................Amaal Muhammad Al-Roubi ................
from at Amaal Muhammad Al-Roubi book. Part-2
.................. I will respond in details to what Crone has introduced in all these themes one by one. Furthermore,the kind of sources she depended on is well documented and attached at the end of this study.
There are several reasons for responding to Crone's book.
First, I wanted to address non-Arabs and non-Muslims who have limited knowledge or harbour misunderstanding about Islam and the Last Prophet(pbuh). I am not addressing Muslims because they are familiar with these topics and have no doubt about them. In addition, I want to refute the arguments of the enemies of Islam who are happy with the blatant lies which were presented to them under the guise of scientific research,and who used the Internet as a forum in order to praise this work which was compatible with their vile intentions.
It should be noted that after I published my replies to Crone's writings, she removed all her personal data from the Internet, with the exception of her e-mail. It seems tome that she did not expect the translation of her book,which I did with her permission, to be accompanied by a deliberate scientific study, and detailed accurate comments not only on every idea but on every single word she misrepresented.
Second, in addition to educated readers, Crone's book is a major reference for students who study the history of the Arabs before Islam in faculties of letters or other colleges at American and European universities.Therefore, I was over- cautious in responding to her in English in order to unveil the mistakes she committed for the purpose of discrediting Islam under the guise of Makkan trade.
Third, Muslim readers were shocked by the way the author counterfeited the facts for the purpose of reaching false and fabricated conclusions. Motivated by their enthusiasm to defend Islam, those readers responded to her but without documenting their sources. This led me to tackle this issue systematically using approved techniques supported by corroborated evidence in accordance with the methodology of scientific studies,
aiming at unveiling the suspect intentions and ulterior motivations of this orientalist for all Arabic and English readers to see Fourth, forewarning Arab readers, who are likely to be impressed or trapped by this kind of Western thought,against unsuspectingly and unconsciously reiterating what is presented to them. This doesn't mean that we should no tread Western historians and scholars and not to learn from diverse schools of history. On the contrary, this is an inevitable issue, on condition that we read with a critical mind and be able to judge historical facts in a deep,accurate and reliable way.
In today’s world, some unfair scholars aim at effacing Islamic identity under the umbrella of globalization and dissolving Arabs and Muslims within the framework of the sweeping materialistic civilization, in addition to brain-drain and superficial modernization. Hence, we have to keep our eyes wide-open; we have to make active use of our minds and intellect in order to identify the plots of those who attempt to abuse and rewrite our history. Also, wes hould not be misled by the great names of historians,organizations,or universities. Our responsibility as historians is to preserve our history and to refine it. Our language, our history and particularly our religion Islam, form the most important pillars of our identity.
Moreover, dangers and misfortunes threaten us from all directions by the forces that be.May Allah help us!In addition to what has been mentioned above,Crone indulged in many linguistic and methodological mistakes as follows:
Although Crone is fluent in Arabic, she transliterates Arabic words into Latin letters intermittently. As a result,some letters from one word overlap with other letters from another word. This led to a change in the structure of the word
The confusion between the letters (b and h) led to a great change in the structure and meaning, especially for non- Arabic speakers. Islamic sources were devalued and referred to as secondary and tertiary literature, in spite of the fact that those sources constitute the primary major historical sources and the data base for fruitful research. Crone showed great interest and enjoyment when she found a contradiction between some accounts. She criticized the sources, but she refrained from going the next step. In historical research, contradiction between the accounts or texts does not mean that all accounts are untrue and unreliable. In the next logical but necessary step, the researcher is obligated to analyze all accounts and texts in order to be able to judge whether certain texts are acceptable, their's are rejected, some are improbable,certain texts are preferable, and others are valid and reliable.
If there is a contradiction between two accounts, is this an evidence against them? If this is the case, then a historian would be able to cancel the most important dates. At the same time, a historian would commit a mistake if he/she completely trusted the sources without scrutinizing them. Crone intentionally committed mistakes when she refused to accept contradicting texts without analyzing them. In doing so, she can later on easily pass any judgment that suits her motivations in accepting or rejecting any opinion or text. She showed perseverance in examining the texts, but she consciously chose to distrust Islamic sources when they are in fact the primary sources to rely on.
Fifth, we have to focus our attention on the necessity of reading all that has been written about Islam by non-Muslims, and we have to scrutinize and refine these writings.
Allah has preserved Islam; in one way or another He will guide someone to expose the plots against Islam. Muslims are not in a state of unawareness, as some tend to think, and they will never continue to receive strikes
without forcefully retaliating in defense of their sacred religion which is the most precious thing they have.
Sixth, I would like to express my thanks to all those who helped in the translation and publication of this work.
May Allah bless all who serve the interest of Islam and Muslims. All Praise be to Allah, Lord of Worlds. Amaal Muhammad Al-RoubiKing Abdul-Aziz University
well those highlighted words gives us an idea of how Amaal Muhammad is approaching to criticize Patrica Crone's work .
Topic: origin of Mecca / History of the Kaaba.