Hello /r/askhistorians,
I searched, but could not find a post for what I wanted to ask (my apologies if there is one, and if so, please link to the previous discussion so that I may read it).
I am looking for information on the Prophet Muhammad as a statesman.
[Disclosure: I am writing an essay (brief, 3000 to 4000ish words) although it is not for school or anything, it is for a community project.]
The general topics I have chosen to base my essay on are:
Muhammad (pbuh)'s foreign policy: How did he deal with foreign nations and leaders, peacetime and war, and what are the pros (and cons) of his approaches. Diplomatic envoys, relations, anything of the sort.
Internal affairs: nation building, social rights, legal rights and responsibilities of leaders and of citizens, the economic system. A good statesman/leader should lead his own state/peoples with good policies etc.
Treaties and etc: Examples of the treaties between his own peoples, former enemies, other nations etc. What were the benefits of such deals for lasting peace and lasting relations between involved parties.
Those are the general lines of thought that I have, I was hoping if any of you could provide me with information or research links, or if you have any other thoughts on things which I should include. I have my father helping me but unfortunately almost all of his books and sources aren't in English which becomes a problem for me, and I don't want to bother him all day for translations etc.
Additionally, a small request (I hope this is within the rules): wherever possible, could you provide me with a citation or a link? I will need to cite everything I discuss in my essay and it would save me time (I'm kinda lazy :P)
Thank you to everyone for all of your input and answers and thank you for taking the time to respond. I hope you have a wonderful day :)
A good starting point -although quite dated - is W. Montgomery Watt's Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. It is the book that the usual question assigned by professors is born from ("How was Muhammad both Prophet and Statesman?"), although it definitely has clear limitations (Watt usually fails to look as critically as others as the traditional narrative, and is a bit apologetic). You can read a bit here.
Aside from that, focusing on /u/White__Velvet's suggestion of the Constitution of Medina is definitely where to focus much of your efforts, as it is generally considered by modern scholars to be one of the few very likely early documents we have. Both Michael Lecker (The Constitution of Medina: Muhammad's First Legal Document) and R. B. Serjeant (The Constitution of Medina) have written on it.
I don't know how much time you have, but I would recommend The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad by Lesley Hazleton. I read it last year and it goes into quite a bit of detail regarding the Prophet's social, political, and military roles. Depending on the amount of time you have, it is also quite succinct at about 400 pages. A word of warning, it is unafraid to criticize the Prophet's policies or actions, notably the treatment of the Jewish tribes of Medina.
I would also highly recommend reading the Constitution of Medina, which details the social and political contract established between the Prophet and the peoples of Medina. In essence, it is the founding document of the world's first Islamic state.
Obviously, this is a huge topic and these are just the first resources that leapt to my mind. Hope this helps!