Edited by Lawrence I. Conrad. Ph.D. 1981

These essays, plus an important contribution to the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Islam, by one of the foremost scholars and a leading historian of early Islamic times, have now been collected and republished for the benefit of a wider audience. The nine studies here reprinted deal with several important themes: the first Civil War and the social and political tensions underlying it, early Islamic historiography, the early Arab conquests, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims during the period, and the mihna ("inquisition") in early 'Abbasid times. To all of these themes, Hinds brought not only a philologist's expertise and a historian's appreciation for the methodological problems that arise in dealing with ancient texts, but also the skills to distill from complex material coherent historical reconstructions. An Introduction by G.R. Hawting, also a specialist in early Islamic history, places Hinds' work in perspective and indicates paths to future research.

Reviews

“Martin Hinds was one of the finest scholars of this generation. His death in 1988, at age 47, ended his career prematurely. He published only eight journal articles, which are collected in this volume along with one article from The Encyclopedia of Islam, second edition. ... Hinds was very much a historian who tried to understand human events and their causes, but he was also a superb Arabist, completely fluent in the literary and spoken versions of the language. ... The original pagination of each article is provided in the margin. The physical production of the book is satisfying to the eye and hand: Darwin Press is to be congratulated and thanked, as are the editors. An introduction by G.R. Hawting summarizes Hinds' career and publications, including a couple of paragraphs on each article in this book. Hinds' articles are essential reading for any specialist in early Islamic history.” --Journal of the American Oriental Society