Memories Of Muhammad: Why The Prophet Matters By Omid Safi

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Memories of Muhammad: Why the prophet Matters is a book by scholar and author Omid Safi. Omid Safi focuses primarily on the life of the Prophet Muhammad and how he created a religion that has lasted since its creation in approximately the 7th century. In addition, what the book does extremely well is giving an in depth look at not only who Muhammad was according to Muslims, but the historical person as well. In light of this, by doing so we are able to see who the Prophet Muhammad was, his ideologies and beliefs, his travels and encounters with different religions and cultures that helped him create Islam. Furthermore, because the creation of Islam and Muhammad must go hand in hand, by focusing on the prophet Muhammad’s life we are able to …show more content…

Through resources and numerous sources, Crone argues that there is no evidence to prove the existence of extensive overland trade in late sixth and early seventh century. Therefore, the widespread agreement upon scholars regarding the socioeconomic circumstances and location in which Muhammad rose to great heights is without evidence. As a result, while her work has been highly criticized by scholars such as Robert Bertram Serjeant, a scholar in early Islam and one of the leading Arabists of his time, claiming her work too difficult to follow and how Crone has twisted certain aspects to fit her own agenda, other scholars such as Fred M. Donnor a leading scholar on Islam on the other hand, provides a much more open minded statement, believing the assumption that Mecca was the linchpin of international trade has been challenged in recent years with significant evidence and a well thought out argument, most notable giving praise to Patricia Crone’s book “Meccan Trade: And the rise of Islam”. The book took place in the late 6th century and late 7th century, focusing on the Meccan Trade, the rise of Islam and the characters involved such as the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him and those who worked with him. In conclusion, while the views in this book greatly differ, I found it essential, primarily due to the fact that it is one of the few books to argue commonly accepted assumptions, and provides a different perspective. With my research paper being on the Prophet Muhammad it is important I obtain all the different opinions and arguments by leading scholars in this

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