Michael Lecker: Publications (books and articles)

April 2016

1 Books
For publishers’ details see the present homepage under “books”.
For reviews by the present writer see homepage under “reviews”.
1. Aharon Oppenheimer, in collaboration with Benjamin Isaac and Michael
Lecker, Babylonia Judaica in the Talmudic Period , Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig
Reichert, 1983. (Beihefte zum Tūbinger Atlas des vorderen Orients.)
TAVO B VI 18: Hanswulf Bloedhorn, Aharon Oppenheimer, Benjamin
Isaac, Michael Lecker, Michael Hartmann, Sabine Körtje, and Gert Li-
ideritz, Die jüdische Diaspora bis zum 7. Jahrhundert n. Chr.; The Jewish
Diaspora until the 7th Century A.D., Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert,
1992.

2. Michael Lecker, The Banū Sulaym: A Contribution to the Study of Early

Islam, Jerusalem: Institute of Asian and African Studies, The Hebrew
University, 1989. (The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series, Monographs,
4.)

3. Muslims, Jews and Pagans: Studies on Early Islamic Medina, Leiden: Brill,
1995. (Islamic History and Civilization, Texts and Studies, 13.)

4. Jews and Arabs in Pre- and Early Islamic Arabia, Aldershot: Ashgate,
1998. (Variorum Collected Studies Series.)

5. The Constitution of Medina: Muh.ammad’s First Legal Document, Prince-

ton: Darwin Press, 2004. (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam.)

6. People, Tribes and Society in Arabia around the Time of Muh.ammad ,

Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. (Variorum Collected Studies Series.)

7. Muh.ammad and the Jews, Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute, 2014. (ISBN:
978-965-235-177-7. In Hebrew: Muh.ammad ve-ha-yehudim.)

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2 Books Edited
1. M.J. Kister, Studies on the Emergence of Islam, trans. Aharon Amir,
Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1999. (Thirteen articles translated into He-
brew with an introduction by Shaul Shaked. Title: Meh.qarim behithavvut
ha -islām.)
2. Vite antiche di Maometto, Milano: Mondadori, 2007.

3 Articles
1. Aharon Oppenheimer and M. Lecker, “The genealogical boundaries of Jew-
ish Babylonia”, Zion (Jubilee Volume) 50 (1985), 173–87. (In Hebrew:
“Gvulot Bavel le-yoh.ası̄n”.) Reprinted in Aharon Oppenheimer, Between
Rome and Babylon: Studies in Jewish Leadership and Society, Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2005, 339–55.
2. A. Oppenheimer and M. Lecker, “Burial west of the Euphrates and what
it meant”, in I. Singer (ed.), Graves and Burial Practices in Israel in
the Ancient Period , Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi & The Israel Explo-
ration Society, 1994, 241–47. (In Hebrew: “Qvurah mi-ma,arav la-prat u-
mashma,utah”.) Reprinted: “Beisetzung westlich des Euphrat im talmud-
ischen Babylonien”, in Aharon Oppenheimer, Between Rome and Babylon:
Studies in Jewish Leadership and Society, 402–408.
3. M. Lecker, “The H
. udaybiyya-treaty and the expedition against Khaybar”,
in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 5 (1984), 1–11. Reprinted in
Lecker, Jews and Arabs, no. XI. Hebrew version: “Heskem h.udaybiyya
ve-khibbush khaybar ha-yehudit”, in Peamim 61 (1994), 6–15.
4. “Muh.ammad at Medina: a geographical approach”, in Jerusalem Studies
in Arabic and Islam 6 (1985), 29–62. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no.
VIII.
5. “On the markets of Medina (Yathrib) in pre-Islamic and early Islamic
times”, in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 8 (1986), 133–47.
Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. IX. Also reprinted in Amer al-Roubaie
& Shafiq Alvi (eds.), Islamic Banking and Finance: Critical Concepts in
Economics, London: Routledge, 2010, I, no. 9. A Turkish translation by M.
Mahfuz Söylemez, Journal of Divinity Faculty of Hitit University, 2 (2003),
157-172.
6. “A note on early marriage links between Qurashı̄s and Jewish women”, in
Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 10 (1987), 17–39. Reprinted in Jews
and Arabs, no. II.

