The important role of the Prophet Muhammad in the everyday lives of Muslims is usually overlooked by Western scholars and has consequently never been understood by the Western world. Using original sources in the various Islamic languages, Annemarie Schimmel explains the central place of Muhammad in Muslim life, mystical thought, and poetry. She sees the veneration of Muhammad as having many parallels in other major religions. In order to understand Muslim piety it is necessary to take into account the long history of the veneration of Muhammad. Schimmel discusses aspects of his life, birth, marriage, miracles, and heavenly journey, all of which became subjects for religious devotions. By using poetic texts and artistic expressions and by examining daily Muslim religious practices, Schimmel shows us the gentler side of Islamic religious culture, providing a much-needed understanding of religion as it is experienced and practiced in the Islamic world. This is the first book in English to deal with all aspects of the veneration of the Prophet Muhammad. It is an expanded version of Schimmel's Und Muhammad Ist Sein Prophet, originally published in German in 1981.
This book narrates the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, shedding light upon segments of his life that are either neglected or glossed over in conflict-focused biographies. The narrations in this book revolve around the Prophet's various strategies of diplomacy and reconciliation to avoid conflicts. In narrating these events, the book helps the readers broaden their perspective on the life of the Messenger of God and better capture the ethos of his life. Indeed, both Muslims and non-Muslims may benefit from this understanding at a time when violent extremist groups such as ISIS are causing carnage with their brutality while dressing their totalitarian ideologies in Muslim garb. The book exposes the hypocritical and willful deception of these radical groups which cherry-pick incidents and sayings from the Prophet's life, decontextualize them, and abuse them to serve their perverted ideologies. The extensive evidence presented in this book will not only dispel many myths about the life and message of the Noble Prophet, but also show how through compassionate efforts he conquered the hearts of people around him and turned them from die-hard enemies to devoted faithful friends.
Adil writes of the Holy Prophet and how he prayed for mercy upon his enemies. Despite the fact that they did him such harm and caused him so much hurt, he would not curse them, for all prophets' curses instantly take effect.
This book talks about the life story of Muhammad, may Allah exalt his mention, and his beautiful manners. It also brings to light statements for contemporary figures in Western society, who spoke favorably of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah exalt his mention.
Drawing on traditional Muslim sources, Michael Cook describes Muhammad's life and teaching. He also attempts to stand back from this traditional picture to show how far it is historically justified.
Annemarie Schimmel, one of the world's foremost authorities on Persian literature, provides a comprehensive introduction to the complicated and highly sophisticated system of rhetoric and imagery used by the poets of Iran, Ottoman Turkey, and Muslim India. She shows that these images have been used and refined over the centuries and reflect the changing conditions in the Muslim world. According to Schimmel, Persian poetry does not aim to be spontaneous in spirit or highly personal in form. Instead it is rooted in conventions and rules of prosody, rhymes, and verbal instrumentation. Ideally, every verse should be like a precious stone--perfectly formed and multifaceted--and convey the dynamic relationship between everyday reality and the transcendental. Persian poetry, Schimmel explains, is more similar to medieval European verse than Western poetry as it has been written since the Romantic period. The characteristic verse form is the ghazal--a set of rhyming couplets--which serves as a vehicle for shrouding in conventional tropes the poet's real intentions. Because Persian poetry is neither narrative nor dramatic in its overall form, its strength lies in an "architectonic" design; each precisely expressed image is carefully fitted into a pattern of linked figures of speech. Schimmel shows that at its heart Persian poetry transforms the world into a web of symbols embedded in Islamic culture.
