Qur'anic Citations in Karen Armstrong's "Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time"

Abstract

Karen Armstrong is one of the leading orientalists interested in the study of Islam. She has published two books on the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). One of them is titled "Muhammad: The Prophet of Our Time". In this book, the author has presented a number of discussions in a narrative and analytical manner on various aspects of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). At some points, Karen has provided answers to the objections of non-Muslim writers regarding prophetic role of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), however, in many places, she has maintained the continuity of the Orientalist narrative. In her book, she has presented some verses of the Holy Quran as evidence to raise doubts and suspicions regarding the personality of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his character, his companions and wives, and has tried to prove that the doubts she has presented are based on Quranic verses. When an ordinary reader reads this book, he may be confused by seeing a new narrative related to the Holy Quran and Prophet (PBUH) at the same time. Therefore, it is necessary to identify from an Islamic perspective those parts of Karen's book in which the objections are based on the Holy Quran. This article fulfills this need.