The spiritual background of early Islam : studies in ancient Arab concepts / By M.M. Bravmann.

Includes bibliographical references.

The spiritual background of early Islam and the history of its principal concepts -- Heroic motives in early Arabic literature -- Sunnah and related concepts -- The ancient Arab background of the qurʼānic concept al-ǧizyatu ʻan yadin -- Bayʻah "homage": a proto-Arab (south-Semitic) concept -- The original meaning of Arabic wazīr -- Allāh's liberty to punish or to forgive -- "The surplus of property": an early Arab social concept -- The return of the hero: an early Arab motif -- "Life after death" in early Arab conception -- The hunger of the Bedouin -- Equality of birth of husband and wife (kafāʼah), an early Arab principle -- The state archives in the early Islamic era -- The community's participation in the punishment of crime in early Arab society.