Customer Reviews

The Life of Muhammad

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Ibn Ishaq was the earliest, and probably the most thorough, of Islam's historians. He never claimed that everything he heard was the perfect, absolute fact; rather, he very frankly writes "so-and-so said this, but so-and-so said that." Most of the discrepancies he cites are minor, and the vast majority of the incidents he cites are surprisingly consistent with what other Muslim historians say.

Later, Ibn Hisham produced a "rescinded" version of Ibn Ishaq's work, including in his work an introduction that explains frankly that he cut parts that others might find offensive. It is actually this work that survives -- to date no complete copy of Ibn Ishaq's orginial work has been found.

Meanwhile, however, other Muslim historians commented on Ibn Ishaq's work (before it was rescinded and lost) and quoted from it extensively. Guilliaume has taken these pieces and added them back in, and has indicated clearly what has been added, diligently citing the source of the addition in each case.

While this book is not exactly light reading, it is fascinating, and essential for understanding the context of the Quran. The Quran and the Life of Muhammad should be read side by side to really get an understanding of how Islam developed over the course of Muhammad's life.

Don't be put off by the extremely thorough names -- clan and lineage was an integral part of life in sixth-century Arabia so a person's name often is listed as "A son of B son of C son of D son of E of the clan F." It's even worse when they list four or five people that way, taking up two-thirds of a paragraph before getting to a verb, but just skip over this and read the great stories. This is a fascinating read and a fabulous academic resource.

If you want something a little easier to read, get Martin Lings' book: Muhammad, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. A work of impeccable scholarship, this book is shorter, easier to read, and, while it is largely based on Ibn Ishaq, it also includes some other sources considered authentic by Islamic scholars. Lings won awards in Pakistan and Egypt for the book, which is in its third printing and is sold all over the Muslim world.

Again, the frustrating thing about any book on the life of Muhammad will be keeping track of who's who -- there are so many characters and many of them share the same name, so you have to make an effort to keep track of which Abdullah and which Sa'd they are talking about. (For example, at one point both of Muhammad's personal bodyguards were named Sa'd.) To add further confusion, the most polite way to address someone in Arabic is "Father of so-and-so" or "Mother of so-and-so" but Martin Lings is pretty good about using one form or the other consistently throughout the book. Also, there is a helpful index in the back of both Guillaume's and Lings' book for when you can't remember who's who.

Either of these books is essential reading if you are studying the Quran or Islam.

Ibn Ishaq wrote the Sirat Rasul Allah and the original of that work no longer exists.

Apparently Ishaq provided an unvarnished view of Mohammad and early Islamic practices and history. Those original works were edited by Ibn Hisham (and translated by Guillaume) who censored Ishaq in an early form of "political correctness." For example, Hisham states that he intentionally omitted portions that did not address Mohammad and "about which the Quran says nothing, ..., things which are disgraceful to discuss; matters which would distress certain people; and such reports as al-Bakka'a told me he could not accept as trustworthy (p. 691). Hisham's censorship appears consistent with Sharia law practices and rulings which may be found in "Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law", Book R (Holding One's Tongue), Chapter 2, (Slander), Section 2; and 6, Chapter 23 (Asking About Another's Mistakes) Section 1; Chapter 8 (Lying) Section 2: Chapter 10, (Giving A Misleading Impression) Section 1; Chapter 20, (Picking Apart Another's Words), Section 2 (Giving a Positive Interpretation to Others Seeming Mistakes).; Chapter 24, (Searching Out A Person's Faults); Chapter 36, (Revealing a Secret) Section 1.

However, according to the publishers, in this translation, Guillaume also incorporated a number of additions and variants found in the writings of early authors and what we have, according to the publishers, "may represent in English most of what is known of the life of" Mohammad.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is The Genealogy of Muhammad; Traditions from the Pre-Islamic Era; Muhammad's Childhood and Early Manhood. Part 2 is Muhammad's Call and Preaching in Mecca. Part 3 is Muhammad's Migration to Medina, His Wars, Triumph, and Death.

Part 3 is relevant to the modern researcher in that it contains a comprehensive list of attacks against Non Muslims. These attacks are the result of Mohammad's contention that Allah ordered him to fight non-Muslims and the background for that "revelation" begins on page 212 (Allah orders Muhammad to Fight.)

