The Expeditions: An Early Biography of Muhammad by Ma'mar Ibn Rashid according to the Recension of 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani.

• Author: Lecker, Michael
• Position: Book review

The Expeditions: An Early Biography of Muhammad by Mu'mar Ibn Rashid according to the Recension of 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani. Edited and translated by SEAN W. ANTHONY. Library of Arabic Literature. New York: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2014. Pp. xlv + 372. $35.

The book is part of the Library of Arabic Literature (LAL) series (general editor: Philip F. Kennedy), and it is going to be one of the most elegant books in your library, thanks to the commendable efforts of the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute. The lovely DecoType Naskh Arabic font (designed by Thomas Milo and Mirjam Somers) and the DecoType Emiri font used in the footnotes (designed by Mirjam Somers), the quality paper, the binding, and the jacket contribute to the appearance and feel of this lovely book. The Arabic original and the English translation appear side by side (pp. 2-281). It is accompanied by notes (pp. 283-314), a glossary (pp. 315-44), and an up-to-date bibliography with items published in 2013 (or even 2014, in the case of the prolific editor/translator himself). A timeline, two maps, and a genealogical chart of the Quraysh tribe are welcome additions. Moreover, at www. libraryofarabicliterature.org/extra-2, the LAL site offers lists of errata, which will encourage readers to send in their comments for the sake of future reprints.

This "early biography of the Prophet Muhammad that dates to the second/eighth century" (p. xv) is actually a collection of accounts linked to the Prophet Muhammad in one way or another. For some reason these accounts were chosen from among thousands of similar accounts to form this specific collection now edited and translated for LAL. The compilers of this and similar collections--Ma'mar ibn Rashid, Ibn Ishaq, and their colleagues--may have considered their collections to be historical accounts of Muhammad's life and time, but this is far from certain, for they were not historians in the modem sense of the word and "biography" in this context does not equal "history." For the study of Muhammad's life and time, the largest possible selection of sources should be consulted, regardless of how they are titled.

It is sometimes argued that there was a wide gap between Muhammad's life and the beginning of historiography, but there was no such gap. In 82/701 the governor of Medina, Aban ibn 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (d. ca. 101/719), had at his disposal a "biography" of Muhammad (i.e., probably a collection of accounts similar to the one under review) that had...