Ayman Ibrahim

The last ten years of Muhammad's life are vitally important not only to the study of Islam's prophet, but to the development of the religion itself. Prior to that last decade, Muhammad and his followers were tribally weak, and were persecuted by the Arabian elites of Mecca. Yet, according to Muslim accounts, by the end of his life Muhammad had become the sole leader of Western Arabia. This last decade was colored by strategic military expeditions and tactical treaties, in which Muhammad overcame all his tribal enemies. Yet English speakers have long had limited access to thorough studies of these expeditions based on the original Arabic primary sources. In this book, Ayman S. Ibrahim seeks to fill this scholarly gap, presenting an exhaustive account of Muhammad's final decade, with specific emphasis on his military raids against various non-Muslim groups.

What can the Muslim tradition reveal about Muhammad's military career? Did he really launch over seventy military campaigns? Why? Can we be certain that the military incursions described in Islamic sources actually took place? These are fundamental questions in any study of the life and activities of Muhammad, and Ibrahim looks for answers in this thoroughly-researched book. Considering the views of Muslims and non-Muslims, the motivations behind raids, and the development of Islam itself, Muhammad's Military Expeditions leaves no stone unturned.

As early as the seventh century, Christians living and ministering in Muslim contexts adapted their language and public witness to Islamic cultural and religious sensitivities. In Islam and the Bible, editors Ayman S. Ibrahim and Ant B. Greenham invite leading voices, representing a spectrum of approaches, to explore the issues surrounding “Muslim Idiom Translations” of the Bible. This work will be insightful for students, theologians, missiologists, missionaries, and Bible translators seeking wisdom and clarity on gospel contextualization.

This book has 20 outstanding chapters by international scholars and practitioners in the field to shed light on these important matters. The contributors represent Australasia, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, North America, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

For many in the English-speaking world, Islam remains a mysterious religion. What is Islam in the first place? Does it mean "peace," or does it mean "submission"? Can it mean both? What is jihad? Sharia? Hadith? Who is Allah? What is a caliph, caliphate, or infidel?

In this compact volume, an expert in the study of Islam provides explanations for more than one hundred important Islamic concepts and terms, which are divided into major sections: texts, history, faith and belief, practice and religious duties, jurisprudence, and movements. Ayman Ibrahim first introduces the section, then defines each concept or term briefly. Readers can read a chapter at a time or flip through the book to find concepts or terms as needed. Each term is described based on original Muslim sources, mainly written in Arabic, as well as ample scholarly studies.

This introductory guide is written for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam. It complements the author's A Concise Guide to the Quran and A Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad. Together, these three volumes are useful as a set of resources on Islam.

The book highlights how Arabic-speaking Christians defended their faith in discussions with Muslims in the earliest Muslim period. How did they respond to the Islamic claims against the Bible, the Trinity, and the Incarnation? How did these Christians view Islam, Muḥammad, and the Qur’ān? How did these medieval theologians employ the language of the conquerors, Arabic, to defend their faith and its tenets? How did these Arabic-speaking Christians explain the divinity of Jesus? To what extent were Christians able to advance the Christian belief of a Triune God in opposition to the Islamic view of strict monotheism? Can today’s Church, particularly in the West, benefit in any way from the earliest arguments articulated, developed, and advanced by these medieval Arabic-speaking Christians? These questions, and many more, are at the heart of this important volume.

In the thirteenth-century, a debate transpired over the course of several days between a monk named Jurjī and several Muslims jurists in the city of Aleppo. This debate represents a careful and sophisticated example of a literary genre that had been developing among the Christians living under Islamic rule since the seventh century. The immense popularity of this work is demonstrated by the sheer volume of surviving manuscripts, which number around hundred. This volume provides a critical edition and translation of the text.

What is so unique about Muhammad? Did he really exist? What do Muslims say about him and his teaching? What did he say about loving one's neighbor and about those who abandon Islam? These are a few of the thirty questions answered in this clear and concise guide to Muhammad's life and religious significance.

This companion volume to the author's A Concise Guide to the Quran answers many of the key questions non-Muslims have about Muhammad, reveals the importance of Muhammad for Christian-Muslim and Jewish-Muslim interfaith relations, examines Muslim and non-Muslim primary sources, and engages classic and modern studies on the most important human figure for scores of Muslims. This introductory guide is written for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam who wants to learn about Muslims, their beliefs, and their prophet.

This is my forthcoming book with Oxford University Press, expected out in February 2021. Here is the book synopsis: Why did non-Muslims convert to Islam during Muhammad’s life and under his immediate successors? How did Muslim historians portray these conversions? Why did their portrayals differ significantly? To what extent were their portrayals influenced by their time of writing, religious inclinations, and political affiliations? These are the fundamental questions that drive this study.

