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Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time

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Karen Armstrong's book provides a brief introduction to the life of Mohammed. At the end she offers her motivation: "If we are to avoid catastrophe, Muslim and Christian worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another."

I picked up this book as a lifelong atheist who has never had much sympathy for any religion, although I respect the rights of others to their beliefs. I was looking for information because I am disturbed at the prevalence in the media and elsewhere of hate propaganda against Muslims. If I'm being told I should hate something, I want to know why.

Armstrong traces the rise of Islam to an economic revolution that occurred in Arabia in the seventh century, largely due to the growing importance of trade in a nomadic grazing economy.

She looks briefly at the rise of monotheism in the newly emerging cities, particularly Mecca, and the emergence of Islam from that as Mohammed's revelations provided a body of scripture for Arab monotheism.

Mohammed and others considered his revelations divine, the word of god. In that, he's not alone, as many religions consider the thoughts of brilliant people among their founders to have been divinely inspired. The poetic nature of Mohammed's revelations and their relevance to the social situation of their time led to their survival, and later followers of Islam used them to understand their own social situations, down to the present time. In this Islam is no different to any other religion.

Armstrong describes the decade-long struggle between Mecca and Medina, which was an economic and political struggle that took religious form, and the eventual triumph of the Muslims of Medina.

In doing so she disentangles, so far as possible, the secular from the religious aspects of this history and proves that war and conversion by the sword are not necessary parts of Islam, as the peddlars of hate and fear try to claim.

Thanks to Karen Armstrong for a brief, careful and clear-headed look at the life of Mohammed and the origins of Islam.

Karen Armstrong's Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time directly addresses the central conflict of our times, "Some Muslim thinkers regard the jihad against Mecca as the climax of Muhammad's career and fail to note that he eventually abjured warfare and adopted a nonviolent policy. Western critics also persist in seeing the Prophet of Islam as a man of war, and fail to see that from the very first he was opposed to the jahili arrogance and egotism that not only fueled the aggression of his time but is much in evidence in some leaders, Western and Muslim alike, today."

Karen goes out of her way to present a balanced and fair perspective on the life of Muhammad. She does this by basing her biography on the Prophet's response to al-Jahiliyah: commonly translated as "an Islamic concept of 'ignorance of divine guidance.'" Karen examinees more than Jahiliyah's theological significance, going into its practical impact on the culture of the Arabian peninsula. The dominant jahili spirit of the time was arrogant, quick to take a offense, warlike and vengeful. Islam, as practiced and taught by the Prophet, Karen makes clear, was a rejection of all of these traits - usually to the great consternation of his followers:

"And the servants of Allah, Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant (jahilun) address them, they say, `Peace!' " (Sura The Criterion 25:63 - translation from The Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary.)

The revelations that form the Qur'an came to Muhammad not always in dreams or trances, but were sometimes aggressive even terrifying experiences. Muhammad describes the nature of revelation as gently falling like rain" and, at other times, traumatically, where he feels his "soul ripped away."

After revelation, even the Prophet needed to take time to understand what had been revealed. Karen writes, "[Allah] instructed Muhammad to listen to intently to each revelation as it emerged; he must be careful not to impose a meaning on a verse prematurely, before it's full significance had become entirely clear."

"High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge." (Sura Ta-ha, 20:114)

Karen, like others, notes that the Qur'an itself has been structured as high-level Arabic poetry, a concept central to the impact of the Qur'an on its Arabic audiences. This is a point entirely missed by Western audiences. You can get some sense of it by listening to a good chanter reciting the verses, but it's a shallow appreciation at best. Karen describes how listening to "the rich, allusive language and rhythms of the Qur'an helped [the Muslims] to slow down their mental processes and enter a different mode of consciousness."

Karen portrays, through the biography, the Qur'an's shared vision of the "people of the book" - the Islamic concept of a shared heritage of monotheism between Muslim, Christian and Jew:

"Say: `We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will [lahu muslimun].' " (Sura The Family Of 'Imran 3:84)

In addition to the creed that there's "no God but God" these three great religions believe in a similar destiny and consequently all deserve both tolerance and freedom to practice their faith:

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." (Sura The Table 5:69)

"To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. It is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute[.]" (Sura The Table, 5:48)

I have a couple of minor complaints. I wish that Karen had used the Qur'anic names for the characters that both the Holy Bible and the Holy Qur'an have in common. For example, Jibr'l for Gabriel; Ibrahim for Abraham; Isa for Jesus; Musa for Moses, and so on. After all, Karen is telling the story of Muhammad and quotes extensively from the Qur'an. It just would have seemed more natural and less distracting to me.

Another problem is that the book is edited sloppily in a couple of places: for example on page 43 (of my paper bound edition) a footnote starts out explaining that "Arabs customarily take an honorary title known as the kunya [...] Muhammad was known as"

And the footnote ends right there. Whatever Muhammad was known as, was lost somewhere between Karen's word-processor and the printing press.

