1. Additional research was needed to locate the historically verified facts about Muhammad's early life and investigate what other early biographies of Muhammad contained. What differences and similarities exist in these early biographies? Are they dependent upon each other for material? Material about the author's background was needed. Can the sources for the stories be identified and verified? With regard to the Battle of Yarmuk, additional research was needed understand the Byzantine Empire in the seventh century and the reign of Heraclius. What was the situation in the Levant and Middle East which caused much of the local population to dislike Byzantine rule and welcome the Islamic expansion into the region? What were Byzantine accounts of the battle like? How did the military tactics of the Islamic forces compare with that of the Byzantines? 

2. In order to make the texts relevant in the classroom, I would supply information about or have students research the historical, cultural and religious context of Arabia and the Middle East. Students would need to understand the importance of certain individuals in history who have had significant impacts on events during their lifetimes and the interplay between the individual and the social, religious, and economic context. The importance of military conflicts and their results would be addressed. There are a number of "game changing" battles in human existence. Students have to analyze how different cultures interpret events and present historical accounts. What factors would explain why there are differing accounts of the same event? These texts would be important to students of Muslim background which would help them understand their religious and historical heritage. 

3. I would share the verified facts of Muhammad's early life, a short overview of the Byzantine Empire, a short biographical account of Heraclius, material about life in Arabia in during the time of Muhammad. I would also share materials referenced in 2. above. 

4. To contextualize these two sources in a larger unit of Medieval History I would compare these to similar accounts of the lives of saints and battles from the Latin Western Roman Empire and Greek Eastern Roman Empire. I would attempt to find Jewish sources from this time period and use these to compare and contrast them with these Islamic sources.