A commentary on the life of Muhammad
The purpose of this site is to present the life of Muhammad as accurately as possible, given the available sources. Knowing the founder of a religion is indispensable for those wishing to understand the religion as such, and Islam is in this respect no different. Since we are experiencing a wave of Islamic fundamentalism, understanding the foundation of Islam is more relevant than ever. Many core concepts of Islam have direct roots in the life of Muhammad, as does of course the Quran. And, on the subject of the Quran, there is no better way to understand it than to read the context it was given in, the life and deeds of Muhammad. This is the aim of this site.
For several reasons, the work presented here will be a string of highlights rather than a meticously detailed account. The most important reason for this is that the material on Muhammad is so extensive, covering a total of some 800 printed pages. Ibn Ishaq was very careful to include many details in his account, including stories of limited significance, large amounts of poetry, and even extensive lists of persons and horses present at various events. Tabari, being a historian, did not restrain himself either. He gives several accounts of many events, up to a dozen of the most significant. Making a careful selection of this material is important in order to create a continous narrative.
Care has been taken to cover the entirety of Muhammads life. As things stand, the events in Medina are much better documented than those from the earlier days in Mecca. The entire decade before the Hijrah is covered by a mere 90 pages, counting many repeated accounts, while the time after is covered by roughly 500 pages. This site uses 4 of its (currently) 26 sections for this material. Of the Medina material, in particular many less significant battles will be skipped. Those interested are encouraged to read Tabari or Ibn Ishaq for the complete picture.
A historical approach
It has been claimed that the birth of Islam and the life of Muhammad was played out in the full light of history. This is somewhat of an exaggeration. For that to be true, we need independent, contemporary sources for the events. And we have neither. The sources we do have, the Islamic scriptures, cannot be said to be independent in the normal sense of the word. They are the victors' account, and even prone to manipulation by the editors. Also, they are by no means contemporary. Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah" was compiled in Baghdad some 130 years after the events they describe. Al-Tabaris "Tarikh al-rusul wal-muluk" (History of Prophets and Kings) date almost a century later still. And both are based on oral traditions known as hadith.
This does not make them worthless or irrelevant, fortunately. While Arabia at the time of Muhammad was not a very litterate society, the strength of oral tradition is surprising, as can be seen in the meticously detailed accounts in Ibn Ishaq and Tabari. Also, the clearly interlocking structure of the stories, which are systematic regarding persons, places and chronology, vouch for their veracity. Nothing is perfect, though, and some stories are of a different vein, short on detail and context, possibly added for hagiographical purposes. These form the absolute minority, though.
>This site uses the finest Islamic sources available, nothing else. As it turns out, this restriction becomes an advantage. The Hadith and the Quran portray a very coherent image of Muhammad and the early Muslims, and any attempt to interpret the events in the light of a Christian, Hindu or other tradition would complicate matters unduely.
These text are approached as any historical document. While it might seem irreverent, as the hadith are considered inspired by Allah, it should not be a problem. The texts are taken at face value, and the main purpose is to get as close as possible to Muhammad, founder of Islam. As any religous figure, he and his actions should be able to stand their ground without the need to add extra reverence to his life and deeds.
Where is the religious stuff?
Some may wonder why there is so much violence and so little preaching presented here. The simple truth is that not much preaching or similar classical religious activity is related in these stories. Muhammad did have a pulpit to speak from in Medina, but he used to make his preachings short as to not make people bored. Unfortunately for historians, very little of what he said from the pulpit is preserved. The Muslims were not as literate as the Jews, and apparently little care was taken to preserve what Muhammad might have been preaching.
We do have a few cases, however, where Muhammad ascends the pulpit and speaks to the masses. These are from the first time in Medina, battle of Mutah and from the final days of Muhammad. Generally, the most important religious activity depicted is the revelation of Quran, and this can be found throughout the stories.
The dearth of traditions relating religious activity on the side of Muhammad will be compensated here by paying a bit more attention to the Quran when possible. While the references to the Quran is frequent, the quotes given are usually short, and deny the reader of much relevant context. By including the surrounding verses more context will be provided, both inside the Quran itself and to the situation in which the verses were given.
Is it relevant today?
This is a somewhat difficult question - why would the life of a person who lived almost 14 centuries ago be of interest today? The answer is not only that Muhammad is the founder of one of the largest religions. More importantly, his life is considered exemplary for Muslims (cf. Quran 33:21). His life constitutes the Sunnah, the example of the prophet, on which Islamic law (Sharia) is based. Therefore, this material is worth knowing.
