Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (Mass Market Paperback)

Occasionally you can read a book and be truly moved by it. This is such a book and as a Muslim rediscovering his faith this book left me with a feeling of sadness at not having discovered my faith earlier and what can only be described as a feeling of Love for the Prophet.

This book is wonderfully written and although the English is slightly archaic, I think that in this instance it actually adds to the books qualities, as such noble language is totally concommitant with the grandeur and theme of the book. The quality of the language used is indeed one aspect of this book which sets it apart from other biographies of the Beloved of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) written in English and for that alone it is superior to the others. As the facts of the Messenger's blessed life are known in great detail, it is obvious that any biography will cover the main events including the blessed birth, the childhood events, the meeting with Bahira the Monk, the outward proclamation of Prophethood at the age of 40 (note I did not write the acquisition of Prophethood--this is a subtle point worth noting especially for Muslims which I'll briefly mention here although it does not detract from the overall quality of the book: it is this: the orthodox classical Sunni belief about all Messengers and Prophets is that they are Prophets from the moment of their creation by Allah and they are Prophets when they are born and they know about their status but they only proclaim it to the world when they are ordered to by Allah. Thus, for example, Prophet Jesus (Sayyedina Isa alayhi salaam) was ordered to announce his Prophethood [nabuwwat] soon after his blessed, immaculate, birth whilst still an infant of a few days as the Qur'an tells us (surah Maryam)whereas Our Beloved Prophet was only ordered to proclaim his Prophethood at the age of 40.In Urdu this is called izhaar-e-nabuwwat. Most books written by Western authors do not go into such details of Muslim aqeedaH [doctrine] as it is not necessary for the general reader to know but given that this book by Martin Lings' is so widely read by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, I thought it would be worth mentioning), the time in Makkah, the emigration to Madina, the Miraj journey, the battles, the conquest of Makkah, the farewell pilgrimage etc. but it is the style in which this book covers them that is so captivating--one feels one is actually there! Subhan Allah! Glory to Allah!

In addition however Martin Lings' book covers the personal and spiritual aspects of the life of the Greatest Messenger in the most beautiful and moving way. Many passages in the book moved me to tears such as the one during the preparations for the Battle of the Trench when one of the Companions sees the Beloved of Allah in a red cloth wrapped around the waist and comments on how beautiful the Master of The Prophets alayhi salaato salaam looked!

Also, Martin Lings' book is filled with intimate incidents from the life of Allah's darling Messenger which show his perfect humanity, his humbleness, humility, greatness of character and, above all, spirituality as well as his day-to-day personal interactions with his family, companions and friends as well as the foes of the Messenger of Allah. Above all, the book is saturated with the Prophet's constant and uniquely intimate relationship with Allah and it really shines through almost on every page. This biography emphasises the spirituality of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and in this way one can catch glimpses of the teachings of sufism as well which formed the highest level of the Prophet's teachings.

As others have mentioned he does not comment on any of the hadiths or events which has both advantages and disadvantages in that it is possible that some people may misinterpret a saying and not understand it as it is meant to be understood or as it is understood by Muslims wordwide. However most of the hadith used are clear and unambiguous and so this problem only arises a couple of times. (And it is only for those totally new to Islam--those with a little background in sufism will not have this problem at all.)

I could write pages for this book but I will end here by saying that it is one of the few books I would consider a "must buy". It is the (almost) perfect introduction to the amazing life of Allah's final and most beloved Messenger and the best written. Once you have read this you can then graduate to more specialist texts such as the Shifa' of Qadi Ayad al Maliki which is *the* definitive classical book about the Prophet's character and qualities of perfection (and it is now available in an excellent English edition too by Aisha Bewley) or the Sira of Ibn Hisham (very detailed but not as readable English translation by A. Guillame) or the myriad other biographies available in the islamic languages such as Arabic and Urdu.

It might be worth noting that Martin Ling's great work has won many prizes from all over the Muslim world for being the best biography of the Beloved Prophet in English including from Egypt and the government of Pakistan.

The life of Allah's Beloved is, in reality, like an endless ocean from which everyone can take whatever he wants and it will not diminish and only Allah Most High truly knows the exalted status of His Prophet, but books like this one make it possible for us mere mortals to catch a glimpse of that Prophetic majesty and to bask in his exaltedness.

I challenge anyone to read this book through to the end and not fall in love with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

May Allah reward him!