Muhammad: His Life Based on The Earliest Sources

By Martin Lings

Amidst numerous exemplary scholarly works depicting the life of our noble Prophet (peace be upon him), Martin Lings' Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources stands out as an exemplary source, providing a whole new account of the life of the Prophet, perhaps new details that haven't been elaborated in other accounts.

Lings provides a wealth of detail on the life of Muhammad, the time and place of many Quranic revelations, and the foundation of Islam, all based exclusively on 8th- and 9th-century Arabic biographical sources and collections of the sayings attributed to Muhammad. General readers will find a well-written, straightforward chronological narrative; Muslim readers will appreciate the favorable treatment of Muhammad; while specialists will find a faithful and convenient rendering of source material.

However, his definitive vivid account of the life of Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him-, based primarily on old Arab sources that go back to the 8th century, is not in any way contradictory to those other works that presented the life of the concluding prophets but rather it offers new insights and new details. The book, furthermore, includes experts of original English translations of insightful speeches by men and women who heard the Prophet speak and are considered eye-witnesses of his life. They're people who lived close to him and witnessed his acts and the way he interacted with situations and events he encountered throughout various stages of his life.

A distinctive element of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources that shouldn't be sidestepped is the vivid narrative style of the author who skillfully managed to make the reader feel as though he were part of a stream of events that took place some 1400 years ago.
Translated into several languages, the book has earned numerous awards, including the acknowledgement of as best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.

Best known as the author of a very popular and positively reviewed biography, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, Martin Lings died in 2005, but before his death, a newly revised edition of the book was published including final updates incorporated into its contents, containing extra details pertaining to Prophet Muhammad's endeavors as well as accounts covering the spread of his message reaching Syria and neighboring states surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. His in depth and rich knowledge about Islam paved the way for active participation in many conferences and events throughout the world, where he gave many speeches and shared much of his comprehensive and all-encompassing insights into Islam, which earned him a reputable and renown status among the Western Muslim communities.