The Religious and Spiritual Life of the Jews of Medina

In The Religious and Spiritual Life of the Jews of Medina Haggai Mazuz offers an account of the halakhic character of the Jewish community of Medina in the seventh century CE. Making use of a unique methodology of comparison between Islamic and Jewish sources, Mazuz convincingly argues that the Jews of Medina were Talmudic-Rabbinic Jews in almost every respect. Their sages believed in using homiletic interpretation of the Scriptures, as did the sages of the Talmud. On many halakhic issues, their observations were identical to those of the Talmudic sages. In addition, they held Rabbinic beliefs, sayings and motifs derived from the Midrashic literature.

The Religious and Spiritual Life of the Jews of Medina is a wonderful reference work for Talmudic study, Jewish history, and Islamic history. A must-have book for every library. - Haim Gottschalk, Association of Jewish Libraries, vol.5, no.3 (2015)

Mazuz confronts an admirably wide range of Arabic sources, from the Qur'an to prophetic biographies and hadith compilations as well as legal and theological works. The breadth of the evidence provided to support the conclusion about the religious identity of Medina’s Jews is impressive. - Harry Munt, University of York, The Review of Rabbinic Judaism, vol.19 (2016)