Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet

It's been awhile since I read this book, but I must say that it is clear and concise, and informative. I think everyone should read this book, maybe George Bush should be sent a copy (does he read?) It's imperative to have understanding about the Story of Mohammed, after all, we know he existed, we have no proof that Christ did. It is simply amazing what Mohammed managed to do to create stability where there was the possibility for factions by the score to develop. Bad enough we must deal with two factions at this time, (and Karen explains where this originated) But we have Mohammed to thank for the fact there are 'only' two. It could be worse! I was glad to see, too, that Karen put the connection together in this book about the Ismael the first son of Abraham, (with the maid servant of Sarah) and Mohammed connection . I was sure there was a connection. It's in this book! Insight, and education, makes such a huge difference in our perspectives. Karen is a prolific writer who began this writing early in life for reasons explained in The Spiral Staircase. Another great book that helps us to understand the part the brain plays in spirituality. Go on to read, The Brain That Changes Itself. ( not an Armstrong book)

Karen Armstrong successfully captures the world in which Islam was born and the complexities of Muhammad, one of history's most important figures. She is particularly effective in showing how Muhammad's message, especially in the area of women's rights, was far more advanced than others of his time, including the attitudes of Christians and Jews of that era. Some of the reviewers are troubled because she is "sympathetic" toward Muhammad, which of course reflects their agenda. It is easier to hate others when you can vilify their heroes, harder when you take a moment to look at them with a fair eye. Muhammad saw himself as the last of the Biblical prophets, and indeed lived in a world the prophets would have been familiar with. Comparing his life to that of Biblical heroes such as Moses, Joshua, David and others is instructive. Muhammad exceeded the moral standards of not only his world, but that of these biblical figures. Had Muhammad been born a few centuries earlier, he would undoubtedly have been part of the canon of Jewish and Christian prophets, as his life and actions are parallel to Moses, Joshua, Elijah etc. That is why he is so disturbing for some Westerners -- we have been taught to vilify him, but the truth is in him we see ourselves.

I bought Armstrong's book about Muhammad in 2003, after reading her short book about the history of Islam. I liked that book, as it covered the main topics about Islam quite well, so I thought I would enjoy reading her previous, longer book about the founder of that religion: Muhammad - A biography of the Prophet. In Muhammad Armstrong paints a loving and sympathetic picture of the man who created the world's second largest religion (soon probably to become the first largest). The prophet is described as a gentle and caring person who possessed charismatic skills and spiritual deepness, that succeeded to transform Arabia from pagan belief to monotheistic belief in a remarkably short period of time. Armstrong depicts Muhammad in glowing colours, even when she admits his wrongdoings. In the 8th chapter, "Holy War", Armstrong recounts the massacre and summary executions of the Jewish community in Qurayzah and apologetically describes them as "a reminder of the desparate conditions of Arabia during Muhammad's lifetime" (p. 208). She continually reminds the reader that the word "Islam" means peace and reconciliation, but some of the events described in the book (and the atrocities committed in the name of Islam in our times) leave us wondering about the application of these virtues by Muslims throughout history. Prof. Emanual Sivan, one of Israel's leading historians of Islam, wrote a review about Muhammad in Ha'aretz. He described Armstrong's book as "history soaked in rose water" and claims that the author shed all sense of criticism before writing the book and failed in distinguishing between historical facts and myths which evolved long after Muhammad died. I am no expert of Islam, but I tend to agree; I feel I know more about the life of Muhammad now, but I am left with a sense of an unbalanced view of this great man. There was one observation in the book which I liked very much. When she starts describing Muhammad's rising success as a skilled and respected politician, Armstrong mentions that the Christian world has always judged this part of the prophet's life with distrust. The Western view has traditionally seen Muhammad's political success as proof that he was an impostor using religion as a means to power. To explain this attitude, Armstrong offers the following insight: Because the Christian world is dominated by the image of the crucified Jesus, who said that his kingdom was not of this world, we tend to see failure and humiliation as the hallmark of a religious leader. We do not expect our spiritual heroes to achieve a dazzling success in mundane terms. (p. 164)

Karen Armstrongs book about the life of Muhammed - founder of Islam - is an impressive scholarly accomplishment to cover this prophet's life story in a format that is not only very enlightening for anybody searching a deeper look into the origin and early history of Islam and a culture Western civilization had plenty of struggles with but also manages to do this with remarkable respect and understanding. It sure helped me understand the roots of this last world religion and its true intention and impact - very worthwhile read!!!

