Lings’ thoroughly confused attempt at forcing those of the right, the righteous, the slaves of God and the foremost into his own special concept of a spiritual hierarchy (LXXXI, 329, 2) stems from a similar penchant for speculative originality in disregard of qualified sources. Lings advocates applying the title of Furqan not only to the Quran but to “every revealed Scripture” (XXV, 76, 1). This is arguable if he means the word furqan in a metaphorical generic sense of separating truth from error. However, it is fair to say he means it literally so as to deny the exclusivity of the Quran as an universal Message among all revealed Scriptures and also the exclusivity of its abrogating status of all other Scriptures for all time, since he actually grants neither superiority nor abrogating-status to the Prophet Mu Martin Lings has an unusual gift for narrative. He has adopted a style which is at once extremely readable and reflects both the simplicity and grandeur of the story. The result is a book which will be read with equal enjoyment by those already familiar with Muhammad’s life and those coming to it for the first time. W. Montgomery Watt (1984). "Review of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by M. Lings". Religious Studies. 20 (3): 504–5.

Jangda, Abdul Nasir, host. “Intro – Pt 2.” Seerah, episode 2, Qalam Institute, 20 May 2016, https://www.qalaminstitute.org/2011/09/seerah-life-of-the-prophet-intro-pt-2/ mereka bertanya kepada Rasulullah mengenai tiga hal, pemuda yang melarikan diri ke gua (Ashhabul Kahfi), pemimpin pasukan yang menguasai Timur dan Barat (Dzulqarnain), dan soal ruh. Maka, di tengah kesenjangan generasi masa kini akan keteladanan Rasulnya, buku ini dapat menjadi oase yang menyejukkan sekaligus pohon ilmu yang buahnya siap kita petik setiap saat. Lings menghadirkan sosok Muhammad di depan kita secara otentik. Wa Allahu a’lam.[] Susilo Wibisono, S.Psi., M.SiClifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p399: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948 Garuda itu boleh jadi siapapun yang telah melampaui perjuangan berat untuk generasinya, namun nilai-nilai ajarannya terlupakan oleh generasi yang diperjuangkannya. Muhammad yang oleh Hart diletakkan sebagai manusia paling berpengaruh sepanjang sejarah peradaban, seringkali hanya dikenal namanya oleh generasi Muslim saat ini. Berapa besar generasi Muslim masa kini yang memahami masa kanak-kanak dan remaja Muhammad? Berapa besar generasi Muslim masa kini yang paham sosiologi masyarakat bertumbuhnya Sang Nabi? Berapa besar generasi masa kini yang mampu menghayati ajaran cintanya di tengah kecaman dan boikot kaumnya sendiri? Boleh jadi, Muhammad bagi generasi masa kini adalah “Garuda” yang dijunjung tanpa cinta, dibacakan shalawat oleh lisan namun tanpa hati, dijadikan legitimasi oleh kehausan akan kekuasaan. Dijadikan hiasan maya, bukan oleh siapa-siapa, tapi umatnya sendiri, yang atas nama Muhammad mereka menebar kebencian. Dipuja tapi dihina, dipuja oleh lisan mereka, disanjung oleh motif industri, dinyanyikan dalam pita-pita rekaman, namun diamdiam dalam hati, mereka mengeluh karena merasa berat menjalankan apa yang diwasiatkan. Muhammad, nama yang tak akan pernah lekang dalam labirin zaman. Meski gelombang sejarah terus bergemuruh melempar dan meninggalkan buihnya, nama itu adalah karang yang tak tergoyahkan. Ribuan karya tak akan mampu menampung keagungan karakternya, insan pilihan sepanjang zaman. Sebagai fisik manusia, ia telah hidup lima belas abad yang lalu di sebuah jazirah, sebagai energi dan ruh, ia tak pernah mati, dan tak akan pernah. Manusia intan, begitu sebagian umatnya menyebut namanya. Meskipun intan, ia menyatukan dirinya bersama kerikil-kerikil. Menjadi pendamping mereka yang dipinggirkan oleh arus kekuasaan setiap zaman. Bagai sebuah syi’ir di mushola kecil sebuah desa: Muhammadun Basyarun Laisa Kal Basyari Kanjeng Nabi Muhammad Iku manungso, nanging ora koyo lumrahe Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources ( Islamic Texts Society, 1983) ISBN 978-0-946621-33-0 (World-UK edn) / ISBN 978-1-59477-153-8 (US edn) The Secret of Shakespeare: His Greatest Plays Seen in the Light of Sacred Art, Quinta Essentia, Cambridge, 1996.

