The research for this book developed from my combined interest in historical and Arabic studies. It was conducted at the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (Hungary), alongside finalising key stages at the Seminar für Arabistik/ Islamwissenschaft at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. My previous research enterprises exploring the role of tribal groups in Arabia on the eve of Islam and how 13th- to 15th-century Arabic historiographers exploited each other's materials have also combined philological and historical tools. My choice of a topic to be analysed from both angles is thus hardly surprising. However, as I immersed myself in the text of Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī's Kitāb al-futūḥ and explored the scholarly literature on the main themes of early Islamic historiography, I became increasingly confronted with the need to change my approach somewhat. As I increasingly recognised the literary nature of these compositions, my attention turned towards an analytical method that is less historical and more literary in nature. Another crucial discovery I had to make concerned the foundational basis of my research. It became evident early on, after exploring the weaknesses of the standard edition of Kitāb al-futūḥ published in Ḥaydarābād, that due to the issues that I discuss in depth in this book, no rigorous philological analysis can be conducted relying solely on its text. All these realisations led me to partially change my intended focus, transforming my research into a somewhat different undertaking compared to what was initially planned. However, it retained a degree of continuity because, despite the shifting emphasis and partial methodological changes, I remained interested in exploring a narrative on the formative period of early Islam.

The following acknowledgements express but cannot completely convey the gratitude I feel for all of the encouragement and support that I have received from so many generous scholars and institutions along the long intellectual journey outlined briefly above.

First, I am deeply indebted to Professor Dr Miklós Maróth and Professor Dr Jens Scheiner, whose unwavering support has been invaluable from the very beginning. I am most grateful to Professor Maróth and the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. Professor Maróth has provided continuous support since my undergraduate years at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. He welcomed me as a colleague at the Avicenna Institute and also facilitated and encouraged my research pursuits.