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The idea itself is daunting: How do you make a film about the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)? There are some seemingly insurmountable challenges, the least of which is creating a film about a man without showing his image. But Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, which airs Wednesday December 18 on PBS, uses classic and creative tactics to touch on the major points of the Prophet's (pbuh) life and how his example plays out for American Muslims today.
The two-hour film begins with his birth and presents the familiar history most Muslims hear in school or at their parents or grandparents' knees. In that respect, many Muslims stand to gain little new information. But the documentary, produced by Alex Kronemer and Michael Wolfe, excels in tying the Prophet's (pbuh) legacy to modern American Muslims. The key is in the title .
In a mere 23 years the Prophet changed world history in a profound way that ripples strongly today. Here is a man, orphaned as a child, raised by his uncle who married a widow 15 years his senior and proceeded to live a peaceful life. Then at the age of 40, though he could neither read nor write, he received the revelation of Allah (swt) and became the last Prophet (pbuh). And from there began a journey like no other that continues today in the hearts of Muslims the world over.
But his fascinating life and the word of Allah (swt) as revealed to him are relatively unknown to the larger world audience. For them, namely American non-Muslims, the documentary is a goldmine in its simple, honest timeline look at the Prophet's life and how Muslims today draw upon his wisdom and actions in their daily existences.
As the adhan (call to prayer) rings out in the beginning of the film, the camera focuses on thousands of pilgrims garbed in white praying in Makkah during Hajj. Their unison is awesome to behold. That unity seems to stem from reverence for Allah (swt) and respect for the Prophet (pbuh), with an oft-quoted phrase as the benchmark for his singular life: “I never saw before or after him – the like of him.”
The Prophet (pbuh), born Muhammad bin Abdullah in 570 A.D., came into a time when Makkah had no common law, religion or central government. In his extraordinary some 60-years of life, he served as a statesman, general and policy writer in addition to his Prophethood.
But what made him most unique as compared to other prophets was as author Karen Armstrong says, “Muhammad is the perfect man, but not like Christians did to Jesus.” He never asked to be worshiped, only to worship Allah (swt), she adds.
Armstrong is one of several gifted writers, historians, professors and scholars and regular Muslims interviewed for the documentary. Indeed through the strong interviews, ample Islamic artwork and shots of modern Muslim life, the viewer gets a true sense of the urgent, dangerous and wonderful time Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) lived through.
But more remarkable than the historical interviews are the effective diversions into the lives of various American Muslims who follow the Prophet's (pbuh) example and incorporate his message in their daily way of life.
At key moments in the Prophet's (pbuh) history, the film switches gears to Muslims today. We meet Kevin James, a fire marshal in Brooklyn, NY who converted to Islam as a young man; Daisy Khan, an architect in New York who organized a Muslim artists program in response to September 11 th ; and Najah Bazzy, a critical care nurse in Dearborn, MI, among others.
These segments, though sometimes distracting from the timeline of the Prophet's (pbuh) life, provide the key elements in explaining his legacy as it unfolds today. Most clever are the segues from these Muslims' lives to various points in the Prophet's (pbuh) life.
For non-Muslims, these interviews may be a more compelling argument for the greatness and uniqueness of the Prophet (pbuh) than his astonishing life itself. To see American Muslims who are a vital part of society with such love and respect for the Prophet (pbuh) is a true gift of enlightenment.
But in other respects the documentary sometimes stretches itself too thin at times in trying to address common misconceptions. It walks a fine line between cleverly deconstructing stereotypes (like why Muslim men are granted up to four wives or the true meaning of jihad) and not providing enough information.
Frankly, two hours are not enough to cover these things in addition to telling the Prophet's (pbuh) story. But as Wolfe said in an interview with Islam Online, “This is a television program with all the limitations of the medium, including a need to compress data and distill information. Two hours may seem like a long time, but it is not much time at all when you are charged with telling such a rich story.”
For all the buzz surrounding Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, Wolfe and Kronemer have aptly risen to the occasion. As Wolfe says, “If we'd had another two years, I suspect the film would be more vivid than it is. I hope it opens the way for others to follow and do much better films soon.”
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophetairs Wednesday, Dec. 18 th at 9 p.m. on more than 900 PBS affiliates. Visit www.pbs.org for more information.
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