I was perusing Indigo a few days ago, and a book caught my eye. I had seen it on iBooks, but now I had the opportunity to open it up and take a read. It was called "Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet" by Deepak Chopra.
I had a skim through it, and I have to say, the writing style held my interest. It's not written like the usual books on Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s life, which tend to be very history-bookish, and textbooky. It was written very much like a story, with characters and different viewpoints. One such viewpoint was from the Angel Jibreel (AS). I don't know where that lies on the scale of religious no-no's, but it kind of gave an idea of what Jibreel (AS) may have been thinking as he carried out his orders. At another part, it's from the viewpoint of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s grandfather.
Now for my concerns, first of all, the Author, Deepak Chopra, isn't muslim. He's more of a Hindu, mystic, new age endocrinologist, and apparently a friend of Michael Jackson. Which is good in a way, because we can expect (read: hope) him to just give the facts, and not bias the story in any way. This is good, because then the book can become popular with anyone, not just Muslims. A non-muslim can pick it up, read it and shouldn't complain "Oh, this book was written by a Muslim so of course it's going to make the Prophet (SAW) look good". However, because he's not a muslim, he may not fully understand some of the how's and why's of the...shall we say...less accepted things Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did. Like marry Aisha (RA) when she was extremely young.
Of course, I haven't read the whole book yet (although I'm really considering it), so I may be a little biased. It may be nice for my younger brothers too: being a story, it may hold their interest more than a history text.
At any rate, here's a link to the book on Amazon.com, take a read, share it if it's good and accurate, spread the word if it isn't.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061782424?ie=UTF8&tag=book-search-engine-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061782424
I had a skim through it, and I have to say, the writing style held my interest. It's not written like the usual books on Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s life, which tend to be very history-bookish, and textbooky. It was written very much like a story, with characters and different viewpoints. One such viewpoint was from the Angel Jibreel (AS). I don't know where that lies on the scale of religious no-no's, but it kind of gave an idea of what Jibreel (AS) may have been thinking as he carried out his orders. At another part, it's from the viewpoint of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s grandfather.
Now for my concerns, first of all, the Author, Deepak Chopra, isn't muslim. He's more of a Hindu, mystic, new age endocrinologist, and apparently a friend of Michael Jackson. Which is good in a way, because we can expect (read: hope) him to just give the facts, and not bias the story in any way. This is good, because then the book can become popular with anyone, not just Muslims. A non-muslim can pick it up, read it and shouldn't complain "Oh, this book was written by a Muslim so of course it's going to make the Prophet (SAW) look good". However, because he's not a muslim, he may not fully understand some of the how's and why's of the...shall we say...less accepted things Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did. Like marry Aisha (RA) when she was extremely young.
Of course, I haven't read the whole book yet (although I'm really considering it), so I may be a little biased. It may be nice for my younger brothers too: being a story, it may hold their interest more than a history text.
At any rate, here's a link to the book on Amazon.com, take a read, share it if it's good and accurate, spread the word if it isn't.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061782424?ie=UTF8&tag=book-search-engine-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061782424
1 comment:
Wa-salam Ayesha! Thanks for the support, and thanks for the recommendation! :D
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