The Death of a Prophet — Stephen J. Shoemaker

The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam by Stephen J. Shoemaker is a scholarly examination of one of the most important and debated moments in early Islamic history: the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the events surrounding the formation of the early Muslim community.

Drawing on early Islamic traditions as well as non-Muslim historical sources, Shoemaker investigates how the story of the Prophet’s ﷺ final days and the emergence of the first Muslim community has been transmitted and interpreted over time. The book pays particular attention to the historical traditions concerning Muhammad’s ﷺ final years, his death, the early Muslim leadership, and the political and religious developments that followed.

A central theme of the book is the difficulty of reconstructing the earliest period of Islam from sources that were written down or preserved generations after the events they describe. Shoemaker compares different accounts and examines their historical context, asking how later traditions may have shaped our understanding of the origins of the Islamic community.

The book also explores the Arab conquests and the emergence of Islam as a major religious and political force, placing the beginnings of the Islamic state within the wider context of the seventh-century Near East.

Written as an academic historical study, The Death of a Prophet is best suited to readers who want to engage critically with questions surrounding the origins of Islam, early Islamic historiography, the life and death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the development of the early Muslim community.

Recommended for: readers interested in Islamic history, early Islamic studies, historical criticism, religious history, and academic research into the origins of Islam.