Relying on more than 500 works, including primary sources from over a hundred classical Muslim historians, this investigation is the first scholarly study to detect, trace, and analyze conversion topoi in early Muslim historiography. It emphasizes how classical Muslims remembered conversion, and how they valued and evaluated aspects of it. This study examines the interplay between history and historiography, as it scrutinizes the influence of religio-political and sociocultural contexts on historical narratives. While this study focuses on historical accounts, its conclusions are contrasted with recent findings of non-historiographical research on conversion to Islam.
Readers will join an intellectual journey, exploring numerous early Muslim sources and wrestling with critical observations regarding the sources’ reliability. They will question whether Islam actually spread by the sword, and deduce unconventional meanings of conversion. They will unearth the hidden link between historical narratives and historians’ religious sympathies and political agendas. This study leads readers through a complex body of literature, provides insights regarding historical context, and creates a vivid picture of conversion to Islam as early Muslim historians sought to depict it.

What is so unique about Islam’s scripture, the Quran? Who wrote it, and when? Is it perfectly preserved throughout history? Can we trust its statements to be from Muhammad? Why was it written in Arabic? What is the best available English translation? Does it command Muslims to fight Christians? What do Muslims believe about the Quran? Do Sunnis and Shiites have the same Quran? If not, why? These are some of the questions answered in this concise guide. This book examines Muslim and non-Muslim views concerning the Quran. It discusses significant evidence about the Quran and its authenticity from the earliest Arabic Muslim sources. It examines Muslim and non-Muslim views about the inerrancy and infallibility of the Quran. Following a question and answer pattern, the book covers more than 30 critical questions about the most sacred book for Muslims. In this concise and accessible text, the reader will embark on a wonderful journey through primary Muslim sources and non-Muslim studies, in order to understand major truths about the Quran. This book is highly recommended for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam. This is a great resource for beginners who want to learn about Muslims, their beliefs, and their scripture.

Forthcoming with Baker Academic end of 2020. Here's the book synopsis: What is so unique about Islam’s scripture, the Quran? Who wrote it, and when? Is it perfectly preserved throughout history? Can we trust its statements to be from Muhammad? Why was it written in Arabic? What is the best available English translation? Does it command Muslims to fight Christians? Did ISIS apply the Quran in their atrocities against non-Muslims? What do Muslims believe about the Quran? Do Sunni and Shiite Muslims have the same Quran? If not, why? These are some of the questions answered in this concise guide.
This book examines Muslim and non-Muslim views concerning the Quran. It discusses significant evidence about the Quran and its authenticity from the earliest Arabic Muslim sources. It examines Muslim and non-Muslim views about the inerrancy and infallibility of the Quran. Following a question and answer pattern, the book covers more than 30 critical questions about the most sacred book for Muslims. In this concise and accessible text, the reader will embark on a wonderful journey through primary Muslim sources and non-Muslim studies, in order to understand major truths about the Quran. This book is highly recommended for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam. This is a great resource for beginners who want to learn about Muslims, their beliefs, and their scripture.

This is my review of Juan Cole’s ambitious book on Muhammad. Many devoted Muslims will likely find Cole’s depiction of Muhammad fanciful and unacceptable. While the book is easy-to-read and accessible, I have strong objections to Cole’s historical methodology. The book suffers from significant selectivity in treating both non-Muslim and Muslim primary sources. I think historians of religion in general, and Islamicists in particular, will indeed find his thesis reductionist, inconsistent, and contradicted by much of the evidence we do possess.

This is a very good review of my first book on early Islamic conquests by Professor David Johnston (U Pennsylvania). He writes, "Ayman Ibrahim is fast becoming a noted historian in early Islam. This book, The Stated Motivations, demonstrates his wide and strong grasp of the sources and critical issues relative to early Islamic history and historiography."

This dissertation is my second PhD in Islamic Studies. I completed it in 2018 at Haifa University. Here is my synopsis:

Why did non-Muslims convert to Islam during Muhammad’s life and under his immediate successors? How did Muslim historians portray these conversions? Why did their portrayals differ significantly? To what extent were their portrayals influenced by their time of writing, religious inclinations, and political affiliations? These are the fundamental questions that drive this study.
Relying on more than 500 works, including primary sources from over a hundred classical Muslim historians, this investigation is the first scholarly study to detect, trace, and analyze conversion topoi in early Muslim historiography. It emphasizes how classical Muslims remembered conversion, and how they valued and evaluated aspects of it. This study examines the interplay between history and historiography, as it scrutinizes the influence of religio-political and sociocultural contexts on historical narratives. While this study focuses on historical accounts, its conclusions are contrasted with recent findings of non-historiographical research on conversion to Islam.
Readers will join an intellectual journey, exploring numerous early Muslim sources and wrestling with critical observations regarding the sources’ reliability. They will question whether Islam actually spread by the sword, and deduce unconventional meanings of conversion. They will unearth the hidden link between historical narratives and historians’ religious sympathies and political agendas. This study leads readers through a complex body of literature, provides insights regarding historical context, and creates a vivid picture of conversion to Islam as early Muslim historians sought to depict it.

