The Praiseworthy One

"Christiane Gruber charts a territory that no serious monograph has addressed before. It will be the definitive study of the visual and material devotion to Muhammad."—Omid Safi, author of Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters

"The Praiseworthy One is an amazing manuscript that demonstrates Christiane Gruber's mastery of both medieval and modern sources, including those traditionally assigned to art history, Islamic mystical studies, and contemporary political debates on Islamic iconoclasm. She draws on the literature from both the Turkish- and Persian- speaking areas of the Islamic world from the 13th century to the present, concluding with a discussion of an exhibition in London in 2015. Every student of Islamic art history, Islamic history, and even Islamic religious studies needs to read her work."—Jere L. Bacharach, author of Islamic History Through Coins: An Analysis and Catalogue of Tenth-Century Ikhshidid Coinage

"Addressing the full range of the Prophet Muhammad's textual and visual representations, Gruber's masterful book examines the cultural imaginary that grew around "the Praiseworthy One" and its adaptations to meet the changing needs, beliefs, values, and concepts of Islamic communities across time and space. The book engages a staggering variety of literary and visual genres, which encompass descriptive, pictorial, diagrammatic and iconic modes, among others. The Praiseworthy One remains throughout judicious in its scholarship and thought provoking in its interpretations and implications. Gruber's book represents the culmination of years of research on the topic and establishes in its depth and approach a new benchmark for broader studies on Islam and the image."—David J. Roxburgh, author of The Persian Album 1400-1600: From Dispersal to Collection