Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

About this book

Martin Lings, a British scholar who embraced Islam and worked for many years at the British Museum, wrote this biography using the earliest Arabic sources, including the works of Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd and al-Waqidi.

What makes the book special is its writing. Lings tells the Prophet's ﷺ life as a flowing narrative in short chapters, with a dignified, almost poetic English that brings the people and places vividly to life. Readers follow events from the building of the Kaaba by Ibrahim and Ismail to the Prophet's ﷺ passing in Madinah, meeting his family and companions along the way.

It has been translated into many languages and is often recommended as the most readable seerah in English, especially for those who prefer a story to a textbook.

What's inside

• A narrative biography in short chapters
• Based on the earliest Arabic sources
• Begins with Ibrahim and the history of Makkah
• Rich portraits of the Companions and family
• Beautiful, flowing English