Posted by Claire Jarvis

BBC 2’s three-part series on the life of Muhammad got off to a fascinating start last week. Featuring contributions from two of our authors- Robert Hoyland and Gerald Hawting – the first part of Rageh Omar’s documentary traced the prophet’s journey from an orphan child to the founder of the world’s second-largest religion.  By contextualizing his life within the culture and society of sixth-century Arabia, this programme provides the viewer with an excellent overview of the subject.

For those seeking further information on this area of study, the Ashgate Variorum series The Formation of the Classical Islamic World, prepared by scholars from across the world, is the most ambitious endeavour of its kind in the modern study of Islamic history.

Of further interest may be our recent book by renowned Israeli academic Uri Rubin, Muhammad the Prophet and Arabia, which details specific events in Muhammad’s life to show how the post-qur’anic image of Muhammad was developed by the Muslims of the first Islamic era.