This smallish book is a collection of Islamic stories of the prophets, a genre which has been perrenially popular in the world of Islam. Most of the characters present in the stories are the same prophets which are familiar from the Bible and other Jewish and Christian sources. (Notable exceptions to this are Hud and Salih, and Al Chidhr, who appears in the story of Moses.) Although the selections and translations appear to be fair and accurate enough, the commentary is hostile to Islam throughout, rendering the omnipresent editorial hand suspect. More recent printed versions of the stories, which are more comprehensive and sympathetic, are: The Tales of the Prophets of al-Kisa’i, translated by W. M. Thackston, Jr., and Legends and Narratives of Islam: The Biblical Personalities, by Khaled Sanadiki. The first is a translation of an enduring twelfth century (of the Christian era) classic version of the tales (and was one of the sources used by Weil for this book); the second is a more modern restatement.

This smallish book is a collection of Islamic stories of the prophets, a genre which has been perrenially popular in the world of Islam. Most of the characters present in the stories are the same prophets which are familiar from the Bible and other Jewish and Christian sources. (Notable exceptions to this are Hud and Salih, and Al Chidhr, who appears in the story of Moses.) Although the selections and translations appear to be fair and accurate enough, the commentary is hostile to Islam throughout, rendering the omnipresent editorial hand suspect. More recent printed versions of the stories, which are more comprehensive and sympathetic, are: The Tales of the Prophets of al-Kisa’i, translated by W. M. Thackston, Jr., and Legends and Narratives of Islam: The Biblical Personalities, by Khaled Sanadiki. The first is a translation of an enduring twelfth century (of the Christian era) classic version of the tales (and was one of the sources used by Weil for this book); the second is a more modern restatement.

This smallish book is a collection of Islamic stories of the prophets, a genre which has been perrenially popular in the world of Islam. Most of the characters present in the stories are the same prophets which are familiar from the Bible and other Jewish and Christian sources. (Notable exceptions to this are Hud and Salih, and Al Chidhr, who appears in the story of Moses.) Although the selections and translations appear to be fair and accurate enough, the commentary is hostile to Islam throughout, rendering the omnipresent editorial hand suspect. More recent printed versions of the stories, which are more comprehensive and sympathetic, are: The Tales of the Prophets of al-Kisa’i, translated by W. M. Thackston, Jr., and Legends and Narratives of Islam: The Biblical Personalities, by Khaled Sanadiki. The first is a translation of an enduring twelfth century (of the Christian era) classic version of the tales (and was one of the sources used by Weil for this book); the second is a more modern restatement.