Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

The book provides a new account of the Sira or the life of Muhammad, with details that had not been elaborated in other accounts. It is based primarily on old Arab sources that go back to the 9th century, of which some passages are translated for the first time. It is not contradictory to other accounts but rather offers new insights and new details. The book also includes excerpts from original English translations of speeches by men and women who lived close to Muhammad, heard him speak, witnessed his actions, witnessed the way he interacted with situations and witnessed events he encountered throughout various stages of his life.Review by Dr Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University. Quoted by Reza Shah-Kazemi in "A Truly Holy Soul", [https://web.archive.org/web/20230216125526/http://sufibooks.info/Sufism/Q_News_Martin_Lings.pdf Q-News no. 363, June 2005].

References used are Ibn Ishaq (references here are to Ferdinand Wüstenfeld's edition of Sirat Rasul Allah, a life of the Prophet by Muhammad ibn Ishaq in the annotated recension of Ibn Hisham). Also Ibn Sa’ad (the references are to John Leyden's edition of Kitab al-Tabaqat al Kabir by Muhammad ibn Sa’d). Also there is Al-Waqidi (and the references are to Marsden Jones' edition of Kitab al Maghazi, A Chronicle of the Prophet's Campaigns, by Muhammad ibn Umar al- Waqidi).{{cite web|url=https://www.fonsvitae.com/OnlineStore/tabid/58/pid/164/0807-Muhammad-His-Life-Based-on-the-Earliest-Sources.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701061210/https://www.fonsvitae.com/OnlineStore/tabid/58/pid/164/0807-Muhammad-His-Life-Based-on-the-Earliest-Sources.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2013|title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources|publisher=Fons Vitae|accessdate=1 July 2013}}

It is a narrative of the history of Arabia and the birth and the life of Muhammad. The biography consists of 85 short chapters, some as short as just two pages in length. Each chapter deals with an important event in the history of Islam and provides chronological context for the advent of the religion, as well as detailed information about Muhammad.{{cite news |last=Tausif|first=Gulrukh|title=Book reviews: Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by Martin Lings|publisher=Helium|page=1|date=11 October 2012}}

The biography has gone through many reprints in English and it has been translated and published into many languages{{cite web |url=http://www.islamicbookstore.com/b3800.html|title=Muhammad : His Life Based on the Earliest Sources : Revised Edition : Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din)|publisher=Islamic Bookstore.com|accessdate=1 July 2013}} including French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Malay and Tamil.

A distinctive element of the biography is the vivid, approachable narrative style,{{cite news |last=Youssuf|first=Maha|url=http://muslimtribune.org/muhammad-his-life-based-on-the-earliest-sources/|title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources|publisher=The Muslim Tribune|date=8 July 2011|accessdate=1 July 2013}} which is fast moving and flows fluently. The book reads more like a novel{{cite news |last=Hernandez|first=Aaminah|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-islam/about-muhammad/his-character/414387.html|title=Best Biographies of the Prophet Muhammad|publisher=OnIslam|date=14 July 2005|accessdate=1 July 2013}} and was written in a style, which is easily readable, comprehensible and it uses language, which reflects both simplicity and grandeur.

Lings uses a more archaic style of English to depict conversations and translations of the Qur'an, which helps slows down the rapid flow of the narration. The focus in the book is less about the teachings of Islam and more about Muhammad.

In 1991, a second revised edition of the book with 22 additional pages was published, containing additional details pertaining to Muhammad's endeavours as well as accounts covering the spread of Islam into Syria and its neighbouring states surrounding the Arabian Peninsula.

Before Lings died in 2005, a newly revised edition of the book with 22 additional pages was published, which included final updates made on the text and incorporated into its contents, containing extra details pertaining to Muhammad's endeavors as well as accounts covering the spread of Islam into Syria and its neighboring states surrounding the Arabian Peninsula.

