Long before the events of September 11th made Islam a topic of debate in the Presidential elections and Arabic one of the 'must learn' languages for college graduates wishing to study international relations or enter the military, Martin Lings wrote a book upon the life of the prophet who founded the third major religious tradition of the
modern world, after Judaism and Christianity in chronological
fashion. This
paper shows how Lings bases his book upon
early sources. Although his biography evolves in a story-like fashion, told in modern English, he is anxious at all times to cross-reference all of his sources with early and contemporary accounts of the leader, as well as provide a modern coherence and 'gloss' upon the chronology of Muhammad's life for Western readers. The paper, in particular, discusses the locations Medina and Mecca in Lings' book.