The lists of attacks, about 45 or so, and a couple of defensive operations, are identified:

The first raid: on Waddan.(p. 281)
Hamza's raid to the coast (p. 283)
Raid on Buwat (p. 285)
Raid on al-Ushayra (p. 285)
Raid on al-Kharrar (p. 286)
Raid on Safawan (p. 286)
Battle of Badr (p. 289)
Raid on B. Sulaym (p.360)
Raid called al-Sawig (p. 361)
Raid on Dhu Amarr (p. 362)
Raid on al- Furu (p. 362)
Attack on B. Qaynuqa (p. 363)
Raid on al-Qarada (p. 364)
Battle of Uhud (p. 370)
Raid of Dhatu'l Riqa (p. 445)
Last Expedition to Badr (p. 447)
Raid on Dumatu'l-Jandal (p. 449)
Battle of the Ditch (p. 456) (a defensive operation)
Attack on B. Qurayza (p. 461)
Attack on B. Lihyan (p. 485)
Attack on Dhu Qarad (p. 486)
Attack on B.al-Mustaliq (p. 490)
Expedition to Kharbar (p. 510)
Raid on Muta (p. 531)
Khalid destroys al-Uzza (p. 565)
Battle of Hunayn (p. 566)
Capture of al-Ta'if (p. 587
Raid on Tabuk (p. 602)
Destruction of al-Lat (p. 615)
Usama's expedition to Palestine (p. 652)
Ghalib's raid on B. al-Mulawwah (p. 660)
Zayd's raid on Judham (p. 662)
Zayd' raid on B.Fazara and the death of Umm Qirfa (p. 664)
Abdullah b. Rawaha's raid to kill al-Yusayr (p. 665)
Abdullah b. Unays's raid to kill Khalid b. Sufyan (p. 666)
Uyayna's raid on B, al-Anbar (p. 667)
Ghalib's raid on B.Murra (p. 667)
Amr b. al-'As's raid on Dhatu'l Salasil (p. 668)
Ibn Abu Hadrad's raid on Idam (p. 669)
His (Ibn Abu Hadrad) raid on Ghaba (p. 671)
Abdu'l Rahman's raid on Dumatu'l-Jandal (p. 672)
Abu Ubayda's raid to the coast (p. 673)
Salim b. Umayr's raid to kill Abu `Afak (p. 673)
Umayr b. Adiy's raid to kill Asma (p. 675)
Alqama's raid (p. 677)
Kurz's raid on the Bajilis (p. 677)
Ali's raid on the Yaman (p. 678)

Ishaq gives "A Summary of Muhammad's raids and expeditions" (p. 659) recounting that Muhammad personally led 27 raids and actually fought in nine (9) engagements: Badr; Uhud, al-Kandaq; Qurayza; al-Mustaliq; Khubar; the occupation; Hunayn and al-Ta-if.. (p. 660).

Ishaq provides details identifying names of both Muslims and Non-Muslims in multiple engagements, sequencing and phasing of the fighting characterizing various attacks, description, background and narratives of specifically targeted assassination raids, and of the murders of other raid and expedition survivors. For example, the attack on B.Fazara resulted in the capture of Umm Qirfa Fatima d. Rabi'a b. Badr. "She was a very old woman, wife of Malik." And she was murdered "by putting a rope to her two legs and to two camels and driving until they rent her in two (p. 665). Muhammad's piecemeal, leisurely, butchery of between 600 - 900 survivors of the raid on B. Qurayza is described on page 464 and the parceling of the Qurayza property, women and (36) horses among the Muslims is described on page 466.

Contained in each of these descriptions are examples of the planning, execution, discipline and tactics that should be of interest to modern day analysts who are confronted by actors modeling themselves on the examples of Mohammad and his followers.

Whether one is evaluating Mohammad as a self proclaimed prophet, military or diplomatic leader, this particular book is an essential source for analysts and researchers who need the best practical historical record.

In partial reply to the "reader from Maryland USA" below who scathingly reviewed this title ... The reader is correct in his summation of Alfred Guillaume. However, the translation of this classic text still is a work worthy of being read. Ibn Ishaq's abridgement of Ibn Hisham's work is used extensively throughout the Muslim world, and in its Arabic original it is out of reach to the normal English reader and student of Islam, Muslim or non. The wealth of biographical, historical, and other information in this volume is deep. The narration the "reader from Maryland" mentions (about the Gabriel incident) has in fact been mentioned by some Muslim scholars of the past (e.g. Ibn Sa'd, at-Tabari), though by general consensus among the majority of the 'ulema (Islamic religious scholars, both past and present) have deemed it false and weak. In studying this work, the reader should keep in mind A. Guillaume was not a Muslim, but rather an Orientalist translating a classic Muslim compilation of the Prophet of Islam. Biases and prejudices are apparent, but the views and "commentary" & notes of the translator should be kept in mind as such, and as not necessarily being the words of Ibn Ishaq or Ibn Hisham. With that said, I would recommend this title, and to read selected portions with caution.

