Title: The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad

Author: Lesley Hazleton

Publishing Date: Jan. 24th, 2013

BOOK REVIEW:

A longtime reporter on the Middle East, Hazleton carefully delineates the great events in
the life of the first Muslim, who, like the Christian prophet Jesus, was chosen as the
translator of Gods message to mankind.
The author sifts through and synthesizes many differing and conflicting sources for a
gently reverential and ultimately winning study of a humble soul in search of his identity.
Hazleton effectively fleshes out the iconic events of the messengers life. Left fatherless
as a baby, shunted to a wet nurse who cared for him and brought him up in the Bedouin
ways, Muhammad grew into a capable, hardworking caravan agent for his uncle in
Mecca before making an advantageous match with a wealthy widow 16 years his elder,
Khadija, who would prove a steady companion and his first convert. Muhammad first
made a name for himself as the arbitrator in the collective repair of the damaged sacred
sanctuary of Kaaba; his altered state atop Mount Hira at age 40 was an experience of
poetic faith, Hazleton explains, resulting in beautiful verses flowing from his lips. He
spoke urgently of social justice and reform, and he spoke in Arabic. Exiled from Mecca
by the ruling elite, he again proved a natural, masterly negotiator among tribes in
Medina, appealing to a higher authority to solve their disputes and drawing up a binding
contract of monotheism. Hazleton explains that he resorted to violence only after a
passive resistance got him nowherethe troublesome precedent of jihad. The author
writes poignantly of the evolution of the public messenger from the private man.
A levelheaded, elegant look at the life of the prophet amid the making of a legend.