Muslims, Jews and Pagans examines in detail the available source material on the ʿĀliya area south of Medina on the eve of Islam and at the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. It provides part of the necessary background for the study of the Prophet's history by utilizing in addition to the Prophet's biographies, various texts about the history, geography and inhabitants of this area.
The topics include the landscape, especially the fortifications, the delayed conversion to Islam of part of the Aws tribe, the Qubāʾ village and the incident of Masjid al-Ḍirār in 9 AH. The three appendices deal with historical apologetics, pointing to the social context in which the Prophet's biography emerged during the first Islamic century.
1. The 'Āliya: orchards and fortresses (1)
2. The Aws Allāh clans (19)
3. Qubā': Muslims, Jews and Pagans (50)
4. The Ḍirār Mosque (74)
Concluding remarks (147)
A. Mujammi' b. Jāriya and the Ḍirār Mosque (150)
B. The image problem of Abū Qays b. al-Aslat (154)
C. Abū Qays nearly embraces Islam (156)
Corrigenda to the 1995 edition (181)