Overview

The chapter about idols in Maqrīzī’s universal history is made of excerpts from earlier books, some of which are no longer extant. Excerpts from the latter category naturally form the most exciting aspect of this text. Its appearance comes at a time when certain scholars doubt the import or even the very existence of pre-Islamic idol worship. Early Islamic literature often focuses on the contemporaries of the Prophet Muḥammad whose stories were a source of pride for their offspring. The crucial moment in one’s life was the conversion, and it is in the context of conversion that we learn about idol worship.

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Michael Lecker, Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studies the economic and social history of early Islam, with an emphasis on the life of the Prophet Muḥammad and the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula. Yaara Perlman is a PhD candidate at Princeton University, where she focuses on early Islamic history. In her dissertation, she seeks to extract historical details from genealogical evidence. She holds BA and MA degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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