The Early Years
4. The Makkan Scene at the Start of Prophethood
7. The Call to Islam Goes Public
13. A Major Breakthrough
14. The Journey to Madinah
15. Madinah
16. Peace and Confrontation
17. Badr: The First Major Battle
18. In Madinah After Badr
19. New Trends of Hostility
20. A Bitter Defeat
21. The Lessons of Uḥud
22. Vulnerability and Treachery
23. Consolidation
24. How to Mar a Splendid Victory
25. A Fresh Storm Gathers
26. An Account to Settle
27. Family Matters
28. Peace in the Making
29. Back on the Move
30. Peace in the Desert
31. Opening Up International Horizons
32. A Second Trip to Makkah
33. A Foretaste of Fighting the Byzantines
34. A Long Conflict Draws to a Close
35. A Conquest of Hearts
36. Grouping for a Final Assault
37. Generous Gifts to Old Foes
38. Men of Distinction
39. Trouble Looming at International Borders
40. Failure by True Believers
41. A Reluctant Change of Heart
42. Arabian Relations Set on a New Basis
43. Islam Makes its Mark on Arabia
44. The Peaceful World of Muslim Arabia
45. Mission Completed
46. The Curtain Falls
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
PERHAPS THE WORLD was never in greater need of an accurate account of the Prophet Muhammad’s life than it is now. Interest in Islam has soared over the last couple of decades, and the trend continues after the turn of the century, but not always for the right reasons. Events, some of which were brought about by Muslims painting themselves as advocates of Islam, tended to give this last divine religion a tarnished image. Though alien to Islam’s very nature, extremism has been trying to impose its hard line attitude on Islam. It continued to play its eye-catching role, providing a fertile area for those who wish to detract from Islam and to show it in a negative light. World media, always quick to feed on sensational news, has kept Islam as a recurrent topic in its coverage of events, particularly those taking place in hot spots of the world.
The charge that is often laid at the door of Islam is ‘terrorism’. This has gathered much greater force after the tragic events of 11 September 2001, but certainly did not start with them. Several months earlier, news channels reported that an audience in the US were asked to state the first word that came to their minds when Islam is mentioned, and a substantial majority of the respondents said ‘terrorism’. We are reminded that when the Oklahoma City explosions occurred a few years ago, few media channels were prepared to show the willingness to wait for evidence before pointing an accusing finger at Islam. Needless to say, investigations soon proved that no Muslim had anything to do with that event. But the speed with which the media reacted and its unfounded accusations were indicative of an attitude of mind that certain quarters had helped to develop, fostering a false association between Islam and terrorism.
Nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, Islam considers terrorist action against civilians a very grave crime that must be punished. In Islamic law, punishment always looks at the nature of the offence and aims to deter offenders before they embark on a course of action leading to an offence. This deterrent element is seen, for example, in the fact that Islam requires that punishment of certain offences must be carried out in public. Thus justice is seen to be done, and prospective offenders are aware not only of the magnitude of the punishment they may have but also the publicity which their offences generate. Islam, then, deals with crime before it is committed, trying to reduce its incidence. At the same time, Islamic punishments serve a dual purpose of making the guilty pay for their crimes and deterring any future offenders. The Islamic attitude towards terrorism is an implementation of its approach to crime, aiming to achieve its dual purpose.
More recently we have been hearing louder voices speaking about a clash of civilizations, setting Islam in opposition to Western civilization and speaking about the inevitability of a destructive struggle between the two. Yet Islam does not seek to destroy any civilization. In its heyday, when Islam spread into many countries with divergent civilizations, traditions and sets of values, Islam interacted with them all, endorsing whatever was compatible with its aim of building a human society based on the central idea of God’s oneness. It was thus able to take the best that these civilizations had to offer, rejecting only what was of no use to human society, and what was incompatible with its central concepts. Even in Arabia, the birthplace
