Examples of Islamic Depictions of Muhammad

This page includes some historical Islamic depictions of Muhammad, to illustrate our article on Islamic Figurative Art and Depictions of Muhammad.
The images are provided on this separate page so that Muslims who do not wish to see the pictures can easily avoid them. But these are all respectful depictions and were much prized by their princely Muslim owners.
Many of these illustrated manuscripts can be seen in museums around the world. Some depict the Prophet in full, while others leave him faceless or with his head engulfed in the sacred flame, representing his contact with God. The images are given in roughly chronological order.

Arab illustration of Mohammed preaching from a minbar to the earliest converts. Al-Bîrûnî, al-âthâr al-bâqiya. (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, Manuscrits Arabe 1489 fol. 5v)

The birth of Muhammad. From Jami' al-Tavarikh ("The Universal History" or "Compendium of Chronicles") written by Rashid Al-Din and illustrated in Tabriz, Persia, c. 1315. (Library of the University of Edinburgh)

Muhammad meets the monk Bahira. From Jami' al-Tavarikh ("The Universal History" or "Compendium of Chronicles") written by Rashid Al-Din and illustrated in Tabriz, Persia, c. 1315. (Library of the University of Edinburgh)

Muhammed re-dedicating the Black Stone at the Kaaba. From Jami' al-Tavarikh ("The Universal History" or "Compendium of Chronicles") written by Rashid Al-Din and illustrated in Tabriz, Persia, c. 1315. (Library of the University of Edinburgh)

An angel presenting Muhammad with a city (presumably Mecca). Illustration of the Miraj-name, Tabriz, c. 1360-70. (Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul)

Journey of Muhammad, from a copy of the Majmac al-tawarikh ("Compendium of Histories"), c1425, Afghanistan. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

During his Night Journey, Muhammad visits hell, where he views women being hung by their hair and tormented by a demon for the sin of showing their hair in public. Illustration of the Miraj-Nama, Persian, 15th century. (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris)