Martin Lings (1909–2005)

This book was quite valuable for my World Religions class project about Sufism. I cannot think my friend enough for lending me this book. It is not your average non-fiction book. This is a beautifully written book, that compiled rich information in an accessible manner. the writing style is SO BEAUTIFUL. I have consulted Titus Burckhardt's 'Introduction to Sufi Doctrine', and although his book is quite rich with information and methodical; yet the style isn't as 'magical' as Lings'.
I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the subject of Mysticism, and Sufism. This is an introductory decent dose of Sufism. I say 'introductory', but I don't mean 'simple and shallow'; no the book is quite deep.
Enjoy!
Will definitely reread it later. At times, reading it felt like a prayer, just the right book for my taste :)… (more)

This book is great and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Muhammad or the beginnings of Islam. It's very thorough, detailed, and concise. The best thing about it is that as a biography, even though is it in chronological order, it starts telling the tale of Muhammad from -before- his birth. This fact alone gives a lot of insight and helps establish the setting of the time period that he was born into. Martin Lings as well is very talented. His eloquent way of writing this biography made this book actually fun to read, whereas many people (like myself) find that biographies get very long, boring, and difficult to read.… (more)