Reviews for The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah

The average rating for The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-12-27 00:00:00 Josef Peyer I read this slowly (it runs over 600 pages) but I feel it was worthwhile, since it is the earliest actual life of Muhammad and the basis of most modern biographies. That being so, the major facts and even some of the colorful anecdotes were in other books I had read (notably John Glubb's version, which frankly relied on Islamic tradition). But it was good to know exactly what was in the tradition. Much of the additional material in this version was not of great historical interest --for each major event (especially the battles) there would be an exchange of poetry, some probably spurious. There were also the isnads (listing the authorities for each episode). Often these were surprisingly (to me) vague for such an early source "someone whom I have no cause to suspect" etc. I was struck by the fact that the ultimate authority for the account of the accusation of infidelity against Aisha (which Muhammad, on the basis of revelation, rejected) was Aisha herself. Overall, I must admit I as a non-Muslim did not find Muhammad as described here especially impressive. He and his followers seemed to endorse the same code of vengeance as their pagan opponents, and regarded composing a poem insulting the prophet as justifying the poet's assassination. Muhammad is also reported as having a man severely tortured (and then executed) for not revealing where a treasure was hidden. I am well aware that many Muslims today would not practice this sort of conduct, but I am bound to say that I think when the al-Qaeda types say they are following the prophet's example, they have reason. The one thing to be said for Muhammad was that he was magnanimous in victory, particularly to the people in Mecca; many who had fought bitterly against him were freely accepted into the Islamic community upon submission.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-05 00:00:00 Blake Bryan Earliest Biography, which is still 130 yrs after Muhammad's death. 800 pages including the footnotes at the end!! many of the footnotes are stories 1/2 page or more in length. Interesting read. Lots of wars and raids. Muhammad commanded quite a few of his enemies to be killed. Very different from Jesus commanding his followers to "love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you." Matt. 5:44