Prof. Joel Hayward's Books and Articles

The Muslim World Book Review: 

"The appearance of any work by British-New Zealand scholar Joel Hayward is a matter of interest and significance for those interested in history, but the breadth, scholarship and intellectual ambition of this tome make it of particular importance. … his sources are impeccable and his interpretation irreproachable. This engrossing and sympathetic study portrays the Prophet as a highly competent and reliable human being possessed of significant political and spiritual talents. … The book is wall to wall strengths. … This volume is very intensive and disciplined, compact but with a remarkably comprehensive interior. … This book is an accessible and comprehensive presentation of a complicated issue and the author successfully combines an expert account of the biography of the Prophet with a knowledgeable investigation on the subject of efficacious leadership. … I found this book absorbing, vivid, and stimulating. This is an essential addition to the literature for both students and the general reader."

— Abdullah Drury, The Muslim World Book Review, Vol. 42, No. 2 (2022), pp. 20-23.

The Leadership of Muhammad is “insightful and intellectual”. Looking “not only at the theological texts, Hayward references early Arabic sources to examine the ways that Muhammad excelled during his twenty-three years as a leader.” The book is “authoritative and informative” and the writing is “clear and accessible throughout, making it easy to comprehend for non-academic purposes … Whether you’re looking for a book of History, Islamic studies, or an interesting look into great leadership, The Leadership of Muhammad: A Historical Reconstruction has plenty to offer.”

— “Indie Books We Love”, LoveReading, 12 October 2021

From OnlineBookClub.org: 

"In The Leadership of Muhammad, Joel Hayward debunks the usual arguments regarding the reasons Muhammad was a successful leader, pointing out the logical fallacy embedded in these arguments. As a scholar of history, Hayward explains the actual reasons for the success of Muhammad as a leader. … leaving room for rational engagement. … Perhaps the most interesting part of this book for me is the concept of having an objective discussion about such a grand figure based on historical facts, rather than positive bias or negative distortion. Regardless of whether everyone agrees or disagrees, the author is bold and brilliant enough to approach things from a different angle, unafraid to be challenging. … There was nothing I disliked about this book. It was informative, intellectually stimulating, and fun. The Leadership of Muhammad earns four out of four stars."

For Reading Addicts:

"Hayward approaches the life of Muhammad with remarkable scholarly detachment and objectivity. He had previously published books on non-Islamic leaders, including Horatio Lord Nelson, and his approach to all of them is the same. Avoiding hagiography, he creates a psychologically believable portrait of Muhammad by critically interrogating the earliest sources and by explaining Muhammad’s ideas, actions and patterns of behavior in terms of the historical, geographical and cultural context in which he lived. … Hayward’s book is compactly written and argued. In only 179 tightly written pages he creates a thorough and detailed explanation of what Muhammad thought and did as a leader. He studiously avoids psychobabble and recourse to the types of modern leadership concepts and jargon that ruin so many historical accounts by making anachronistic assertions that couldn’t possibly be true. … I strongly recommend The Leadership of Muhammad. It is a ground-breaking, meticulously researched, objective account of the leadership of one of history’s most influential humans. Hayward tells us a lot in a few words, but what he reveals is highly illuminating and of wide interest.

—  Mohamed A. Amer, For Reading Addicts