I have found her impartial. She has presented query from western perspective as well as Islamic perspective. She has presented her work in such a way that it brings out readers prejudice and threaten their misconceptions and assumptions regarding Mohammed and Islam. I have found her work very analytical and not lacking any sophistication. This book can bring out prejudice and preconceived ideas that people have developed over the ages living in western world viewing Islam through that lenses. It is how we view a glass half full or half empty. We are looking at same book and presenting different views as we see it.

A must read for almost everyone who wants a better understanding of Islam...Karen Armstrong has written the book with so much passion that it makes you wonder if she is a Muslim...She has managed to give an objective overview of the life of Muhammad (saw) - a great leader whose followers have gone astray from the essence of his teachings...and given the skeptics an opportunity to tarnish a beautiful faith whose essence is 'peace'. Please also read Karen's new book 'Muhammad- A prophet for our time' released post 9/11. It provides an interesting perspective to current day world issues.

Excellent ! Broadview of this most Important prophet,his suffering,courage & inspirational life. Very helpful in understanding the impact of this man's life on billions of persons throughout the world. It is unfortunate that some followers corrupt the meaning of his message but it will help non muslims to better understand the founder of such a major religion.

My above title refers to verses in the Qu'ran in which Muhammad 'recites' Allah's promise to the Unbelievers in the hereafter, 'Boiling water shall be poured down the throats of the Unbelievers.' Interestingly, Armstrong's long, overly detailed history of the Prophet fails to mention this fascinating prophecy. She certainly doesn't discuss its implications. Armstrongs 'history' fails in that it reads like one long--or should I say multiple--apologies for Muhammad, his life, preachments and followers. At the same time, she justifies some of Muhammad's more violent preachments as the products of the violent, barbaric conditions of 7th Century Arabia. Why might I ask, would GOD--and it is precisely the Word of God that Muhammad claims to recite to perfection--be influenced by local, temporal or even human sitations? Shortly after 9/11 I was one of those, in an effort to gain more enlightenment, read the Qu'ran in its entirety. I actually developed a more positive view of Islam by reading the words of the Prophet than reading Armstrong's words. Armstrong rarely distinguishes between verifiable history and mythic tales surrounding Muhammad's life. To be certain, most of the Muhammad tales, after 1,400 years, must necessarily be encrusted with a thick layer of historical fiction. Nevertheless, Armstrong's anthology--despite of and BECAUSE of her efforts to defend Islamic custom--lends an air of triviality to the man, Muhammad. He negotiates, bickers, self-justifies, trembles, flees, kills, pardons, copulates, betrays, forgives, loves, hates, is charitable, is intolerant, is duplicitous, calculates--is infinitely calculating. Now all of the above emphasize the entirely human, Muhammad, which is entirely in keeping with Islam. On the other hand, the 'Holy Qu'ran' is purported to be the very word of God as recited to Muhammad, the Man. Why then, do many of the Qu'ranic verses seem to serve Muhammad's temporal and personal purposes so closely? Why should Allah, the Creator of the Universe, cause Gabriel to recite instructions to Muhammad's bickering wives? As an aside, it is interesting to note how close the history of Mormonism in the U.S. parallels--in my opinion quite deliberately--the story of Muhammad. Replace Muhammad with the self-proclaimed Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith. As a young religious seeker, he claimed that he was visited by an angel--not Gabriel--but Moroni. Smith receives God's word and later receives golden tablets, which are a religious history of two groups of Native American peoples who initially arrive by special boats from the Middle East. Joseph, a charismatic personality, attracts many true believers with his Heavenly Message, many of whom are women. Joseph--like Muhammad--has a revelation permitting polygamy and, again like Muhammad, Joseph takes many wives. Like Muhammad's followers, the early Mormons are persecuted for their beliefs and polygamist practices, and the 'umma' is forced to relocate multiple times which Joseph refers to as a 'hegira'. Again like Muhammad, Joseph organizes a militia of Believers and threatens to visit divine retribution on his Unbeliever--Gentile--opponents and cites Muhammad's actions as justification for his [Joseph's] actions. No, Joseph's version of the 'umma' is not Muslim because it is heavily Jesus-Centered and he preaches that Jesus is PRECISELY the Son of God, a preachment that would have disgusted Muhammad. To my knowledge, Joseph never directly refers to his schismatic community as 'Muslim' but the parallels are clearly there. Smith was intimately familiar with the Muhammad story and wished to emulate his success. Despite Joseph Smith's murder and martyrdom, Mormonism is indeed successful as the only truly American native-born Christian religion. Millions now adhere to the faith of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and two Presidential hopefuls--Romney and Huntsman are Mormons. Indeed, the Mormons preach that their priesthood will save the U.S. when the Constitution 'hangs by a thread'. If so, George Romney may become President replacing the strange, left-oriented Barack Obama, a man taught in the precepts of Islam as a child.