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 7. “The estates of ,Amr b. al-,Ās. in Palestine: notes on a new Negev Arabic
inscription”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 52
(1989), 24–37. Reprinted in People, Tribes and Society, no. IX.
8. “Shurt.at al-khamı̄s and other matters: notes on the translation of T.abarı̄’s
Ta -rı̄kh”, in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 14 (1991), 276–89.
9. “The bewitching of the Prophet Muh.ammad by the Jews: a note à propos
,Abd al-Malik b. H. abı̄b’s Mukhtas.ar fı̄ l-t.ibb”, in al-Qant.ara 13 (1992),
561–69. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XII.

. udhayfa b. al-Yamān and ,Ammār b. Yāsir, Jewish converts to Islam”, in

10. “H
Quaderni di Studi Arabi 11 (1993), 149–62. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs,
no. V.
11. “Idol worship in pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib)”, in Le Muséon 106 (1993),
331–46. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. I. Also reprinted in F.E. Peters
(ed.), The Arabs and Arabia on the Eve of Islam, Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999,
129–44. (The Formation of the Classical Islamic World, 3.)
12. “Abū Mālik ,Abdallāh b. Sām of Kinda, a Jewish convert to Islam”, in Der
Islam 71 (1994), 280–82.
13. “The Futūh. al-Shām of ,Abdallāh b. Muh.ammad b. Rabı̄,a al-Qudāmı̄”, in
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 57 (1994), 356–60.
14. “Kinda on the eve of Islam and during the ridda”, in Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society 1994, 333–56. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XV.
15. “Wāqidı̄’s account on the status of the Jews of Medina: a study of a
combined report”, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 54 (1995), 15–32.
Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. VII. Also reprinted in Uri Rubin (ed.),
The Life of Muh.ammad , Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998, 23–40. (The Formation
of the Classical Islamic World, 4.)
16. “Judaism among Kinda and the ridda of Kinda”, in Journal of the American
Oriental Society 115 (1995), 635–50. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XIV.
Hebrew version: “Hayyahadut beqerev shevet. kinda veharidda shel kinda”,
in Taymā 6 (1998) 1–28.
17. “On Arabs of the Banū Kilāb executed together with the Jewish Banū
Qurayz.a”, in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 19 (1995), 66–72.
Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. X.
18. “The death of the Prophet Muh.ammad’s father: did Wāqidı̄ invent some of
the evidence?”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlāndischen Gesellschaft
145 (1995), 9–27. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XVII.

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19. “Biographical notes on Abū ,Ubayda Ma,mar b. al-Muthannā”, in Stu-
dia Islamica 81 (1995), 71–100. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XVIII.
Abridged Hebrew version: “Lish-elat mozao hayyehudi shel abū ,ubayda
ma,mar b. al-muthannā”, in Ezra Fleischer et al. (eds.), Mas -at Moshe:
Studies in Jewish and Arabic Culture in Honor of Moshe Gil , Tel Aviv:
Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies, and Jerusalem & Bialik Insti-
tute, 1998, 198–201.

20. “The conversion of H

. imyar to Judaism and the Jewish Banū Hadl of Med-
ina”, in Die Welt des Orients 26 (1995), 129–36. Reprinted in Jews and
Arabs, no. XIII.

21. “Biographical notes on Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrı̄”, in Journal of Semitic Studies

41 (1996), 21–63. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. XVI.

22. “The emigration of ,Utba b. Abı̄ Waqqās. from Mecca to Medina”, in Bul-
letin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 59 (1996), 116–19.
Reprinted in People, Tribes and Society, no. V.

23. “,Amr b. H . azm al-Ans.ārı̄ and Qur-ān 2,256: ‘No compulsion is there in
religion’ ”, in Oriens 35 (1996), 57–64. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no.
IV.

24. “Yahūd/ ,uhūd : a variant reading in the story of the ,Aqaba meeting”, in
Le Muséon 109 (1996), 169–184. Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. VI.

25. “Did Muh.ammad conclude treaties with the Jewish tribes Nad.ı̄r, Qurayz.a
and Qaynuqā,?”, in Israel Oriental Studies 17 (1997), 29–36.

26. “Zayd b. Thābit, ‘a Jew with two sidelocks’: Judaism and literacy in pre-
Islamic Medina”, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 56 (1997), 259–73.
Reprinted in Jews and Arabs, no. III.

27. “Did the Quraysh conclude a treaty with the Ans.ār prior to the Hijra?”,
in Harald Motzki (ed.), The Biography of Muh.ammad: The Issue of the
Sources, Leiden: Brill, 2000, 157–169. Reprinted in People, Tribes and
Society, no. VI.

