Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

I once read the Indonesian translation of this book, and the experience couldn't have been more different. This biography reads not like a dry explanation about how someone had lived in the past. Martin Lings presented the story of the Prophet almost like a myth. I don't mean “myth” as in “fiction” but as a grand narrative that shows why there are more than a billion humans today that believe in his words, his deeds, and his message. Some might judge that the story might be unconvincing, while others will certainly get stirred by Muhammad's virtuous qualities, as well as his complexities as a human being.

One of the main differences that set this biography apart from many other chronicles about Muhammad is that it does not begin straight from Muhammad's birth. Instead, we are told first about the story of Ibrahim, how he built the Kaaba, how his descendants found the city of Mecca (the focal point of Muhammad's story), who Muhammad's ancestors were, and finally the recent events preceding Muhammad's birth. Another distinguishing feature compared to other English biographies about the Prophet is that Martin Lings wrote using an Early Modern English-like style (such as one you might find in Shakespeare's plays). This can be quite jarring for readers, bearing in mind that this book was written in the 1980s. I'm not entirely sure why Martin Lings did this, but maybe it has to do with the subtitle, “His Life Based on the Earliest Sources.” Perhaps Martin Lings did this because he wanted to show that what he wrote is not based on his taste or liking, but because he just wanted tell it like how classic Arab biographers told the story of Muhammad in classical Arabic. Indeed, all of his sources (which he extensively cited and footnoted in each chapter, which are mostly brief) date just a few centuries from Muhammad's lifetime.

Since this book relies so much on classical sources rather than more contemporary ones, those intending to find factual information or critical analysis (so to speak) about the Prophet may be disappointed. Just like the early Islamic biographies about the Prophet, we can find many instances where supernatural occurrences happened or of miracles supposedly performed by Muhammad. Historical accuracy is not the point of this book. Rather, as I pointed out earlier, this book presents Muhammad as how he is revered and followed by more than a billion Muslims around the globe. Through Martin Lings' writing, you might not be able to find the factual truth about Muhammad, but you might see why many people see Muhammad as the bringer of Truth.