This paper will argue that the conversion stories of 'Umar and Hamza in Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah were written primarily as political and evangelical tools, and were in this way similar to Christian conversion parables. In light of numerous revolts in frontier regions of the empire at the time the text was written, often sparked by what was considered unfair treatment of non-Arab Muslims, stories of the strength of Islam (as demonstrated by personal conversion narratives) had a clear purpose. 'Umar and Hamza's conversion stories are comparable to Christian ones, such as the Biblical story of Paul, and writings by Christian scholars such as St. Augustine. The story of Paul is essentially the story of 'Umar: both are strong figures in society and view the new religion as a threat to their status. The events that lead to their conversions, then, must be inwardly focused: 'Umar, hidden from view, hears the Prophet praying at the Ka'ba and does not speak about it until he has decided to convert. Saul is struck blind, essentially rendering him unable to see himself in relation to the rest of society, and his initial conversion is completed with the return of his sight. Paul's and 'Umar's subsequent outer conversions are a signal to others of the rise of Christianity and Islam; their next act is to proclaim their new faith loudly to their religion's opponents. St. Augustine's conversion happens on several levels over time and is comparable to Hamza's twofold conversion. Both immerse themselves in their faith by doing what they were known for before converting: Hamza, a warrior, returns from hunting and strikes Abu Jahl with his bow; Augustine, a scholar, continues to study but focuses upon Christianity. Hamza and Augustine, therefore, represent the Everyman convert, one who needs not change other aspects of his life to maintain his new faith. At the time the Sira was written, Islam was still expanding and defining itself under the 'Abbasid dynasty. The text was written in Arabic, implying that its target audience already understood Arabic. Therefore, we may argue that the conversion stories of 'Umar and Hamza were not conversion tools, but rather ones used to convince non-Arab Muslim groups to maintain their faith. They were intended to depict Islam as the dominant religious movement in the Near East at a time when some groups' commitment to the new faith was very much in question.

An influential view holds that the Arab tribal system found in the works of the classical genealogists was created through the actions of the Umayyad government to administer the tribal populations of the garrison towns of southern Iraq. This view, however, inadequately addresses the administrative mechanisms through which state power was articulated and the social logic through which it was rationalized. In addition, several arguments used to initially construct this argument in Patricia Crone's Slaves on Horses have grown much weaker with age. Crone presupposes a lack of state structures in Arabia prior to Islam, which is now untenable. She also argues from the case of the Mongols as a perceived paradigm for all nomadic conquerors, when advances in ethnography suggest strong differences across different pastoral nomadic societies, particularly between Central Asia and the Arab world. Furthermore, David Sneath has recently consolidated the threads of a paradigm shift within Central Asian Studies which demolishes the tribe/state dichotomy on which the imported model is based. With this background, and noting other evidence from Basra and Kufa which does not seem to comport with current views, I propose an updated version of developments within the Arab tribal system produced through a dynamic interaction between the authorities of the caliphal government and tribesmen migrating from the Arabian Peninsula. Using the case of al-Azd in Basra, I call attention to the ways aspects of desert Arabian society, such as the hilf hosting alliances, were used by locals and newcomers to develop the alliances which composed the al-Azd conglomerate during the Sufyanid period. Information concerning the B. 'Imran cluster of al-Azd from events of the Sufyanid period combines with the genealogical accounts to shed light on the ways the latter might have been constructed out of the different groups. A consistent theme is that what happened in the garrison towns was in part the activation and ultimate privileging of particular levels of identity, a process similar to one noted by Shelagh Weir during the Hamid al-Din period of Yemen.

Scholars have studied the sources and organization of pillar works of the Islamic tradition such as al-Isfahani's Book of Songs (Kilpatrick, 2003), al-Tabari's History of Prophet and Kings (several translators, 1980s), and Mas'udi's The Meadows of Gold (Khalidi, 1975). However, the field of medieval Islamic history lacks any studies tracing the history of such books. Just the fact that al-Tabari wrote a large work of history does not ensure its survival to the next generation, let alone later subsequent generations. What dynamics do bring certain books to the forefront while pushing others into obscurity or complete oblivion? How can we study such dynamics? This study traces the journey of a ninth-century biographical dictionary to Muhammad ibn Sa'd (d. 230/845), Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (KTK), from near obscurity to canonical status. By tracking borrowings from the KTK in later biographical dictionaries, the study confirms that many, but minor, additions were made to the book after its author's death. It also uncovers that the extant manuscripts of the KTK are based on a recension of the work that was obscure until the fifth century. Starting in the fifth/eleventh century and continuing in the sixth/twelfth and seventh/thirteenth centuries, the center of diffusion of the KTK moved slowly from Baghdad to Damascus and Cairo. In these new homes, the book became one of the most authoritative sources about early Islamic figures, especially those who participated in the transmission of the Prophetic tradition, Hadith. The study also exposes the two contradictory trends working to shape and reshape Islamic historiography, book fragmentation and book transmission. The first trend decomposes works in order to form new ones. Whereas the second trend ensures the survival of some chosen books and imposes them as "canonical" works. Book fragmentation was done by enterprising and ambitious compilers seeking to build a name and a legacy for themselves; whereas book transmission was done by second-tier Hadith transmitters, who dedicated their time to teaching. Transmitters of the KTK first followed the strict rules of dictation (sama'), while approving small parts of the work copied without dictation. By the ninth/sixteenth century, the written or oral approval of a certified owner was sufficient to transform a copy of the KTK into a certified replica of the original. The KTK has thus reached the canonical status, where alterations did not occur because they would simply be immediately detected.