Some schools of Islamic thought consider his life a literal example still applicable today, for instance the Wahhabi school dominating Saudi Arabia. Knowing the example Muhammad sets is most important for fundamentalist Muslims - this goes with the word, actually. In particular, the concept of Jihad is central to both the life of Muhammad and to Islamic fundamentalists. It has been argued that Jihad can be an internal struggle as well. This is true. If one analyzes the Islamic scriptures, approximately 3 % of the Jihad references refer to such a struggle. The remaining 97 % refer to physical warware against infidels, in particular polytheists. No references have been made to this distinction in the time of Muhammad, though, which renders the 'inner struggle' interpretation irrelevant in this study.
On the other hand, for modern, moderate Muslims, the example of Muhammad carries less relevance. Much of what he did does not apply to a modern society. For those who reject using violence in the name of religion, taking Muhammad as a literal example is difficult. Still, it is of interest to know more about this egnimatic person, as many Islamic leaders have pointed out recently. Most people, and even most Muslims, know surprisingly little factual about the life of Muhammad. It is the hope of the authors of this site that this problem will hereby be rectified.
Is it true?
Technically, we cannot know for sure. We have little archeological evidence to verify the details. But we do know for sure that Islam arose in a manner matching the descriptions here, and later spread rapidly to both the east and the west. However, in a sense it does not matter if these accounts are accurate to the letter. They form a large part of the foundation of Islam, and are considered basically true and inspired by Muslims at large. In this sense, the Hadith and the Quran *are* Islam, historically true or not, and are relevant for anyone interested in Islam and Islamic politics..
As for any formal authority over the material here, the authors have basically none. The texts used here are being treated as any other historical text, applying normal approaches for commentary and combining with other relevant sources. This is a western-style approach, not a religious Islamic one. Using a historical approach, the commentary here is probably more relevant for Islam as a political ideology than as a religion.
Particular for Muslims
If you are Muslim and reading this, you might want to pay less attention to the commentary and more on the original Islamic material presented. This site contains material not easily found elsewhere, and rarely taught by Islamic scholars. You might want to ask your local imam or other religious authority if the example and the commands of Muhammad are to be followed literally, and what the legal implications would be from doing so.
Is this what you want to read?
Anyone wishing to learn about Islam as it is being practiced today is better advised to go to other sources, like Islam 101 or Submission.Org, where you can find both contemporary and historical material about Islam, and where you will learn the details of submitting to Muhammad and his religion. The site you are reading now is about the roots of Islam, and will make only infrequent references to modern practices of the religion.
The approach of looking directly at the founders of the religions has a tendency to focus on the differences between religions. If you wish to find similarities between Islam and Christianity, you will not find much on this site. Recommended instead would be the works of Karen Armstrong, which carry the endorsement of many Arab and Islamic leaders. If you desire a general account of the history of Islam, or on how Jihad is being applied in modern times, the works of Serge Trifkovic are unmatched for knowledge and attention to detail.
Anonymous
In these days, where violence and religion are unfortunately blended, it might be dangerous to one's health to post full name and address. While contact info is provided below, the authors prefer to remain unnamed. The material should be able to hold its own from the merit of the text itself, as the core of the material is the widely available Islamic scriptures.
Links
While many web sites provide information about various aspects of Islam, choosing the best is not quite trivial, as every aspect of this seems to bring out strong emotions. Finding something neutral, yet meaningful and informative, is almost impossible. Among the host of sites in existance, you might want to visit some of these:
| Submission.Org | How to submit your will to that of Allah. | Note: opinionated site |
| Prophet of Doom | An extensive analysis of what this might imply. | Note: opinionated site |
| Apostates of Islam | By and for those who had enough. | Note: opinionated site |
Mirroring this site
If you wish to mirror this site, either as a standalone or as a component of your own web site, that's fine. This also brings some welcome solidity against possible cyberattacks. All contents is in static web pages using relative links, using no scripting, database or anything out of the ordinary. The data size is approximately 20 MB including the optional (but recommended) NobleQuraan.chm, or less than 1 MB without. Drop a line to the webmaster to be added to the mirror list below:
Translating
Translating the contents of this site is permitted and encouraged, provided the contents is made available for free like the current site. Copying the structure of this site, then translating the text bits and publishing the URL is a good way to accomplish this. You can find hosting for free at Free Web Space. To be added to the mirror list, send email to webmaster. If you translated this, you should double-check the Hadith and Quran quotes with your official translations, to the extent they are available.
Just the truth
The purpose of this site is to bring out the truth about Muhammad. There is no need to distort or misrepresent it, this would bring little benefit to anyone. If any significant errors or ommissions are found in the material here, please let us know. We shall correct it when time permits.