Karen's biography of Muhammad reveals a very human prophet; a man who struggled with his faith, culture, peers and enemies. She strikes a balance between the "easy" teachings of Islam (tolerance, generosity, etc.) and the "hard" teachings, contrasting "jihad" to Augustine's "just war" is a comparison most Christian minds would prefer to avoid.

Karen ends the book with some good advice, "If we are to avoid catastrophe, the Muslim and Western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another. A good place to start is with the figure of Muhammad [...]"

All in all, this was an interesting read, only occasionally "preachy" and a good introduction for those who may want to pursue deeper studies in Islam or the Islamic culture that has so dramatically shaped the Middle East. I wish I'd read it before tackling In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad. It would have made that book a lot clearer.

I have read five biographies of Muhamad over the years. When I got this one it covered many of the bases but it did not give a good feel for the totality of the man. I like books that tell more sides of a personality. This one was a bit sanitized, as other posters noted. I think the best I have read so far is The Life and Work of Muhammad (Critical Lives) That one reads like a story or novel and it presents what you could call the good with the bad without justifying everything. I liked that so I could make my own opinon about what he stood for.

Karen in this book, as far as I read, states many views and explanations of the history of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and prayer be upon him).

Some of these views I , as a Muslim, agree with and some I do not.

With a western, material view of the religion, she see the situations in a more human psychology related events than a Muslim religious view, which believes that psychology and material events are overwhelmed by the supreme power of the creator.

These historical debates are clearly stated as an erratum in the Holy Quran. Erratum as regard the history, the actual reaction of the prophet and others and also the proposed reactions of both. So, as a Muslim , with many historical scripts, the Quran for me acts as the final guidance in explaining the whole situation , with some range of explanations accepted. Karen, in some explanations, became out of this range.


Also, there is some translation problems from Arabic, like in page 89 , line 7, it was not sheep uterus, it was placenta, remnants of birth of a sheep.

Page 68, line 16 onwards, this is completely a vague assumption by the author, as it is well known that monotheism was the 1st issue raised in Islam, without any debate from any historian as far as I know. I totally disagree with this assumption from line 16 till the page end !!

Page 48, translation of Al-Qadr= high value, not Al-Qadar= destiny ( Surat- Al-Qadr) in the middle of the page.

Page 38: conservative about the word (adored his daughters), which carries a meaning of holiness , done only to God in Islam.

Page 33 line 4, circumambulations around Kaaba is counter-clockwise not the reverse.I do not see any relation between this ritual and trade movement at all!

Page 37, Also, as a reader of the Islamic history, , line 12,I do not know who is (Fakhitah)?!!
my email : ramywaly@yahoo.com
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This biography provides a fascinating account of Muhammad's life and the origins of Islam, the religion he founded. The author allows us to picture life and society in Arabia during the Prophet's lifetime, and the tremendous achievements that he was able to develop in a very short time. It is the story of a brilliant leader, both religious and political. Armstrong's most significant contribution through this biography in my opinion is to reveal Muhammad in a very human light, devoid of both mythological allure and untainted by historical prejudices. It is an extremely useful reading for our current times, since it provides the opportunity for a better understanding of Islam.

Not a bad book but not a great one either. Much of her books seem to be based upon Watt and others which makes you think "Why even bother buying this one when I can just get Watt's?"

Not a bad read but very brief, probably of more use to a casual reader who just wants a simple readable biography of the Prophet Muhammad rather than a detailed history.

Probably be useful if you were travelling to a Muslim country and wanted a bit of inside knowledge into the beliefs of the locals but if you want a more detailed study then go for Watts Muhammad at Mecca, Muhammad at Medina and Lings Muhammad.

Karen Armstrong offers readers a decidedly sympathetic account of the life of the prophet Muhammad. She seems to be following traditional Muslim sources for her information.

This book starts with what little is know about Muhammad's childhood and goes through his death. It tries to portray Muhammad's spiritual and worldly experiences as he himself might have perceived them. How must it have felt to be a businessman with spiritual concerns, and then to have been overcome with an incomprehensible vision? Muhammad was shaken to his core. What was it like to live in comfort while wanting to set a good example? Muhammad did his chores around the house and even mended his own clothes. How do you demonstrate the superiority of your God in the face of a hostile, armed enemy? Walk with your unarmed followers into the enemy's home ground.

More critical views of Muhammad are certainly possible, and this should not be the only book you read on such an important historical figure. But I appreciate Armstrong's effort to portray the founder of Islam in a positive light in a day when most of the Muslims in the news in the West are wild-eyed terrorists who do not actually make up the majority of Muslims. Some balance needs to be sought, and Armstrong's contribution does this.

For more information about Islam, try reading the Qur'an for yourself and see if you think it promotes a culture of violence. A very readable translation into modern English is The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics). For a sympathetic account of the history of Islam up to the beginning of the 21st century, take a look at Armstrong's Islam: A Short History. English versions of traditional Muslim accounts of the Prophet's life and sayings include The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, Volume I and The Wisdom of the Prophet: The Sayings of Muhammad.

