This thesis consists of a detailed study and critical edition of Mandyib al-karam fi akhbär Makkah wa-l-bayt wa-wulät al-Karam, which comprises a collection of information and facts about the political, economic, social, and literary life of Mecca from the beginning of Islam until the first quarter of the twelfth/eighteenth century. The author was a contemporary of the events which took place during the latter part of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth/seventeenth-eighteenth century, which occupy most of the second part of his book. The first part of this study contains an English introduction, in jive chapters, which attempts to give a full picture of both the work and the historical period. The first chapter includes biographical details relating to the author, his compilations, a description of the manuscripts used in the edition, and an explanation of the editorial method. Chapter Two provides a survey of the political and historical background of Mecca, as well as some details relating to social, administrative, and economic life during the period of al-Ashräf Al Abi Numayy II and Ottoman rule. Chapter Three contains a summary of the edited part of the text and also the unedited part of the text. Chapter Four explains the style of the author and the language of the text. It also contains a glossary of technical and unusual words. Chapter Five contains comments and notes on the edited part of the text and an analysis of the poetic metres used by the author. It is followed by an index of the places and tribal names mentioned by the author in the edited part of the text. After these comes a biographical index. At the end of the thesis is a bibliography, illustrations, and a map. The second part of this study consists of the edited part of the text and is followed by a list of the author's sources used in the edited part of the text. It also contains a family-tree of the sharifs of Mecca. It should be noted that the portion of the text edited (f. 190b-341a) covers the period from 903/1497 to 1082/1672.

There is-no need to insist on the importance of a close study and understanding of the Qur'an. It provides not only the canon of Muslim faith, but also the ritual text-Book and principles of law. The Muslim doctors, therefore, studied the Qur'an from different angles and eventually it gave rise to a vast and varied literature. The Qur'anic study has been a dear subject to me since my boyhood. The present work - with all its imperfections - represents the fruit of a long love of the subject. It was the late Professor 'Abd al-Muid Khan - a visiting scholar here in the University of Cambridge, and my supervisor in 1969-70 - who drew my attention to Isma'il b. Ammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Hiri al-Darir al-Nishapuri's Kitab Wujuh al- Qur'an. Subsequently the remark of Professor A. J. Arberry 'No other copy appears to be recorded' - attracted me to this unique manuscript. I made a preliminary investigation of the work and found the subject very interesting as a key to the Qur'an. Ultimately I decided to undertake research on this rare work and its author.

This thesis examines the 4th/10th century work known as the Epistles of the Pure Brethren (Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa`), with special attention to their use and interpretation of the Qur'an. It analyses the classical sources that deal with issues of authorship, influence and condemnation. Chapter I outlines the two main theories regarding the authorship of the Epistles - the Basra group theory of Tawhidi and the theory of the Isma'ili imams in hiding, and covers the influence of the Epistles in later literature, as well as surveying those authors who have used or mentioned the Epistles in their work. Chapter 2 assesses the disapproval and condemnation with which influential figures, both contemporary to the Epistles and later, judged the work, including authors close to philosophical circles, others from the 'Abbasid establishment in Baghdad and a number of jurists (fuqaha) of different Sunni schools. Chapter 3 contains a complete annotated index of the qur'anic quotations in the Epistles, including page numbers, suras and verses, as well as the introductory formulas and exegetical comments prefixed or suffixed to the quotations, and a guide to consult the index. It addresses the issue of the relevance of qur'anic quotations in the Epistles in quantitative and statistical terms and provides a typology of the formulas used in the Epistles to introduce qur'anic quotations. Chapter 4 analyses the thirty most quoted qur'anic verses in the Epistles, which form a central core of the qur'anic material in the work. An intratextual reading of the quotations is carried out in order to interpret the verses through the analysis of the cotext surrounding each use or quotation. The aim is to arrive at the authors' interpretation of each verse by considering its use holistically through the sum of all its uses and co-texts in which it is quoted. Chapter 5 explores one of the hermeneutical postulates essential to understanding the Epistles, namely what I call harmonising hermeneutics, or the authors' belief in the identity between the aims of scripture and philosophical enquiry, in the correlation between the concepts used in both realms, and a correspondence of their terminologies. The Appendix, which is complementary to the Index of qur'anic quotations, arranges the quoted verses by sura and verse number, to facilitate consultation and quick searches.

The thesis is concerned with the origin and development of the mihrab in the Islamic world (excluding India) • down to the XIVth century. The thesis is divided into six chapters. I.a) Summarizes the views expressed on the etymological origin of the word mihrab and its various connotations. b) Traces the architectural origin of the architectural feature to pre-Islamic times. c) The orientation of sanctuaries; relationship between mihrab and giblah. II. The Umayyad period (660-750). III. The early 'Abbasid period (750-1000 A.D.) IV. The rectangular-, semicircular-, flat-, horse-shoe-and pentagonal-mihrabs of Egypt, Syria, 'Iraq, Persia, Turkestan, Spain and the Maghrib erected between 1001-1300 A.D. V. The mihrab as decorative feature in portable objects (metalwork, tombstones, wood-works and lustre-tiles.) VI. Conclusion.

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This study is mainly concerned with the early Muslim history (632 C.E - 662 C.E) which has a great influence on the lives of Muslims and shaping their social and political systems throughout the centuries.  It is an effort to develop a new framework based on evidences and academic debate in conjunction with the Muslim understanding regarding above mentioned part of history in the light of the principles of governance in Islam and the historical perspective.  In fact, historical evidences have a vital role in dealing with the area of this research especially the period of crisis, and, therefore, are greatly utilised in discussing this topic. The manifestation of the study can be from the two main points: Firstly, it deals with the principles of governance in Islam basing mainly on the Qur’an and a number of the practical instances of the Prophet in order to denote the nature of the issue and provide an insight into it using the historical methodology.  For the nature of controversy is related to the central authority and needs to be discussed and examined in the light of the principles of governance in Islam.  Secondly, it shows why this study is so important in the new era of twenty first century and can play a significant role in removing the misunderstandings relating to the historical interpretation of the events related to the period of study. The study explores the Qur’an and hadith references which are the core foundations of Muslims’ perspective on the area of this research.  Secondly, it contains a detailed research based on the early, later and also contemporary sources of Muslim history illustrating the topic of research.  A great number of Western non-Muslims’ sources are also used in the process of this investigative task.