The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad

The modern world can’t digest the derogatory comments of Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). "Prophet remarks controversy" remains in this atmosphere like the red sea. It is a miracle to hear that the man who is the historical man was penned with scrupulous respect in the book written by Lesley Hazelton. Recently, her book has been discussed widely in the battlefield of intellectual thoughts, because, she is a Western author. Commonly, western intellectuals try to undermine Islam with the smoke of Islamic extremism. But, the question is how she had differed from this Western casuist.

        “The First Muslim” is a classic write-up of dual American and British women Lesley Hazelton, published in America more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks. She also contributed to “After the Prophet” a biographical work for the world. It conveys the true story of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and his challenging life soon after the dark age. Recently, I was invited to clarify Nupur Sharma’s comments on the remarkable person. I just travelled through the lines of Lesley in the first Muslim. There I got whatever I want to draw a crystal clear picture of the prophesier.

        Lesley cut the book into three parts. The first part, as she starts with is ‘ORPHAN’ which narrates the painful untold story of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), who was left parentless in childhood itself. Undoubtedly, he was given protection by the best hands in the tribe, a great miracle. The author takes us to the second part, EXILE, which tells us about the honour diaspora from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution. He framed a peaceful coexistence between natives and immigrants from Mecca. They were named Ansaris and Muhajirs. At last, she derives us to the last part, LEADER, which relates the prophet as an ideal social leader to mankind.

        Lesley Hazelton is the first Author who presented the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) describing historical details and Quranic quotes. She highlighted the Prophet as the owner of profound humanity in her book. She tried to depict a truthful image of the prophet without any exaggeration. A boy who had lost his father before he was born, he lost his mother when he was six. Brought up by his grandfather, he was a remarkable rise from the edges of society to a reasonably well-off and trusted business agent by the time he was getting into middle age. 

        It is upon to hear a marginalised man beset by extraordinary circumstances in her thoughtful lines. “The First Man” is a remarkable biography of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and exemplary literacy, is the first book I have read in my life about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Hazleton doesn't skip over the more mystical messages that I robbed in my mind. Muhammed’s divine message created division within his clan, Mohammed’s faith was surely tested but he met the challenges, God revealed himself to Mohammed, naming him as his messenger, and he reunited Mecca and Medina through a pilgrimage and a battle. 

        Hazleton's book seeks to separate the man from the myth, drawing upon eyewitness accounts that detail both the mystical as well as the fallible moments of Muhammad's life. In addition to his role as a divine messenger, this biography sees him as a complex, multi-dimensional human being.