28. “On the burial of martyrs in Islam”, in Yanagihashi Hiroyuki (ed.), The
Concept of Territory in Islamic Law and Thought, London: Kegan Paul
International, 2000, 37–49. (Proceedings of the Kyoto International Sym-
posium: “Beyond the Border”, October 1999.)

29. “The Medinan wives of ,Umar b. al-Khat.t.āb and his brother, Zayd”, in
Oriens 36 (2001), 242–47. (Franz Rosenthal Festschrift.) Reprinted in
People, Tribes and Society, no. VIII.

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30. “Were customs dues levied at the time of the Prophet Muh.ammad?” in
al-Qant.ara 22 (2001), 19–43. Reprinted in People, Tribes and Society, no.
VII.

31. “The levying of taxes for the Sassanians in pre-Islamic Medina (Yathrib)”,
in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 27 (2002), 109–26. (Shaul Shaked
Festschrift.) Reprinted in People, Tribes and Society, no. I.

32. “King Ibn Ubayy and the qus..sās”, in Herbert Berg (ed.), Methods and The-
ories in the Study of Islamic Origins, Leiden: Brill, 29–71, 2003. Reprinted
in People, Tribes and Society, no. II.

33. “Was Arabian idol worship declining on the eve of Islam?”, in People, Tribes
and Society, no. III, 1–43 .

34. “A pre-Islamic endowment deed in Arabic regarding al-Wah.ı̄da in the

H
. ijāz”, in People, Tribes and Society, no. IV, 1–16.
35. “The preservation of Muh.ammad’s letters”, in People, Tribes and Society,
no. X, 1–25.

36. “Tribes in pre- and early Islamic Arabia”, in People, Tribes and Society,
no. XI, 1–106.

37. “Were the Jewish tribes in Arabia clients of Arab tribes?”, in Monique
Bernards and John Nawas (eds.), Patronate and Patronage in Early and
Classical Islam, Leiden: Brill, 2005, 50–69. (Proceedings of the “Mawālı̄”
Workshop, Nijmegen, May 2001.)

38. “Polytheism in northern Arabia on the eve of Islam”, in Menahem Kister

et al. (eds.), Polytheism in the Land of Israel and its Neighbours in Antiq-
uity, Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 2008, 250–64. (In Hebrew: “,Avodat
ha-elilim bizfon ,arav bi-tqufat hajāhiliyya”.)

39. “The prosopography of early Islamic administration”, Jerusalem Studies in

Arabic and Islam 34 (2008), 529–33.

40. “Muh.ammad”, in Andrew Rippin (ed.), The Islamic World , London: Rout-
ledge, 2008, 57–66.

41. “Lost towns: Zuhra and Yathrib”, in Jeremie Schiettecatte and Christian
Robin (eds.), L’Arabie à la veille de l’Islam: Bilan clinique, Paris: De
Boccard, 2009, 29–35. (Orient et Méditerranée, no. 3.)

42. “Glimpses of Muh.ammad’s Medinan decade”, in Jonathan E. Brockopp

(ed.), in Cambridge Companion to Muh.ammad , Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2010, 61–79.

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43. “Najrān Inc.: The Najrānı̄ exiles in Iraq, Syria and Bah.rayn from ,Umar
ibn al-Khat.t.āb to Hārūn al-Rashı̄d”, in Joëlle Beaucamp, Françoise Briquel-
Chatonnet, Christian Julien Robin (eds.), Juifs et chrétiens en Arabie aux
Ve et VIe siècles: regards croisés sur les sources, Paris: Association des
amis du Centre d’histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2010, 293–302.

44. “Pre-Islamic Arabia”, in Chase Robinson (ed.), in The New Cambridge

History of Islam, I: The Formation of the Islamic World Sixth to Eleventh
Centuries, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 153–70.

45. “The assassination of the Jewish merchant Ibn Sunayna according to an

authentic family account”, in Nicolet Boekhoff-van der Voort, Kees Ver-
steegh and Joas Wagemakers (eds.), The Transmission and Dynamics of
the Textual Sources of Islam: Essays in Honour of Harald Motzki, Leiden:
Brill, 2011, 181–95.

46. “Mulāh.az.a ,an ah.wāl yathrib bu,ayda l-hijra” (A note concerning the situ-
ation in Yathrib shortly after the hijra), in al-Karmil — Studies in Arabic
Language and Literature 32-33 (2011-2012), 262–74.

47. “The Jewish reaction to the Islamic Conquests”, in Volkhard Krech and
Marion Steinicke (eds.), Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia
and Europe: Encounters, Notions, and Comparative Perspectives, Leiden:
Brill, 2012, 177–90.

