Israel Wolfenson and his book, A History of the Jews in the Arab Countries)

An Analytical Study

Abstract

This research examines a Jewish writer and historian who has extensive research on Jewish history, including Ka'b al-Ahbar and the History of the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula. He explores the history of the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula, their settlement in northern Hijaz and Yemen, and their situation in Medina. His research focused on the historical period prior to the Prophet's mission and the Prophet's biography. He held many views that deviated from the truth, so this research aims to clarify Wolfenson's position on the Islamic call and the history of the Jews in the Arab world. It becomes clear that he is no different from his other Orientalist teachers in that he attributes most of the cultural data in the Arabian Peninsula to the efforts of the Jews who settled in the Arab world. Even pre-Islamic Arab rituals, such as the Hajj and the Nasi', and even the Islamic call, were influenced by Jews and Judaism. The research demonstrates Wolfenson's method, which is characterized by skepticism about Islamic sources and a process of selecting and interpreting texts to serve his goal of demonstrating the injustice he believes the Jews suffered and the harm they inflicted at the hands of the Ansar. This, he claims, was due solely to their adherence to the Jewish religion.