Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources - Softcover

Lings, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0946621330 ISBN 13: 9780946621330

Publisher: The Islamic Texts Society, 1983

Synopsis

Acclaimed worldwide as the definitive biography of the Prophet in the English language. Martin Lings life of Muhammad is unlike any other. Based on Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries, of which some important passages are translated here for the first time, it owes the freshness and directness of its approach to the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life. Martin Lings has an unusual gift for narrative. He has adopted a style which is at once extremely readable and reflects both the simplicity and grandeur of the story. The result is a book which will be read with equal enjoyment by those already familiar with Muhammad s life and those coming to it for the first time. This book was given an award by the government of Pakistan, and selected as the best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad in 1983. In 1990, after the book had attracted the attention of Azhar University, the author received a decoration from president Mubarak.Martin Lings, formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscript in the British Museum and the British Library, is the author of three works on Islamic mysticism, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, What is Sufism? and The Book of Certainty, all published by The Islamic Texts Society.

About this title

Review

'An enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject.' -- The Spectator

'Muhammad is a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact.' -- The Islamic Quarterly

'This is easily the best biography of the Prophet in the English language.' Dr. Victor Danner -- Indiana University

‘An enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject.’ -- The Spectator

‘This is easily the best biography of the Prophet in the English language.’ -- Dr. Victor Danner (Indiana University)

From the Back Cover

RELIGION / ISLAM"This work is widely recognized as the most readable account of the life of the Prophet to date."--Times of London"For those interested in Islam in one way or another, it is mesmerizing."--ParabolaMartin Lings's biography of Muhammad is an internationally acclaimed, comprehensive, and authoritative account of the life of the Prophet. Based on the sira, the eighth- and ninth-century Arabic biographies that recount numerous events in the Prophet's life, it contains original English translations of many important passages that reveal the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life.Scrupulous and exhaustive in its fidelity to its sources, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is presented in a narrative style that is easily comprehensible, yet authentic and inspiring in its use of language, reflecting both the simplicity and grandeur of the story it tells. The book has been published in twelve languages and has received numerous awards, including acknowledgment as best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad. This revised edition, which represents the final updates made to the text before the author's death in 2005, incorporates important additions about the Prophet's expanding influence and his spreading of the message of Islam into Syria and its neighboring states.Martin Lings (1909-2005) was a renowned British scholar with degrees in English and Arabic from London University and Oxford University. At Oxford, he studied English under C. S. Lewis, who later became a close friend. Lings taught at several European universities and the University of Cairo and served as the keeper of Oriental manuscripts for the British Museum and the British Library. His friendship and similar beliefs with philosophers Rene Guenon and Frithjof Schuon inspired Lings to convert to Islam. He went on to become an influential member of Western Muslim society, participating in several international Islamic councils and conferences, including acting as consultant to the World of Islam Festival Trust. He is the author of twelve books on religion and spirituality.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Islamic Texts Society
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0946621330
• ISBN 13: 9780946621330
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 362