“D.Castles” wrote: >

> There is little point in belting Richard over the head with facts. His

history > is interpreted according to his faith.

[snip uncalled for nastiness]

You might like to go to a library and borrow a book that outlines some of the recent research in this area.

I would recommend starting with Karen Armstrong’s “Muhammad – A Biography of the Prophet”. Armstrong is an academic who is full grasp of the sources, and is neither Christian nor Muslim, so you might be more inclined to trust her word than mine.

>From there you might move on to Martin Ling’s “Muhammad: His Life Based

on the Earliest Sources”. Given your style you will probably find this a little reverential, but it is a good summary of what the earliest documents about Muhammad, written a century or so after his death, tell us. This one would most suit Yahyah.

Clinton Bennett’s “In Search of Muhammad”, gives a shorter review of the early sources, and has two other sections on how various people through history have portrayed Muhammad in biographies, and how various living Muslims see him now.

They’re all good reads. How about you underline and inwardly digest the important passages, then come and belt me over the head with a few facts, eh?

— Regards,

Richard Kerr