Table of Contents....................................................................2
Introduction..............................................................................5
1. Arabia before Islam............................................................7
Makkah..................................................................................8
The Characteristics of the Arab People.......................14
2. The Life of the Prophet Muhammad ............................18
Opposition Intensified.......................................................32
Islam spreads to Yathrib (Madinah)..............................37
The Prophet Arrives at Madinah.....................................40
Brotherhood of Islam ........................................................41
The Prophet’s Mosque......................................................42
The Prophet’s Family.........................................................43
Jihad.....................................................................................44
The Battle of Badr..............................................................44
The Battle of the Trench...................................................46
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.....................................................47

Call to the World................................................................48
Fall of Makkah....................................................................49
Pardon for All......................................................................50
Battle of Hunayn................................................................50
First Hajj under Islam..........................................................51
The Farewell Pilgrimage ...................................................52
3. The Concept of Worship in Islam...................................54
The Implication of worship...............................................56
Five Pillars of Islam .............................................................58
The Spirit of Faith................................................................59
The Spirit of Salah...............................................................60
The Spirit of Fasting............................................................60
The Spirit of Zakah..............................................................61
The Spirit of Hajj..................................................................62
4. The Concept of the State in Islam.................................64
5. The Status of Woman in Islam.........................................75
Hijab in Islam.......................................................................78
6. War and Peace in Islam ..................................................83

7. The Importance of Education in Islam .........................91
Merit of the learned and learners..................................92
The Development of Natural Sciences.........................95
8. The Concept of Ijtihaad in Islam..................................102
9. Human Rights in Islam ....................................................116
Some Comparative Examples......................................120
1. Freedom of religion: ...................................................120
2. Justice and equality before the Law:.....................121
3. Freedom of expression and dissent: .......................123
10. The Concept of Social Welfare in Islam...................126
11. The Concept of Spirituality in Islam...........................137
12. The Relevance of the Quran and Sunnah in Modern
Times.......................................................................................150

BOOKS on Seerah (Life of the Prophet) exist in great numbers.
These are no doubt valuable books in their own right. However,
one aspect of Seerah still remains to be highlighted. And that is,
the relevance of seerah in the modern world. It is a subject, which,
despite its great importance, has yet to be treated with sufficient
thoroughness.
The books written on the subject of seerah give extensive
coverage to miracles, wars and victories. Emphasis on these
matters appeals to the conventional mind, but it has no appeal for
modern man. These things do not address his mind. The modern
man thinks in terms of science and not in terms of miracles. He
thinks in terms of peace and not in terms of war. He is more
interested in solutions to human, social and economic problems,
rather than descriptions of political and military conquests. A thing
becomes understandable to the modern man only when it is
presented within the framework of reason rather than beliefs.
I have planned my book keeping in view this most urgent,
present day requirement. I want to present a book, which is not
just a repetition of the books already written, but one whose aim
would be to fulfill modern intellectual requirements, focusing on
the relevance of the Prophet of Islam in contemporary global
context.

Another important thing, which is lacking in most of the books
of Seerah is that they do not underscore the peaceful method
followed by the Prophet.
A deep study of Seerah tells us that the Prophet invariably
adopted the peaceful method unilaterally. He thus succeeded in
bringing about a bloodless revolution in Arabia. Unfortunately, this
aspect of Seerah has not been highlighted in existing biographies of
the Prophet.
In present times, owing to certain global concerns, the
propensity to study Islam has greatly increased. All over the world,
curiosity has been aroused as to what exactly is meant by Islam.
What is urgently needed, therefore, is an objective, in-depth
study of Islam—one which presents Islam as it actually is,
uncompromisingly and without bias. It is in order to meet this
need—in particular, to show how Islam can meet the challenge of
violence—that I have undertaken the venture of presenting Islam
as it is in the light of Prophet’s life and teachings.

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