A Portrait of the Prophet As Seen by His Contemporaries

In Islam, two sources are used to explain the religion and its laws: the Qur'an, a revered text, and the hadith, the sayings and activities of the Prophet Muhammad as reported by friends and followers during his lifetime. This skilled translation, which includes the Arabic of one of the key Islamic texts, long-awaited in English, presents a fascinating selection of hadith compiled by the ninth-century scholar at-Tirmidhi that humanizes the Prophet for modern audiences, presenting him through the eyes of contemporaries who comment not only on his spiritual demeanor and qualities but also on his physical appearance and mannerismsincluding his hairdressing, his sitting posture, his sandals and turban, his armor, his favorite condiments, and his jests and laughter.

Imam Muhammad ibn 'Isa at-Tirmidhi was the author of Sunan al-Tirmidhi, one of the six canonical hadith compilations used in Sunni Islam. Muhtar Holland is the author of The Book of the Secret Secrets and The Unveiling of Love: Sufism and Remembrance of God. He lives in Valley Cottage, New York.