They say you can judge a person by the friends he keeps, but the focus of this book comes, in part, from the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad. Viewed by some as one of the most influential figures in history, he continues to polarise people. This book is written for people of all faiths and none who are curious as to how an illiterate orphan born in 570 emerged from the desert sands of Arabia to become a great political, military and religious leader. His importance to today’s 1.8 billion Muslims cannot be underestimated especially since his name is part of the five-times-a-day call to prayer. Whenever it is spoken by them, it is usually followed by the phrase “may God’s blessings and peace be upon him.” The phenomenal growth of Islam saw the rise of an empire more than 10 times the size of lands conquered by Alexander the Great, five times the size of the Roman Empire, and seven times the size of America.

"Now in an updated, second edition, Gabriel Said Reynolds tells the story of Islam in this brief illustrated survey, beginning with Muhammad's early life and rise to power, then tracing the origins and development of the Quran juxtaposed with biblical literature, and concluding with an overview of modern and fundamentalist narratives of the origin of Islam. Reynolds offers a fascinating look at the structure and meaning of the Qur'an, revealing the ways in which biblical language is used to advance the Qur'an's religious meaning. Reynolds' analysis identifies the motives that shaped each narrative Islamic, Jewish, and Christian. The book's conclusion yields a rich understanding of diverse interpretations of Islam's emergence, suggesting that its emergence is itself ever-developing"--Publisher description.

Early Islam has emerged as a lively site of historical investigation, and scholars have challenged the traditional accounts of Islamic origins by drawing attention to the wealth of non-Islamic sources that describe the rise of Islam. A Prophet Has Appeared brings this approach to the classroom. This collection provides students and scholars with carefully selected, introduced, and annotated materials from non-Islamic sources dating to the early years of Islam. These can be read alone or alongside the Qur'an and later Islamic materials. Applying historical-critical analysis, the volume moves these invaluable sources to more equal footing with later Islamic narratives about Muhammad and the formation of his new religious movement. Included are new English translations of sources by twenty authors, originally written in not only Greek and Latin but also Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, and Arabic and spanning a geographic range from England to Egypt and Iran. Ideal for the classroom and personal library, this sourcebook provides readers with the tools to meaningfully approach a new, burgeoning area of Islamic studies.

Using a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes psychoanalysis and normative sociology, the author discusses the implications for the theory and study of groups and group formation in history via the life and work of Muhammad, warrior, statesman, and Messenger of God, and the development and rise of Islam during his lifetime.

Looks at the history of Islam, arguing that its origins began with the "Believers" movement that emphasized strict monotheism and righteous behavior that included both Christians and Jews in its early years.

In his quest for the historical Muhammad, Zeitlin's chief aim is to catch glimpses of the birth of Islam and the role played by its extraordinary founder. Islam, as its Prophet came to conceive it, was a strict and absolute monotheism. How Muhammad had arrived at this view is not a problem for Muslims, who believe that the Prophet received a revelation from Allah or God, mediated by the Angel Gabriel. For scholars, however, interested in placing Muhammad in the historical context of the seventh-century Arabian Peninsula, the source of the Prophets inspiration is a significant question. It is apparent that the two earlier monotheisms, Judaism and Christianity, constituted an influential presence in the Hijaz, the region comprising Mecca and Medina. Indeed, Jewish communities were salient here, especially in Medina and other not-too-distant oases. Moreover, in addition to the presence of Jews and Christians, there existed a third category of individuals, the Hanifs, who, dissatisfied with their polytheistic beliefs, had developed monotheistic ideas. Zeitlin assesses the extent to which these various influences shaped the emergence of Islam and the development of the Prophets beliefs. He also seeks to understand how the process set in motion by Muhammad led, not long after his death, to the establishment of a world empire.