As the title suggests, this book by Karen Armstrong is about the life and times of Prophet Muhammad. It’s not a heavy read and can be finished in 5-6 hours by an average reader. The author treads carefully and mostly maintains a neutral tone (though tilting towards praising) about the life and times of Muhammad. The book is meticulously documented with a lot of references from Quran and the early historians. A number of concepts are explained in brief which might be common for a Muslim but are largely unknown to the people of other faiths.
It is important to understand that Muhammad’s life should be seen and judged in the context of the times and the places in which he lived. It is easy to dismiss him as a war hungry, pedophile, and delusional individual if his actions are seen in isolation. Karen Armstrong provides that context by painting a picture of the era when Arabia was divided into warring factions and needed a strong leadership which was provided by Muhammad.
While I have serious reservations about the divinity of Prophet Mohammad (or of any prophet for that matter), there is no doubt that he was a great leader whose life has significantly affected the course of mankind over the past one and a half millennium. Karen Armstrong regularly maintains that he was after all a mortal, and thus had his fault like other men.
It's a good history primer which will introduce Islam and its founder to the Islamophobes who are largely ignorant and distrustful of the religion. It might be quite helpful in reducing the fear and anxiety that the western world has towards Muslims.
Do read it if you are interested in the history of religions, especially Islam.
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