'This is easily the best biography of the Prophet in the English language.' 

Acclaimed worldwide as the definitive biography of the Prophet in the English language. Martin Lings’ life of Muhammad is unlike any other. Based on Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries, of which some important passages are translated here for the first time, it owes the freshness and directness of its approach to the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life. Martin Lings has an unusual gift for narrative. He has adopted a style which is at once extremely readable and reflects both the simplicity and grandeur of the story. The result is a book which will be read with equal enjoyment by those already familiar with Muhammad’s life and those coming to it for the first time.

This book was given an award by the government of Pakistan, and selected as the best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad in 1983. In 1990, after the book had attracted the attention of Azhar University, the author received a decoration from president Mubarak.Martin Lings, formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscript in the British Museum and the British Library, is the author of various works on Islamic mysticism including A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, What is Sufism?, The Book of Certainty and A Return to The Spirit

'This is easily the best biography of the Prophet in the English language.' 

The Islamic Quarterly

'An enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject.'

Dr. Victor Danner (Indiana University)  

'Muhammad is a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact.' 

The Spectator

Other books by Martin Lings:

Splendours of Qur'an Calligraphy and Illumination by Martin Lings	Sufi Poems - A Medieval Anthology by Martin Lings	A Return to The Spirit - Questions and Answers by Martin Lings	Symbol and Archetype - A study in the meaning of existence by Martin Lings
Mecca - From before Genesis until Now by Martin Lings	The Eleventh Hour  - The spiritual crisis of the modern world by Martin Lings	The Book of Certainty - The Sufi doctrine of faith, vision and gnosis by Martin Lings	What is Sufism? by Martin Lings
Collected Poems - New and updated edition by Martin Lings	Ancient beliefs and modern superstitions by Martin Lings	The Secret of Shakespeare - His plays in the light of sacred art by Martin Lings	A Sufi saint of the twentieth century by Martin Lings

Review
"Lings provides a wealth of detail on the life of Muhammad, the time and place of many Koranic revelations, and the foundation of Islam, all based exclusively on 8th- and  9th-century Arabic biographical sources and collections of the sayings attributed to Muhammad. General readers will find a well-written, straightforward chronological narrative; Muslim readers will appreciate the favorable treatment of Muhammad; while specialists will find a faithful and convenient rendering of source material." 

About the Author:
Dr. Martin Lings is the author of the authoritative biography of the Prophet, Muhammed, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. He has also written What is Sufism?, Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions, Shakespeare in Light of Sacred Art, The Book of Certainty, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, A Return to The Spirit- Answers to Questions, Sufi Poems; A Medieval Anthology, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination and two volumes of poems, The Element and The Heralds. He is also the author of the article on Sufism in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the chapter on Sufism in the Cambridge University Publication Religion in the Middle East, and numerous articles for the quarterly journal Studies in Comparative Religion.

Martin Lings was born in Burnage, Lancashire, 1909. After taking an English degree at Oxford in 1932, he was appointed Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon at the University of Kaunas. His interest in Islam and in Arabic took him to Egypt in 1939, and in the following year he was given a lectureship in Cairo University. In 1952 he returned to England and took a degree in Arabic at London University. From 1970-74 he was Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books at the British Museum (in 1973 his Department became part of the British Library) where he had been in special charge of the Qur’an manuscripts, amongst other treasures, since 1955. Dr. Lings passed from this world on May 12th 2005 and is survived by his wife.
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Selected Bibliography of Major Works:

The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis. Abu Bakr Siraj al Din 1952, 1970, 1992
A Muslim [Sufi] Saint of the Twentieth Century. 1961, 1971,1973,1981,1982,1993
Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions. 1964, 1980, 1991
Shakespeare in the Light of Sacred Art. 1966
The Elements, and other Poems. 1967
The Heralds, and other Poems. 1970
Islamic Calligraphy and Illumination. 1971 
What is Sufism?. 1975,1977, 1981, 1993
The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination. 1976, 1978, 1987
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. 1983,1985,1991
The Secret of Shakespeare. 1984
Collected Poems, 1987 
The Eleventh Hour: The Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy. 1989
Symbol and Archetype: A Study of the Meaning of Existence. 1991, 2006
Mecca, 2004 

Sufi Poems 2004
A Return to The Spirit- Answers to Questions. 2005
Splendours of Quran Calligraphy and Illumination, 2005

The Essential Martin Lings, 2006

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Excerpt from 'Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources'

The Farewell Pilgrimage

When the Prophet was in Medina during Ramadan it was his wont to make a spiritual retreat in the Mosque during the middle ten days of the month, and some of his Companions would do the same. But this year, having kept the ten appointed days, he invited his Companions to remain in retreat with him for another ten days, that is until the end of the month, which they did. It was in Ramadan every year that Gabriel would come to him to make sure that nothing of the Revelation had slipped from his memory; and this year, after the retreat, the Prophet confided to Fatimah, as a secret not yet to be told to others: “Gabriel reciteth the Koran unto me and I unto him once every year; but this year he hath recited it with me twice. I cannot but think that my time hath come.”

