Prophet Muhammad

Abstract

For those seeking solace from the trepidations of this world, Prophet Muhammad: The Sultan of Hearts is a thoughtful work of reflection and comfort. This two-volume comprehensive narrative of enchanted times recollecting the “Prophetic” summoning introduces the readers to Prophet Muhammad’s sīrah (biography) within a lucid and flowing stream of emotion. More than simply an effort to record events, stating who said what and did what based upon whose narration, as many of the traditional biographies tend to do, this work infuses events with meanings and feelings. As the authors indicate, the purpose is not to speak about the Prophet, but to “let him be observed in his own actions” (p. xvi), creating thereby an “awareness” of his life not as a sole figure, but “in connection with his companions” in order to “present a life model that has been miraculously constructed” (p. xvi). This sīrah is not about reinterpreting events. In fact, a great deal of what it says falls back on the earlier and primary biographies of such figures as Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sa‘d, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abd al-Barr, and al-Tabari, as well as the nine Sunni canonical Hadith collections (p. xvii). Its claim to novelty is not due to this “synthesis” alone, but more to its focus on the Prophet’s life in society as a member of that society, rather than on the wars in which he engaged, as if those events were the most significant aspects of his mission (p. xiii). The authors’ intention, as they put it, is not simply to speak about the Prophet in their own descriptions, but rather to observe him in his own actions. His multi-dimensional personality is brought forth not only as a Prophet, but also ...