"Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is undoubtebly one of the most influential persons in history. He is not only the founder of one of the world religions, but has served as a role model for Muslims throughout history. The records of his deeds and sayings are among the most important sources in various fields of Islamic learning, such as Islamic law, ritual, piety, Sufism, or political theory. Muhammad has been a main object of research in Western scholarship on Islam, and there is a huge amount of articles and books devoted to various aspects of his life, the sources of his life and his role in Islamic tradition. These articles, however, are widely dispersed; some can be found in more popular journals and books, others in smaller, less readily available publications. It is therefore reasonable to bring together the most important articles and book chapters on Muhammad in a four volume set. "--