Karen Armstrong As A Biographer of Muhammad A Crit
Karen Armstrong As A Biographer of Muhammad A Crit
Karen Armstrong As A Biographer of Muhammad A Crit
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Author of a number of books on religion and a noted biographer of Muḥammad, Karen Armstrong was a Roman
Catholic nun, but later she became a liberal. In her seven years stay at the convent, she had a devastating
experience of emotional trauma at the hands of Catholic authoritarianism pervading the atmosphere of her
convent. She was so broken, though for good, that she lost herself into unconsciousness only to regain the spirit
of a new world of recognition. She set out to do teaching, broadcasting and writing. Known for her academic
work on comparative religion, she also penned the biographies of eminent religious figures. “Muhammad:
Prophet for Our Time” is her second book on the biography of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him).
Embracing significant aspects of his life, she aims at reconciliation between the Western and Muslim worlds. This
research paper gives her perspective as a biographer of Muḥammad focusing on a critical analysis of this book
and highlighting its merits and demerits.
Journey to Ṭā‟if
The third chapter begins with a description of the Prophet‟s journey to Ṭā‟if. According to Muslim
biographers, a group of jinn overheard his recitation of the Qur‟ānwhile he was returning from this journey. On the
contrary, the author distorts this fact altogether and supposes that these were not jinn, but Jews. She says:“The word
jinn did not always refer to the whimsical sprites of Arabia; it could also be used for “strangers,” people who had
hitherto been unseen. The Qur‟ān indicates that the travellers, who lurked out of sight in Nakhlah, listening to
Muhammad‟s recitation, may have been Jews.”xxxThis is a deliberate distortion of the meaning of jinn. If the claim is
accepted awhile, for the sake of argument, it still fails to convince that those unseen were Jews. Her words „may have
been Jews‟ indicate that even she is not sure about it. Here, she can be seen suggesting just another self-made
interpretation of the word jinn going far away from truth.
The Night Journey
The Night Journey of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the subsequent Ascension to the Heaven, in
Armstrong‟s view, was his vision referred to in the Qur‟ān. After quoting the verses regarding it, she
comments:“Later, Muslims began to piece together these fragmentary references to create a coherent narrative.
Influenced perhaps by the stories told by Jewish mystics of their ascent through the seven heavens to the throne of
God, they imagined their prophet making a similar spiritual flight.”xxxiThe word „imagined‟ employed here to describe
the narrative of this journey clearly indicates that the author does not consider this event factual. The supposition she
makes is that the Companions who have narrated this event joined together different bits of it to carve a picture out
of their imagination. For her, this is not only a narration of a marvellous deed but “a wonderful commentary on the
deeper subtext of the external events” happening in the life of Muḥammad. Like a traditional Arabian poet, he had to
go „beyond his original expectations and transcend the received ideas of his time‟ and finally return to unite with his
people.xxxiiAll these statements reveal that the author is fraught with doubt and is considering this journey a wishful
attempt by his followers to give a heroic picture of him and dismiss the grim rejection he had to face at the hands of
the people of Ṭā‟if.
Monotheistic Pluralism
More importantly, she sees the Night Journey as a rejection of the degenerating pagan pluralism in favour of
monotheistic pluralism. In Jerusalem, Muḥammad was welcomed by his „brothers‟, the earlier Prophets, who
appreciated each other‟s tradition and did not want to convert the other to his side. xxxiii This policy of monotheistic
plurality provides the basis of her attempts at reconciliation. As the book was written with an aim to cut down
tensions between Muslims and the West, there are certain references in the book which address Muslims to reconcile
them with non-Muslims: The faithful must believe indiscriminately in the revelations of each of God‟s messengers.
