Conversion to Islam

Abstract

Abstract Why did non-Muslims convert to Islam during Muhammad’s life and under his immediate successors? How did Muslim historians portray these conversions? Why did their portrayals differ significantly? To what extent were their portrayals influenced by their time of writing, religious inclinations, and political affiliations? These are the fundamental questions that drive this study. Relying on numerous works, including primary sources from over a hundred classical Muslim historians, this investigation is the first scholarly study to detect, trace, and analyze conversion themes in early Muslim historiography. It emphasizes how classical Muslims remembered conversion, and how they valued and evaluated aspects of it. This study examines the interplay between history and historiography, as it scrutinizes the influence of religio-political and sociocultural contexts on historical narratives. While this study focuses on historical accounts, its conclusions are contrasted with recent findings of non-historiographical research on conversion to Islam. Readers will join an intellectual journey, exploring numerous early Muslim sources and wrestling with critical observations regarding the sources’ reliability. They will question whether Islam actually spread by the sword and deduce unconventional meanings of conversion. They will unearth the hidden link between historical narratives and historians’ religious sympathies and political agendas. This study leads readers through a complex body of literature, provides insights regarding historical context, and creates a vivid picture of conversion to Islam as early Muslim historians sought to depict it.