This book is an excellent reference for those wanting a more in-depth knowledge of Islam, but be warned: It is a difficult read. The text is flowery, repetitive, and much of the time so convoluted that after perusing a section one is left scratching one's head and asking, "What did he say?". So be prepared for a lot of very close reading and rereading.
That said, I would think this book makes a very good companion to The Koran.
One final caution: If you think Islam is the religion of peace, you may be disillusioned.

To that reader from Maryland, USA
who says Guillaume -the Orientalist- added passages from his own to the translation in order to defile Islam and Mohamed, Why don't you present an instance? Is it shocking to you that the Prophet killed the father and the husband of Jewish woman, spent the whole night with here, overslept, and wake after sunrise and missed the dawn Prayer? Or is it shocking to you that the Prophet did away with good habit of adoption in order to marry his own adopted sons' wife. And when his follower contested that, he got a convenient revelation warning and terrifying them if they ever do that. Read 33:36 in Koran
"It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path."
Read before and after that you might say I present it out of context, and tell if the prophet - who is supposed to be mere human in a religion you say it is a strict Monotheism- decides the matter with Allah, Who is really the true One God here?
These are just two examples of many more which I myself read it in both Arabic and English.
Mr. Guillaume just translated facts from Arabic to English

Hadith, which means tradition is a report of the Prophet's words, deeds, and attitude made by one of his contemporaries. Accepted collections of Hadith are referred to as Sunnah--Muhammad's speeches, sayings, deeds, and actions--are considered to be inspired by Allah. Sunnah is based on works compiled in the eight to tenth centuries, from which all accounts of the revelations of the Qur'an and early years of Islam are derived.

"Sunnah is primarily the work of five Islamic authors whose works are universally accepted to have profoundly influenced Muslim custom, worship, and law.

"Ibn Ishaq's Sira, the Biography of Muhammad, entitled Sirat Rasul Allah, 750 CE, is the earliest record of Muhammad's life and the formation of Islam. It's a collection of Hadith--oral reports--of Muhammad's and his companion's words, deeds, and attitudes. There is no earlier or more accurate source. The Sira is arranged in chronological order, which provides a method for placing the jumbled surahs found in the Qur'an' in proper order.

"There is no surviving copy of Ishaq's original manuscript. Ibn Hisham edited and abridged Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah--sanitized might be a better term--in 830 C. E. In the foreword of his revision, Hisham wrote `I am omitting things which Ishaq recorded in this book. I have omitted things which are disgraceful to discuss and matters which would distress certain people.' Hisham's revision was translated as The Life of Muhammad by Alfred Guillaume, and published in 1979 and reprinted in 2002 by the Oxford Press."*

*The above comment is an abridged excerpt from my second book, which I am not allowed to name.

RATING
Since this is considered a religious text, translated from the early Arabic, providing a rating is meaningless.

Guillaume's reconstruction of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah is possibly one of the best biographies written of anyone, though it is not for the novice or uninitiated regarding Islamic history. His attention to detail is sufficient that he retains the isnads, or links of transmission, for the various narrations of witnesses to the Prophet's life, allowing the reader to track the backgrounds of various characters and participants. While Ibn Ishaq's work might contain what some would call legends or impossible stories, nevertheless, one gains an excellent picture of the Prophet's life and deeds. The material below might be a little too technical for most, but considering the detractors and the nature of this book, it is necessary to use the appropriate terms and concepts in Islam.

