A second type of lesson can never theless be drawn from the historical
events that filled the Prophet's life. I n the seventh cenrory, at the heart of
a specific social, political, and cui rural environment, God's j\:lessenger
acted, reacted, and expressed himself about human beings and events in
the !1ame of his faith, in the light of his morals. Studying his actions in
this particular historical and geographical setting should enable us to
throw light on a number o f principles about the relation o f faith to
human beings, brotherhood, lo ve, adversity, community life, justice, laws,
and \'2r. We have therefo re endeavored to approach j\ Iuhammad's life
fro m the perspective of o ur own times, considering how it still speaks to
us and what its contemporary teachings are.
The reader, whcther :Muslim o r not, is thus invited to look into the
Prophet's life and follow the steps of an account that is strictly faithful to
classical biographies (as far as facts and chronology are concerned) but
which nevertheless constantly introduces reflections and comments, of a
spiritual, philosophical, social, judicial, political, or cultural narure, in-
spired by the facts narrated. The choice to focus on certain events rather
tha n others is o f course determined by the wish to d raw out teachings
that speak to our lives and to our times. In each sectio n of the (deliber-
ately short) chapters that make up this book, the reader will notice con-
stant movements between th e Pro phet's life, the Quran, and th e teachings
relevant to spirituality and tl1e present-day situation that can be drawn
from the various historical situations.
OUf aim is more to get to know the Prophet himself than to learn
about his personality or the events in his life. What is so ught are immer-
sio n, s}'mpathy, and, essentially, love. Whether one believes or no t, it is not
impossible to u y to immerse oneself in the Prophet's quest and existence
and recapture the pulse~the spirit-that infused his mission with mean-
ing. This is indeed th e primary ambition of this work: making of the
Messenger's life a mirror through which readers facing the challenges of
Our time can explore their hearts and minds and achieve an understand-
ing of questions of being and meaning as well as broader ethical and
social concerns.
This book is intended fo r a lar&re audience, both Muslim and noo-
Muslim. The text is academically rigorous in regard to classical Islamic
Sources, which we hope makes it useful to scholars and the Islamic sciences.
By contrast, the narrative, interwoven with reflections and meditations, is
martin jones
(Martin Jones)
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