Muhammad at Mecca (book)

Muhammad at Mecca is a book about the Islamic prophet Muhammad's life in Mecca written by the non-Muslim Islamic scholar William Montgomery Watt.

It was first released by Oxford University Press in 1953.

Muhammad at Medina is its sequel.

Contents

• Introduction
• I. The Arabian Background
  • 1. Economic Basis
  • 2. Meccan Politics
  • 3. The Social and Moral Background
  • 4. The Religious and Intellectual Background
• II. Muhammad's Early Life and Prophetical Call
  • 1. Muhammad's Ancestry
  • 2. Birth and Early Years
  • 3. Marriage with Khadijah
  • 4. The Call to be a Prophet
  • 5. The Form of Muhammad's Prophetic Consciousness
  • 6. The Chronology of the Meccan Period
• III. The Primary Message
  • 1. The Dating of the Qur'an
  • 2. The Contents of the Early Passages
  • 3. The Relevance of the Message to the Contemporary Situation
  • 4. Further Reflections
• IV. The First Muslims
  • 1. Traditional Accounts of the Early Converts
  • 2. Survey of the Eariest Muslims
  • 3. The Appeal of Muhammad's Message
• V. The Growth of Opposition
  • 1. The Beginning of Opposition; the 'Satanic Verses'
  • 2. The Abyssinian Affair
  • 3. The Manoeuvres of the Opposition
  • 4. The Witness of the Qur'an
  • 5. The Leaders of the Opposition and their Motives
• VI. Expanding Horizons
  • 1. The Deterioration in Muhammad's Position
  • 2. The Visit to at-Ta'if
  • 3. Approaches to the Nomadic Tribes
  • 4. Negotiations with Medina
  • 5. The Hijrah
  • 6. The Meccan Achievement
• Excursus
  • A. The Ahabish
  • B. Arabian Monotheism and Judaeo-Christian Influence
  • C. The Hanifs
  • D. Tazakka, &c.
  • E. List of Meccan Muslims and Pagans
  • F. The Traditions of 'Urwah
  • G. The Emigration to Abyssinia; the various Lists
  • H. The Return of the Emigrants from Abyssinia
• Index

Editions

• 1993: Kazi Pubns Inc, ISBN 0-19-577277-6
• 2004: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-577278-4