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A review by rebeccabateman
Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong
4.0
For those desiring a better understanding of the Prophet Muhammad (please excuse my not using the phrase Peace Be Upon Him, and know I mean no disrespect), Karen Armstrong provides an accessible, enjoyable, and inspiring biography of his life.
I was able to interact with Ms. Armstrong at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 2015. She is no nonsense but incredibly kind and her intellect and expertise of the Qur'an and the Prophet of Islam is non-threatening, and on the contrary, incredibly inviting.
I found so many patterns in the life of Muhammed that felt like parallels to the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith:
* Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed emerged out of a climate of religious confusion. Arabs during Muhammed's time were seeking to get back to pure Abrahamic worship.
* Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed had try little education, yet both produced scriptural books filled with sophisticated complexities.
*Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed were chastened for fearing man more than God. Muhammed, to bring tribal leaders to Islam, encouraged their worship of daughters of God, to which the Angel Gabriel chided him, "You have recited to those people something I did not bring you from God." Joseph, after being told no several times, allowed Martin Harris to take portions of the Book of Mormon manuscript, which then fell into the hands of his enemies. Both men humbled themselves for their misgivings and repented.
Unlike the New Testament Greek, Muslims believe the language of the Qur'an is directly from the mouth of God just as the Hebrew is in Jewish scripture. Thus, the repetitive nature of the Qur'an is divinely poetic, like music from God, and, through the recitation, the listener is transported. The divine voice of Allah at times shifted from "we" to "he" and "I" and even to the feminine: al-Rahman (Compassionate), al-Rahim (Merciful). "This strong female presence was remarkable in the aggressive patriarchy of Mecca and may explain why women were among the first to respond to the message of the Qur'an (p. 48)."
What most westerners don't appreciate is that Muhammed was a proponent of peace and nonviolent policy. Westerners in general are still ignorant of the qualities of Islam and the message of their Prophet. Ms. Armstrong states beautifully, "If we are to avoid catastrophe, the Muslim and Western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another (p. 202)."
Through Karen Armstrong's work, we can more easily learn to appreciate this great man.
I was able to interact with Ms. Armstrong at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 2015. She is no nonsense but incredibly kind and her intellect and expertise of the Qur'an and the Prophet of Islam is non-threatening, and on the contrary, incredibly inviting.
I found so many patterns in the life of Muhammed that felt like parallels to the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith:
* Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed emerged out of a climate of religious confusion. Arabs during Muhammed's time were seeking to get back to pure Abrahamic worship.
* Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed had try little education, yet both produced scriptural books filled with sophisticated complexities.
*Both Joseph Smith and Muhammed were chastened for fearing man more than God. Muhammed, to bring tribal leaders to Islam, encouraged their worship of daughters of God, to which the Angel Gabriel chided him, "You have recited to those people something I did not bring you from God." Joseph, after being told no several times, allowed Martin Harris to take portions of the Book of Mormon manuscript, which then fell into the hands of his enemies. Both men humbled themselves for their misgivings and repented.
Unlike the New Testament Greek, Muslims believe the language of the Qur'an is directly from the mouth of God just as the Hebrew is in Jewish scripture. Thus, the repetitive nature of the Qur'an is divinely poetic, like music from God, and, through the recitation, the listener is transported. The divine voice of Allah at times shifted from "we" to "he" and "I" and even to the feminine: al-Rahman (Compassionate), al-Rahim (Merciful). "This strong female presence was remarkable in the aggressive patriarchy of Mecca and may explain why women were among the first to respond to the message of the Qur'an (p. 48)."
What most westerners don't appreciate is that Muhammed was a proponent of peace and nonviolent policy. Westerners in general are still ignorant of the qualities of Islam and the message of their Prophet. Ms. Armstrong states beautifully, "If we are to avoid catastrophe, the Muslim and Western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another (p. 202)."
Through Karen Armstrong's work, we can more easily learn to appreciate this great man.