This book is written with utmost relevance to contemporary issues in the world, especially the issue of Islamophobia in the west. Book is written mainly in historical perspective and Ms Karen has done a great job in providing the political, social understanding that was prevalent at that time. It will never be justified if someone presents life of Muhammad(pbuh) without highlighting the whole revolution that He came forth with. That is the best part of this book, Ms Karen has presented that revolutionary Muhammad(pbuh). However, there are certain factual mistakes in the book(I read paper back 2001 edition). On page 114, Ms Karen has put forward translation of Quran Chapter 7, verses 9 to 15 which describes the conversation of satan and God and then at the end Ms Karen has written "The Quran doesn't see this as the primal, absolute sin but indicates instead that Satan will be forgiven on the last day". However, actual words are "Satan said, give me respite(time) till the day(Day of judgement) they(Adam Eve and their progeny) are raised up". Similarly there are mistakes on pages 131 and 200, which have changed the narrative some how about the things that she wants to make us understand there. Overall best book, to get insights into the life of a person, who has changed history and is changing it still.

As an atheist bought up as an anglican I was very much in the dark about Islam generally, though I do have some muslim friends. I found this book generally informative about Islam and the prophet. The book takes a while to get into Muhammad's life, the second chapter starts with the prophet's first vision, but then doesn't mention anything about the prophet's life after that, this occurs several times in the first few chapters. So prepare yourself for a lot of background and a lot of Islamic theology/philosophy at the start. Having said that the beginning of the book lays some very important groundwork for understanding what Muhammad was trying (and succeeding) to acheive, which is essential for the newcommer to the subject. I read this book as I wanted to find out about the Caliphate and thought it would be good background reading, which it was, but now I'll probably read more of Karen Armstrong's other books as well. She's such an informative writer, knows her subject inside out and is totally non-judgemental, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. If you buy this book you won't be disappointed.

Un excellent livre qui raconte la vraie vie du prophète Mohamed, réfutant tous les mensonges de certains orientalistes mal intentionnés et haineux de l'Islam. La personne la plus influente de l'histoire de l'humanité selon le Panthéon du MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) et Michael H. Hart, astrophysicien et essayiste américain. Merci, Karen, pour ce véritable travail de recherche historique.

Karen Armstrong focused on her positive thinking whilst she wrote the book. Perhaps the angel intervened. I sensed divine sincerity and admired its endurance. You’re blessed Karen, envy you, hope you can maintain it... ps: the divine truth was at its best what was revealed to Muhammad...so reviving Buddha, is not an improvement, it's backward...only for collection, but not for practical use....

Good book