Succession To Muhammad - Historiography

Historiography

See also: Historiography of early Islam and Hadith

Most of Islamic history seems to have been primarily transmitted orally until after the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The historical works of later Muslim writers include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him (the sira and hadith literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life. The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Sirah Rasul Allah (Life of God's Messenger) by Ibn Ishaq (d. 761 or 767 CE). Although the original work is lost, portions of it survive in the recensions of Ibn Hisham (d. 833 CE) and Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE). Many, but not all, scholars accept the accuracy of these biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable. Studies by J. Schacht and Goldziher has led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. According to William Montgomery Watt, in the legal sphere it would seem that sheer invention could have very well happened. In the historical sphere however, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been subject to "tendential shaping" rather than being made out of whole cloth.

Modern Western scholars are much less likely than Sunni Islamic scholars to trust the work of the Abbasid historians. Western historians approach the classic Islamic histories with varying degrees of circumspection.

Hadith compilations are records of the traditions or sayings of Muhammad. These might be defined as the biography of Muhammad perpetuated by the long memory of his community for their exemplification and obedience. The development of hadith is a vital element during the first three centuries of Islamic history. There had been a common tendency among earlier western scholars against these narrations and reports gathered in later periods; such scholars regarding them as later fabrications. Leone Caetani considered the attribution of historical reports to `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas and Aisha as mostly fictitious while proffering accounts reported without isnad by the early compilers of history like Ibn Ishaq. Wilferd Madelung has rejected the stance of indiscriminately dismissing everything not included in "early sources" and in this approach tendentious alone is no evidence for late origin. Madelung and some later historians do not reject the narrations which have been complied in later periods and try to judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.

The only contemporary source is The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays or Kitab al-Saqifah which is written by Sulaym ibn Qays (death: 75-95 AH (694-714)). This is a collection of hadith and historical reports from 1st century of the Islamic calendar and narrates the events which relate to the succession in detail.