48. “Wadd, the weaponed idol of Dūmat al-Jandal and the qus..sās.”, in Isabelle
Sachet and Christian Robin (eds.), Dieux et déesses d’Arabie, images et
représentations, Paris: De Boccard, 2012, 131–38.

49. “Notes about censorship and self-censorship in the biography of the prophet
Muh.ammad”, in al-Qant.ara 35 (2014), 233–54.

50. “Muh.ammad ibn Ish.āq .sāh.ib al-maghāzı̄: was his grandfather Jewish?”,
in Andrew Rippin and Roberto Tottoli, Books and Written Culture of the
Islamic World: Studies Presented to Claude Gilliot on the Occasion of His
75th Birthday, Leiden: Brill, 2015, 26–38.

51. “Wa-bi-Rādhān mā bi-Rādhān. . . : The landed property of ,Abdallāh ibn

Mas,ūd”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 78 (2015),
53–66.

52. “Genealogy and politics: Muh.ammad’s family links with the Khazraj”,
Journal of Semitic Studies 60 (2015), 111–29.

53. “Were there female relatives of the Prophet Muh.ammad among the besieged
Qurayz.a?”, Journal of the American Oriental Society (in press).

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 54. “Were the Ghassānids and the Byzantines behind Muh.ammad’s hijra”? in
Denis Genequand and Christian Robin (eds.), Les Jafnides, des rois arabes
au service de Byzance (VIe siècle de l’ère chrétienne, Paris: De Boccard,
2015, 277–93.

55. “Wāqidı̄ (d. 822) vs. Zuhrı̄ (d. 742): the fate of the Jewish Banū Abı̄ l-
H
. uqayq”, in Arabia, Paris: Brepols, 2015, 493–507 (in press).
56. “Idol worship in pre-Islamic Yamāma” (Festschrift, forthcoming).

57. “The monotheistic cousins of Muh.ammad’s wife Khadı̄ja”, in Kirill

Dmitriev and Isabel Toral (eds.), Religious Culture in Late Antique Ara-
bia: Selected Studies on the Late Antique Religious Mind , Leiden: Brill
(forthcoming).

4 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Edition

Salūl, VIII, 1002a–1005a; S.iffı̄n, IX, 552b–556b; Sulaym, IX, 817a–818b; Taghlib
b. Wā-il, X, 89b–93a; al-T.ā-if, X, 115a–116a; Tamı̄m b. Murr, X, 172b–176a;
Tamı̄m al-Dārı̄, X, 176a–176b; Taym b. Murra, X, 401a–401b; Thak.ı̄f, X, 432a–
432b; ,Udhra, X, 773b–774b; Ukaydir b. ,Abd al-Malik, X, 784a–784b; ,Uyayna
b. H. is.n, X, 959b–960a; Wādı̄ -l-K. urā, XI, 18b–19b; Wufūd , XI, 219a–220a; Zayd
,
b. Amr b. Nufayl, XI, 474b–475a; Zayd b. H . āritha, XI, 475a–b; Zayd b. Thābit,
XI, 476a–b; al-Zibrik.ān b. Badr, XI, 496a–b; Zuhayr b. Djanāb, XI, 558b–559a;
al-Zuhrı̄ (Ibn Shihāb), XI, 565a–566a; al-Namir b. K . āsit. (in the Supplement);
al-ridda (in the Supplement).

5 Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three

,Abdallāh b. Salām; ,Abdallāh b. Ubayy; Abū Ayyūb al-Ans.ārı̄; Abū Mūsā al-
Ash,arı̄; Ayla (incl. map); Bashı̄r b. Sa,d (incl. map); Bi-r Ma,ūna (incl. map);
al-Bishr (incl. map); Bu,āth (incl. map); Burayda b. al-H . us.ayb al-Aslamı̄; The
“Constitution of Medina” (incl. translation).

6 Encyclopaedia Judaica
Ka,b al-Ah.bār, XI, 584-85; Muh.ammad, XIV, 601-605; Nad.ı̄r, XIV, 725;
Qaynuqā,, XVI, 760; Qurayz.a, XVI, 776; Wahb ibn Munabbih, XX, 596.

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7 Wiley-Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of Ancient
History
Mecca; Medina; The “Constitution of Medina”

8 Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought

The “Constitution of Medina”

9 Oxford Bibliographies Online

The “Constitution of Medina”

10 The Cambridge History of Judaism — The

Middle Ages
“The Jews of Arabia in early Islam” (in press).