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The books on the Sīra (life and career) of Muḥammad feature a number of references to Christianity and Christian groups who came into contact, directly or indirectly, with the prophet of Islam. Such references include descriptions of encounters and disputations that Muḥammad had with Christians, sermons he delivered about Christianity, and letters that he sent to Christian rulers. Undoubtedly, there is a problem with the historicity of some or all of these encounters and stories in that no contemp…

Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hibat Allāh Ibn ʿAsākir Date of Birth: 13 September 1105 Place of Birth: Damascus Date of Death: 25 January 1176 Place of Death: Damascus Biography Abū l-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan Ibn ʿAsākir is the most notable figure of the Sunnī ʿAsākir family, whose members occupied prestigious scholarly positions in Damascus for more than two centuries (11th-13th centuries). Ibn ʿAsākir was born in 1105. He started his pursuit of religious education at a very young age, accompanying his father and elder brother to the teaching circles …

Ta’rīkh DimashqTa’rīkhHistory of Damascus Ibn ʿAsākir Date: Between 1134 and 1176 Original Language: Arabic Description The parts of Ibn ʿAsākir’s Taʾrīkh that are relevant to Christian-Muslim relations are the following entries: ʿIsā ibn Maryam (Jesus), xlvii, pp. 347-524 (also edited by Mourad, Sīrat al-Sayyid al-Masīḥ); Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyya (John the Baptist), lxiv, pp. 168-218; Ḥawāriyyūn ʿIsā ibn Maryam (Disciples of Jesus), lxviii, pp. 55-71; and Maryam bint ʿImrān (Mary), lxx, pp. 75-122. In these entries one comes across the variety of Muslim opinions about t…