Similarly, they must consider the Qur‟ān a „confirmation of the previous scriptures‟, therefore, Muslims must also
revere Moses and Jesus.Asthey all believe in the same God, no one group can claim its entitlement to God with the
exclusion of others.xxxiv The idea behind these reconciliation attempts is to highlight the commonalties between
Muslims, Christians and Jews, although differences are there. For instance, the faithful do believe in other scriptures
that were sent down by Allāh, but the Qur‟ān has clearly mentioned that those scriptures had been tampered by the
misguided followers as it says: “But those who wronged changed (those words) to a statement other than that which
had been said to them.”xxxv It also says: “Then, because of theirbreakingtheircovenantWecursedthem and
madetheirheartshard: theypervertwordsfromtheirmeanings, and haveforgotten a part of what they werere
minded.”xxxviSimilarly, Muslims do revere Moses and Jesus, but they do not believe in the wrong beliefs and practices
that were attached to their religions after them. Furthermore, she reminds that Muslims are like other members of the
Abrahamic family, and “every community had its own specially revealed din, so they must not take part in these
pointless squabbles”. They must avoid religious intolerance which drove them out of their city and stop insisting that
they alone had the monopoly of truth.xxxviiNevertheless, a piece of her advice on religious tolerance and reminder of
„specially revealed din‟ of every community does not mean undermining the message of the lastdīn. If the last dīn is
also „a revealed din‟, then its teachings must not be ignored by members of otherdīns. If they are trying to
mendMuslism, they are also warranting their monopoly in a defiant way. The question lies not about „the monopoly of
truth‟ but about the truth itself which cannot be divided into factions.
Muhammad Qasim Butt & Muhammad Sarfraz Khalid 77
It is also evident that seventeen other Jewish tribes were present in the oasis of Medina and no one objected
to this treatment. Nevertheless, she thinks that if this event is viewed in the present day context it would appear to us
a violation of the basic principles of Islam.xlvi
Reconciliation
Toward the end of the book, she sums up her lesson on reconciliation. She accepts that Muḥammad, the
Prophet of Islam, (peace be upon him) was not a man of war. The biased Muslim jihadists focus themselves on his
warring years only andthe prejudiced Western writers also criticize him for it. However, when seen in totality, he was a
man of peace.xlviiShe mourns the apathy of the Muslim and the Western worlds who have failed poorly to learn lessons
from the leaves of their history. Being an optimist, she still manages to make the way forward, and gives tolerance and
appreciation as the hallmarks of her plan of peace and reconciliation. She closes her treatise with the advice:“The brief
history of the twenty-first century shows that neither side has mastered these lessons. If we are to avoid catastrophe,
the Muslim and Western worlds must learn not merely to tolerate but to appreciate one another. A good place to start
is with the figure of Muḥammad: a complex man, who resists facile, ideologically-driven categorization, who
sometimes did things that were difficult or impossible for us to accept, but who had profound genius and founded a
religion and cultural tradition that was not based on the sword but whose name –“Islam”-signified peace and
reconciliation.”xlviii
Conclusion
As no human endeavour is free of mistake, therefore, the presence of an unseemly thing in a treatise does not
make it flawed; rather it proves that this is an outcome of human intervention, not a divine scripture. A prima facie
reading of the text does not inform the reader of the erroneous connotations embedded in it. The style and tone of
the author, his choice of words, and construction of sentences all give insight into his mind. Keeping these basics in
mind, a critical study of Karen Armstrong‟s “Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time” shows that it has some merits and
demerits. Among its merits include the element of objectivity that runs throughout the book. It was written against a
particular backdrop which the author has managed to uphold till the end. Post 9/11 atmosphere needed a rethinking
about the approach with which the life of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) should be seen. She argues that
the lack of trust between the Western and Muslim worlds is due to certain shortcomings present on both sides. In her
view, in order to understand Islam and its character the West must first learn the biography of their Prophet with an
unbiased view. On the other side, Muslims must also understand that they are commanded to believe indiscriminately
in the revelations of every messenger of God including Moses and Jesus. As is evident, her policy behind these
reconciliation attempts is to highlight the commonalties between Muslims, Christians and Jews.There are also certain
drawbacks of the book. The author has relied on secondary sources in most part of the text. When any author toes the
line of a translator and shrinks to consult the original text confusions are likely to happen. This has happened in the
case of Armstrong also. Many incidents in the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) have been narrated in a way
which does not satisfy a Muslim reader rather they are offensive at times. Night Journey has been called a coherent
narrative of the Companions of Muhammad. Instead of an angel, she says jinn had appeared to him in the cave at the
time of first revelation. At Nakhlah, those who heard his recitation of the Qur‟ān were not jinns, but Jews. The Satanic
verses were his own desire talking through his mouth. All such comments have dampened the attempts of
reconciliation made by the author.Another major setback of the book is that some distinguished Muslim personalities
have been pictured negatively, in particular „Ā‟ishah and „Umar. The author depicts her as being jealous, proud,
outspoken and egoist. „Umer, in her view, was not a man of ḥilm and used to beat his wife sometimes. Despite being a
woman and an advocate of feminism, as is evident in her highlighting the female elements in the Qur‟ān and
defending women against domestic violence, her criticism of „Ā‟ishah, another woman, is surprising. An author who
goes to citicizethe distinguished Comapnionsof Muslims‟ Prophet how can her reconciliation attempt would bridge
the West and Muslim worlds? The answer is up to the reader.
