Choose TWO of the following four questions to answer in essay form:
1. Discuss one specific character trait attributed to the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic
tradition. How do we see this trait portrayed in biographical accounts, in hadith reports, and
in devotional literature (Shi`ite and Sufi as well, if appropriate)? Give examples from all
these materials as assigned for this class.
2. The Prophet Muhammad is referred to in Islamic tradition as “the beloved” (al-habib), and
his followers—both his companions and later Muslims—often demonstrated more love
than fear of the Prophet. Discuss various ways in which love of the Prophet was manifested
during his own life, according to early accounts, and in later Muslim devotional beliefs and
practices.
3. After having read various portraits of the Prophet Muhammad from different perspectives,
what do you think has been most misunderstood or not sufficiently known about
Muhammad in contemporary Western or Islamic contexts (or in both). You may choose to
discuss either the contemporary Western context, or contemporary Islamic contexts (to the
extent that you are familiar with the latter), or both.
4. According to a popular Sufi saying, “Muhammad is a man, but not like other men; he is
ruby, while [other] people are stones.” How does the Islamic tradition simultaneously
portray Muhammad as “just a man,” and as standing above all other human beings?
Instructions:
• Each question you choose should be answered in a 4 page essay (8 pages total for the whole
exam).
• Double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins (all quotations longer than a single sentence
should be put in a quote box, in single spaced, 10-point font).
• Your answer to the question must be stated in summary fashion in your opening paragraph,
and the rest of the essay must be strictly organized as a series of arguments, substantiated by
the readings, to support the answer or position you have stated in your introduction.
• Answers should be based on the readings for this class, and should reflect the breadth of
material we have encountered in the class. Use of sources outside the assigned reading
materials is not encouraged, and if other sources are brought in at all, it must be in a very
limited way, in order to make a very specific point that one cannot make on the basis of the
assigned readings.
• Please be sure that your answers are well-written, with an absolute minimum of grammatical