What motivated the early Islamic conquests? Did the Arabs fight for Allah, or for wealth and dominance? Were the conquerors principally Arabs, or specifically Muslims? Were the Muslim believers motivated by religious zeal to proclaim Islam to the non-Muslims? Consequently, was Islam spread by the sword? This is a question that has crucial implications today.

The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (622–641) extensively analyzes the earliest Arabic Muslim sources to answer these and other questions. It relies on over 400 works, including primary sources written by more than 90 medieval Muslim authors, Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and Mu’tazilite. It explores how medieval Muslim writers represented the early Arab leaders, and how much we can trust their reports. It concludes with an examination of the Qur’ān’s commands regarding fighting and armed jihad, and questions what later commentators suggest about fighting the non-Muslims, specifically how radical Muslim interpretations match or violate Islam’s sacred scripture.

This is the first scholarly analysis to focus on the stated motivations for the early Islamic expansion in the first two decades of Islam. It is a valuable resource for courses on Muslim history, introduction to Islam, Islamic origins and texts, classical and modern Islamic thought, Muhammad’s biography, Islamic Caliphates, Muslim-Christian relations, Jews in the Muslim world, Middle Eastern history, and world history. In the age of ISIS, Qaeda, and Boko Haram, this book reflects on how historiographical accounts can inform today’s multi-cultural and multi-religious societies on complex relations, mutual respect, and religious coexistence.

What motivated the early Islamic conquests? Did the Arabs fight for Allah, or for wealth and dominance? Were the conquerors principally Arabs, or specifically Muslims? Were the Muslim believers motivated by religious zeal to proclaim Islam to the non-Muslims? Consequently, was Islam spread by the sword? This is a question that has crucial implications today.

The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (622–641) extensively analyzes the earliest Arabic Muslim sources to answer these and other questions. It relies on over 400 works, including primary sources written by more than 90 medieval Muslim authors, Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and Mu’tazilite. It explores how medieval Muslim writers represented the early Arab leaders, and how much we can trust their reports. It concludes with an examination of the Qur’ān’s commands regarding fighting and armed jihad, and questions what later commentators suggest about fighting the non-Muslims, specifically how radical Muslim interpretations match or violate Islam’s sacred scripture.

This is the first scholarly analysis to focus on the stated motivations for the early Islamic expansion in the first two decades of Islam. It is a valuable resource for courses on Muslim history, introduction to Islam, Islamic origins and texts, classical and modern Islamic thought, Muhammad’s biography, Islamic Caliphates, Muslim-Christian relations, Jews in the Muslim world, Middle Eastern history, and world history. In the age of ISIS, Qaeda, and Boko Haram, this book reflects on how historiographical accounts can inform today’s multi-cultural and multi-religious societies on complex relations, mutual respect, and religious coexistence.

This is a very good review of my book on early Islamic conquests by Professor David Johnston (University of Pennsylvania). He writes, "Ayman Ibrahim is fast becoming a noted historian in early Islam. This book, The Stated Motivations, demonstrates his wide and strong grasp of the sources and critical issues relative to early Islamic history and historiography."

In the thirteenth-century, a debate transpired over the course of several days between a monk named Jurjī and several Muslims jurists in the city of Aleppo. This debate represents a careful and sophisticated example of a literary genre that had been developing among the Christians living under Islamic rule since the seventh century. The immense popularity of this work is demonstrated by the sheer volume of surviving manuscripts, which number around hundred. This volume provides a critical edition and translation of the text.

This is my review article of Juan Cole’s book on Muhammad. I thought his method was questionable. Many devoted Muslims will likely find his depiction of Muhammad fanciful and unacceptable. The book is easy-to-read and accessible, but I have strong objections to his historical interpretation. The book suffers from significant selectivity in treating both non-Muslim and Muslim primary sources. I think historians of religion in general, and Islamicists in particular, will indeed find his thesis reductionist, inconsistent, and contradicted by much of the evidence we do possess.

This is my review of Juan Cole’s ambitious book on Muhammad. Many devoted Muslims will likely find Cole’s depiction of Muhammad fanciful and unacceptable. While the book is easy-to-read and accessible, I have strong objections to Cole’s historical methodology. The book suffers from significant selectivity in treating both non-Muslim and Muslim primary sources. I think historians of religion in general, and Islamicists in particular, will indeed find his thesis reductionist, inconsistent, and contradicted by much of the evidence we do possess.