Following the Prophet - by Salih Sayilgan (Paperback)

About the Book

This book offers an overview of the life and spiritual legacy of the Prophet Muhammad as he has lived in the hearts of Muslims across time. It gives a portrait of this vitally significant religious figure and discusses how Muslims have remembered and reimagined his spirit in different ways as expressions of their love for God and His messenger.

Book Synopsis

Biographies of the Prophet Muhammad often focus on his historical context in seventh-century Arabia. Yet understanding the Prophet solely through the lens of ancient history fails to capture the significance and meaning of this individual, whose teachings have shaped the world and continue to guide nearly one-quarter of the global population today.

With this book, Salih Sayilgan provides a loving portrait of the Prophet as he has lived in the hearts of Muslims across the centuries: as a religious light and spiritual guide. Drawing on a diverse body of Islamic literature on the Prophet, Sayilgan offers a vista onto the expansive and variegated legacy of this vitally significant religious figure. Examining how Muslims have remembered and reimagined the Prophet's spirit in different ways as expressions of their love for God and His messenger, this book highlights the central place of the Prophet Muhammad in the religious lives of Muslim believers.

Review Quotes

For many, the hardest thing to understand about Muhammad is that his greatest legacy is the immense love for him in the hearts of Muslims worldwide. This book guides readers into the world of that love, why and how it has grown over the centuries, and how it has been expressed. What sets this book apart is that it starts this journey through a door of immense pain and fearful loss, which makes the light one encounters in its chapters all the more touching. --Jonathan A. C. Brown, professor of Arabic and Islamic studies, Georgetown University

In this remarkable work, Sayilgan brings together the sacred past with an engaged present through his prophetically centered exploration of spirituality anchored in the Islamic tradition. The author provides us not only with an inviting and accessible narrative of the Prophet Muhammad's life, but also with an intimate look at his devotional repertoire and the community of faith that emerged around him and continues vibrantly down to the present. --Martin T. Nguyen, professor of Islamic studies, Fairfield University

This accessible and thoughtful work offers a nuanced portrait of the Prophet Muhammad and other important figures, and a historical overview of early Islam, grounded in a wide range of Islamic sources. By presenting the Prophet's enduring legacy through the lens of Muslim devotional and historical memory, the book provides valuable insight for both Muslim readers seeking deeper spiritual understanding and non-Muslim readers interested in the foundations of early Islam. --Syed Atif Rizwan, assistant professor of Islamic and interreligious studies, Catholic Theological Union