THE BEGINNING OF MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH*

MUSLIM HISTORICAL RESEARCH
of the ZsnW in Bulletin of the Jolui Ryl& Library, vol. 38, No. 2,
(March, 1956). F. Wiistenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber &r Araber und Ihre
Werke, No. 28,s. As regards the reporters of Muhammad ibn Ishaq
see A. Fischer, Biographien von Gewahrsmannern desZbn IsbCq hauptsachlich
aus adh-Dhahabi, pp. XVIII + 116 and Zeitschrift &r Deutschen Morge-
nlandischen Gesellschaft. XLJV, 401-444. Gordon D. Newby, "An Example
of Coptic Literary Influence on Ibn Ishaq's Sira, in the Journal of Near
Eastern Studies, (Jan. 1972) XXXI, 1, 22-28. D.M. Dunlop, loc. cit. It is
understood that the original Siru of Ibn Ishaq has been found and M.
Hamidullih of Paris is editing it under the auspices of the Government of
Morocco; see Isliim aur 'A$r-i-Jadid, Urdii Quarterly (New Delhi. 1969),
vol. 111, 51 note I.
(J) Al-Waqidi (130-2071747-823), Abii 'Abdullah, Maammad
ibn 'Umar ibn Waqidi al-Aslami; al-Zirekli, AI-A'lh, VII, 200-201 ;
U.R. Kahhala, Mujbm a1 Mu'allifin, XI, 95-97 (with bibliography). George
Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, I, 541, 523; F. Rosenthal,
A History of Muslim Historiography, passim; ad-Diiri, Bdth fi Nash'at
'Zh at-Ta'rikh 'ind al- 'Arab, 187-206; C. Brockelmann, Geschichte Der
Arabischen Litteratur, I, 141-42. His KitCb al-MaghCzi was published
by Alfred von Kremer at Calcutta in 1856. Its reprint was published
at Cairo in 1948. A critical edition has been published recently
by Marsden Jones (1968), 3 vols. His Futiib ash-ShCm was edited by W.
Nassau Lees, 2 pts (1 854) and Futiih Mi~r was edited by Kabiruddin Ahmad
(1861). J.M.B. Jones, "The Chronology of the MaghGzi - A Textual
Survey" Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 1957, XIXI2
245-280; F. Wiistenfeld, Die Geschichteschreiber der Araber undIhre Werke,
No. 43; 11-1 4; J. Horowitz, "al-Wakidl," in the Encyclopedia of Islam (I),
IV, 11041 105. D.S. Margoliouth, Arabic Historians, 92-95. For arguments
and opinions for and against al-Wiqidi's reliability see D.M. Dunlop,
Arab Civilisation to AD 1500, 73-79. It is stated that there is a MS. of al-
Waqidi's Kit& ar-Rirtda in the Bankipore Library, Patna.
Claude CahenlJean Sauvaget think that the various accounts of the
conquests circulated in thename of al-Wiqidi "are fictitious works of a later
date", Introduction to the History of the Muslim East, 123. The present
translator is in fullagreement with this opinion but D.S.Margoliouth states,
Arabic Historians, 95,". . . the judgements of Muslim authorities on
his work, though by no means unanimous, are in the majority of cases
favourable". The text of his Futi3 ash-ShCm (1854) is in the process of