Nagel, T., review of C. Gilliot's Exégèse, langue et théologie en Islam: l'exégèse coranique de Tabari (m. 311/923), ZDMG, vol. 143, no. 2, 1993, pp. 412-13 (G).

The Nahj al-Balaghah: An introduction, Tr. Sa'adat, Shahryar, Al-Tawhid, vol. 2, no. 2, 1985, pp. 27-50.

Najaf-Abadi, Ne'matullah Salehi, "Sha'n-e nozul-haye ma'jul: zamine saze tafsir-haye narava az ghor'an," Kayhan Andisheh, Qum, 1371 AHS. (the months Khordad and Tir), no. 42, pp. 41-54. (Persian)

Considers five verses from the Qur'an and the contradictory hadiths on their circumstances of revelation from the asbab al-nuzul genre. Based on an analysis of the contents of these reports, he concludes: "it has become clear that the creation of spurious reports of the circumstances of revelation must have been common among a group of unscrupulous transmitters. Based on their personal tastes, sectarian tendencies, political interests, or other motives, they fabricated and disseminated reports of the circumstances of Qur'anic revelations. -BS

Najm `Abd al-Rahman Khalaf, Naqd al-matn bayna sina`at al-muhaddithin wa-mata`in almustashriqin, Riyadh: Maktabat al-Rushd, 1409/1989, 89 pages.

Khalaf's topic certainly deserves study. Literature on hadith criticism, sifting the authentic reports and the invented or distorted, has always stressed the attached isnads, chains of transmitters. Khalaf reports that there are no separate books by medieval traditionists on the criticism of the actual texts (sing. matn) of hadith reports save Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah (d. 751/1350), al-Manar al-munif fi al-sahih waalda`if. In fact, traditionists regularly rejected hadith reports on the ground that their texts were implausible. Unfortunately, Khalaf's examples are almost all from al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066), Ma`rifat alsunan wa-alathar. We still need someone to go over the earlier literature to address such questions as whether textual criticism became more stringent over time. -CM

Nakash, Y., "An attempt to trace the origin of the rituals of 'Âshûrâ, " Welt des Islam, vol. 33, no. 2, 1993, pp. 161-181.

Nasiruddin, Asad, Musadir ash-Shi'r al-Jahili, 2nd ed., Darul Ma'arif, Cairo, 1962.

Nevo, Y.D., "Towards a prehistory of Islam," Jersualem Studies in Arabic and Islam, vol. 17, 1994, pp. 108-141.

Nobar, Ahmad Showghi, "Bade-ye erfani dar divan-e hafez," Kayhan-e Andisheh, 1373 A.H.S. (months Farvardin and Ordibehesht), no. 53, pp. 48-74. (Persian)

This is on the jargon and symbolic imagery of Sufi literature, with emphasis on Hafez and the use of the term "wine." The influence of Hadith on mystic poetry is illustrated. A section concerns "wine" in the Qu'ran and Hadith. This article is well-documented, well-written, and interesting. -BS

Noth, Albrecht, The early Arabic historical tradition: a source-critical study, Albrecht Noth; translated from the German by Michael Bonner. Princeton, N.J., Darwin Press, 1994.

---, "Isfahan-Nihawand. Eine quellenkritische Studie zur fruhislamischen Historiographie," ZDMG, 118 (1968), pp. 274-96.

---, "Futuh-History and Futuh-Historiography: the Muslim Conquest of Damascus," Al-Qantara, 10 (1989), pp. 453-62.

---,"Der Charakter der ersten grossen Sammlungen von Nachrichten zur frühen Kalifenzeit", Der Islam 47 (1971), 168-199

---, "Gemeinsamkeiten von muslimischer und orientalistischer Hadit-Kritik. Ibn al-Gawzis Kategorien der Hadit-Faelscher", in Gottes ist der Orient - Gottes ist der Okzident. Festschrift fuer Abdoldjavad Falaturi zum 65. Geburtstag. Editor: Udo Tworuschka. Koeln, 1991, 40-46.

The article begins by discussing the differences and similarities between the Islamic and Orientalist criticisms of the hadith. It is the best article on this topic which I know. -AG