kh Al-Ya?q?b?. Edited by ?Abd al-Am?r Muhann?. Beirut: Sharikat al-A?lam? li-l-Ma?b???t, 2010, vol.2, 7–11.


• al-Mas??d?. Mur?j Al-Dhahab Wa-Ma??din Al-Jawhar. Edited by Kam?l ?asan Mur??. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-?A?riyya, 2005, vol.2, 237–238.


• al-Suy???. T?r?kh Al-Khulaf??. Beirut: D?r Ibn ?azm, 2003, 55–57.


• Al-Bal?dhur?, A?mad b. Ya?y?. Ans?b Al-Ashr?f. Edited by Suhayl Zakk?r and Riy?? Zirikl?. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 1996, vol.2, 265–270.

Further Reading

Bosworth, C.E. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “al-?abar?.”

Robinson, Chase F. Islamic Historiography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 134–142.

Lecomte, G. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, s.v. “al-Sa??fa.”

Madelung, Wilferd. The Succession to Mu?ammad?: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, 28–45.

BBC Radio Broadcast, “The Islamic Golden Age: al-Tabari.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03k0q3c

Week 12–13 (December 4, 11) al-Wal?d b. ?Uqba

*Tutorial

Set Reading

• Al-?abar?. T?r?kh Al-Rusul Wa-l-Mul?k. Edited by Mu?ammad A. Ibr?h?m. 2nd ed. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, 1968, vol.4, 271–281 [quiz: 271–274].

Tutorial Reading

• Ibn Sa?d, Mu?ammad. Kit?b Al-?abaq?t Al-Kab?r. Edited by ?Al? M. ?Umar. Cairo: Maktabat al-Kh?nj?, 2001, vol.6, 37–38.


• Al-I?fah?n?. Kit?b Al-Agh?n?. Edited by Y?suf al-Baq??? and Ghar?d al-Shaykh. Beirut: Al Alami Library, 2000, vol.5, 93–95.


• Ibn ?ajar al-?Asqal?n?. Al-I??ba F? Tamy?z Al-?a??ba. Edited by ?Abdallah b. ?Abd al-Mu?sin al-Turk? and ?Abd al-Sind ?asan Yam?ma. Cairo: Markaz Hajar li-l-Bu??th wa-l-Dir?s?t al-?Arabiyya wa-l-Isl?miyya, 2008, vol. 11, 340–345.


• Ibn al-Ath?r, Ab? al-?asan ?Al? b. Mu?ammad. Usd Al-Gh?ba F? Ma?rifat Al-?a??ba. Edited by ?Al? M. Mu?awwi? and ??dil A. ?Abd al-Mawj?d. Beirut: D?r al-Kutub al-?Ilmiyya, 1996, vol.5, 420–422.


• Ibn ?Abd al-Barr, Ab? ?Umar Y?suf al-Qur?ub?. Al-Ist???b F? Asm?? Al-A???b. Beirut: D?r al-Fikr, 2006, vol.2, 332–336.


• Al-?abar?, Mu?ammad b. Jar?r. J?mi? Al-Bay?n ?an Ta?w?l Al-Qur??n. Edited by Ma?m?d M. Sh?kir and A?mad M. Sh?kir. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, 1954, vol.18, 624–625; vol.21, 348–352.

Further Reading

Keaney, Heather N. “Confronting the Caliph: ?Uthm?n b. ?Aff?n in Three ?Abb?sid Chronicles.” Studia Islamica 106, no. 1 (2011): 25–48.

Humphreys, R.S. “Qur?anic Myth and Narrative Structure in Early Islamic Historiography.” In Tradition and Innovation in Late Antiquity, edited by R.S. Humphreys and Frank M. Clover, 271–90. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.

Humphreys, R.S. Islamic History: A Framework of Inquiry. London: I.B. Tauris, 1991, 76–87, 98–103.

Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. London: Longman, 1986, 69–81.

BBC Radio Broadcast, “In Our Time: Sunni and Shi‘a Islam.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00l5mhl

Week 14–15 (December 18, 25)

*Tutorial

*Quiz

Set Reading

• The Qur??n, s?rat 60 [quiz: the whole s?rat].

Tutorial Reading

• Al-?abar?, Mu?ammad b. Jar?r. J?mi? Al-Bay?n ?an Ta?w?l Al-Qur??n. Edited by Ma?m?d M. Sh?kir and A?mad M. Sh?kir. Cairo: D?r al-Ma??rif, 1954, vol.23, 557–605.

Further Reading

Sonn, T. ‘Introducing.’ In The Blackwell Companion to the Qur??n. Edited by A. Rippin. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing, 2006, 3-17.

Berg, H. ‘Context: Mu?ammad.’ In The Blackwell Companion to the Qur??n. Edited by A. Rippin. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing, 2006, 200–217.

Gätje H. The Qur?a?n and its exegesis : selected texts with classical and modern Muslim interpretations. Translated by Alford T. Welch. Oxford: Oneworld, 1997, 30–44.

Ernst, Carl W. How to read the Qur’an: a new guide, with select translations. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011, 155–171.

Week 16 (January 1) Holiday

Week 17 (January 8) Final Examination – Oral

Week 18 (January 15) Final Examination - Written

Evaluation

Quizzes 20%

Midterm Examination 25%

Final Examination 25%

Tutorials 30%

The midterm examination will cover the Set Reading and Tutorial Reading from W1 to W7. Yet, the material in Further Reading may be useful for the preparation of the exam. The exam questions comprise: a. translation (15%); b. vocalisation (15%); c. reading comprehension (25%); d. short answer questions about the authors/compilers, their life and their works (25%); e. oral examination (20%).

The final examination will cover the Set Reading and Tutorial Reading from W9 to W15. Yet, the material in Further Reading may be useful for the preparation of the exam. The exam questions comprise: a. translation (15%); b. vocalisation (15%); c. reading comprehension (25%); d. short answer questions about the authors/compilers, their life and their works (25%); e. oral examination (20%).

Note that cheating under any circumstance is not acceptable. If you are found cheating in a quiz or examination, you will be failed. Using electronic devices during the quizzes or exams is not allowed.

Important: photography and eating are not allowed in this course.

See schedule