Book Review: Sunshine at Madinah, by Zakaria Bashier

I stumbled across this book in the second-hand books section of a charity shop. There was something captivating about the title and cover image. It gave the impression of being a Seerah book with a difference and it certainly delivered on that front. It's not your standard chronological telling of events from the life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Instead, the author has taken the approach of picking a few key events and themes from the Prophet's years in Madinah and he has focused on explaining and contextualising these. The core events and themes that undergo a detailed study in the book are the Constitution of Madinah drafted by the Prophet on his arrival into Madinah, the Prophet's Farewell Sermon, the role of Muslim women in the Prophet's society, and the socio-economic dimensions of the Prophet's state.

This book, published in 1990, was the third in a series of four books written by Zakaria Bashier on the life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The first two cover the Makkan period of the Prophet's life and the Hijrah respectively. The fourth is a study on peace and war in the life of the Prophet. The present book – Sunshine at Madinah – has left a good impression on me and I'll definitely be looking to read the other three in the series.

Below is a small selection of passages taken from the introduction of the book:

"... It is the Qur'an's emphasis on the human side of the Prophet that made it possible for ordinary men and women to strive to emulate him as their personal ideal..."

"... no effort should be made to conceal his ordinary human side: Muhammad was the supreme example of human excellence and accomplishment, whose life demonstrated that there is no contradiction between leading a normal human life and total devotion and commitment to the service of God..."

"... It is his highest achievement that even when he had managed to obtain uncontested rule over Arabia, the hustle and bustle of affairs of state, in war as well as peace, did not distract him from the fullest devotion to his Lord, from being ever conscious of Him..."