[This a summary of Sulayman Sertkaya’s article ‘A Critical and Historical Overview of the Sīrah Genre from the Classical to the Modern Period’. From the journal ‘Religions’ (2022, pp.1-21), summarised by Mahmuda Jannath.]
Different approaches to sīrah evolved in both Muslim and non-Muslim worlds over centuries:
- Muslim scholars focus on the exact details of his biography; certain incidents which happened and why they occurred, his leadership, his teachings, and other aspects of his life as a role model and lessons that can be taken from it.
- Non-Muslims: Some are extremely critical, and almost ridicule and slander the Prophet ﷺ, whilst others are more authentic and genuine.
Sources:
The sources of sīrah (which are mainly Arabic) have a critical role in the way sīrah is approached.
Interactions with Muslims, scientific developments, and globalisation have an impact on how sīrah is perceived.
Sīrah (plural: siyar):
- Comes from ‘s-y-r’ – route, approach, behaviour, lifestyle, state, conduct, tradition and morals, character, and life story of a person. The ‘Sīrah’ is a discipline with its own characteristics which examines, relates, and consists of works on the Prophet. Some scholars say ‘Sīrah‘ was first used by Ibn Hishām – until the 1st half of the 2nd century, and it consisted of stories of maghāzī (battles). Others claim Zuhrī already applied maghāzī to the word sīrah – used it as a synonym
Maghāzī:
- Meaning ‘battle’, ‘battles’, or ‘stories of battles’.
- Generally it is used to refer to the history of the armed forces (ghazwa and sariyyah).
Motivation for Islamic scholars:
- Prophet’s key position in Islam
- Qur’ān mentions obedience to Allah and the Prophet ﷺ, and the duty of conveying His message, character, and personality which puts him at the forefront of religion
- Important incidents in his life
- Events concerning – directly or indirectly – the Prophet ﷺ or his companions
As a result, Muslims made a great effort to know about the Prophet ﷺ and introduce him to others.
Abdullāh Ibn Abbās (Prophet ﷺ’s cousin) tried to learn verses of the Qur’ān relating to sīrah and maghāzī since his childhood by visiting different Sahābas. It was said that his interest began from the Qur’ān.
Matters concerning sīrah and maghāzī are mentioned in the Qur’ān, Hādīth, first materials of sīrah, and the works on asbāb al-nuzūl. Qussās from the Tābi’ūn era wrote tales and poetry on the sīrah and maghāzī which were then added to the earlier sīrah works. The personality of the Prophet, his battles, those who took part, his victories, etc. are related in the Qur’ān, Hadīth, and words of the Sahābas. Books written on the ansāb (genealogy) emphasise his noble lineage, especially due to his roots which can be traced back to Prophet Ibrāhīm (عليه وسلام), and the fact that he belonged to the Quraysh (a tribe) and Hashīmī family.
The following matters also added interest to the sīrah:
- Resolution of legal and political problems
- Acceptance of hijra as starting date of the Islamic calendar
- The need to obtain information on the lives of Sahābas for the establishment of dīwān (council of state)
- Political and religious disagreements during and after the Uthmani caliphate
- Relationships with non-Muslims as a result of victories and conquests
- Various debates on religion.
Every aspect of the Prophet ﷺ’s life from the agreements he made with the Jews and polytheists, letters sent to neighboring countries, complaints to tax officers, his relationship with sahabas and mutual community, etc – was collected in great detail possible and recorded as part of the sources of sīrah literature.
Studies on sīrah and maghāzī began with the sahabas and carried on through their children and followers. Zayd al-‘Ābidīn, son of Husayn (رضي الله عنه), great-grandson of the prophet ﷺ said: ‘we learned of the maghāzī of the prophet ﷺ in the same way we learnt the chapters of the Qur’ān’ – indicating the importance of this practice.
Ka’b ibn Al-Ahbār, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Salām, Wahab Bin Munabbih, who came from the Ahl al-Kitāb, understood the need for Muslims to research. Early stages integrated areas such as creation and knowledge of previous scriptures and prophets.
