Muhammad
Will be published approx. on 2. March 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
424 pages
978-1-68137-492-5 (ISBN)
Description
A classic, secular history of the prophet Muhammad that vividly recreates the fascinating time in which Islam was born.
Maxime Rodinson, both a maverick Marxist and a distinguished professor at the Sorbonne, first published his biography of Muhammad in 1960, and in the last half century the book has been widely read and established as a classic in its field. Rodinson, deeply familiar with the historical record and scholarly research into the Prophet's life, did not seek to add to it here but to introduce Muhammad, first of all, as "a man of flesh and blood" who led a life of extraordinary drama and shaped history as few others have. Equally, he sought to lay out an understanding of Muhammad's legacy and Islam as what he called an ideological movement, similar to the universalist religions of Christianity and Buddhism as well as the secular movement of Marxism, but possessing a singular commitment to "the deeply ingrained idea that Islam offers not only a path to salvation but (for many, above all) the ideal of a just society to be realized on earth."
Rodinson's book begins by introducing the specific land and the larger world into which Muhammad was born and the development of his prophetic calling. It then follows the steps of his career and the way his leadership gave birth to a religion and a state. A final chapter considers the world as Islam has transformed. The book as a whole offers a vivid and indispensable account of an extraordinary man and his achievement.
Maxime Rodinson, both a maverick Marxist and a distinguished professor at the Sorbonne, first published his biography of Muhammad in 1960, and in the last half century the book has been widely read and established as a classic in its field. Rodinson, deeply familiar with the historical record and scholarly research into the Prophet's life, did not seek to add to it here but to introduce Muhammad, first of all, as "a man of flesh and blood" who led a life of extraordinary drama and shaped history as few others have. Equally, he sought to lay out an understanding of Muhammad's legacy and Islam as what he called an ideological movement, similar to the universalist religions of Christianity and Buddhism as well as the secular movement of Marxism, but possessing a singular commitment to "the deeply ingrained idea that Islam offers not only a path to salvation but (for many, above all) the ideal of a just society to be realized on earth."
Rodinson's book begins by introducing the specific land and the larger world into which Muhammad was born and the development of his prophetic calling. It then follows the steps of his career and the way his leadership gave birth to a religion and a state. A final chapter considers the world as Islam has transformed. The book as a whole offers a vivid and indispensable account of an extraordinary man and his achievement.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 124 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
418 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68137-492-5 (9781681374925)
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Persons
Maxime Rodinson (1915–2004) was a Marxist historian and sociologist who specialized in Islam and the Arab world. He was for many years a professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne and, after working several years in Syria and Lebanon, supervised the Muslim section of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Among his works are Islam and Capitalism; Marxism and the Muslim World; and Cult, Ghetto, and State: The Persistence of the Jewish Question.
Anne Carter has translated various books from the French, including works by Michel Tournier, Charles Perrault, Zoé Oldenbourg, Pierre Mendès-France, Juliette Benzoni, Philippe Jullian, Pierre Goubert, and François Mauriac.
Robert Irwin is the Middle East editor of The Times Literary Supplement and the author of many books. His tenth novel, The Runes Have Been Cast, will be published in 2021.
Anne Carter has translated various books from the French, including works by Michel Tournier, Charles Perrault, Zoé Oldenbourg, Pierre Mendès-France, Juliette Benzoni, Philippe Jullian, Pierre Goubert, and François Mauriac.
Robert Irwin is the Middle East editor of The Times Literary Supplement and the author of many books. His tenth novel, The Runes Have Been Cast, will be published in 2021.