Muhammad - by Martin Lings

Review: "Lings provides a wealth of detail on the life of Muhammad, the time and place of many Koranic revelations, and the foundation of Islam, all based exclusively on 8th- and 9th-century Arabic biographical sources and collections of the sayings attributed to Muhammad. General readers will find a well-written, straightforward chronological narrative; specialists will find a faithful and convenient rendering of source material." (by Joseph Gardner, California State Univ. Lib., Northridge Library Journal ) "It would seem that Muhammad is gradually succumbing to the same fate as Jesus, in that each generation feels an urgent need to reinterpret him in light of their own understanding. This book, as the title indicates, is a life of Muhammad based on the earliest sources. The "sources" in question here are the sirat, or biographies of the prophet, which were written a couple of centuries after his death. These original biographies were compiled based on the traditions handed down regarding what the prophet did, much the same as the hadith are a transmission of what the prophet said. The contents of these biographies are canonical; their position in Islam is somewhat analogous to works of the fathers of the church in Christianity. Which explains the air of piety about this book, which unfortunately may throw some readers off. What this book achieves, and achieves greatly in my opinion, is a reflection of how the Muslim world traditionally thinks of Muhammad. It does not attempt to break new ground or provide new interpretations of Muhammad's life and mission; rather it assists the Western reader in understanding the traditional interpretation of his life and mission. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in understanding Islamic belief and the position that Muhammad occupies in traditional Islamic values; I have come across no other book in English that conveys it as well as this one does." (by Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA) "I have often found it difficult to find any good biographies regarding the Prophet of Islam, but this one is truly a gem. Martin Lings has done an amazing job of taking the life of this Man from the most earliest and reliable sources, then turning it into a narrative that is such a pleasure to read. It feels as though one as reading a novel, and it is difficult to put this book down once one has picked it up. The author shows real talent and i can only imagine how great and difficult a task it was to have done research to such a deep level, and then taking it all and writing it in story form. If i remember correctly i think Martin Lings is a Professor at the famous University of Cambridge, England. There are many strong points of this book, it will give one a thorough understanding of who Muhammed was, his beliefs, mindset and what he was attempting to achieve. The story is given in it's true context without any real interpretation, rather that is left to the reader. " (by Truth Seeker)

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hamzaibrahim1983 (2011-07-20)

"Lings provides a wealth of detail on the life of Muhammad, the time and place of many Koranic revelations, and the foundation of Islam, all based exclusively on 8th- and 9th-century Arabic biographical sources and collections of the sayings attributed to Muhammad. General readers will find a well-written, straightforward chronological narrative; specialists will find a faithful and convenient rendering of source material." (by Joseph Gardner, California State Univ. Lib., Northridge Library Journal)

hamzaibrahim1983 (2011-07-20)

"It would seem that Muhammad is gradually succumbing to the same fate as Jesus, in that each generation feels an urgent need to reinterpret him in light of their own understanding.
This book, as the title indicates, is a life of Muhammad based on the earliest sources. The "sources" in question here are the sirat, or biographies of the prophet, which were written a couple of centuries after his death. These original biographies were compiled based on the traditions handed down regarding what the prophet did, much the same as the hadith are a transmission of what the prophet said. The contents of these biographies are canonical; their position in Islam is somewhat analogous to works of the fathers of the church in Christianity.
Which explains the air of piety about this book, which unfortunately may throw some readers off. What this book achieves, and achieves greatly in my opinion, is a reflection of how the Muslim world traditionally thinks of Muhammad. It does not attempt to break new ground or provide new interpretations of Muhammad's life and mission; rather it assists the Western reader in understanding the traditional interpretation of his life and mission. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in understanding Islamic belief and the position that Muhammad occupies in traditional Islamic values; I have come across no other book in English that conveys it as well as this one does." (by Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA)

hamzaibrahim1983 (2011-07-20)

"I have often found it difficult to find any good biographies regarding the Prophet of Islam, but this one is truly a gem. Martin Lings has done an amazing job of taking the life of this Man from the most earliest and reliable sources, then turning it into a narrative that is such a pleasure to read. It feels as though one as reading a novel, and it is difficult to put this book down once one has picked it up. The author shows real talent and i can only imagine how great and difficult a task it was to have done research to such a deep level, and then taking it all and writing it in story form. If i remember correctly i think Martin Lings is a Professor at the famous University of Cambridge, England.
There are many strong points of this book, it will give one a thorough understanding of who Muhammed was, his beliefs, mindset and what he was attempting to achieve. The story is given in it's true context without any real interpretation, rather that is left to the reader. " (by Truth Seeker)

amouly (2011-07-21)

is this the same Muhammad-Arab ,the child molester and the chief terror leader?is this the same Muhammad the fucken Arab,the one who forced the others to become his followers in his backward carbon copy of early jewish teachings?
put this book next to the books about Hitler,Sadam Husein,Bin Ladden and other blood thirsty bastards of the history!

hamzaibrahim1983 (2011-07-22)

"Muhammad must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."
- George Bernard Shaw, a famous writer and non-Muslim

hamzaibrahim1983 (2011-07-22)

"Muhammad must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."
- George Bernard Shaw, a famous writer and non-Muslim