The Life of Muhammad

Viewing Guide for BBC Two The Life of Muhammad, episode 2

Key Terms: Rageh Omaar(host of this series), Ziauddin Sardar and Faris Kermani (writer and director of this documentary), Muhammad’s night journey, importance of Jerusalem, milk, five daily prayers, stoic non-violent resistance, ‘year of sorrows,’ yathrib, the secret agreement, exodus from Mecca/the hijra, Medina, the call to prayer, Bilal/slavery, minaret and role of mosque, fusing of political and religious leadership roles, the constitution of Medina, ummah, verses about self-defense, ‘war is deceit,’ attack on Qur’aysh caravan/battle of Badr, direction of prayers/qibla, battle of the trench, Banu Qurayza, “people of the book”

Short Answer Questions:

Good answers will be a strong paragraph of 5-10 sentences, with specific information from the film.

1. What controversy over the nature of the night journey is discussed? What are the implications of the night journey? Which scholars comment take which positions? How is it related to the five daily prayers? How is the night journey related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts of the last 100 years?

2. What was the significance of the hijra? Give at least 2 or three significant features and explain them.

3. What are the various views of the constitution of Medina presented in the documentary? Summarize the different positions, and the arguments each scholar presents. What are the stakes in these arguments?

4. What are the various views of the interpretation of Qur’anic verses about self-defense presented in the documentary? Summarize the different positions, and the arguments each scholar presents. What are the stakes in these arguments?

5. What are the implications of Muhammad’s changing the direction of prayers presented in the documentary? Summarize the challenges. What are the stakes in this decision for the future of the religion? Why do you think the documentary spends time on this topic?

6. What are the various views of the killing of the Banu Qurayza presented in the documentary? Summarize the different positions, and the arguments each scholar presents. What are the stakes in these arguments?

7. What would you say is the overall goal of Ziauddin Sardar and Faris Kermani in this episode? What are a couple of secondary goals of this episode? What do you think of the episode overall?

8. What images from the episode are most striking to you? Choose 3 or four and describe them. What confusions or difficulties do you have from the documentary (all three episodes.) Choose three or four and describe them, and explain the nature of your confusion or difficulty.