The Eleventh Hour: the Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy (2002), Archetype, ISBN 1-901383-01-6 The late Dr Martin Lings, formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscript in the British Museum and the British Library, is the author of three works on Islamic mysticism, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, What is Sufism?, The Book of Certainty, all published by the Islamic Texts Society.A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. [8] His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad. [9] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died on 12 May 2005. [6] Muhammad is a true work of art, as enthralling and engrossing as the best of novels with the difference that this is no fiction but fact. With the magic of his pen, the author makes all the historical personalities of his book come alive… The skill of narration is enhanced throughout the book with the most regal and dignified English, inspiring the sense of majestic grandeur essential for any literary work dealing with Divine and Eternal Truths.’ Then he would return to his family, and sometimes on his return he took more provisions and went again to the mountain. During these few years it often happened that after he had left the town and was approaching his hermitage he would hear clearly the words “Peace be on thee, O Messenger of God,” and he would turn and look for the speaker but no one was in sight, and it was as if the words had come from a tree or a stone. Ramadan was the traditional month of retreat, and it was one night towards the end of Ramadan, in his fortieth year, when he was alone in the cave, that there came to him an Angel in the form of a man. The Angel said to him: “Recite!” and he said: “I am not a reciter,” whereupon, as he himself told it, “the Angel took me and whelmed me in his embrace until he had reached the limit of mine endurance. Then he released me and said: ‘Recite!’ I said: ‘I am not a reciter,’ and again he took me and whelmed me in his embrace, and again when he had reached the limit of mine endurance he released me and said: ‘Recite!’, and again I said ‘I am not a reciter.’ Then a third time he whelmed me as before, then released me and said: In 1944, Lings married Lesley Smalley, and their home in a village at the foot of the pyramids provided a refuge for both Egyptian and foreign visitors. The highlight of the year was Lings's annual production of a Shakespeare play. His passion inspired the student cast, one of whom became an Egyptian film star. His understanding of Shakespeare's spiritual significance led, 40 years later, to his book, The Secret Of Shakespeare: His Greatest Plays Seen In The Light Of Sacred Art. In 1983, the book was selected as the best biography of Muhammad in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad. This book was also given "National Seerah Award" by the government of Pakistan. [14] [15] [16]

There is a freshness, clarity and gripping suspense throughout the book… As a text in the how and the why and the when of various revelations—both Koranic and Prophetic traditions—it is enlightening and authoritative… Our author’s familiarity with all the complicated inter-family links of tribal Arabia gives us the certainty that he knows his material thoroughly… This work should be translated into Arabic so that the whole Arab world may drink from it.’Hernandez, Aaminah (14 July 2005). "Best Biographies of the Prophet Muhammad". OnIslam . Retrieved 1 July 2013. Acclaimed worldwide as the definitive biography of the Prophet Muhammad in the English language, Martin Lings'"Muhammad: His Life Based to the Earliest Sources" is unlike any other. Based on Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries, of which some important passages are translated here for the first time, "Muhammad: His Life Based to the Earliest Sources" owes the freshness and directness of its approach to the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life.---Martin Lings' gift for narrative, and his adoption of a style which is extremely readable, allows both the simplicity and grandeur of the story to shine through. The result is a book which will be read with equal enjoyment by those already familiar with Muhammad's life and those coming to it for the first time. "Muhammad: His Life Based to the Earliest Sources" was selected as the best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad in 1983. Bal Huwa yaquutu baina al ahjari Dene Kanjeng Nabi iku koyo inten, campur karo watu, watu dudu inten Kanjeng Nabi itu laksana intan diantara bebatuan The biography has gone through many reprints in English and it has been translated and published into many languages [4] including French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Malay and Tamil.

The Secret of Shakespeare: His Greatest Plays seen in the Light of Sacred Art (1998), Quinta Essentia, distributed by Archetype, (hb), ISBN 1-870196-15-5 Splendors of Qur'an Calligraphy And Illumination (2005), Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97648-1 The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination ( World of Islam Festival Trust, 1976) ISBN 0-905035-01-1 Muhammad is a true work of art, as enthralling as the best novels with the difference that this is not fiction but fact.' -- The Islamic Quarterly His interest in the symbolism of colours found expression in his talent for gardening. From his home in Kent, he would search far and wide for a particular specimen, seeking, for example, a shade of blue that perfectly reflected the perfection of heaven.Please consider buying books at full price as a way of supporting the charitable activities of the ITS. edition The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis signed as Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din. Cambridge, Islamic Texts Society, 1992 (1st ed. 1952).