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Ammar

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Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait

by Mohamad Jebara

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Ammar said: " I am a native Arabic speaking Syrian, a full professor of medicine, from the city of Aleppo, with a traditional Islamic upbringing, who has read multiple books about the prophet’s biography including (but not limited to) Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq, Karen I am a native Arabic speaking Syrian, a full professor of medicine, from the city of Aleppo, with a traditional Islamic upbringing, who has read multiple books about the prophet’s biography including (but not limited to) Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq, Karen Armstrong book, in the footsteps of the prophet, Martin Lings book and others. Practically, the main conclusion that I reached is that most of these books are centered around the political and military aspects of the prophet’s life and failed to show Muhammad as a civil man. As such, I was always in search for references/books that reveal the humanness and genius of this historical personality by which he remained alive in the psyche and consciousness of his followers up till now!

And I finally found that book! And below is the story!!!

After two years of virtual meetings due to the COVID epidemic, I was finally able to attend the annual national kidney foundation meeting 2022 in Boston. As an avid reader and book lover, I found myself at Barnes & Noble walking through the new arrival section. Suddenly, up on the shelf at my height level, my eyes caught Jebara’s book: Muhammad, the world-changer. As such, I instantaneously bought the book and started reading it on my flight back home. As a pleasant surprise, I was blown away by this book!!

“Muhammad, the World-Changer” is an outstanding masterpiece on the main icon of Islam that is well-researched, thought-provoking, and scholarly, written in a novelistic style. Upon reading it, you have the feeling that you are watching a movie with powerful vivid images and intense emotions. “Muhammad, the World-Changer” triggers a sense of awe, love and appreciation for prophet Muhammad.

Why is “Muhammad, the World-Changer” so important?

Emmanuel Levinas rightly said: “Islam understood better than anyone that a universal truth is worth more than local particularisms.” As such, Muslims feel at home anywhere, a feeling supported by what their prophet stated that any location can be a place for worship. With this mindset, the prophet and early Muslims migrated to Madinah as asylum seekers, a place that became home for the early community. Twelve centuries later, the author’s family itself migrated to North America and grew its new roots to become citizens of the new world. This dynamism and universalism of the revelation (Quran) and living example of the prophet are the driving force of Islamic minds.

Even now, despite the decline of religion, and gradual disappearance of metaphysics, 1 in 4 of the world’s population is a follower of Prophet Muhammad and at some level practices his teachings. Hence, the question becomes “how did the message of Muhammad remain intact and sound in both its main text (Quran) and practices?”. This book of Jebara is a serious attempt to show how the example of a man who lived in Arabia 14 centuries ago can be modeled in our modern lives resulting in bringing healing and peace to a fragmented humanity that is plagued with wars, fears and inequalities.

All in all, “Muhammad, the World-Changer” is a vivid portrait of the main icon of the religion of Islam that describes the details of the prophet’s life and shows brilliantly the genius of this man in changing/transforming his society (and subsequently the world) on multiple levels: politically, socially, economically, environmentally, psychologically, and philosophically.

In reality, Jebara takes the reader on a vivid journey in time carrying his video camera to the 6/7th century of the Arabian Peninsula to record with diligent scholarship the history of the man who received the revelation, lived by it and transformed the world around him according to its universal principles: human dignity, justice, equality and mercy. In this recording, the author remained faithful to the historical text, explained the context, brilliantly translates the original Arabic and shows its relevance to our times.

Importantly, in this book, Jebara demonstrated with mastery the central role of women as key figures in the message of Islam, which itself is considered revolutionary and championed by the prophet of Islam.

In summary, this book is very accessible to all readers from diverse backgrounds! It is a fresh look into the intimate life of a person who topped "The 100: A Ranking of The Most Influential Persons in History " by Michael Hart, who said "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level”.

“Muhammad, the World-Changer” demonstrated Michael Hart’s conclusion elegantly employing a beautiful artistic writing style.

Furthermore, “Muhammad, the World-Changer” is desperately needed in our world as a remedy for peace making against the war mongers! It shows the genius that Muhammad leveraged to change the world using a dynamic adaptive mindset. Hence, this book is a “must read” for both Muslims and non-Muslims, alike. ...more "

Aug 04, 2022 08:08AM · see review