We specialize in hard to find items
All Categories
*Price and Stocks may change without prior notice
*Packaging of actual item may differ from photo shown
- Electrical items MAY be 110 volts.
- 7 Day Return Policy
- All products are genuine and original
About Muhammad: Forty Introductions
Product Description "More than a survey of the prophet’s life and times, this book is an introduction to the stunning diversity of Islam and the ways in which Muslims think, dream, and make Muhammad into their very own prophet." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) He ranks among the most venerated historical figures in the world, as well as among the most contested. Muhammad: Forty Introductions offers a distinct and nuanced take on the life and teachings of the prophet Muhammad, using a traditional genre of Islamic literature called the forty hadiths collection. Hadiths are the reported sayings and actions of Muhammad that have been collected by the tens of thousands throughout Islamic history. There is a tradition in which Muslim scholars take from this vast textual ocean to compile their own smaller collections of forty hadiths, an act of curation that allows them to present their particular understanding of Muhammad’s legacy and the essential points of Islam. Here, Michael Muhammad Knight offers forty narrations that provide windows into the diverse ways in which Muslims envision Muhammad. He also examines his own relationship to Muslim traditions while exploring such topics as law, mysticism, sectarianism, gender, and sexuality. By revealing the Prophet to be an ongoing construction, he carefully unravels notions about Islam’s center and margins. Review Praise for Muhammad: Forty Introductions "Scholarly, hip, and digressive . . . By idiosyncratic means, Knight propounds a view of religious tradition not as rigid but as subjectively experienced in relation to 'changing values and attitudes.'" ― The New Yorker "As intellectually diverse as a book can get . . . When Knight is in professor mode, Muhammad is perfect. He is scholarly but never dry, learned but never a show-off . . . Muhammad: Forty Introductions is a book designed to seduce, educate, and irritate its audience into curiosity about Islam and Muhammad, and on all three fronts it succeeds." ― Lily Meyer, NPR Books "Part gonzo devotional, part Muslim primer, and, ultimately, a soul-stirring portal into a personal vision of Muhammad . . . Knight’s intellectually charged collection of fragments makes for a multi-textured, many hued mosaic . . . Knight, by way of his 40 Muhammadan introductions, illuminates the way." ― Barbara Mahaney, Chicago Tribune "More than a survey of the prophet’s life and times, this book is an introduction to the stunning diversity of Islam and the ways in which Muslims think, dream, and make Muhammad into their very own prophet." ― Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The author's portrait of Muhammad is progressive, sometimes controversial, and he aims to be inclusive of a variety of Muslim voices. . . . A worthwhile and sometimes challenging read for Muslims and non-Muslims alike." ― Kirkus Reviews "Libraries looking to add to their Islamic collections will find it of interest." ― Booklist "Knight gives the Prophet new life . . . Muhammad is not just a good book of religious scholarship, but a strange, delightful memoir." ― Shiv Kotecha, Frieze "A remarkable balance between the calm objective nature required by scholarship and the human touch that makes his writing accessible to a wider audience. If you're serious about wanting to learn more about Islam and Muhammad, then Muhammad: Forty Introductions by Michael Muhammad Knight is a great place to start." ― Richard Marcus, Qantara.de "Knight’s collection includes hadith that invite explorations of Muhammad’s appearance, family life, infallibility, mystical nature and more. Each chapter is a fresh reminder that for nearly every accepted fact of Islam, there exists another element within the expansive Islamic tradition that competes with, complicates or questions it." ― Aysha Khan, Religion News Service "In each chapter here, Knight selects a hadith that describes a specific aspect of the prophet’s life and character. He then elaborates on each in his own unique
