The Life of Muhammad
(Allah's peace and blessing be upon him)
by Muhammad Husayn Haykal
Translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi
Contents
Foreword to the English Edition
Foreword to the First Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
Arabia before Islam
Makkah, the Ka'bah, and the Quraysh
Muhammad: from Birth to Marriage
From Marriage to Prophethood
From the Beginning of Revelation to the Conversionof `Umar
The Story of the Goddesses
The Malevolent Conduct of Quraysh
From the Violation of the Boycott to al Isra'
The Two Covenants of al `Aqabah
Al Hijrah, or the Prophet's Emigration
Beginning of the Yathrib Period
The First Raids and Skirmishes
The Great Battle of Badr
Between Badr and Uhud
The Campaign of Uhud
The Effects of Uhud
The Prophet's Wives
The Campaigns of al Khandaq and Banu Qurayzah
From the Two Campaigns to the Treaty of Hudaybiyah
The Treaty of Hudaybiyah
The Campaign of Khaybar and Missions to Kings
The `Umrah or Lesser Pilgrimage
The Campaign of Mu'tah
The Conquest of Makkah
Campaigns of Hunayn and a1 Ta'if
Ibrahim and the Wives of the Prophet
Campaign of Tabuk and the Death of Ibrahim
The Year of Deputations and Abu Bakr's Leadership
Translator's Preface
Haykal's
Hayat Muhammad
has a long and strange story.Its translation into Englishand publication by theUniversity of Chicago Presswas discussed by numerouswestern experts in the fortiesand early fifties. Obvious asthe need for a scholarlysympathetic biography of theProphet may be, negotiationstook years to complete.Agreement, however, wasnot reached until 1964. Whenin 1968 the translation wascompleted, approved by theSupreme Council of IslamicAffairs, Cairo, Egypt, and theUniversity of Chicago Press,the manuscript copy edited,and its actual productionbegun, mysterious forcesintervened and the Universityof Chicago Press unilaterallywithdrew from its agreement.
Another agreement wasnegotiated
de novo
betweenthe same parties and TempleUniversity Press, onpractically the same terms asChicago, in 1969. Five yearspassed with little or noaction. Then, mysteriousforces again intervened andresulted in the unilateralwithdrawal of TempleUniversity Press from itsagreement.
of the Pilgrimage
The Farewell Pilgrimage
The Prophet's Sickness and Death
The Prophet's Burial
Conclusion in Two Essays
Islamic Civilization as Depicted in the Qur'an
Islamic Civilization and the Western Orientalists
Supplementary Readings
This Determined oppositionto the publication of the workdid not dissuade thetranslator from preparing thisnew translation with theencouragement of the MuslimStudents' Association of theUnited States and Canada, anagency interested in thepromotion of Islamicscholarship.
Temple University
"God and His angels bless the Prophet. O men who have believed: Invoke God'speace and blessing upon him"(Al-Qur'an, 33: 56)
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Praise be to God, Lord of the universe,The Gracious, the Merciful,Master of the Day of Judgment.You alone we worship; You alone we implore for help.Guide us unto the straight pathThe path of those whom You have blessed,Those who have not incurred Your displeasure,Those who have not gone astray.
Amen
(Al-Qur'an, 1:1-7)
Translator's Acknowledgments
The assistance of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Arab Republic of Egypt, inmaking the translation of this work possible; of Professor Roger Parsell in copyediting; of Professor Erdogan Gurmen, Sr. Freda Shamma, Miss Andree Coers, Mrs.Margaret Peirce, Dr. Lois Lamiya’ al Faruqi, and Dr. Kaukab Siddique in proofreading;of Sr. Anmar al Faruqi in preparing the index; of Dr. Lois Lamya’ al Faruqi inpreparing the maps and illustrations; and of the North American Islamic Trust in theproduction of this book is gratefully acknowledged.
I wish to acknowledge with thanks the financial help and encouragement extended tothis work by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Saudi Arabia.
Foreword to the English Edition
The book,
Hayat Muhammad,
by Dr. Muhammad Husayn Haykal is well known to theArabic reader. It is a biography of the Holy Prophet,
salla, Allahu `alayhi wa sallam,
written in light of all the rules and requirements of modern, exacting scholarship. Asits author has said, it is a renewed effort to establish the historical truth of thedetails of the Prophet's life in accordance with these rules, as well as to refute, bythe same means, the false allegations against Islam and its Apostle. It has derivedits materials from genuine sources and treated them with a mind unshackled by
partipris
or superstition, by ignorance or false hopes. We trust that it will be followed bythe research works of many other scholars; for the English readers stand in greatneed for books to enlighten them in the nature and history of Islam.
Fortunately, Islamic sanity has persistently resisted all attempts at deifying theProphet's person. Despite the fact that no human being has ever commanded asmuch respect and none has ever been object of so much affection by his followers,Muslims have rejected every suggestion imputing to the Prophet superhuman poweror characteristics. By itself, and when compared with the conceptions of the careersof charismatic founders and leaders of other religions in history, the Muslims'insistence on Muhammad's humanity remains a miracle, a genuine triumph of theMuslim's historical sense. This book is a tribute to the Muslim's critical attitude inreligious matters.
This is the fact which makes the quest of the historical Muhammad not only possible,but certain of achieving its objectives. It underlies this book and blesses its findings,as it invites further research and offers greater promise. Biography was never acritical science (it may even be contended that it ever existed!) before the Muslimsbegan to sift the oral and written traditions concerning the Prophet. They undertookthis task with a mind unwaveringly committed to Muhammad's humanity, absolutelyconvinced of his fulfillment of his mission under the full light of history.
It was these Muslim endeavors that produced the science of textual criticism. Firstly,the language, style, form, redaction and vocabulary of every reported tradition wassubjected to the most complete analysis. Secondly, the ideational content of everytradition was subjected to critical tests of internal and external coherence (i.e., withitself, with the Holy Qur'an, with other traditions, with other established historicaldata). That content was further tested for historical relevance and relationality, andfor reasonableness or systematic correspondence with reality. Finally, every
isnad
(orchain of reporters) was subjected to the most exacting tests of historicity andverification, giving birth to
'llm al Rijal
, or the critical establishment of the minutestdetails of the personal lives of thousands of Muhammad's companions andcontemporaries. This was Islamic "Criticism"-a whole millennium ago! It wasobjective and scientific textual research such as the world has never seen norprobably ever will, despite the tremendous advances the science of criticism hasmade in modern times. This academic sophistication has made of Islam thescholarly, modernist; critical religion long before the priesthood, not to speak of thelaity, of other religions achieved the minimum standards of literacy. Unfortunately forhumanity as a whole, this critical and scientific spirit was lost to the Muslims withtheir decline.
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