فصلنامه تاریخ اسلام
پیاپی 7 (پاییز 1380)

Islam is an all-inclusive and universal religion and from its very advent tried not to restrict itself to the narrow circles of racialism and tribalism. That is why in the year 6 A.H.,628 A.D., and in line with his universal mission, the prophet of Islam sent a number of letters to the leaders of the neighboring countries of al-Hijaz inviting them to the new religion of al-Islam.In his well-known History, the great Muslim historian, at-Tabari, has recorded the text of the three letters that the prophet wrote to Negus, the king of Abyssinia, Khosrow II Parviz, the king of Sasanian Persia, and Heraclius, the Eastern Roman emperor. This papre's objective is to examine and discuss these three letters.

The Battle of Al-Ghadisiyyah changed the destiny of both the Iranian and the Muslims. By conquering Iran and bringing to an end the Sasanian empire, the Muslims inherited an advanced civizilation and culure unsurpassed by that time. The great incident, however, has been marred with biases and predispositions, throughout history, for which there can be cited, two reasons:1- Historical explanations come from different schools and sources that are inclined to blow up the facts out of proportion, or conduct them through certain channels and towards specific ends.2- The distant time between the historians and the battle, and the great number of orally - related accounts have cast doubt into the historian's minds in isolating the true reports, the result of which is the variety of opinion on the fateful incident. This papertries to present a new angle of view.

In this paper, casualty figures in the battles of Camel, Siffin, and Nahrawan will be examined. Unfortunately such figures have been greatly inflated in both older and more recent texts, and no scrupulous research has so far been conducted on this topic. Although among the many and contradictory figures on the casualties in these three battles pinpointing the true figures is almost impossible;this article tries, taking into account all reports and circumstantial evidences, to separate the incorrect and `exaggerated statistics, and as far as possible establish the approximate and real, though not definite, figures.

The immensity of the Karbala incident and its vast and profound social and political impacts in the history of Islam, and especially that of the Shiah, lead every inquisitive and interested mind that wants to better understand historical facts, towards a more through grasp of the sources which have registered reports on this incident. This is especially true in light of the orientalist's claim that most historical accounts in Islam had written-wise remained unaccounted for until the middle of the 2nd century A.H.In this paper, by giving a brief introduction on "Maghtal al-Husayn", a major work on the topic, by Abu Mukhannaf, we have tried to demonstrate that many of the main relators of the àshura incident had been eyewitnesses present on the battle- scene themselves; and hence, the information that has been passed to us this moment-of-truth event is of great historical value to scholars.

Shurayh ibn al-Harith al-kindi, known as Shurayh-e Ghadhi(the Judge), was a social, juristic, and partly political character of early Islam. According to some historians and genealogists, Shurayh's whole life is full of ambiguities and contradictions, and this has caused a number of scholars to assume that he might have merely been an invented figure in early Islamic history.In this article, while rejecting this notion, and proving the authenticity of his being,it is tried to shed light on other corners of his life such as: his Iranian origin, whether he was a Companion or a second generatian follower of the Prophet; reasons for his long hold on his judicial office; the accusation of his involvement in drafting the indictment against Hujr ibn-e àdi; and the most important of all, the examination of the question whether he did really issue a fatwa against Imam Husayn or not.

In the history of Muslim governments, the institution of hisbah had been a functionary organ of the judiciary branch of state authority, its duty being the supervision of civil affairs and oversight on behavior of the citizens.When the hisbah institution was established for the first time is the subject of a range of different opinions among expert historians. Some believe that the institution was established sometime in the Prophet's lifetime or during the rule of his immediate successors, while others hold that it was created either in the Umawi (umayyad) or Abbasi periods of the Muslim khilafah.In this paper, the author, while presenting the various prevalent opinions and scrutinizing them carefully, deems the creation of the hisbah institution in the early periods of the Abbasi khilafah to be closest to truth.

The Ismta¨ili movement had been the most dynamic and powerful of all Shi¨i movements in the Islamic World during the Middle Ages, and is still being actively led by its Agha Khans, the modern-time Imams of the sect. Since the time of the Fatimi Khilafah in northern Africa and Egypt, and the Nizari Imamah in Alamut, in Persia, the IsmÄilis posed an unprecedented spiritual and political challenge of the majority Sunni branch of Islam, and the power and influence of the Turkish sultans of the Seljugh (seljuq) dynasty, and the Abbasi Khalifahs at Baghdad. Historians and scholars both in the East and the West have extensively dealt with the issue of the rise of the IsmÄili sect in the Middle Ages. The name "Fedaiyan (Fidaieen)", Assassins in English, in association with the Alamut stronghold, and Masyaf in Syria; and clashes between these Fedaiyan and the Crusaders,have always drawn Westetn researchers to the Nizaris and their Syrian leader, Rashid ad-Din as-Sinan, Known as Sheikh-al- Jabal, English "the Old Man of the Mountain." This paper examines the life and activities of this greatest leader of the Syrian IsmÄilis in the 6th century A.H., 13th century A.D.