Muhammad Qasim Butt & Muhammad Sarfraz Khalid 79
References
Patrick Grant, Still Looking for Karen, in Fortnight, No. 429 (Oct., 2004), pp. 22-23,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25561295,http://www.britannica.com/biography/Karen-Armstrong,
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/apr/10/society.philosophy,
http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/management/trustees/karen_armstrong_obe.aspx, accessed on 10th December, 2015
Kueny, Kathryn, “Review of Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet” in The Journal of Religion 73 (3), The University of Chicago Press, 1993: 469–70.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1205143. Accessed on 10th December, 2015
Armstrong, Karen, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time (London: Harper Press, 2006) p.18
Al-Bukhārī, MuḥammadibnIsmā„il, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Book: Faḍā‟il al-Qur‟ān, Chapter: Jām„ al-Qur‟ān (Jeddah/Beirut: Dār al-Tawq al-Najāh,1422
A.H.) 6:183, Ḥadīth:4986
Ibid., Ḥadīth: 4987
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.58
Al-Tirmidhī, Muḥammad b.„Isā,Al-Jamī„ Al-Sunan (Egypt: MaktabahwaMaṭba„hMuṣṭafā al-Bābī al- Ḥilbī, 1395 A.H./ 1975 A.D.) Book: On
Tafsīr, Chapter: On Surah Tawbah, 5:272, Ḥadīth:3086
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.21
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Chapter: Bada‟ al-Waḥyī, 1:7, Ḥadīth: 3
Al-Rāzī, Fakhar al-Dīn, Mafātīh al-Ghayb, (Bayrūt: Dār Iḥyā‟ al-Turāth al-„Arabī, 3rd ed., 1420 A.H.) 23:237
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.69
Ibid, p.70-71
Al-Rāzī, Mafātīh al-Ghayb 23:237
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.41-43
Ibid, p.44
Muir, William, The Life of Mahomet (London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1861) 4:309
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.147
Geisler, N. L., “Muhammad, Character of” in Baker‟s Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids : Baker Books.1999) p.921
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p. 104-105
Ibid., p.38
Ibid., p.167
Haykal,MuḥammadḤusayn, The Life of Muhammad, trans. by Ismā„īl Ragī Al-Farūqī (American Trust Publications, 2005) p. 295
„Alī, Syed Amīr, The Spirit of Islam (Karachi: Pakistan Publishing House, 1976) p. 236
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.60
Ibid., p.170
Ibid., p.158
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Book: Al-Adab, 8:15, Ḥadīth: 6042
Ibn Mājah, Muḥammad b. Yazīd, Al-Sunan, Chapter: ḍarb al-Nisā‟,(Bayrūt: Dār al-Kutub‟l „Arabiyyah, n.d) 1:638, Ḥadīth:1984
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.171
Ibid., p.92
Ibid., p.95
Ibid., p.97
Ibid.
Ibid., p.98-99
Al-Qur‟ān, 2:59
Al-Qur‟ān, 5:13
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.121
Andrae, Tor, Muhammad: The Man and His Faith (London: Routledge, 2013) p.147
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.126
Watt, Montgomery, Muhammad At Medina, (Oxford, Uk: Oxford University Press, 1956) p.9
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.129
Watt, Muhammad At Medina, p.10
Armstrong, Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time, p.129
Ibid., p.133
Ibid., p. 142
Ibid., p.163
Ibid., p.212-213
Ibid., p.214