Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

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The Spectator described the book as "an enthralling story that combines impeccable scholarship with a rare sense of the sacred worthy of his subject." The Islamic Quarterly called the book "a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact." [8] The Times said "this work is widely recognized as the most readable account of the life of the Prophet to date." [4] Parabola stated that "for those interested in Islam in one way or another, it is mesmerizing." [9] He recited these words after the Angel, who thereupon left him, and he said: “It was as though the words were written on my heart.”’ But he feared that this might mean he had become a jinn-inspired poet or a man possessed. So he fled from the cave, and when he was halfway down the slope of the mountain he heard a voice above him saying: “O Muhammad, thou art the Messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.” He raised his eyes heavenwards and there was his visitant, still recognizable but now clearly an Angel, filling the whole horizon, and again he said: “O Muhammad, thou art the Messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.” The Prophet stood gazing at the Angel; then he turned away from him, but whichever way he looked the Angel was always there, astride the horizon, whether it was to the north, to the south, to the east or to the west. Finally the Angel turned away, and the Prophet descended the slope and went to his house. He travelled to Egypt in 1940, originally to visit a friend who was lecturing at Cairo University. During the visit, his friend died in a riding accident and Lings was offered the post. It was at about this time that he converted to Islam, and was soon imbued with the Sufi dimension of the religion. He found the critique of modern civilisation by the French Muslim writer, René Guénon, particularly convincing and shared his "universalism", within the context of Islam. In 1990, after the book had attracted the attention of Azhar University, Lings received a decoration from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. [14] See also [ edit ]

AMJAD, NAUMANA (2005). "Dr Martin Lings: Some Personal Recollections". Islamic Studies. 44 (3): 459–462. ISSN 0578-8072. The Eleventh Hour: the Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy (2002), Archetype, ISBN 1-901383-01-6

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The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis signed as Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din. Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1992 (1st ed. 1952). The biography has gone through many reprints in English and it has been translated and published into many languages [4] including French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Malay and Tamil. Hamza Yusuf hails this work as "one of the great biographies of the English language," praising "the historical accuracy of the text and the providential care so evident in the author's choice of versions as well as the underlying structure of the story as he chose to tell it." He also reports from Lings how while writing this book, "he was overwhelmed with the presence of the Prophet during the entire time and felt a great blessing in having been able to complete it." [7] Mustafaa al Kanadee, Aboo Bilaal. "Perinnialist Poison in Martin Lings' Biography of the Prophet: A Discussion with Martin Lings" (PDF). Fandango. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013 . Retrieved 4 July 2013. Sacred Art of Shakespeare: To Take Upon Us the Mystery of Things ( Inner Traditions, 1998) 0892817178

Then he would return to his family, and sometimes on his return he took more provisions and went again to the mountain. During these few years it often happened that after he had left the town and was approaching his hermitage he would hear clearly the words “Peace be on thee, O Messenger of God,” and he would turn and look for the speaker but no one was in sight, and it was as if the words had come from a tree or a stone. Ramadan was the traditional month of retreat, and it was one night towards the end of Ramadan, in his fortieth year, when he was alone in the cave, that there came to him an Angel in the form of a man. The Angel said to him: “Recite!” and he said: “I am not a reciter,” whereupon, as he himself told it, “the Angel took me and whelmed me in his embrace until he had reached the limit of mine endurance. Then he released me and said: ‘Recite!’ I said: ‘I am not a reciter,’ and again he took me and whelmed me in his embrace, and again when he had reached the limit of mine endurance he released me and said: ‘Recite!’, and again I said ‘I am not a reciter.’ Then a third time he whelmed me as before, then released me and said: Symbol & Archetype: A Study of the Meaning of Existence (1991, 2006), Fons Vitae Quinta Essentia series, ISBN 1-870196-05-8 Lings, Martin. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. Inner Traditions; Revised edition (October 6, 2006). pp. 23. Upon its first edition, the book was subject to criticism by some Muslims who decried the "Perennialist poison" in the book. The author gave public answer in a Saudi newspaper to the objections. [13] Awards [ edit ]Garuda itu boleh jadi siapapun yang telah melampaui perjuangan berat untuk generasinya, namun nilai-nilai ajarannya terlupakan oleh generasi yang diperjuangkannya. Muhammad yang oleh Hart diletakkan sebagai manusia paling berpengaruh sepanjang sejarah peradaban, seringkali hanya dikenal namanya oleh generasi Muslim saat ini. Berapa besar generasi Muslim masa kini yang memahami masa kanak-kanak dan remaja Muhammad? Berapa besar generasi Muslim masa kini yang paham sosiologi masyarakat bertumbuhnya Sang Nabi? Berapa besar generasi masa kini yang mampu menghayati ajaran cintanya di tengah kecaman dan boikot kaumnya sendiri? Boleh jadi, Muhammad bagi generasi masa kini adalah “Garuda” yang dijunjung tanpa cinta, dibacakan shalawat oleh lisan namun tanpa hati, dijadikan legitimasi oleh kehausan akan kekuasaan. Dijadikan hiasan maya, bukan oleh siapa-siapa, tapi umatnya sendiri, yang atas nama Muhammad mereka menebar kebencian. Dipuja tapi dihina, dipuja oleh lisan mereka, disanjung oleh motif industri, dinyanyikan dalam pita-pita rekaman, namun diamdiam dalam hati, mereka mengeluh karena merasa berat menjalankan apa yang diwasiatkan. Muhammad, nama yang tak akan pernah lekang dalam labirin zaman. Meski gelombang sejarah terus bergemuruh melempar dan meninggalkan buihnya, nama itu adalah karang yang tak tergoyahkan. Ribuan karya tak akan mampu menampung keagungan karakternya, insan pilihan sepanjang zaman. Sebagai fisik manusia, ia telah hidup lima belas abad yang lalu di sebuah jazirah, sebagai energi dan ruh, ia tak pernah mati, dan tak akan pernah. Manusia intan, begitu sebagian umatnya menyebut namanya. Meskipun intan, ia menyatukan dirinya bersama kerikil-kerikil. Menjadi pendamping mereka yang dipinggirkan oleh arus kekuasaan setiap zaman. Bagai sebuah syi’ir di mushola kecil sebuah desa: Muhammadun Basyarun Laisa Kal Basyari Kanjeng Nabi Muhammad Iku manungso, nanging ora koyo lumrahe