Following Muhammad, Chapter 3, The Sacred Sources of Islam
The Seal of the Prophets
importance of Muhammad
"quest for historical Muhammad"
brief narrative or traditional account?
Emptiness of factual summaries
Hilya as a devotional icon
"The Hilya, or the Adornment of the Prophet" from the web site of calligrapher Rasheed Butt

Hilya  (Mehmet Ozcay)

the Muhammads of faith
    miniature illustrations of the ascension (mi'raj)

Miraj 1  miraj 3  



the Muhammad of authority: law and ethics
hadith, and debates over its authenticity
Shi`i concept of necessary guidance
philosophical concept of prophecy
Davani on divine light and ordinary humanity
changing concept of Muhammad
brief biography
Christian critiques


Ch. 4, Ethics and Life in the World, pp. 108-119
Islamic religious ethics
illustrative examples
Sunni-Shi`i differences
religious ethics
contents of hadith work
use of hadith in law and ethics
the breadth of religious ethics
Muhammad as the source of Islamic distinctiveness

 


Final question: in what different ways can a religious "founder" function for later generations?