The month of Shawwal passed; and in the eleventh month of the year it was proclaimed throughout Medina that the Prophet himself would lead the Pilgrimage. The news was sent to the desert tribes, and multitudes flocked to the oasis from all directions, glad of the opportunity of accompanying the Messenger at every step of the way. The Pilgrimage would be unlike any that had taken place for hundreds of years: the pilgrims would all be worshippers of the One God, and no idolater would desecrate the Holy House with the performance of any heathen rites. Five days before the end of the month the Prophet set out from Medina at the head of over thirty thousand men and women. All his wives were present, each in her howdah, escorted by Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf and Uthman ibn Affan.

At sunset on the tenth day after leaving Medina the Prophet reached the pass through which he had entered Mecca on the day of the victory. There he spent the night, and the next morning he rode down to the Hollow. When he came within sight of the Ka’bah he raised his hands in reverence, letting fall the rein of his camel, which he then took up in his left hand, and with his right hand held out in supplication he prayed: “O God, increase this House in the honour and magnification and bounty and reverence and piety that it receiveth from mankind!” He entered the Mosque and made the seven rounds of the Ka’bah, after which he prayed at the Station of Abraham. Then going out to Safa he went seven times between it and Marwah, and those who were with him did their best to record in their memories the exact words of praise and prayer that he uttered at every station.

And on the eighth day of the new moon he rode to the valley of Mina followed by the rest of the pilgrims. Having spent the night there, he rode on after daybreak to Arafah, a broad valley about thirteen miles cast of Mecca, just outside the sacred precinct. Arafah is on the road to Ta’if and is bounded north and east by the mountains of Ta’if. But separate from these, and surrounded on all sides by the valley, is a hill which is also named Arafah or the Mount of Mercy. It is the central part of this pilgrimage station, which extends none the less over most of the lower ground; and it was on this hill that the Prophet took up his station that day.

Some of the Meccans expressed surprise that lie had gone so far, for while the other pilgrims went on to Arafah Quraysh had been accustomed to remain within the sacred precinct saying: “We are the people of God.” But he said that Abraham had ordained the day on Arafah as an essential part of the Pilgrimage, and that Quraysh had forsaken his practice in this respect. The Prophet stressed that day the antiquity of the Pilgrimage, and the words “Abraham’s legacy” were often on his lips.

When the sun had passed its zenith the Prophet preached a sermon which he began, after praising God, with the words: “Hear me, O people, for I know not if ever I shall meet with you in this place after this year.” Then he exhorted them to treat one another well and gave them many reminders of what was commanded and what was forbidden. Finally he said: “I have left amongst you that which, if ye hold fast to it, shall preserve you from all error, a clear indication, the Book of God and the word of His Prophet. O people, hear my words and understand.” He then imparted to them a Revelation which he had just received and which completed the Koran, for it was the last passage to be revealed: This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me! This day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favour unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion.

He ended his brief sermon with an earnest question: “O people, have I faithfully delivered unto you my message?” A powerful murmur of assent, “O God, yea!”, arose from thousands of throats and the vibrant words Allahumma na’m rolled like thunder throughout the valley. The Prophet raised his forefinger and said: “O God, bear witness!”

The ritual prayers were then prayed and the rest of the Day of Arafah, as it is called, was spent in meditation and supplication. But as soon as the sun had set the Prophet mounted his camel, and bidding Usamah mount behind him he rode down from the hill and across the valley in the direction of Mecca, followed by his fellow pilgrims. It was the tradition to ride quickly at this point, but at the first signs of excess he cried out: “Gently, gently! In quietness of soul! And let the strong amongst you have a care for the weak!” They spent the night at Muzdalifah, which is within the sacred precinct, and there they collected small pebbles with which to stone Satan, who is represented by three pillars at ‘Aqabah in the valley of Mina.

The Prophet himself prayed the dawn prayer in Muzdalifah, and then led the pilgrims to Aqabah, with Fadl mounted behind him on his camel…After the stoning, the animals were sacrificed, and the Prophet called for a man to shave his head. The pilgrims gathered round him in the hopes of obtaining some locks of his hair. “O Messenger of God, thy forelock! Give it unto none but me, my father and my mother be thy ransom!” And when the Prophet gave it him he pressed it reverently against his eyes and his lips.

A Selection from the Table of Contents

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