Muḥammad’s Disruptive Measures Against the Meccan Trade: A Historiographical Reassessment

Abstract Muḥammad’s disruptive measures against the Quraysh’s commerce (exemplified in his looting the Meccan caravans) have commonly been considered to be of great importance in what brought about emerging Islam’s prosperity. Whereas Islamicists have devoted a good deal of research to Muḥammad’s antagonistic actions against the Meccan trade, previous studies can nonetheless be said to have mostly dealt with the traditional biography of Muḥammad with a receptive spirit. However, the sīra upon which we have to rely heavily, if not exclusively, is notorious for its source-critical problems. The extant theories are, hence, in need of reappraisal in the light of a more critical treatment of the sources.