Muhammad is regarded as the first prophet and last messenger on earth to rightfully guide humans life. The story of Muhammad is complicated, because most of what we know has been passed on for thousands of years. However, this is not to say that most of the knowledge we have acquired about Muhammad is not an accurate portrayal of his life. In learning about the historical life of Muhammad there are certain sources along with texts that describe his journey. Most notably is the Quran, the Sira, and oral traditions collected through Muslim scholars. Muhammad was understood to be a man of “truthfulness, character, and kindness”, (Brown) but it wasn 't until his first revelation that Muhammad was introduced to the significant change his life
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Because the Quran is Gods words interpreted by Muhammad one can question the authenticity of the Quran. Muhammad was a messenger, and even though he had a wealth of knowledge, the words given to him by god to spread throughout his people could have been misunderstood and wrongly translated. “He never ate his fill of bread or meat without sharing it with others”( Brown, 39). Muhammad along with being the messenger and leader of the Muslims was selfless and always put the group before himself. Muhammad’s goal was to forge unity amongst his common people in accepting his Islamic teachings. Although, this was immensely difficult in the early stages Muhammad gained support starting from his closes companions like Khadijah and Ali and steadily formed unity. In Muhammad 's last major speech before his death he told one last verse from the Quran: “Today I have perfected for you your religion, and completed my blessing upon you, and have willed Submission (Islam) for you as your religion” (Quran 5:3 as seen in, Brown, 60). Muhammad ultimately succeeds in overcoming many obstacles and enemies that held him back from spreading Islam. The Sira, is the Biographies of Muhammad written through Ibn Ishaq (d.767), but the original Sira was a product of individual reports. “Like a journalist, a Muslim historian such as …show more content…
The divide is the disagreement on who the prophet (Muhammad) wanted to succeed him. (Brown, 88). The divide focused on two of the four rightful caliphs: Abu Bakr and Ali. Because Ibn Ishaq followed Sunni rule the Sira is solely a Sunni perspective of the life of Muhammad. Modern historians also have expressed skepticism about certain details regarding the Sira. These historians are labelled with the name revisionist, because of how critical they are to the details in the Sira. The problem that these historians present is how for 150 years following the death of the prophet there was no knowledge or history about Muhammad or his life. “These Muslims thus had over a century to manufacture whatever history they wanted about Muhammad and his faith” (Brown, 94). Despite the years following Muhammad death being filled with civil war and power strife, the overall narrative and reports of the Sira are unreliable because of the century gap along with the reader being twice removed from its original writer Ibn Ishaq. The Quran is viewed as much more reliable due in part “there are no conflicting versions of the Quran” (Brown, 96). The Quran didn 't hold stories of civil wars and propaganda in support of rightful rulers that date back to the years following Muhammad 's death, which means that the Quran consisted of information that reached back to at least the death of muhammad or soon
Because the Quran is Gods words interpreted by Muhammad one can question the authenticity of the Quran. Muhammad was a messenger, and even though he had a wealth of knowledge, the words given to him by god to spread throughout his people could have been misunderstood and wrongly translated. “He never ate his fill of bread or meat without sharing it with others”( Brown, 39). Muhammad along with being the messenger and leader of the Muslims was selfless and always put the group before himself. Muhammad’s goal was to forge unity amongst his common people in accepting his Islamic teachings. Although, this was immensely difficult in the early stages Muhammad gained support starting from his closes companions like Khadijah and Ali and steadily formed unity. In Muhammad 's last major speech before his death he told one last verse from the Quran: “Today I have perfected for you your religion, and completed my blessing upon you, and have willed Submission (Islam) for you as your religion” (Quran 5:3 as seen in, Brown, 60). Muhammad ultimately succeeds in overcoming many obstacles and enemies that held him back from spreading Islam. The Sira, is the Biographies of Muhammad written through Ibn Ishaq (d.767), but the original Sira was a product of individual reports. “Like a journalist, a Muslim historian such as …show more content…
The divide is the disagreement on who the prophet (Muhammad) wanted to succeed him. (Brown, 88). The divide focused on two of the four rightful caliphs: Abu Bakr and Ali. Because Ibn Ishaq followed Sunni rule the Sira is solely a Sunni perspective of the life of Muhammad. Modern historians also have expressed skepticism about certain details regarding the Sira. These historians are labelled with the name revisionist, because of how critical they are to the details in the Sira. The problem that these historians present is how for 150 years following the death of the prophet there was no knowledge or history about Muhammad or his life. “These Muslims thus had over a century to manufacture whatever history they wanted about Muhammad and his faith” (Brown, 94). Despite the years following Muhammad death being filled with civil war and power strife, the overall narrative and reports of the Sira are unreliable because of the century gap along with the reader being twice removed from its original writer Ibn Ishaq. The Quran is viewed as much more reliable due in part “there are no conflicting versions of the Quran” (Brown, 96). The Quran didn 't hold stories of civil wars and propaganda in support of rightful rulers that date back to the years following Muhammad 's death, which means that the Quran consisted of information that reached back to at least the death of muhammad or soon