(This review is based on the abridged audio version, read by the author.)

Karen Armstrong, noted religious historian, writes here her second biography of the prophet Muhammad, this time with the explicit intention of combating the rampant Islamophobia of the West.

I knew almost nothing of the prophet before reading this book, and so Armstrong's is a welcome (if not scintillating - she can be a bit dry) introduction. I appreciated the historical and cultural context she placed him in, the stories from his life, and her non-condescension towards the spiritual. That said, her bias seems clear by the end: This is a favorable portrayal. Muhammad eschews luxury ("not simply a waste of money, but ingratitude, a thankless squandering of Allah's precious bounty"), he champions religious tolerance, non-violence, and women's rights (the veil was only for his wives, to protect them from his enemies). Armstrong seeks to put his repeated marrying and his sometimes brutal actions (beheading several hundred Jews, for example) into an - again, sympathetic - cultural context. Of course, with books like The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion on the market, a sympathetic portrayal from a learned outsider is perhaps welcome. Yet I would have appreciated a more balanced-feeling book. And Armstrong gives no clues to the gap between the Muhammad she portrays and the perceptions of Islam by the West today (oppression of women, religious intolerance and violence among certain subpopulations). That said, as Laurie Goodstein writes, this may be a good way "to glimpse how the vast majority of the world's Muslims understand their prophet and their faith" [1].

With those caveats: I would recommend this to a novice desiring to learn of the prophet; but of course, since I haven't read any others, perhaps I'm not the one to ask. (Once I tried Introducing Muhammad but drifted on to other books.)

I located three professional reviews easily available on-line. One is positive: "Ms. Armstrong argues that he [Muhammad] prevailed by compassion, wisdom and steadfast submission to God. This is the power of his story and the reason that more parents around the world name their children Muhammad than any other name" [1]. The other two are negative, one on content (the book "is a thinly veiled hagiography" [2]) and the other on style ("Readers will find her style stilted" [3]).

[1] Laurie Goodstein, "Seeing Muhammad as Both a Prophet and a Politician," New York Times, 20 Dec 2006. [Also published in the International Herald Tribune.]
[2] Efraim Karsh, "The Perfect Surrender," The New York Sun, 25 Sep 2006.
[3] Ilan Stavans, "The path of the prophet," Boston Globe, 29 Oct 2006.

* I listened to the unabridged audiobook, narrated by the author. It was only six discs but took me a while, as this isn't exactly a page-turner (or track-turner, if you will).

** One aspect I found particularly interesting was that some stories paralleled stories from my own faith tradition, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For example, when one antagonist went to attach Muhammad and was instead converted, followed by another; this is evocative of a story about early Mormon apostle Wilford Woodruff. And when an army of Muslims is slaughtered but their bravery leads to the conversion of many of the attackers, the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis in the Book of Mormon comes to mind.

This is an outstanding biography of the last Prophet. I know this is coming from a follower but brief is a strange human phenomenon and who ever believes, he or she knows from the heart that it to be true and whosoever does not -well- they should be curious enought to try to know. I highly recommend a complementary biography of Muhammad by Martin Lings. I would ask people that if you are not a believer even then try to learn the life of a man who has the most influence on human civilization-ever. More than Eienstein, Newton, Jesus and Moses. He was the lawgiver (like Moses), currently has over one billion followers and preached warship on One God (like Moses and Abrahim). Over three billion people have taken his name as theirs during the last 14,000 years. Read about him and decide for yourself. The both biographies I recommended are written by Westerners!

Karen Armstrong is a first rate historian and does some rare justice to the Prophet Muhammad in this piece. Her 'History of God' was also a well written and nicely weaved account of the Abrahamic religions. In the sea of political and evangelical attacks on Islam and its Prophet, this is a welcome, historically based account that any reader would benefit from. (Can we really keep ignoring a Prophet and Religion that created such a world revolution and continues to do so today? - see www.alislam.org).

A note on the Edward Trimnell review: Trimnell, like other agendists (political and evangelical), argues the Pre and Post Meccan verses nonsense. There is no such concept in the understanding and practice of the Prophet Muhammad - the Quran was taken in its entirety and was put into practice in context of each situation. There is no historical basis that Muhammad became more violent or followed different rules when in power. This was a later innovation by corrupt ulema (scholars) and secular leaders in the Muslim world. Sadly, many Muslims believe this concept of 'abrogated' verses, though the concept is totally rejected by the Quran itself. As a matter of fact, the Prophet Muhammad forgave all of Mecca after having to flee for his life and returning victorious - and this after horrible crimes were done by them to his family and followers. Trimnell is of the "Clash of Civilization" Cult and tries to denigrate Islam with anti-historical and biased, opinionated drivel: "why is there so much violence against women and non-believers in the Muslim world if Islam and its prophet are so peaceful?" (I suppose there is no violence against women and by Christian groups around the world? (KKK, IRA, Serbian atrocities, the Mafia, Christian bombers...) Should we attribute modern Christian behaviour to Jesus as well? What a ridiculous argument.)