"This is a vivid account of a month-long retreat in the Prophet?s Mosque in Madinah. The luminous details of this sojourn (Ramadan 1418/December 1997-January 1998) in Islam?s second-most sacred mosque are superimposed on the historical events that shaped the Muslim community during its initial formative period. Numerous episodes from the life of the Prophet form the backdrop for the slow unfolding of a narrative filled with intense reflections on contemporary Muslim life. Woven into the tapestry of this unique book are the desires, hopes, fears, and spiritual struggles of many pilgrims who were present during the month of Ramadan in the Mosque, fourteen hundred and eighteen years after it was built by Prophet Muhammad and his Companions."