The Life and Times of Muhammad

by JOHN GLUBB, John Bagot Glubb, Sir Glubb

Book Overview

Widely hailed as the best popular biography of Muhammad, this is a must-read for everyone interested in Islam. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568331126
• ISBN13: 9781568331126
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Madison Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Highly relevant to today's world

The brilliant thing about this book is that it merges and yet distinguishes among the different sources of information we have about Mohammed's life. Thus, information from the Quran is very accurate, since it was written contemporaneously. The various biographies, histories and oral traditions are questionable because they were written down 100-200 or more years after Mohammed's death. This is very significant today, because the Quran makes it clear that Mohammed got along well with Jews and Christians, and even honored them for their devotion to the Scriptures. By contrast, the Islamic terrorists make their erroneous claims by referring to histories and traditions that were written down centuries after Mohammed's death, and reflect the writer's views rather than Mohammed's views. Glubb's book weaves all of these sources of information into a fascinating narration of Mohammed's life, but at the same time he indicates the source and validity of the various stories, especially the sensitive ones. That's what makes this book valuable today, since readers can read it and understand why the real infidels are the Muslims who call for jihads against Jews and Christians.

A Useful, Open-Minded Biography That Speaks To Us Today

Sir John Glubb is uniquely qualified to write about Muhammad and the rise of the Arab peoples inasmuch as he lived most of his life as a desert-loving British officer leading the Arab Legion for the Kings of Jordan. Around the time that Israel was born, he took the fall for the increasing unpopularity of British forces from both sides -- Arab and Jew -- and was let go by the late King Hussein. Far from being embittered by the experience, Glubb went on to write a number of exciting histories, an autobiography, and this life of Muhammad. In a way, it is good that this book is over 30 years old: It is untouched by any reference to September 11 and allows the reader an unprejudiced view of the Prophet and his followers without rancour or prejudice of any sort. At one point, the author states that he is a Christian, but feels as completely at home with sincere Muslims as with his fellow Christians. Three features make this a particularly useful book. For one thing, there are a dozen excellent maps. For those of us who have difficulty distinguishing from Arabic name from another, there are summaries of Notable Dates and Personalities at the end of each chapter to help fix the facts in the reader's memory. Finally, there is a respectable bibliography for further study.I was particularly gratified with Glubb's final paragraph, which very much speaks to us today: "If we Christians believe that we are more nearly executing the will of God than are adherents of other religions, it must surely be our duty to lead such lives as will draw all men of good will to ask the reason for our goodness. To treat them with arrogant contempt is more likely to convince them that ours is an intolerant and hard-hearted way of life." To which I can only add, Amen!

Succinct Yet Informative

Sir John Glubb, who lived a long time in the middle-east and became proficient in the Arabic language, used original references to write this excellent book on the life of the prophet.The book is easy to read, informative and provide a broad understanding of the subject. Sir John is not a Moslem but he understand Moslems and Islam. He writes with the detached historian's perspective and interprets events with a fresh outlook.Enjoyable and highly recommended.

Highly recommended reading for students of Islam.

With the founding of Islam the prophet Muhammad (571-632 A.D.) brought the people of Arabia a new religion which would come to completely transform the Middle East and become one of the major religions of the world. In The Life And Times Of Muhammad, biographer Sir John Glubb (1897-1986 provides an informative, accessible, authoritative, highly recommended account of the life of Muhammad, including the social milieu, religious message, family life battles, personality, and far -reaching influence of the Prophet. The reader is provided invaluable insight into the atmosphere of the times (suffused with Jewish, Christian, and polytheist concepts and philosophies) in which Muhammad perceived his religious mission; his attitudes towards women, and his relationships with his wives. The Life And Times Of Muhammad is the ideal introduction to Muhammad for today's non-specialist general reader with a newly found interest in the origins and theology of Islam.