Penn's book is a mighty achievement. In Envisioning Islam, scholars at last have a one-stop survey of some of the richest but most poorly understood Syriac sources for the early Islamic period, paired with clear-headed analysis and sober conclusions.

 Michael Philip Penn. Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.

From The Medieval Review (TMR). Review by Christian Sahner, St John's College, University of Cambridge