Review of the book: Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters, by Omid Safi

It was sometime in December 1977 that my father took us for the first time for a visit to the city of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم . I vividly remember the instructions that he gave us on the way; we were going to the tomb of God’s most beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and therefore had to show the requisite propriety and honour due to him. All the bedtime stories that my father had told us revolved around the prophets of Allah, particularly Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and as a result, all his marks of greatness and distinction that a five year old could possibly retain in his head were in my head as well. We were also instructed on how to pay our salutations to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .We were to face the grill of the blessed tomb, say the salām chanting the known formulae which we had already been taught and finally raise our hands and say, ‚O Prophet! please pray to Allah that He may grant me faith, wisdom, knowledge … “and the list flowed on eternally. My first encounter with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had been clearly marked; in his presence the preferred way to pray was to ask him to pray for you since he was your wasīlah to Allah. In a couple of years however, things started changing. We were taught in school that one was supposed to say salāms to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم facing the blessed grill but then you turned your back to the grill, faced the Qiblah and prayed to Allah directly.