Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam

Translations of Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr's letters are outstanding. Biographical sketches of Ibn Ishaq and Al-Zuhri are very informative. A must read.

A modern disciplined treatment of the search for the historical Muhammad. Exhaustively researched and documented, with clear descriptions of methodology, observations and conclusions. All presented succinctly by a gifted writer.

This is Sean Anthony's collection of studies, in three "parts", upon such anecdotes as now make up the canonical biography of Muhammad. The studies have not, quite, been digested into a coherent argument, beyond that the project is feasible. I compare it to Josef Horovitz's "Earliest Biographies of the Prophet" and Fred Donner's "Narratives of Islamic Origins". I think that this structure and aim is why "The Making of the Prophet of Islam" is part of its title; it should have been THE title. The anecdotes here are: the "keys to the garden" motif, witnessed in the Judaeo-Christian "Didascalia/Doctrina Jacobi"; traditions that Muhammad was a merchant, also found in Christendom; several letters by 'Urwa Ibn Zubayr to the Damascene caliphate; the vision of Heraclius; and the corresponding Iqra narrative about Muhammad's angelic commission. The book's arguments here are generally comprehensive and convincing... to the extent we need them. Whether Muhammad engaged in trade or not is a banality to us, as this book admits itself, although maybe not to Late Antique audiences. Other motifs which this book reviews are clearly fictional, such that Anthony is really asking *when* these fictions were concocted. Mostly, this is the Umayyad era. Biographies of relevant Marwanite scholars take up much of the middle section, especially Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. I would fault it for disorganisation in parts, and for not embracing its nature as a collection of studies. I think Anthony himself frets as much, which is why it all ends with an "Epilogue" in lieu of "Conclusion". I must disclose that I disagree with its opening movement, which ascribes the full Quran (perhaps not in its present canonical sequence) to the Prophet himself. I've written some books on that topic myself. Which is fine; disagreements are going to happen. But Anthony doesn't argue the point: he just refers us to Sinai and Neuwirth. Moreover *this* book doesn't need the argument, given how the bulk of the essays here end up admitting their subjects belong so far into the Islamic future. I had the same problem with Donner's "Narratives". Still: the book is a goldmine of relevant information for anyone interested in the topic. Just for that, four stars is an absolute minimum. [This book was a gift to me by someone unrelated to publication, purchased through Amazon.]

#1 Pick on my shelf for the Historical Muhammad!

A lackluster and uninspiring work. One of the few purchases I have ever regretted. Besides the segment on Caedmon, I found nothing of value in this study.

Good

Good look at overlooked evidence that shows we know a surprising amount about the Prophet: he was indeed a merchant who led Arab armies and was recognised as a prophet by his people. Much of this information corroborates the Quran, which is a rather accurate document when it comes to describing the main events of Muhammad’s life. Within years of his death, his memory was used to legitimise Islamic dynasties (starting with the Ummayads, Zubairids, and eventually the Abbasids). The author also shows how Christians in the region reacted to the beginning of Islam. They saw that these Arab raiders represented something different, and within decades of Muhammad’s death were writing pointed rebuttals of Islam. At the same time, many Christians blamed rival Christian sects for the rise of this new “heathen” faith It is also interesting to see how Muslim elites eventually recognised the usefulness of writing down the history of Muhammad and Islam, beyond the Quran. They realised how Muslim histories could help current caliphs justify their lineage and rule.

I liked this because it’s an excellent review of some of Islam’s sources. It’s a nuanced space but if you want to study the sources of Islam, and especially the Hadith and tafsir, this is an excellent book