Harvard University press 2001. Hardback, 246 pp.
This work presents in English translation the largest
collection ever assembled of the sayings and stories of Jesus in Arabic
Islamic literature. In doing so, it traces a tradition of love and
reverence for Jesus that has characterized Islamic thought for more than
a thousand years. An invaluable resource for the history of religions,
the collection documents how one culture, that of Islam, assimilated the
towering religious figure of another, that of Christianity. As such, it
is a work of great significance for the understanding of both, and of
profound implications for modern-day intersectarian relations and
ecumenical dialogue. Tarif Khalidi's introduction
and commentaries place the sayings and stories in their historical
context, showing how and why this "gospel" arose and the function it
served within Muslim devotion. The Jesus that emerges here is a
compelling figure of deep and life-giving spirituality. The sayings and
stories, some 300 in number and arranged in chronological order, show us
how the image of this Jesus evolved throughout a millennium of Islamic
history.