The Noble Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and the Evolution of Islamic Historiography❖ The Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
The Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stands as an extraordinary event in the history of humanity and the Arabs. His ﷺ life and teachings became the central focus of Arab society. Their discussions, decisions, and ambitions all revolved around him ﷺ.
He ﷺ pulled the Arabs out of the darkness of Jāhiliyyah and united them under the light of Islam. As a result, a nation once considered insignificant rose to global prominence in morality, courage, piety, and righteous deeds.
❖ The Emergence of Historical Writing Among Arabs
Before Prophethood
Prior to the Prophethood, systematic historical writing did not exist among the Arabs.
Information was passed orally through generations, often concerning:
◈ Deeds of ancestors
◈ Lineages (Ansaab)
◈ The Kaʿbah and the Zamzam well
◈ The incident of the dam of Ma’rib
After Prophethood
The advent of the Prophet ﷺ marked the beginning of a new historical era.
The Companions (Ṣaḥābah) began to record and narrate details of:
◈ His ﷺ birth and noble life
◈ Struggles and battles (Jihād)
◈ Relations with the disbelievers
These narratives formed the core material for later Seerah and historical compilations.
❖ Seerah Writing as a Historical Discipline
The Beginning
Seerah writing originated with the muhaddithūn (scholars of Hadith) and narrators who preserved the life of the Prophet ﷺ through authenticated traditions.
◈ Among the earliest contributors were Ḥaḍrat Barā’ ibn ʿĀzib and his student Abū Isḥāq al-Sabīʿī.
◈ Imām al-Bukhārī also preserved many such narrations in his monumental work Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
The Development
Later, Ibn Isḥāq compiled the foundational work Sīrat Ibn Isḥāq, which is considered one of the earliest and most significant Seerah compilations.
Ibn Hishām edited and refined it into the well-known Sīrat Ibn Hishām, removing weak or unnecessary content and adding supplementary information.
❖ The Misconception of Orientalists Regarding Hadith
Orientalists falsely claim that Hadith literature was compiled in the 4th century AH, which is factually incorrect.
✔ In reality, the collection and authentication of Hadith began in the 1st and 2nd centuries AH, and were later organized into comprehensive compilations.
✔ The criticism and classification techniques used in Hadith sciences are among the most rigorous in historical methodology.
❖ The Science of Maghāzī (Military Expeditions): A Vital Part of Seerah
Initial Contributions
The Companions documented incidents from the battles and campaigns, and the Tābiʿīn expanded upon them.
Prominent among them was ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid early foundations for the genre of Maghāzī.
The Achievement of al-Wāqidī
Imām Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Wāqidī authored Kitāb al-Maghāzī, an important and detailed record of the Prophet’s ﷺ military campaigns.
He personally visited the battlefields to gather and verify the details.
❖ Imām Ibn Isḥāq: Founder of Seerah Literature
Works and Significance
Ibn Isḥāq structured the Seerah into three parts:
➊ Kitāb al-Mubtada’ – History of earlier Prophets
➋ Kitāb al-Mabʿath – Events from the beginning of Prophethood to the demise
➌ Kitāb al-Maghāzī – Detailed record of the Prophet’s ﷺ military expeditions
❖ Contribution of Ibn Hishām
Ibn Hishām edited Ibn Isḥāq’s work, omitting unauthenticated or irrelevant material and adding valuable commentary and information.
This made Sīrat Ibn Hishām one of the most widely accepted and enduring Seerah sources in Islamic scholarship.
❖ Conclusion
Seerah writing is a noble discipline that preserved the blessed life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and became a source of guidance for all humanity.
It is the result of the collective effort of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and Hadith scholars—who ensured through meticulous preservation that the legacy of the Prophet ﷺ would live on authentically for generations to come.
