Author(s): Karen Armstrong

Religion

From the bestselling writer of The History of God and the widely acclaimed Islam - A Short History comes another valuable addition to the Eminent Lives Series: Karen Armstrong's Muhammad. Muhammad recognized and seeked to transform a period in seventh-century Arabia, a spirit of the time he named jahilliyah. Usually understood to mean a pre-Islamic period and a 'Time of Ignorance', it refers to a state of mind that caused violence and terror in seventh century Arabia. Quite simply, his life was a jihad, which does not mean holy war, but a 'struggle', to guide his people through this testing period in his history. He was a tireless campaigner against greed, injustice and arrogance and he seeked, not to change religious orthodoxy, but people's hearts and minds. Uniquely, he recognized that Arabia was at a turning point and that the old way of thinking would no longer suffice. Throughout his life he wore himself out in the creative effort to evolve a different outlook and to bring peace to a war-torn Arabia. We cannot appreciate the full measure of Muhammad's achievements until we realize what he was up against during his life. First published 2006.