The Life of Mohammad from Original Sources

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 701 pages
• Published by: BookSurge Publishing January 16, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1402182724
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1402182723
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.8 inches
• Weighs: 2 pounds

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1912 edition by John Grant, Edinburgh.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Life of Mohammad from Original Sources (Hardcover) This book is written in a very crude and negative tone towards the Prophet. It has many flaws but no unique quality. I would like to address these flaws as following: 1. The book uses quotations but hardly uses reference to cite those quotations. Since Mr. Muir was not present at the time of the Prophet- he should have cited the source for his information. 2. The very fact Mr. Muir was not Muslim; he could not grasp the ideology of Islam. He depicts the decisions of the Prophet as of some common leader who would usurp his power. He does not just stop at this in fact he uses the twist of the English language to magnify his distortions of the facts by adding dramatic adverbs. To make things interesting for his audience (for the record I exclude myself from such) he describes the scenarios as if he was there. This eliminates the sense of legitimacy of the work. 3. Finally, Mr. Muir does not seem to have command over neither the Quran nor the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet), which hinders his capacity to justifiablyon the early Islamic times. Over and over again I become utterly surprised when I see works on the Islamic history written by western historians who not only repeat but also invent the information. There are but a few authentic sources left intact on the Islamic history, and the student of Islamic history should use those to investigate. The rest of the works by authors such as Muir, Glubb, Madelung and Margoliouth should be only used as supplementary sources and for the purposes of critique or case studies. I recommend to the students of the Islamic history to read the original sources such as the works of Ibn Ishaq (Life of Muhammad), Ibn Sa'ad (Tibaqat ibn Sa'ad), Ibn Khaldun (Tariek Ibn Khaldun), Al Tabari (History of the Prophets), Al Waqqidi (Kitab al Maghazi), Al Masoodi, Ibn Kasier, Al Sayuti (The Khalifaa who took the Right Path), Ibn Khalqqan, Al Bladhuri (The Origins of the Islamic State) and last but not least the four major works of Traditions or the sayings of the Prophet: Sahieh Bukhari, Ibn Maja, Muslim and Abu Daowed. In terms of the works of the western scholars I recommend works of M. Watt, S. Humph ryes, W. Irving and M. Lings. These scholars have truly studied the original sources and understood the concepts of Islam. They don't tend to repeat the information. They are inquisitive and very useful in the sense that they specialize in certain areas within the Islamic History. For example, if one is interested in the constitution of Medina he or she should follow S. Humphrey's works where as if one wants to investigate the administration of the Prophet he should follow M. Watt's works. I wish the reader best of luck and I hope this review has been helpful.