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Mecca: From Before Genesis Until Now
In this, one of his last works, Martin Lings discusses the significance of the pilgrimage to Mecca, made annually by several million Muslims, in the light of the tradition of Abraham. Drawing upon his own experience of performing the pilgrimage first in 1946 and then in 1978, as well referring to the traditional sources, he considers the timeless spiritual meaning of the Hajj, which was proclaimed and established by Abraham and Ishmael and renewed by the Prophet Muhammad, in the context of its long history and comes to some surprising conclusions.
56 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2004
About the author
Martin Lings
116 books476 followersMartin Lings was an English writer and scholar, a student and follower of Frithjof Schuon, and Shakespearean scholar. He is best known as the author of a very popular and positively reviewed biography, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, first published in 1983 and still in print.
Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment.
Lings attended Clifton College and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford (BA (Oxon) English Language and Literature). At Magdalen he was a student of C. S. Lewis, who would become a close friend of his. After graduating from Oxford Lings went to Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.
For Lings himself, however, the most important event that occurred while he was at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the René Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938 Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.
In 1939 Lings went to Cairo, Egypt in order to visit a friend of his who was an assistant of René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying and learned Arabic.
Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English teacher at the University of Cairo and produced Shakespeare plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.
Upon returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi (see Sufi studies). After completing his doctorate, Lings worked at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970-73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion.
A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well-regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.[2] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died in 2005.
In addition to his writings on Sufism, Lings was a Shakespeare scholar. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings.
Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment.
Lings attended Clifton College and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford (BA (Oxon) English Language and Literature). At Magdalen he was a student of C. S. Lewis, who would become a close friend of his. After graduating from Oxford Lings went to Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.
For Lings himself, however, the most important event that occurred while he was at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the René Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938 Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.
In 1939 Lings went to Cairo, Egypt in order to visit a friend of his who was an assistant of René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying and learned Arabic.
Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English teacher at the University of Cairo and produced Shakespeare plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.
Upon returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi (see Sufi studies). After completing his doctorate, Lings worked at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970-73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion.
A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well-regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.[2] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died in 2005.
In addition to his writings on Sufism, Lings was a Shakespeare scholar. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 26, 2016
سال گذشته هنگام خواندن کتاب درآمدی بر تصوف و عرفان اسلامی ویلیام چیتیک بود که با نام اسلامی مارتین لینگز ، ابوبکر سراج الدین، آشنا شدم ، شکسپیر پژوهی که بعدها تحت تاثیر تعلیمات سنت گرایانی چون رنه گنون و فریتیوف شوان به اسلام روی آورد و لذا با کمی جستجو به شدت علاقه مند مطالعه آثارش شدم. کتاب محمد(ص) بر پایه کهن ترین منابع لینگز که از آن به شاهکار او یاد می شود را بنا داشتم در طول دوره آموزشی بخوانم که به دلایلی امکانش فراهم نشد با این حال مدتی پیش که از وجود این کتابش باخبر شدم به دلیل حجم کم کتاب و به منظور تجربه ی قلمش آن را تهیه کردم و خواندم
قلم لینگز بشدت صمیمی ، دلنشین و محققانه است و عزم ام را برای مطالعه ی هر چه سریع تر کتاب محمد جزم کرد.
یکی از نکات جالب کتاب درباره علت روی آوردن مردم مکه به بت پرستی بعد از پایه گذاری شهر مکه و خانه کعبه به عنوان مکان عبادت یکتاپرستان توسط حضرت ابراهیم بود.قبلا جایی خوانده بودم که مردمی که به زیارت می آمدند هنگام بازگشت تکه سنگی و یا
چیزی مثل آن را به نشانه تبرک به شهر و ولایت خود می بردند و آن را بسیار محترم و گرامی میشمردند که طی سال ها علت اصلی این گرامی داشتن به دست فراموشی سپرده می شد و سنگها و یادگاری ها فی نفسه هدف و محترم شمرده می شدند. در کتاب زاویه ای دیگر از این داستان نیز روایت شده است. این بخش را از کتاب بخوانید:
قلم لینگز بشدت صمیمی ، دلنشین و محققانه است و عزم ام را برای مطالعه ی هر چه سریع تر کتاب محمد جزم کرد.
یکی از نکات جالب کتاب درباره علت روی آوردن مردم مکه به بت پرستی بعد از پایه گذاری شهر مکه و خانه کعبه به عنوان مکان عبادت یکتاپرستان توسط حضرت ابراهیم بود.قبلا جایی خوانده بودم که مردمی که به زیارت می آمدند هنگام بازگشت تکه سنگی و یا
چیزی مثل آن را به نشانه تبرک به شهر و ولایت خود می بردند و آن را بسیار محترم و گرامی میشمردند که طی سال ها علت اصلی این گرامی داشتن به دست فراموشی سپرده می شد و سنگها و یادگاری ها فی نفسه هدف و محترم شمرده می شدند. در کتاب زاویه ای دیگر از این داستان نیز روایت شده است. این بخش را از کتاب بخوانید:
یکی از بزرگترین خطرات موجود، بت هایی بودند که گاه زائران قبایل مجاور با خود می آوردند و با اطمینان از توانایی عظیم بت در محافظت از بلایا و یا جذب منافع دیگر ، آن را در ازای مهمان نوازی ای که اهل مکه به آنها نشان داده بودند به عنوان هدیه به ایشان تقدیم می کردند.
