In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad

10 A Birth In his seminal book on the tife of the Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Hisham informs us that Ibn Ishaq has clearly and precise ...

Birth and Education II Bedouin tribes living in the nearby desert. Because he was fatherless, one nurse after another refused to ...

12 in the 100tJtps <1 the Prophtt Considering the exemplary nature of the prophetic experience, the sec- ond spiritual teachi ...

Birth and EdJlcation And among His Signs is this: you see the earth humble [because of drought]; but when \"'('e send down rain ...

14 In the FooI;ttpJ of tIM Propbtf creanon, conceived as a school whe re the mind g radually apprehends signs and meaning. Far r ...

Birlh and EducatiQn 15 snow.,, 16 In other traditions, he exp lained the spiritual meaning o f those events; in a discussion wit ...

16 In tIN Footsttpi of 1m Prophet The Orphan and His Educator Muhammad's story is a difficult one, as is emphasized by the repet ...

17 to speak, and how to resort to diversion to escape evil temptations. For those Companions, as for us, in all ages and societi ...

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CHAPTER THREE 3 Personality and Spiritual Quest Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad's grandfather, had seen his riches dwindle during the ...

20 In Ik FootJtrpl 0/ lIN PropIHt Bahira no ticed a skin growth identified by his books as "the seal of prophethood" (lehalim an ...

PerlOnalitJ a"d Spiritual Que!!^21 might link them to other tribes. T his alliance, known as hi!! alfHdHI (th e Pact of the Virt ...

22 The third teachmg is a cUreel consequence of this rd1ectJon: the mes- sage of Islam is by no means a closed value system at v ...

23 truthful, the trustworthy," when he was ani)' about twenty. One of the wealtluest traders in Mecca was a w'Oman called Khadij ...

decided to free and adopt as his son his slave Zayd Ibn H arithah, gifted to him by his wife a few years earlier. Later, when hi ...

25 efficient in business, he expressed constant r espeCt to\>"llrd all women, melt, and children, who in turn shov.-cd lum gr ...

26 III Ihr 1 ~llfPS 0/ the prophtt bct\l.reen th e Quraysh dans: teach the heart not to gi\'l:' way to proud emo- tio ns and arr ...

Pmono/t!J lind Spirillllll QIIlSJ^27 whether th e veneratio n of statues o r the worship of power and riches. For some time alre ...

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CHAPTER FOUR Revelation, Knowledge Alone in the cave of Hira, Muhammad continued to search for truth and meaning. Then the Angel ...