I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found the subject matter really interesting. The book was well written and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book.

I did not know much about the Muslim leader, Muhammad. However, this biography gave me an comprehensive look at the prophet’s life and how he inspired many. I recommend this for those that do know much about the Islamic religion.

I have a confession to make as a white, English-speaking, Protestant Christian: I know almost nothing about Islam, except when it involves tales of mosque vandalizations and other examples of Islamophobia featured in the news. Before reading this book, I didn’t know much about the history of the religion and its geopolitical context. I also knew very little about its guiding prophet Muhammad (peace be with him) aside from a possible caricature or two — such as he was a polygamist. Thus, when a publicist from St. Martin’s Press asked if I would be interested in reviewing this book, I hemmed and hawed on the request. After all, I didn’t want to perform an injustice to a subject I knew very little about. In the end, though, curiosity won over and I thought I would take a chance on this book. Besides, my father has read the Qur'an, so I thought this might be a good way to connect with him as he fastidiously reads all my reviews in full. (Thanks, Dad!) I’m glad I selected this book for review as I think I learned and grew from this read.

Mohamad Jebara’s Muhammad, the World-Changer is a book that’s concerned about the prophet as more of a historical figure than a religious one. (It eschews using “peace be with him” after each instance of his name in the text for readability reasons, for which I will do the same.) I cannot vouch for this book’s accuracy owing to my relative ignorance on the subject matter — but there is a detailed and exhaustive list of sources, some only available to Muslim scholars, that takes up nearly 10 percent of the book’s size on my Kindle. I have seen online reviews claiming that the book is inaccurate, but, to my eyes, it may be because the reader/reviewer seemed to be disappointed that there is only one depiction of a supernatural or holy event that occurs in this book, and it is treated as being from a liminal dream state on Muhammad’s account.

So, if you’re looking for a depiction of Muhammad receiving visitations from angels or having direct talks with the Divine Master, you’re going to walk away from this text very disappointed. Instead, Muhammad, the World-Changer reads kind of like a Muslim version of How to Win Friends and Influence People. It tracks Muhammad’s rise from being an impoverished orphan to a respected business leader to a prophet. The book seemingly leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the major events of Muhammad’s life. If you think that Muhammad was all about protecting the interests of business leaders, which is another possible caricature, you may refreshingly learn that Muhammad was against slavery and prostitution and did much on the social justice front. In that sense, the book seems to be very well-rounded in ticking off the boxes of what Muhammad stood for.

However, because this is more of a work bound for secular audiences, it is probably going to offend some. To that end, you may note that I’ve been provided a calligraphic image in place of a traditional author photo to be published with this review, and details about the author were not provided by the publisher, probably because the author may feel harm may come to him for this presentation of Muhammad’s life. (That’s only speculation, but I’ll respect the author’s privacy for this possible reason.) No matter how you may feel about this depiction of a holy figure’s life, one thing’s for certain: after a bit of a slow start, this winds up being a wildly entertaining biography. I couldn’t stop reading this and found this volume to be more like a non-fiction version of popular Biblical fiction such as The Red Tent more than being a sober, objective account. Muhammad, the World-Changer is a gripping tale that may even change your mindset about things. You will also learn a lot about Arabic as a language, as Jebara details what each character’s name means in context with the original Arab dialects. There’s much here to learn from and celebrate.

That doesn’t mean the account isn’t without some problems. First, there is seemingly a cast of thousands in the book — and it can be quite confusing to keep track of people at times, despite the author’s best intention to populate the book with reminders as to who’s who. This is especially true as Muhammad was especially fond of renaming his closest confidants when they decided to become one of the followers of his message. Two, this is a very varnished look at Muhammad’s life. While Muhammad does experience trials and tribulations, there’s very little in the way of the author using a critical eye towards the subject matter in terms of exposing flaws — Muhammad faces a challenge, and then finds a way to rise above it. Now, before anyone gets their druthers up, again, I’m a Christian, and I’ll even admit that there are things about Jesus (supposedly without sin) that I find a little unsavoury based on Bible readings: that he was sometimes impatient, especially with his disciples, and sometimes said the wrong things to people who were bereaving (the “Don’t cry” line to console someone who just lost someone special to them being an example). Thus, even Jesus has personal shortcomings to me. So this is hardly a journalistic account of Muhammad’s life — though this is a book that examines the more human side of the prophet. That said, you must admit that Muhammad’s positive personality and world-view shone through, and I found myself at times wondering why I don’t pay more attention to Islam as a religion as a result of the depiction of Muhammad in this book — something I’m hoping to rectify.

