Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah - The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume

[abradley]

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah - The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume
by Ibn Ishaq, Translated by A. Guillaume

Published October 2002

https://archive.org/details/TheLifeOfMohammedGuillaume

4.0 out of 5 starsA Hard Read
By Robert Schwartz on August 28, 2006
Format: Hardcover
http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Muhammad-I-Ishaq/dp/0196360331
This book is an excellent reference for those wanting a more in-depth knowledge of Islam, but be warned: It is a difficult read. The text is flowery, repetitive, and much of the time so convoluted that after perusing a section one is left scratching one's head and asking, "What did he say?". So be prepared for a lot of very close reading and rereading.

That said, I would think this book makes a very good companion to The Koran.

One final caution: If you think Islam is the religion of peace, you may be disillusioned.

To my knowledge this is the book, haven't read it yet, have read many others, but this is the one.

 

[Agent327]

I'm fairly certain there's more than one book on Muhammad. Also more recently than 1955.

 

[abradley]

I'm fairly certain there's more than one book on Muhammad. Also more recently than 1955.

Yes, there are may books on Muhammad, but to my knowledge this is the 'one'.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Muhammad-I-Ishaq/dp/0196360331

88 of 92 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best resource out there
By Elaine on August 29, 2007
Format: Hardcover
Ibn Ishaq was the earliest, and probably the most thorough, of Islam's historians. He never claimed that everything he heard was the perfect, absolute fact; rather, he very frankly writes "so-and-so said this, but so-and-so said that." Most of the discrepancies he cites are minor, and the vast majority of the incidents he cites are surprisingly consistent with what other Muslim historians say.

Later, Ibn Hisham produced a "rescinded" version of Ibn Ishaq's work, including in his work an introduction that explains frankly that he cut parts that others might find offensive. It is actually this work that survives -- to date no complete copy of Ibn Ishaq's orginial work has been found.

Meanwhile, however, other Muslim historians commented on Ibn Ishaq's work (before it was rescinded and lost) and quoted from it extensively. Guilliaume has taken these pieces and added them back in, and has indicated clearly what has been added, diligently citing the source of the addition in each case.

While this book is not exactly light reading, it is fascinating, and essential for understanding the context of the Quran. The Quran and the Life of Muhammad should be read side by side to really get an understanding of how Islam developed over the course of Muhammad's life.

Don't be put off by the extremely thorough names -- clan and lineage was an integral part of life in sixth-century Arabia so a person's name often is listed as "A son of B son of C son of D son of E of the clan F." It's even worse when they list four or five people that way, taking up two-thirds of a paragraph before getting to a verb, but just skip over this and read the great stories. This is a fascinating read and a fabulous academic resource.Read more ›

 

[Silurian]

There can be only one

 

[Timsup2nothin]

An Islamophobe in the forest recommends a book on Mohammad...does it make a sound?

 

[Ajidica]

Yes, there are may books on Muhammad, but to my knowledge this is the 'one'.

Historiography has moved forward a lot in the intervening 60 years. When it was published it could have been highly influential like Tuchman's The Guns of August but now is severely dated.

 

[Phrossack]

So lemme get this straight: You haven't read it. But you really want to read it and recommend it to us all anyway, so that you can criticize Islam more effectively.

 

[jackelgull]

Ibn Ishaq - I don't know much about him, but I do know that back in his day, scholars considered his methodology for Fiqh loose, and thought he relied too heavily on the Isra'iliyyat, and I know that he straight out forged poems in his biography.

I would be interested in reading a translation of his works, but with a very skeptical eye, because the dude wasn't careful with his sources.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

But he says what abradley wants to hear, so that makes him accurate, right?

 

[jackelgull]

But he says what abradley wants to hear, so that makes him accurate, right?

Is he an absolute authority on the life of Muhammed? Hell no. Does he have some useful stuff? From what I've heard, yes.

 

[Agent327]

But he says what abradley wants to hear, so that makes him accurate, right?

No, that's called selective reading.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

No, that's called selective reading.

Ah. So what is it called when you recommend books that seem likely to say what you want to hear, without even bothering to read them? Selective recommending?

 

[Agent327]

Pretty much. The selective bit enters in the part where you exclude any information contradicting what you would like to come across. (i would call it tunnel vision, but that started another discussion on the Theologian thread, so I won't.)

 

[sophie]

Historiography has moved forward a lot in the intervening 60 years. When it was published it could have been highly influential like Tuchman's The Guns of August but now is severely dated.

Especially with pre-turn books on the non-Western world.

 

[illram]

Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah - The Life of Muhammad Translated by A. Guillaume
by Ibn Ishaq, Translated by A. Guillaume

Published October 2002

https://archive.org/details/TheLifeOfMohammedGuillaume

To my knowledge this is the book, haven't read it yet, have read many others, but this is the one.

Because of reviews like the one you quoted in the OP?

If you think Islam is the religion of peace, you may be disillusioned.

 

[jackelgull]

Especially with pre-turn books on the non-Western world.

What are pre-turn books?

 

[abradley]

Historiography has moved forward a lot in the intervening 60 years. When it was published it could have been highly influential like Tuchman's The Guns of August but now is severely dated.

My gosh, it's a translation of the earliest known text on the life of Muhammad.

Not a 'Life of Muhammad' that was researched 60 years ago.

 

[sophie]

What are pre-turn books?

The application of theories from the Linguistic Turn to historical research, which was also coupled with the application of postmodern thinking from academics like Foucault, Derrida, and Barthes, and broadly happened in academic history during the 1980s. This had a deeply profound effect on all branches of history, to the point where pre-1980 books are somewhat suspect in many historical disciplines (in non-historiographic analyses).

But yeah, read nearly any account of the course of historiography for any region and period and you'll almost certainly see some mention of the course of historiography changing rather dramatically in the 80s and 90s.

 

[illram]

For someone lazy like myself, can you give me the elevator pitch explanation of the Linguistic Turn? Like Denzel to Tom in Philadelphia, explain it to me like I am a 4 year old.

 

[Archbob]

If we want to understand Islam, shouldn't we just read the Koran?