Michael Lecker is Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work focuses on the social and political history of early Islam, with a particular emphasis on prosopography, and on the biography of Muhammad.
Muslims, Jews and Pagans examines in much detail the available source material on the 'Āliya area south of Medina on the eve of Islam and at the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. It provides part of the necessary background for the study of the Prophet's history by utilizing in addition to the Prophet's biographies, various texts about the history, geography and inhabitants of this area.