A Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad: Answering Thirty Key Questions - Paperback

by Ayman S. Ibrahim (Author)

An expert in the study of Islam answers thirty important questions about Muhammad, offering a clear and concise guide to his life and religious significance. This companion volume to the author's A Concise Guide to the Quran answers many of the key questions non-Muslims have about Muhammad, reveals the importance of Muhammad for Christian-Muslim and Jewish-Muslim interfaith relations, and examines Muslim and non-Muslim primary sources. This introductory guide is written for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam who wants to learn about Muslims, their beliefs, and their prophet.

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What is so unique about Muhammad? Did he really exist? What do Muslims say about him and his teaching? What did he say about loving one's neighbor and about those who abandon Islam? These are a few of the thirty questions answered in this clear and concise guide to Muhammad's life and religious significance.

This companion volume to the author's A Concise Guide to the Quran answers many of the key questions non-Muslims have about Muhammad, reveals the importance of Muhammad for Christian-Muslim and Jewish-Muslim interfaith relations, examines Muslim and non-Muslim primary sources, and engages classic and modern studies on the most important human figure for scores of Muslims. This introductory guide is written for anyone with little to no knowledge of Islam who wants to learn about Muslims, their beliefs, and their prophet.

"Ibrahim has done us all a great favor in writing this book. With his expertise in early Islamic texts firmly established, he presents findings that help to sketch what Muhammad represents within the Muslim community--in all its diversity--and what the earliest sources actually say. As a historian, he points readers to invaluable resources in print and online."
--David L. Johnston, lecturer of Islamic studies, St. Joseph's University and Fuller Theological Seminary; author of Muslims and Christians Debate Justice and Love

"This wonderful introduction to the life and teachings of Muhammad is rigorous in its engagement with scholarship yet also highly accessible. Ibrahim tackles crucial questions with clarity and purpose, skillfully helping the reader to navigate the 'Muhammads' of legend, of tradition, and of history. I heartily commend this book."
--Derek Brotherson, principal, Sydney Missionary and Bible College; author of Contextualization or Syncretism?

Author Biography

Ayman S. Ibrahim (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary; PhD, Haifa University) is Bill and Connie Jenkins Professor of Islamic Studies and director of the Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He was born and raised in Egypt and has taught in various countries in the Muslim world and in the West. His articles on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations have appeared in the Washington Post, Religion News Service, and First Things, among others. Ibrahim has written several books, including The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion and A Concise Guide to the Quran.