His most widely read book sits very conspicuously on the shelves of many a Muslim home - its bright blue jacket against which is the white lettering of the title 'Muhammad: His life based on the earliest sources'.

When news of Ling's passing circulated in cyberspace recently, I learnt that his biography of the Prophet of Islam has touched the lives of quite a number of friends, whose frank admissions rode on the eulogy by a Muslim from North America grateful that his life has been equally transformed.

The biography combines light scholarship and factual accuracy with what Muslims traditionally expect of a narration of the Prophet's life - a degree of respect and reverence for his person. He does away with extensive bibliography and footnotes despite what the title suggests ('based on his earliest sources') - not for want of scholarship, for Lings is more than capable of that, given his mastery of Arabic. For many years, he was keeper of Arabic manuscripts in the British Museum and later the British Library.

Instead he re-tells the familiar events of the Prophet's life in a narrative that is refreshingly simple but in such a beautiful language that his humanity shone through. Many readers must have had teary-eyed moments when reading some of the passages that recounted the hardship and tribulations of his early Mecca years.

Lings has filled a void for those Western-educated Muslims wishing to have a fresh start at understanding Muhammad, God's last messenger but who was also a loving husband and father, a loyal companion, a leader of his community, respected adversary and many more. Otherwise one would have to wade through Guillaume's translation of Ibn Ishaq's voluminous 'Life of Muhammad', with its convoluted text and style.