There are two reasons why you should read this book:. First, it is dedicated to the founder of Islam, the prophet Muhammad, who peacefully united the masses of people around him and then, as a politician and commander, created a powerful state that initiated the Arab caliphate. Secondly, it is written by the outstanding writer Washington Irving, who is called the father of American literature. In Russia, Irving is known as the author of the famous “Legends of Sleepy Hollow”, but his historical works are still virtually unknown to the domestic reader. The Life of the Prophet Muhammad was published in 1850, but despite the many studies that appeared in subsequent years, this book still remains one of the best biographies of the founder of Islam. Printed in the Russian edition of 1857 . with minor reductions. Writings of names, tribes, peoples and nationalities, geographical names, quotations from the Quran, and t. d. retained - with a number of exceptions - in the 1857 edition. Translated into Russian by the famous Slavophile Peter Kireevsky .