AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A new book titled Ibn al-Layth’s Letter to the King of Rome, edited and translated by Ayman Ibrahim and Clint Hackenburg, has been published by Baylor University Press in Texas.
The volume features a new critical edition and the first English translation of one of the oldest surviving texts written in defense of Islam, a letter reportedly sent in the late eighth century CE by an Abbasid caliph to the Byzantine emperor.
Known as Ibn al-Layth’s “Risala” (Epistle), the text reflects the political, social, and religious context of Baghdad in the final decades of the second century AH. In the letter, the author outlines Islamic beliefs and responds to what he characterizes as Christian misunderstandings of Islam.
According to the publisher, the epistle provides insight into the political tensions between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire, as well as the broader religious and social interactions between Muslims and Christians, viewed from the perspective of the Abbasid court during what is often described as its golden age.
Scholars say that despite the historical significance of the text, it has received limited attention from historians to date. The newly published volume marks the first complete English translation and is expected to serve as a valuable resource for researchers in Islamic studies, Christian-Muslim relations, and Abbasid-Byzantine diplomacy.
Ayman Ibrahim, professor of Islamic studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of The Military Expeditions of Muhammad, and Clint Hackenburg, an independent scholar specializing in medieval Arabic literature and Islamic studies, served as the editors and translators of the work.
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