The sixth volume of the translation of al-Ṭabarī's History deals with the ancestors of Muḥammad, with his own early life, and then with his prophetic mission up to the time of his Hijrah or emigration to Medina. The topics covered mean that this volume is of great importance both for the career of Muhammad himself and for the early history of Islam. Al-Ṭabarī was familiar with, and made use of, the main early source of...