The first person to start anything serious in regards to Sīrah was Urwa bin Zubayr, the nephew of Aishah (رضي الله عنها), he received hadith from many Sahāba, and in particular his aunt. He was the initiator and founder of the disciplines of sīrah and maghāzī, recording knowledge of sīrah, preventing material from being lost or mislaid, laying foundations of sīrah methodology, writing the first letters and books on sīrah. His letters were used by later scholars as foundational sources. His famous student Zuhrī, and his son Hishām, co-founded the methodology of sīrah writings, which was passed down and continued to be developed.
Thereafter came Shurahbīl ibn Sa’d who met many sahaba, did various works on sīrah, and was well known for certain narratives that can’t be found elsewhere. ‘Āsim ibn ‘Umar ibn Qatādah taught sīrah and maghāzī, as well as the life stories of the sahaba at the Damascus Masjid during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn Abd Al-‘Azīz. Many of his narratives were transmitted through Wāqidī, Ibn Sa’d, Tabarī, and one of his students Ibn Ishāq. Abdullāh Ibn Abū Bakr ibn Hazm recorded many topics from his great-grandfather ‘Amr ibn Hazm,
After these prominent scholars, Zuhrī was at the forefront, employed by Umar ibn Abd Al-‘Aziz to collect and officially document hadith, he also wrote a corpus that his students were able to access, who then went on to write on sīrah and maghāzī. Although the works were not largely attributed to Zuhrī, many are based on his narratives
The first half of the 2nd century after Hijrah is when sīrah writing became enriched in terms of sources and content and when the methodology of sīrah took solid shape.
Ibn Ishāq, a student of Zuhrī, holds an important position in sīrah and maghāzī. He acquired and arranged reports on sīrah and maghāzī from approximately 100 other narrators, many of whom were children of the Sahāba, individuals relevant to Ahl al-Kitāb and from books based on Isrā’īliyyāt and Zoroastrianism.
Isrā’īliyyāt: religious literature belonging to the Jewish, Christian, old Persian and Near East cultural basin, but predominantly from Jewish and Christian cultures
Due to this he received many criticisms, to the extent that one of his students, Ibn Hishām, removed all reports from these sources when refining his work.
Classical scholars criticise some narrations about the Jews of Khaybar, Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayzah, as they were directly handed down from their forefathers without question.
Criticisms from contemporary scholars :
In modern times, W.N. ‘Arafat, examines the chain of transmission and finds the narrative to be problematic and most likely rooted in pre-Islamic Jewish narratives, particularly the number of Jews killed which is not supported.
Adil Salahi marks it as a ‘misleading report’ since it had an impact on later generations in depicting the Banu Qurayzah narrative on unsound grounds and an illogical number of people being killed as a result.
Ibn Ishāq’s sīrah also has many correct and incorrect reports regarding ayyām al-Arab and poems.
Scholars who holistically deal with the credibility of reports pay more attention to the views of Ibn Al-Madini, Zuhri, Sufyan ibn Uyayna, Shafi, Bukhari, Abu Zar’a, and Abu Hatim, all of whom praise Ibn Ishāq’s work.
Malik ibn Anas, a critic, discredited Ibn Ishāq using the term kadhāb ‘liar’. According to sīrah scholars, this is due to a personal matter between the two; Malik was angered as Ibn Ishāq had challenged his lineage and argued he was in the lower level of a particular tribe. However, he did not criticise his narration as a whole rather he disagreed with his accepting of reports and accounts regarding the ghazwas from the children of Jews who embraced islam later.
However, ibn Sayyid Al-Nas and Samira al-Zayid say Ibn Ishāq used these stories for knowledge not evidence, whereas those critical of him say they should only have been taken from verified sources and used as evidence once documented.
During the 2nd century after Hijra, the last notable writer was Al-Wāqidī whose work consisted of the ghazwah and sariyyah during the Prophet ﷺ’s time in Madina. He has a similar style to that of hadith writers and uses narratives of earlier scholars. He was very thorough in clarifying what had been written previously; the official documentation, chronological dates, and those who took part. He himself visited the locations and attempted to get topographical information.
