Lesley Hazleton reported on the Middle East from Jerusalem for more than a dozen years, and has written for Time, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and Harper’s, among other publications. Her last book, After the Prophet, was a finalist for the PEN-USA book Award. Hazleton lives in Seattle.
"A rich biography… Those who read it will come away well prepared
to understand the prophet whose message, 14 centuries later, is the
creed of more than a billion and a half people.” –The San
Francisco Chronicle
"This book offers a welcome chance to read [Muhammed's] life story
in a more familiar and accessible form than the Islamic sources…
The First Muslim succeeds. It makes its subject vivid and
immediate." –Hari Kunzru, The New York Times Book Review
"Richly detailed and beautifully written... [Hazleton] is able to
do with words what is almost never attempted in pictures...
indispensable." –The Seattle Times
"Like her subject, Hazleton brilliantly navigates 'the vast and
often terrifying arena in which politics and religion intersect,'
revealing the deep humanity of faith." –More Magazine
"The book's focus is an effort to portray the prophet's unique
circumstances and recognizable humanity… Hazleton's biography
covers the broad strokes of his life with fairness—she doesn't
gloss over his more fallible moments—and insight." –NPR
"Hazleton is both a good storyteller and writer. Here she has
brought to life a man about whom much has been written and whom
millions revere, yet about whose actual life very little is known…
A very readable book." –The American Spectator
"This story is deep with details not only of Muhammad's life
journey, but with historic information about the culture of the
times in Arabia... filled with rich color of the locations,
culture, and people; it is a book plentiful with tales of
Muhammad's life that follow logically from orphan to religious
leader, but more than that, it enriches us with the detail of a
time and place in history." –The New York Journal of Books
“[A] humane, audacious biography… An elegant narrative crafted for
open-minded readers… a vivid canvas of Arabian life in the early
seventh century.” –Ha’aretz
"A genuine attempt to try to understand the human experience
Muhammad went through… Hazleton queries and questions in a
way that will resonate with a non-academic audience trying to come
to grips with the fastest growing religion on the planet. It is a
welcome antidote to the barrage of hatred and distortion to which
Islam has been subjected since the early Bush years, an opportunity
for balance to be restored and for those of us who don’t subscribe
to the extremes to regain the middle ground.” –Guernica
"Hazleton... is in the revelation business: She's out to consider
Muhammad as a mortal human, a man who lived and died and was
vulnerable... A world-class history teacher who contextualizes the
realities of [his] far-off times... [she] can effortlessly distill
years of research into a few conversational sentences." –The
Stranger
"A strikingly nuanced portrait of how Muhammad the man—fallible and
complex—became Muhammad the prophet… With the insight of a
psychologist and the details of a historian, Hazleton portrays a
Muhammad both divinely inspired and deeply human." –Spirituality
and Health
"Among the spate of recent biographies of the Prophet Muhammad,
this one stands out. Hazleton, a former Jerusalem-based journalist
and a psychologist, brings both of her professional skills to bear
in this perceptive work, examining Muhammad’s life within its
historical context and offering insights into the struggles of the
early Muslim community. Indeed, 'The First Muslim' might be
considered a prequel to her celebrated 'After the Prophet: The Epic
Story of the Shia-Sunni Split'. Hazleton’s mining of the earliest
biographies of Muhammad has yielded anecdotes that even scholarly
Muslims may not know (although the absence of discussion of
Muhammad’s last sermon may be missed by some). 'The First Muslim'
is a beautifully written and dynamic work that Muslims, those
wanting to learn more about Islam, and lovers of the English
language will enjoy." — Asma Hasan, Saudi Aramco World
"Vivid and engaging... a fluid and captivating introduction that
will be invaluable for those seeking a greater understanding of
Islam's message and its messenger." –Publishers Weekly
"Winning... a level-headed, elegant look at the life of the prophet
amid the making of a legend." –Kirkus
“Beautifully written, The First Muslim respectfully humanizes the
inimitable prophet of Islam and sees him whole." –Cornel West,
Professor, Union Theological Seminary, and Professor Emeritus,
Princeton University
“Hazleton sets her keen eye and her sculpted prose on one of the
most fascinating and misunderstood figures in history. What she
uncovers is a complex yet utterly relatable man whose personal
trials and triumphs changed the course of history. This is a
wonderful book.” –Reza Aslan, author of No God but God and How to
Win a Cosmic War
"Hazleton has done the seemingly impossible: rendered into human
proportions a man who is more often the subject of pious veneration
or political vitriol. This is the most readable, engaging study of
Muhammad I have ever come across." –G. Willow Wilson, author
of Alif the Unseen and The Butterfly Mosque
"The First Muslim tells the mostly unknown story of the prophet
Muhammad in a masterful, accessible, and engaging way.
Hazleton's empathetic touch softens her rigorous scholarship and
research as she crucially demystifies both the man himself and the
birth of Islam. An absolute delight (and indispensable) for
believers and non-believers alike." –Hooman Majd, author of The
Ayatollah Begs to Differ and The Ayatollahs' Democracy
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