The principle argument of the critics posted on Amazon is that the translation distorts the original text. This has significant problems here, especially since their argument is primarily based on one passage. First, Ibn Ishaq's original text is lost. Thus, the account of the Prophet reciting a Sura that Gabriel did not bring to him (p166) regarding compromising with polytheism would not be found in the "original Arabic." What one critic is instead probably referencing is Ibn Hisham's heavily edited Sira which removed this account and many others he considered to be "embarrassing" to the dignity of the Prophet. Second, the account in question is attested to by al-Tabari in his Ta'rikh, or History, pp 1192-93. Third, Ibn Sa'd in the al-Tabaqat also accepts the hadith that relate this account, with only slight changes (Vol I, pp 236-37). Fourth, Ibn Kathir, on the basis of following al-Tabari's lead, also accepts the essentials of the account, though edited down (Tafsir, Vol. VI, pp 597-98). In this he cites "Fath al-Bari 8:292" in support of Allah removing falsehood that got into the Prophet's speech. Fifth, Qadi 'Iyad, in the Ash-Shifa, discusses this issue at length in an effort to refute it (pp 300-306). One of his arguments is that the hadith in question is not in the sahih collections, and that it is considered "da'if," or weak. Of course, if this is so, then the same goes for the phrase "the Greater versus the Lesser Jihad," where some claim that the greatest jihad is the fight against one's inner evil and not engaging in warfare. Ibn Taymiyyah cites this hadith as not only da'if, but even considers it a forgery. This hadith at least meets the same criteria as cited by Qadi 'Iyad for the one in question in Ibn Ishaq's work, so should we discard that as unauthentic as well?

Of course, in his effort to refute this passage Qadi 'Iyad opens other cans of worms, such as stating that al-Shaytan (Satan) could deceive transmitters of hadith (which makes all hadith suspect) or that al-Shaytan could even be lurking nearby to speak like the Prophet and thus deceive the listeners, thus making the very Qur'an suspect. Naturally, neither of these possibilities are acceptable to Muslims.

The evidence presented above demonstrates that Guillaume's reconstruction is at least faithful to the documents he had, and thus this rendition of Ibn Ishaq's Sira is accurate and acceptable. It is up to the reader to then sift through the material to see what he or she thinks is the most accurate, and what is possibly legend.

As for the rest of the material, there are numerous nuggets of gold nestled in here, and if one does some serious thinking as they read they can pick out all sorts of fascinating material about the Prophet, his companions, and his campaign to subjugate neighboring tribes, and Makkah itself.

If you are getting serious about studying Islam, you must study this work. But if you want a more simplistic and yet sympathetic biography of the Prophet that is still accurate, then read Sir John Glubb's "The Life and Times of Muhammad."

If you want something easier to read, I would suggest Ali Dashti's Twenty Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad. While this is an excellent biography, Muslims are likely to reject it out of hand, as being written by a "heretic." In that case, simply look up the corresponding facts in THIS book, and there you go. This book is accepted as true by all Muslims; it's the closest we have to an original source.

Both books provide extensive support for Rep. Allen West's recent statement that "something went wrong" with Muhammad after the flight (hegira) to Medina. Formerly a devout and peace-loving man, something happened. Either he changed, or his true personality appeared, and he turned into a fiercely murderous raider, beginning with "the Nakhla raid," where his men killed three other men guarding a caravan and made off with the entire caravan as loot. Dashti also notes that Muhammad changed abruptly into one of the biggest womanizers in history.

Something happened after the flight to Medina, and no one understands exactly why.

One of the most influential and interesting books I have ever read, beautifully translated in the opinion of one who knows some Arabic. Not only a precious source on the life of Muhammand but also on Arabic literature and culture and Islam. This is a book which deserves to known by people outside of the field of Arabic and Islamic studies; it is one of the great biographies of all time.

Ibn Ishaq is one of the earliest Islamic historians. This book deals in detail with genealogy of Muhammad and events relating his life and death. The emphasis is on the events regarding Muhammad's childhood and manhood. It elaborates on the policies of Muhammad and the way he managed the infant Islamic state. I think this book should be used as a paradigm for the making for a true Islamic state. Many of Muhammad's practices described in this book are unknown to majority of Muslims. As Muslims I believe that it is the responsibility of them to read this book and further investigate their governments and their policies. I believe Islam is very much perceived as a totalitarian religion, which has nothing to do with the reality. The true Islamic beliefs and administration of the government can only be explored by reading materials such as this where we can see how Muhammad himself conducted the state and then relate it to modern times. Therefore it is imperative for Muslims and non-Muslims to launch their own enquiry and investigate the true meaning and purpose of Islam in the light of Koran, Traditions of Muhammad and early historical events documented by either Ibn Isahq, al-Tabari, Ibn Saad or al-Bladhuri (these the earliest sources).