The Sabians in classical Muslim scholarship
Three classical Muslim scholars on the Sabians, and why al-Shahrastani read Abraham’s argument with the stars as a case against them.
Topic
History
The history of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mandaeism from antiquity to the present.
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The Abrahamic family tree and what the traditions share
Who descends from whom, and what the traditions hold in common: the family of Abraham and the beliefs Judaism, Christianity and Islam share, in…
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The population of the Abrahamic religions
Pew Research projects Islam and Christianity nearing parity by 2050, and Islam becoming the largest religion by 2060 or later.
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Paul and Peter: two missions in the early church
Paul’s own letters describe a real conflict with Peter at Antioch. A later letter, in Peter’s name, makes peace.
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Apostasy in the Abrahamic traditions
Rabbinic law, Christian empire, classical Islamic jurisprudence and modern reconsideration: how each tradition has treated those who leave.
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Haman in the Qur’an
Was the Qur’an’s Haman borrowed from the Bible’s Esther, or is his name an Egyptian priestly title?
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The king and the Pharaoh
Joseph served a king and Moses faced a Pharaoh: how the Qur’an’s two titles for the ruler of Egypt match the Egyptian record.
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The Sabians of the Qur’an
The community the Qur’an names beside the Jews and the Christians, and how Muslim scholars answered the question of who they were.
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What archaeology tells us about the ancient Near East
Inscriptions, excavations and the limits of the evidence for the world of the Bible and early Islam.
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Kedar, the Arabs and the prophets
Kedar in the Hebrew Bible, the Arab tribes of the north, and the figure the oracles point to.
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Jerusalem in three traditions
Why one city holds a central place in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
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Who was Abraham?
The historical and theological figure of Abraham across the traditions, and why Mandaeism parts from him.