Muhammad: The Last Prophet

Muhammad: The Last Prophet is a 2002 American animated religious epic film,[1] produced by Badr International and directed by Richard Rich. The movie was released in limited cinemas in the United States and the United Kingdom. The film focuses on the early days of Islam and Muhammad.[2]

Muhammad: The Last Prophet
Promotional film poster
Directed byRichard Rich
Written byBrian Nissen
Produced byRichard Rich
Terry L. Noss
Thomas J. Tobin
Mowafak El-Harthy
StarringEli Allem
Nicholas Kadi
Narrated byBrian Nissen
Edited byJoe Campana
Music byWilliam Kidd
Production
company
Distributed byFine Media Group
Badr International
Release dates
  • November 8, 2002 (2002-11-08) (Turkey)
  • November 14, 2004 (2004-11-14) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Egypt
Lebanon
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic
Turkish

In accordance with Islamic law and tradition, Muhammad and the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali) are not depicted in the film or any of its prequels. Scenes that include Muhammad are shown from his perspective, with his words paraphrased by the narrator. The film has been approved by the Council of Al-Azhar Al-Shareef (Islamic Research Academy in Egypt) and the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council of Lebanon.

All of the characters, such as the main character Malek and the rest of his family, are fictional.

The film has been dubbed into several languages including Arabic, French, Turkish and Malay. The dialogue of the Arabic version differs from the English version of the film, and the dialogue of the Arabic version is more consistent and similar with traditional Islamic historical narratives.

Plot

The film follows Muhammad's first years as a prophet starting with Islam's beginnings in Mecca in which the Muslims are persecuted, the exodus to Medina, and ending with the Muslims' triumphant return to Mecca. A number of crucial events, such as the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uhud, the Battle of the Trench, and the Conquest of Mecca are depicted.

Consultant

Cast

List of cast members and characters of this film, as well as the prequels:

Fictional characters

Historical figures

Arabic version additional voices

Prequels

Three short prequels were released in 2012, all directed by Rich:

  • Before the Light (relating to events in Arabia before the birth of Muhammad, with his grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib, as the main character) on 24 July 2012[3]
  • Salman the Persian (the story of Salman's quest for religious enlightenment) on 24 July 2012[4]
  • Great Women of Islam (pertaining to the roles of women in Arabia before and after the birth of Islam) on 24 July 2012[5]

Reception

On Metacritic the film has a score of 47% based on reviews from 4 critics.[6]

Dana Stevens of The New York Times gave it 3 out of 5 and wrote: "Faithful to Islamic law's prohibition against representing its title character, this movie gives a prophet's-eye-view on the story."[7][8] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide gave it 2 out of 5 and described it as: "firmly within the long tradition of bland, upbeat and earnest religious instructional films."[9]

See also

References
  1. ALLYSSA LEE (8 May 2008). "Moving images of the Islamic experience". Los Angeles Times.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  3. Before the Light (Short 2012) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-12-24
  4. Salman the Persian (Short 2012) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-12-24
  5. Great Women of Islam (Short 2012) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-12-24
  6. "Muhammad: The Last Prophet". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  7. Stevens, Dana (13 November 2004). "Animated Retelling of the Birth of Islam". The New York Times.
  8. "The Village Voice: Film: Tracking Shots by ed Halter". www.villagevoice.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  9. Maitland McDonagh (2004). "MUHAMMAD: THE LAST PROPHET". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2004-12-01.
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