Prophet Muhammad SAW from Mecca, unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam faith. Believed by Muslims to be a prophet and messenger of Allah SWT (God), Muhammad is almost universally considered by Muslims as the last prophet sent by God to mankind. While non-Muslims generally regard Muhammad as the founder of Islam, Muslims consider him to have restored the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus and other prophets. Born approximately in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Prophet Muhammad SAW was orphaned at an early age; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. After his childhood Muhammad primarily worked as a merchant. Occasionally he would retreat to a cave in the mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer; later, at age 40, he reported at this spot, that he was visited by Angel Gabriel and received his first revelation from Allah SWT (God). Three years after this event Prophet Muhammad SAW started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One." Prophet Muhammad SAW, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is the man beloved by more than 1.5 billion Muslims. He is the man who taught us patience in the face of adversity, and taught us to live in this world but seek eternal life in the hereafter. It was to Prophet Muhammad SAW that God revealed the Quran. Along with this Book of guidance God sent Prophet Muhammad SAW, whose behavior and high moral standards are an example to us all. Prophet Muhammad's life was the Quran. He understood it, he loved it and he lived his life based on its standards. He taught us to recite the Holy Quran, to live by its principles and to love it. When Muslims declare their faith in One God, they also declare their belief that Muhammad is the slave and final messenger of God. Prophet Muhammad SAW taught us to love God and to obey Him. He taught us to be kind to each other, to respect our elders, and care for our children. He taught us that it was better to give than to receive and that each human life is worthy of respect and dignity. He taught us to love for our brothers and sisters what we love for ourselves. Prophet Muhammad SAW taught us that families and communities are essential, and he pointed out that individual rights although important are not more important than a stable, moral society. Prophet Muhammad SAW taught us that men and women are equal in the sight of God and that no one person is better then another except in respect to his or her piety and devotion to God.
Kitab Ash-Shifa bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa, (Healing by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One), of Qadi 'Iyad (d. 544H/1149CE) is perhaps the most frequently used and commented upon handbook in which the Prophet's, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, life, his qualities and his miracles are described in every detail. Generally known by its short title, Ash-Shifa, this work was so highly admired throughout the Muslim world that it soon acquired a sanctity of its own for it is said: "If Ash-Shifa is found in a house, this house will not suffer any harm... when a sick person reads it or it is recited to him, Allah will restore his health." Ash-Shifa gathers together all that is necessary to acquaint the reader with the true stature of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the esteem and respect which is due to him, and with the verdict regarding anyone who does not fulfil what his stature demands or who attempts to denigrate his supreme status - even by as much as a nail paring. QADI 'IYAD His full name was Abu al-Fadl 'Iyad ibn Musa ibn 'Iyad ibn 'Imran ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Musa ibn 'Iyad al-Yahsubi, the famous Imam. He was born in Ceuta in the month of Sha'ban, 496 AH and lived there although his family originated from Andalusia. According to his son, Muhammad, his ancestors originated in Andalusia and then moved to the city of Fes, staying in the Qarawiyyin at some point. 'Imrun moved to Ceuta after having lived in Fes. Qadi 'Iyad was the Imam of his time in hadith and its sciences. He was a scholar of tafsir and its sciences, a faqih in usul, a scholar in grammar, language and Arabic speech, as well as in the battles and lineages of the Arabs. He had insight into judgements and had the legal competence to write contracts. He preserved and knew the Maliki madhhab. He was an excellent poet, familiar with literature and an eloquent orator. He was steadfast, forbearing and a good companion. He was generous and gave a lot of sadaqa. He was constant in action and tenacious in the truth. He died in Marrakesh in the month of Jumada al-Akhira or Ramadan in 544 AH. AISHA BEWLEY Aisha Abdurrahman at Tarjumana Bewley is one of today's most prolific translators of classical Arabic works into English. For more than thirty-five years she has been concerned with making the contents of many classical Arabic works more accessible to English-speaking readers. She is co-translator of The Noble Qur'an A New Rendering of its Meaning in English. Other works include Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, The Meaning of Man, Mu'awiya - Restorer of the Muslim Faith, A Glossary of Islamic Terms, Islam: The Empowering of Women and Muslim Women, a Biographical Dictionary.
Islam presents an astonishing situation as it rejects all except those totally committing their will and mind to Allah, Muhammad, and the Qur'an, along with several other authority figures and traditions. The Bible accepts any and all who will come as humble sinners and seek the One God through the sacrifice of the Messiah of the Jews. This book is in total agreement with the Qur'an when the Qur'an says that most Jews and most Christians are evil, corrupt, and liars by the standards of right and wrong found in the Qur'an that is. The alternative is also true and again in agreement with the Qur'an. Muslims do not and may not adhere to the teachings of the Bible, which results in being lost by biblical teachings. The simple truth of the Qur'an is that Jews and Christians do not follow the Allah of the Qur'an, except a few who become Muslim. Also true is that the Muslims do not follow the God of the Bible, except a few who accept Jesus. God of the Bible is not Allah of the Qur'an, and Allah of the Qur'an is not God of the Bible, by name, by description, by personality, by judgment, or by love. The Qur'an has its greatest error when it says it is the completion and continuation of biblical revelation. This is fully accepted by Muslims because they have been taught that the Bible is corrupted, not the true one, and they do not read the Bible.