Of course, the last chapter of the biography details how the Arabic world plunged into civil war after Muhammad’s death — but that subject is merely a sketch as it could probably fill a book or series of books all on its own. However, this seems to be more a book about rectifying the legacy of Muhammad’s life work for Western secular audiences and goes to show us that Islam has contributed many positive things, including a laudable way of living one’s life. Certain Muslim readers who want to learn more about Muhammad as a mortal may also learn a thing or two. All in all, Muhammad, the World-Changer details a powerful story with a strong moral center that makes it a worthy read for those who want to learn more about Islam. This is an engrossing tale and has helped to recolour my perception of Islam and further my understanding of it. While I wish the book might have been more well-rounded in its portraiture, I think this is a good starting place to learn about a major historical (and religious) figure. It is an enjoyable and illuminating read.

A well researched and personal biography on the life of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Even as a believer in another faith, I found this book helpful in understanding the origins of Islam. It is always good to be well educated about other peoples and their faith. It makes for a more tolerant and peaceful world.

Thank you to St Martins and Netgalley for the ARC.

I usually don’t like reading nonfiction, but this text is written as a narrative, and it’s very easy to read and get into. Having ready many biographies of Mohammed, I felt like I wouldn’t learn anything new. However, I enjoyed learning many new details from his personal life. That was, until, I came across a few discrepancies that go against the major historical retellings and scholarly research. For example, it is well accepted and documented that that Khadijah was 15 years older than Mohammed (not 3 as mentioned a few times in the book). The prophet was also never almost abducted and sold into slavery as a boy, as opposed to Islamic retellings of angels cleansing his heart in the pasture. Because of these discrepancies, it casts doubt on the rest of the narrative details, and I stopped reading after completing part 1. It’s a shame, because I really enjoyed the writing style, but certain religious and academic standards must be upheld.

I was very eager to read this book. It is so well-researched and easy to read. The topic is one I have long been interested in and yet everything I read was contradictory. Not this.

I am quite certain Muslim academics knew and understood the subject o Muhammad, the rest of us were a bit confused. Who exactly was he and what shaped his view of the world?

This was nothing like any other book I have read. It was researched and what came out of that was a man I could understand. Surrounded by women, some Jewish and Christian, He was inspired by the experiences he had and the people he met. I understood why there are no images of him. He truly was an inspirational man who believed in a worldview and had a vision of what the world should look like.

Did he change the way the world moved forward? I would say he did. From his birth to his death he was a most remarkable man. With all the translations having different meanings, it is difficult to sort fact from fiction. This was eye-opening work for me.

NetGalley/ October 12th, 2021 by St. Martin’s Essentials

This was my first foray into Islamic history and it was a helpful portrait of the early religious development of the Islamic worldview. At times the work feels less like biography and more like a hagiography, storytelling to paint a particular picture. I think this helps the book feel accessible but it also made me curious about reading a more historical/biographical perspective as well.

This intimate portrait of the Prophet Muhammad provides a well researched look at his childhood and how the events that transpired propelled him forward to be a world changer.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Essentials for an ARC.

Mohamad Jebara's "Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait" will likely most deeply resonate, both intellectually and emotionally, with those having a somewhat foundational knowledge of its subject matter the Prophet Muhammad.

Fusing details long known to Muslim scholars yet for a large part inaccessible to wider audiences, Jebara has crafted a remarkably researched yet beautifully written portrait of of Islam's founding prophet. Jebara takes the major benchmarks of Muhammad's life and paints a portrait of remarkable adversity, relentless perseverance, absolute vision and mission, and ultimately a man whose values and entrepreneurial spirit served as a bridge to the modern world.

"Muhammad, the World-Changer" will, however, still have deep meaning for those of us, myself included, who are less familiar with Muhammad but who are inundated with "facts," opinions, media portrayals, and social media campaigns that often arrive with agendas and very little else. Jebara writes accessibly and introduces the reader to the world of Muhammad and the world of the Qu'ran. Complex writings are made understandable and Jebara rather incredibly also makes understandable the culture in which Muhammad's life unfolded.

While I'd read the Qu'ran previously, Jebara's work here gives it a necessary context that one who is non-Muslim, as is true for me, simply won't have. Having finished this work, I'm encouraged to return to that sacred text with greater knowledge and understanding of the world in which Muhammad lived and the culture in which the Qu'ran was initially developed.

"Muhammad, the World-Changer" is remarkable in its depth and detail but equally remarkable because of its emotional resonance and engaging language. It's a book that encourages deeper diving into this material yet also a book that makes you feel as if you understand Muhammad and Islam with greater clarity.

Jebara also powerfully captures the Meccan society of the time and brings to life the world in which Muhammad grew including the women who nurtured him in childhood and adulthood, Jewish and Christian mentors who inspired him, and the enslaved individuals whose freedom he would constantly pursue.

"Muhammad, the World-Changer" is both intellectually and spiritually satisfying, both exegesis of the life of Muhammad and meditation on its meaning.