Trends in Biographies of Muhammad

A Critical Analysis

Thesis

A review of key trends in modern Western biographies of Muhammad, with detailed contrast between Karen Armstrong’s apologetic approach and Maxime Rodinson’s historical-critical methodology.

📚 Introduction

Over 1,500 biographies have been written about Muhammad — a testament to his far-reaching influence on human history. Yet, much of what is accepted about his life comes from sources compiled over a century after his death, raising serious concerns about their historical reliability. As scholars like Michael Cook and Maxime Rodinson point out, the earliest Islamic narratives stem from a post-factum, politically charged tradition.

In contrast to traditional Muslim hagiographies, Western biographies have developed two dominant strands: one critical and source-skeptical, the other faith-friendly and revisionist. This post examines these conflicting approaches through the lenses of Karen Armstrong and Maxime Rodinson.

⚖️ The Historical Source Problem

The earliest biographies of Muhammad (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, Tabari, Bukhari) were written 125–200 years after Muhammad’s death. There are no contemporary sources — Muslim or otherwise — to corroborate the details of Muhammad’s life. This has led to increasing skepticism in Western academia, where Muhammad’s story is now being treated with the same historical-critical scrutiny previously applied to Biblical figures.

As Rodinson bluntly states:

“There is nothing of which we can say for certain that it incontestably dates back to the time of the Prophet.”
— Rodinson (1996), xi

📖 Karen Armstrong: A Phenomenological Apologetic

Karen Armstrong’s “Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam” reads more like a Muslim devotional text than a biography written by a Western scholar. She adopts what James Royster would call the phenomenological approach — attempting to understand Muhammad through the eyes of the believer, rather than as a historical subject.

Key Characteristics:

  • Accepts Islamic sources uncritically

  • Idealizes Muhammad as:

    "gentle, egalitarian, good-looking, pious, enlightened, a spiritual genius"
    — Armstrong (1992)

  • Blames the West for Islam’s radicalism, asserting a historical pattern of Islamophobia

  • Claims:

    “Islam has never had problems tolerating other religions.”
    — Armstrong (1992:87)

  • Makes simplistic generalizations about Christianity:

    “Christianity confused oral traditions; the Gospels reflect the needs of the church, not historical fact.”
    — Armstrong (1992:51)

She defends Islamic Jihad by reframing it through Christian categories, asserting that it simply means striving for justice — ignoring the violent, expansionist context of Muhammad’s actual military campaigns.

Flaws:

  • Fails to apply critical methodology to Islamic sources

  • Relies on late compilations without questioning their motives or historical layers

  • Projects modern liberal values back onto a 7th-century warlord

Conclusion: Armstrong’s work is not critical biography. It is postcolonial revisionism designed to present Islam as a peaceful counterpart to a corrupt West. This may soothe liberal consciences, but it does violence to the historical record.

📚 Maxime Rodinson: A Historian With Integrity

Maxime Rodinson’s biography, originally written in 1961 and revised in 1996, represents the historicist school of thought. He openly acknowledges the speculative nature of the material and emphasizes methodological honesty throughout his book.

Key Characteristics:

  • Declares upfront that the biography is built on speculation

  • Regularly uses disclaimers:

    “It is said,” “according to tradition,” “later reports claim...”

  • Applies Royster’s reductionist models:

    • Naturalistic: Qur’an’s power due to familiarity, not divinity

    • Psychological: Visions as hallucinations, mystical states

    • Cultural: Muhammad’s morality and laws reflect 7th-century Arab norms

    • Exordial: Identifies direct borrowings from Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, and Zoroastrian sources

Rodinson draws extensively from non-Muslim sources: Greek, Byzantine, Syriac Christian, and pre-Islamic Arabian literature — often in conflict with Islamic traditions.

He doesn’t shy away from discussing:

  • Muhammad's assassinations of critics

  • The economic motivations behind military campaigns

  • The political usefulness of revelations

Rodinson's Muhammad is not a divine messenger, but a charismatic tribal leader, shaped by the sociopolitical context of late antiquity.

🆚 Armstrong vs. Rodinson: A Methodological Contrast

CategoryKaren ArmstrongMaxime Rodinson
ApproachPhenomenologicalHistoricist
View of SourcesAccepts tradition uncriticallyDeep skepticism
BiasAnti-West, Pro-IslamAtheist, transparent
External SourcesRarely usedFrequently cited
Critique of MuhammadAvoidedExplicit and contextual
Treatment of ChristianityHarsh, datedComparative and neutral

🧠 Final Thoughts: Biography or Hagiography?

Karen Armstrong writes devotional mythology masquerading as interfaith scholarship. She whitewashes the Islamic tradition while harshly criticizing Christianity — a double standard that undermines her credibility.

Maxime Rodinson, while an atheist, approaches Muhammad with intellectual courage and methodological rigor. He lays bare the layers of embellishment, political motive, and historical complexity in the Islamic tradition without flinching.

"The study of Muhammad must apply the same standards used in biblical scholarship. Anything less is not fairness — it’s fear."
— Summary judgment

🔍 Postscript: What If Muhammad Came 20 Years Later?

Rodinson closes with a provocative reflection:

"Had Muhammad been born just two decades later, he might have been forgotten — his Arabia swallowed by a resurgent Byzantine Empire."
— Rodinson (1996:298)

History, then, may owe more to timing than to divine revelation.

📚 References

  • Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam. London: Victor Gollancz, 1992.

  • Rodinson, Maxime. Muhammad. London: Penguin Books, 1996.

  • Cook, Michael. Muhammad. Oxford University Press, 1983.

  • Royster, James. "The Study of Muhammad." Muslim World, 1972.

  • Watt, W. Montgomery. Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press, 1961.

  • Tibawi, A.L. "Second Critique of English-Speaking Orientalists." Islamic Quarterly, 1979.

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