Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices - Volume 1: The Formative Period, Andrew Rippin, 1990, Routledge, London, xviii + 155 pp, paper, $23.95

This work is intended as part of a series being prepared on religious beliefs and practices of various contemporary faiths. Andrew Rippin, a recognised authority on Islam, has prepared this present volume as a forerunner to subsequent volumes on different periods of Islamic history. His focus in this work on the Formative Period addresses what is in many ways the most important period of Islamic history: the period of the foundation and first great expansion of Islam. The series as a whole is intended to provide an overview of religious faith, and as such is most suited as a reference for survey courses or for interested individuals in the general community, rather than for the specialist.

In the first chapter, the author makes the important point that Islam should not be regarded as having been a solid entity from the outset, but its development was gradual, needing a period of several centuries to emerge in terms of its ultimate identity as a discrete faith. This period of emergence depended very much on inputs from a range of sources, both Arab and non-Arab, from regions which had attained a high degree of development, such as Persia.

Chapter Two addresses what is in essence the core of Islamic belief: the Qur'an. Though short in word length, this chapter packs in a considerable amount of important detail regarding this great Muslim work. The author examines themes and leading characters which appear in the Qur'an, and he also addresses the important issues of the authority of the Qur'an and its basic theological premises. In many ways this chapter is the most important in this work, reflecting the fact that the Qur'an represents the essence of Islam.

In the third chapter the author devotes his attention to the person of the Prophet Muhammad. The attention devoted to historiographical detail is not wasted, as the Prophet played an essential part in forming the structure of Islamic belief and practice. The Prophet represents the prime source of Hadith literature which serves as the second most important body of revelation within Islam other than the Qur’an.

After having presented the essential elements of Islam in Part One, the author proceeds in Part Two to devote his attention to the formation of Islamic identity during the centuries of expansion and consolidation following the death of the Prophet.

Chapter Five includes a very useful nutshell overview of Islamic theology and the fundamental tenets of Muslim belief, and in the process addresses in summarised form some of the great issues of controversy which led to divisions within the Muslim community, such as the issue of free will versus predestination, the place of reason as a mechanism for developing Islamic belief, and the role and profile of God and the Qur'an. The author mentions some of the leading factions to emerge from the great theological debates. In subsequent chapters the author deals with the various legal schools of Islam, Islamic ritual practice, and in this latter section he focuses upon the five fundamental pillars of Islam.

In the final part of this book the author devotes his attention to two of the great movements within the Islamic community, namely Shi'ism, the branch centred on Iran and owing its allegiance to the descendants of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, and Sufism, the mystical movement within Islam, which has led to the emergence of a plethora of various mystical orders, which have found their expression from Morocco to Indonesia. The author concludes the work with a brief presentation on the literary formation of Islam, and in doing so, tantalises the reader with a brief encounter with a rich and abundant area of Islamic achievement.

Students of Religion Studies, whether formally enrolled for an award or lay-persons interested in gaining an insight into Islam, are encouraged to read this book. Andrew Rippin succeeds in presenting in summary form a balanced and informative overview of Islam, without being overly telescopic to the detriment of this rich faith. We look forward to subsequent volumes in this series.

Peter G. Riddell

This review was published in Australian Religion Studies Review 6.1 (1993): 99-100.