A Critical Study of “The Messenger: The Life of Muḥammad” by RVC Bodley

Abstract

Abstract Hundreds of publications written in various Western languages throughout Europe at the end of the 19th century followed a generally negative trend. However, in the 20th century, orientalists emerged on the scene, nailing the plank of their predecessors. They educated their people about Islamic realities that they were still unaware of through their in-depth studies of Islam. After a thorough examination of the Qur'ān, Hadīth, and other Islamic knowledge sources, Islam was produced on these strong foundations. Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley (1892–1970) was a writer of 19 compositions, a scriptwriter, biographer, and an official in the British Army. Before the First World War, he traveled to Kashmir while serving in the military. On the counsel of Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), he voyaged to Algeria and the Sahara desert where he went through seven years among the Arabian migrants. During his stay in Kashmir and the Sahara desert, he found the opportunity to learn about Islam and the Prophet of Islam (ﷺ). So on his arrival to England he chose to compose the history of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ). In this article, a critical analysis of his writing “The Messenger, The Life of Muḥammad” (ﷺ) has been presented.