Muhammad the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait

Muhammad the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait is a biography of Muhammad by Mohamad Jebara, which was released on November 16, 2021. It was published by St. Martin's Press.

Unlike many traditional Islamic biographies, it is not a hagiography.

Themes
Muhammad the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait meditates over several key themes, including Muhammad’s attitude towards slavery and women's rights.

Semitic root words
Muhammad the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait has the author writing about Semitic root words. Arabic texts are traced back to their original Semitic root words, in reference to language and cultural expressions.

Release
The book is available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into six languages. There is also an audiobook edition, published by Penguin Random House.

Reception
Muhammad the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait received generally positive reviews from critics. Several critics pointed to the book's humanizing depiction. of Muhammad as balanced,

History Today published a review by Lawrence Rosen, "Most accounts of the Prophet, whether malignant or hagiographic, have been stilted and one-dimensional. Mohamad Jebara’s biography aims for somewhere between...For Westerners who read only one book on the Prophet, this version may very well alter their view of Muhammad. And if it were to be translated into the languages of the Islamic world and widely disseminated – if, in short, it were to become the popularly accepted version of the Prophet’s life and thought – it is possible that the written life of Muhammad, as he appears in Jebara’s book, might change the world once again."

The New York Times described the book as "an accessible biography of Muhammad...tracing his development from orphan to political leader and providing insights into his personal life and tastes".

Publishers Weekly's review included a quick synopsis of the book's main points, "'In this accessible debut, Islamic scholar Jebara delivers an intimate portrait of Muhammad as a spiritual figure and leader. Here, the prophet emerges as a man who “endured terrible setbacks and traumatic suffering, only to turn his brokenness into an asset, unlocking latent abilities to improve the world around him.' Jebara traces Muhammad's footsteps in the deserts of Arabia to create an endearing account of his tumultuous journey from orphan to businessman to political leader. Jebara humanizes Muhammad with stories of him doing housework and building a lover's loft for his wife Khadijah, and by considering Muhammad's personal tastes, such as his favorite color: green. Along the way, Jebara depicts Muhammad as a hero who “laid the intellectual mindset for the modern world,” and also explains the roots of Arabic words including Quran (the blossoming process), Muslims (those who repair cracks in the city wall), and Islam (the constant pursuit of completion). Those looking for an introduction to the life of the Islamic prophet would do well to start here.'"