February 22, 2025
نویسنده یک انگلیسیِ مسلمانشدهست و کتابِ مؤمنانهایه. چیزِ خیلی ویژهای نداشت، ولی باعثِ تسکینِ سردردِ این عصرِ جمعه شد.
October 26, 2013
Livre intéressant sur l'histoire de la Mecque et de la Ka'aba avec vers la fin une recherche spirituelle et une tentative d'explication symbolique de la Ka'aba et de son importance pour le musulman. Avec le livre de Martin Lings, cette édition propose en annexe Le chapitre de la Ka'aba de Titus Burckardt dans son livre l'art de l'islam. Très intéressante analyse symbolique de la Ka'aba. Pour ceux qui sont à la recherche de profondeur dans les actes du Hajj, lisez ce livre, c'est une très bonne introduction !
December 30, 2019
Mecca is not just the holy city of muslims. It's the holy city of human. And Hajj, is not just a journey to the deserts of some tropical land. It's a pilgrimage to the inception of human, to the beginning of ourselves.
February 21, 2015
Martin Lings ile tanışmam, Hz. Muhammed'in Hayatı adlı siyeri ile idi. Şahane bir eser yazmıştı. Abartısız ve objektif olarak gerçeklerin olduğu gibi anlatılmıştı siyerde. Başlangıçtan Günümüze Mekke eseri ayrı bir mükemmellikte ve sadelikte yazılmış. Çok kısa olmasına rağmen Mekke'nin tarihini o kadar güzel anlatılmış ki hayran olmamak elde değil.
Mekke'nin asıl isminin, Davud'a gönderilen Zebur'an göre, Beke imiş. Zamanla arap kabilerinin dil şürçmeleriyle Beke Mekke olarak değişiyor. Mekke'nin İslam tarihinde Hz.İbrahim'in şehri olarak kabul edilirmiş. Medine'de Hz.Muhammed'in. Mekke'de Hac'ın M.Ö 2030 yılından beri yapıldığını ve diğer mukaddes toprak olan Küdüs'ün aslında Mekke'den 1000 yıl sonra ortaya çıktığını, Peygamberimizin Amcası ve koruyucusu olan Abdulmuttalib'in aslında gerçek isminin Şeybe olduğunun ve Abdulmuttalib isminin Muttalibin kölesi anlamına geldiğini ve daha fazlası...Herkese tavsiye ederim...
Önce Kelam vardı, Kelam Tanrı nezdindeydi. Kelam Tanrıydı.
Mekke'nin asıl isminin, Davud'a gönderilen Zebur'an göre, Beke imiş. Zamanla arap kabilerinin dil şürçmeleriyle Beke Mekke olarak değişiyor. Mekke'nin İslam tarihinde Hz.İbrahim'in şehri olarak kabul edilirmiş. Medine'de Hz.Muhammed'in. Mekke'de Hac'ın M.Ö 2030 yılından beri yapıldığını ve diğer mukaddes toprak olan Küdüs'ün aslında Mekke'den 1000 yıl sonra ortaya çıktığını, Peygamberimizin Amcası ve koruyucusu olan Abdulmuttalib'in aslında gerçek isminin Şeybe olduğunun ve Abdulmuttalib isminin Muttalibin kölesi anlamına geldiğini ve daha fazlası...Herkese tavsiye ederim...
Önce Kelam vardı, Kelam Tanrı nezdindeydi. Kelam Tanrıydı.
January 9, 2026
Lings has composed what can only be described as a love letter to the holiest and most ancient city of God, Makkah al-Mukarramah. This is a beautiful pamphlet outlining the sacred Abrahamic history of Mecca, also known as Becca. He skillfully elucidates the city’s importance by drawing on the the life stories of Prophet Abraham (may peace be upon him) and Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him) - as well as by quoting sacred revelatory texts.
As is expected of a Shakespearean scholar, Lings writes beautifully. I particularly enjoyed the excerpt of a letter he wrote while on the Pilgrimage that he includes in this piece. I would recommend this to those considering making pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah, as a form of literary inspiration.
As is expected of a Shakespearean scholar, Lings writes beautifully. I particularly enjoyed the excerpt of a letter he wrote while on the Pilgrimage that he includes in this piece. I would recommend this to those considering making pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah, as a form of literary inspiration.
November 21, 2017
Benim blog gibi kisa ve oz bir kitap. Cok iyi, sadece cevirisi fazla Arapca kelime oldugu icin bazi kavramlari anlayamadim. Ve Muslumanlik hakkinda boyle bir kitabin yillardir yazilmamis ve bu okudugum kitabin da Ingiliz bir yazar tarafindan yazilmis olmasi utanc verici. Cahillik kotu sey.
September 11, 2019
Brief information on Mecca's history. For better understanding should be read together with Lings's "Muhammad".
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews