A Medieval Case for Islam's Superiority

Ibn al-Layth's letter is an important text for the study of Muslim-Christian relations. Ibrahim and Hackenburg, in their characteristic style, not only provide an authoritative Arabic edition and dynamic English translation but also offer a thorough introduction to the text that is meticulously resourced. Their work makes a significant contribution to the field.

~Charles Tieszen, FRHistS, Section Editor, Christian-Muslim Relations: 1500–1900 Project at the University of Birmingham

An excellent annotated translation with commentary of the oldest surviving Islamic apologetic text and polemic against Christianity. A superb research tool that will take the reader back to the medieval days.

~Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Córdoba

A learned and valuable edition and translation that makes an important text in the history of the Christian-Muslim encounter easily accessible to a broad audience. Scholars and students will be grateful for this important contribution. Ibrahim and Hackenburg have done it again!

~Jack Tannous, Associate Professor of History and Hellenic Studies and Chair of the Center for the Study of Late Antiquity, Princeton University

Here is unsheathed the sharp edge of relations between Muslims and Christians. The earliest known Muslim polemical work against Christians, the letter written in the 790s by Muḥammad ibn al-Layth on behalf of the ᶜAbbāsid caliph to the Byzantine emperor, confronts the Christian ruler with assertive proofs that his Christian faith is flawed and shows that his own Muslim faith both conforms to reason and also has been bestowed by God. The authoritative edition and elegant English translation, presented here with a comprehensive introduction, will enable a wide readership to appreciate the intellectual sophistication and skillful argumentation that characterized early Muslim scholarly discourse.

~David Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Christianity and Islam, the University of Birmingham

This first critical edition of the letter of Ibn al-Layth to the king of the Romans is a welcome addition to the library of texts on Muslim responses to Christianity in the early Islamic Era, and provides English readers with access to the way Muslims began to critique Christian beliefs in the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity at the end of the eighth century. This letter also provides some of the earliest testimony to the Muslim argument that the scriptures of the Jews and Christians contain predictions of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, and that, in particular, Jesus named him as the Paraclete in his farewell address to his disciples in the Gospel of John.

~Mark Beaumont, Research Associate, London School of Theology