The genealogy of the concept of "the early days of Islam" in Islamic historiography

This study aimed to analyze the etymology of the popular term ‘صدر الاسلام’ (early Islam) and explore the why and how of its uses in the historiography literature in the last century by using a descriptive and historical analysis method. This term and other similar terms such as ‘الصدر الاول’ (early period), ‘الصدر الاول للاسلام’ (early period of Islam), and ‘الصدر الاول فی الاسلام’ (early period in Islam) have been widely used in the historical books, translations, scholarly works, and even in Kalām (Islamic scholastic theology) and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), which all refer to the period from the prophet Muhammad’s era to Tabi’in era (the period from the prophet Muhammad’s era to the Umayyad era) or the period from the prophet Muhammad’s era to the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in era (the period from the prophet Muhammad’s era to the first period of the Abbasid era). The results of the analysis revealed that traditionally the term صدر الاسلام was not used in the titles of any book or treatise except in one or two cases, and it has been used in the titles of books, treatises, and articles in English, Persian, and Arabic during the last one hundred years only. Despite its frequent use, the term is ambiguous and controversial, which has not been defined in any scholarly work so far. The analysis of the uses of this term in the historical texts proved effective in the clarification of this term. And the main finding of this study was to present a clear definition of this term and give some insight into the common misconceptions in the use of this term in the titles of scientific books, theses, and articles.