Product Description

Widely recognised as the best biography of the Prophet (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) in English, Dr. Martin Lings' award winning book is now available on audio as an abridged 6-hour spoken word album (on 5 CDs), read by well-known narrator Sean Barrett (famous for his TV documentary voice-overs, the BBC World Service and many other spoken word titles). This excellent audiobook is the first of its kind and has been selected by a number of organisations as a worthy introduction to the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) including Muslim Welfare House, London and the Muslim Council of Britain.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #850631 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-01
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Review
Those acquainted with the book will wonder why it has taken so long for a story so graphically told, characters so roundly formed, written in language so accessible to all, to be transferred into an audio book. We have to thank Meem Audio and Sean Barrett for their endeavours and accomplishment of this. Lings' sources have been the words of men and women who heard Muhammad (may God's peace and blessings be upon him) speak and witnessed his life. He translated these works from the original Arabic, many for the first time, using his unusual gift for narrative in a style, which is fresh and direct. The reading by Sean Barrett, although it loses some of the intricate detail, as one would expect from an abridged version, is fluent, lucid and retains one's attention throughout. He begins with the story of Abraham, quoting from the Book of Genesis, and follows the fortunes of Hagar, his second wife, from the expulsion from Canaan with her son Ishmael, to the finding of Zamzam and the establishment of the holy centre in the Valley of Becca (later to become known the world over as Mecca). We are given a brief chronology of the noble ancestry of Muhammad (may God's peace and blessings be upon him), taken through his childhood to the eminent position he held as 'Al Amin' (the Trustworthy), in Meccan society before receiving Prophethood. The trials and tribulations of the early Meccan period followed by the triumphs of the first Islamic state in Medina are told in a manner, which engage the emotions of the listener. The work ends recounting the death of the 'beloved of God' in Medina. Sean Barrett reads with good pronunciation of Arabic. The tone and tempo vary appropriately with the different events being told, giving a sense of urgency at times such as battles and comfortable wellbeing at others. The story is easy to follow partly because of Barrett's clear voice but mostly because of the simplicity of the narrative. It comes as no surprise that the author appr --MCBDirect March 2004

The Spectator
‘An enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject.’

The Islamic Quarterly
'Muhammad is a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact.'

Customer Reviews

Wonderful and moving!
This is a wonderful book that affords the reader with a unique insight into the life of the prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) and of life in Arabia in the middle half of the 1st century CE. The book is well researched, well written and very easy to read. The referencing is unobtrusive allowing the book to flow throughout. It is also well structured providing an easy reference guide to key events in the life of the Prophet (PBUH), his family and his Companions.

Occasionally you can read a book and be truly moved by it. This is such a book and as a Muslim rediscovering his faith this book left me with a feeling of sadness at not having discovered my faith earlier and what can only be described as a feeling of Love for the Prophet.

Muhammad, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
I read this book, completed it and re-read the whole book, it captured my heart and soul and allowed me to travel through the book as fish in an ocean. It is vital that we all read this because the letters that make the words and the words that make the sentences say one thing. Love. This book is short, precise, academic yet more engrossing than a thousand novels.

Almost flawless biography of the Beloved Prophet in English.
I read Martin Lings' wonderful biography of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam --may Allah bless him and give him peace) for the first time when I was a teenager; what attracted me then was the caption on the cover which said, "based on the earliest Islamic sources"! But I loved the book the very first time I read it and since then I have read it a few times and bought my own copy. It is a book I always recommend to anyone interested in Islam as I believe it is the best introduction one can have to Islam. After all, if one does not know the Messenger, how can one ever accept the Message?

This book is wonderfully written and although the English is slightly archaic, I think that in this instance it actually adds to the books qualities, as such noble language is totally concommitant with the grandeur and theme of the book. The quality of the language used is indeed one aspect of this book which sets it apart from other biographies of the Beloved of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) written in English and for that alone it is superior to the others. As the facts of the Messenger's blessed life are known in great detail, it is obvious that any biography will cover the main events including the blessed birth, the childhood events, the meeting with Bahira the Monk, the outward proclamation of Prophethood at the age of 40 (note I did not write the acquisition of Prophethood--this is a subtle point worth noting especially for Muslims which I'll briefly mention here although it does not detract from the overall quality of the book: it is this: the orthodox classical Sunni belief about all Messengers and Prophets is that they are Prophets from the moment of their creation by Allah and they are Prophets when they are born and they know about their status but they only proclaim it to the world when they are ordered to by Allah. Thus, for example, Prophet Jesus (Sayyedina Isa alayhi salaam) was ordered to announce his Prophethood [nabuwwat] soon after his blessed, immaculate, birth whilst still an infant of a few days as the Qur'an tells us (surah Maryam)whereas Our Beloved Prophet was only ordered to proclaim his Prophethood at the age of 40.In Urdu this is called izhaar-e-nabuwwat. Most books written by Western authors do not go into such details of Muslim aqeedaH [doctrine] as it is not necessary for the general reader to know but given that this book by Martin Lings' is so widely read by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, I thought it would be worth mentioning), the time in Makkah, the emigration to Madina, the Miraj journey, the battles, the conquest of Makkah, the farewell pilgrimage etc. but it is the style in which this book covers them that is so captivating--one feels one is actually there! Subhan Allah! Glory to Allah!

In addition however Martin Lings' book covers the personal and spiritual aspects of the life of the Greatest Messenger in the most beautiful and moving way. Many passages in the book moved me to tears such as the one during the preparations for the Battle of the Trench when one of the Companions sees the Beloved of Allah in a red cloth wrapped around the waist and comments on how beautiful the Master of The Prophets alayhi salaato salaam looked!

Also, Martin Lings' book is filled with intimate incidents from the life of Allah's darling Messenger which show his perfect humanity, his humbleness, humility, greatness of character and, above all, spirituality as well as his day-to-day personal interactions with his family, companions and friends as well as the foes of the Messenger of Allah. Above all, the book is saturated with the Prophet's constant and uniquely intimate relationship with Allah and it really shines through almost on every page. This biography emphasises the spirituality of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and in this way one can catch glimpses of the teachings of sufism as well which formed the highest level of the Prophet's teachings.

As others have mentioned he does not comment on any of the hadiths or events which has both advantages and disadvantages in that it is possible that some people may misinterpret a saying and not understand it as it is meant to be understood or as it is understood by Muslims wordwide. However most of the hadith used are clear and unambiguous and so this problem only arises a couple of times. (And it is only for those totally new to Islam--those with a little background in sufism will not have this problem at all.)

I could write pages for this book but I will end here by saying that it is one of the few books I would consider a "must buy". It is the (almost) perfect introduction to the amazing life of Allah's final and most beloved Messenger and the best written. Once you have read this you can then graduate to more specialist texts such as the Shifa' of Qadi Ayad al Maliki which is *the* definitive classical book about the Prophet's character and qualities of perfection (and it is now available in an excellent English edition too by Aisha Bewley) or the Sira of Ibn Hisham (very detailed but not as readable English translation by A. Guillame) or the myriad other biographies available in the islamic languages such as Arabic and Urdu.

It might be worth noting that Martin Ling's great work has won many prizes from all over the Muslim world for being the best biography of the Beloved Prophet in English including from Egypt and the government of Pakistan.

The life of Allah's Beloved is, in reality, like an endless ocean from which everyone can take whatever he wants and it will not diminish and only Allah Most High truly knows the exalted status of His Prophet, but books like this one make it possible for us mere mortals to catch a glimpse of that Prophetic majesty and to bask in his exaltedness.

I challenge anyone to read this book through to the end and not fall in love with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

May Allah reward him!