Hamza Yusuf hails this work as "one of the great biographies of the English language," praising "the historical accuracy of the text and the providential care so evident in the author's choice of versions as well as the underlying structure of the story as he chose to tell it." He also reports from Lings how while writing this book, "he was overwhelmed with the presence of the Prophet during the entire time and felt a great blessing in having been able to complete it."{{cite news|url=http://sufibooks.info/Sufism/Q_News_Martin_Lings.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216125526/http://sufibooks.info/Sufism/Q_News_Martin_Lings.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 February 2023|title=A Spiritual Giant|edition=363|publisher=Q News|date=June 2005|accessdate=4 July 2013}}

The Spectator described the book as "an enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject." The Islamic Quarterly called the book "a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact."{{cite book |title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources|date=1 January 1983|id={{ASIN|0946621330|country=uk}} }} The Times said "this work is widely recognized as the most readable account of the life of the Prophet to date." Parabola stated that "for those interested in Islam in one way or another, it is mesmerizing."{{cite book |title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources|date=6 October 2006|isbn=1594771537 |last1=Lings |first1=Martin }}

Khalid Yahya writes that Lings' book brings early Islamic accounts, many of which are scattered, into a single narrative according to Ibn Ishaq's chronological scheme. According to Yahya, Lings successfully presents what most Muslims believe, and have believed throughout history, about Muhammad.{{cite journal|author=Yahya, Khalid A|title=Review of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by M. Lings|journal=Middle East Studies Association Bulletin|volume=19|issue=1|pages=68–69|doi=10.1017/S0026318400014942 }} W. Montgomery Watt agrees that Lings' book gives an idea of how Muhammad is seen by Muslims. He points out that the book was based on the earliest Islamic sources, and where there is a difference of opinion in those sources, the book takes the most widely accepted view; and that Lings simply accepts the early Islamic sources without discussing their value.{{cite journal|author=W. Montgomery Watt|journal=Religious Studies|title=Review of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by M. Lings|volume=20|pages=504–5|issue=3|year=1984}}

Asma Asfaruddin said the book is a rare example of "a gift of narration wedded to impeccable scholarship".{{cite journal|title=Review: [Untitled] Reviewed Work: Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings|journal=Middle East Studies Association Bulletin|author=Asma Asfaruddin|date=July 1996|volume=30|issue=1|page=65}}

Upon its first edition, the book was subject to criticism by some Muslims who decried the "Perennialist poison" in the book. The author gave public answer in a Saudi newspaper to the objections.{{cite news|last=Mustafaa al Kanadee|first=Aboo Bilaal|url=http://www.abdurrahman.org/innovation/perinnialistpoison.pdf|title=Perinnialist Poison in Martin Lings' Biography of the Prophet: A Discussion with Martin Lings|publisher=Fandango|accessdate=4 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510151038/http://abdurrahman.org/innovation/perinnialistpoison.pdf|archive-date=10 May 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

In 1983, the book was selected as the best biography of Muhammad in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad. This book was also given "National Seerah Award" by the government of Pakistan.[http://www.its.org.uk/catalogue/muhammad-his-life-based-on-the-earliest-sources-paperback/ Book description at Islamic Texts Society].{{Cite journal|last=AMJAD|first=NAUMANA|date=2005|title=Dr Martin Lings: Some Personal Recollections|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20838985|journal=Islamic Studies|volume=44|issue=3|pages=459–462|jstor=20838985 |issn=0578-8072}}{{Cite web|last=Eaton|first=Gai|date=2005-05-27|title=Obituary: Martin Lings|url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/may/27/guardianobituaries.obituaries|access-date=2022-02-13|website=the Guardian|language=en}}

In 1990, after the book had attracted the attention of Azhar University, Lings received a decoration from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

• Prophetic biography
• List of biographies of Muhammad

{{Reflist|2}}

• Williams, Rebecca, Sira, Modern English, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 582–585. {{ISBN|1610691776}}

• [https://books.google.com/books/about/Muhammad.html?id=d8EkQwAACAAJ Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources] on Google Books

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Category:1983 non-fiction books

Category:English non-fiction books

Category:English-language non-fiction books

Category:Non-Islamic Islam studies literature

Category:Biographies of Muhammad