Al-Wāqidī’s student and scribe, Ibn Sa’d, benefited from access to Al-Wāqidī’s library. He added the Dalāil al-Nubuwwah (proofs of prophethood) and narratives regarding his ﷺ physical and moral characteristics (Shamā’il).
Balādhūrī relates the genealogy of the prophet ﷺ and includes facts about his personal and family life.
Al-Tabarī, in Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk, wrote a chronological history of the world and the prophets since the beginning and gives importance to the life of the Prophet ﷺ.
Despite its reputation, the work received criticism as it contained baseless information from unreliable sources.
“He believes he merely relates what is reported to him as this is his task as a historian”. From this statement, it’s said that Al-Tabari leaves the responsibility of evaluating and going through reports to the readers and later generation
Books written under titles such as Dalāil al-Nubuwwah were specially written to convince the Jewish and Christian religious leaders of the proof and status of the prophet ﷺ in the Qur’ān and His miracles compared to those of the previous prophets.
The perception of sīrah in the West is a negative one, only beginning to change in recent decades. This is due to the Prophet ﷺ being presented as a founder of a false religion, a warlord, and an antichrist figure. However, there is no substantial evidence to verify the claims that gained widespread acceptance in the mediaeval period between the 9th and 15th centuries.
The false accusations began with John of Damascus, who presented the Prophet ﷺ as a ‘heretic’ and a ‘false prophet’, as well as through Abd Al-Masīh ibn Ishāq Al-Kindī, who in an attempt to defend Christianity, made strong but unfounded allegations against the Prophet ﷺ.
Some comprise fictitious arguments, for example claiming that the Prophet ﷺ and all Muslims are descendants of Hajar and are therefore of no nobility.
During the 17th century, there was a greater emphasis on learning the Arabic language with some even saying it was necessary in order to; know about the life of the Prophet ﷺ, and be able to use Arabic sources in their works. Despite this and being unable to speak Arabic, Boulanvilliers opposed all these lies, defended the religion, and presented the Prophet ﷺ in a good light.
During the mid-19th century western scholars approached; Islamic sources, the prophet ﷺ, and the Qur’ān in a critical way. The basis of their work formed the Orientalist movement. Some were unable to completely free themselves from searching for Christian and Jewish beliefs within Islamic sources, leading to a biassed approach from both Christian and Jewish scholars.
In the 20th century, the West looked into Islam more and increased its research attempting to gather the correct information about Islam and its founder. Despite the negativity and suspicions shown before, M. Watt has shown that it is possible to determine historical truths. Despite being criticised, he is acknowledged as a modern researcher. He approached Islam with sympathy and respect and did not take the view that the sacred truth is only within Christianity and that the Prophet ﷺ did not come with an original message. He is mainly criticised for his evaluation of the Makkan period, as he mentioned the migration to Abyssinia was only due to economic reasons.
Fred M. Donner argues that the origins of Islam came from something called the ‘believers movement’, a form of movement of religious reform stressing strict monotheistic and virtuous behaviour to attain salvation in accordance with the law. It was an attempt to widen the boundary of the ‘believers’ movement to include the righteous Christians, Jews, and maybe even the Zoroastrians who adhere to the monotheistic way of life in accordance with their laws.
Martin Lings took verses and hadith as his point of reference, as well as classic sources; such as Ibn Ishāq, Ibn Sa’d, and Al-Tabarī, and using his skills as a literary teacher he wrote a piece in the early 1980s in a flowing and easy to understand manner. He begins with the prophet Ibrahim (عليه وسلام ) and ends with the Prophet ﷺ, giving a full perspective of the history of Islam.
Last is Karen Armstrong, who was known to be free from Orientalist traditions and stereotyped preconceptions, and instead she tried to understand Islam and its prophet. In the early 1990s during the Salman Rushdie crisis and his fictional portrait of the Prophet ﷺ, she wrote her book to recount the ‘true story of the prophet’. Due to her taking a secular viewpoint, her attempts to fit islam with modern thinking and her failure to use classic sources have caused her to make occasional mistakes in terminologies.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the likes of Shiblī Numanī, his disciple Sulayman Nadwī of India, and others felt the need for sīrah literature to be re-evaluated. However, they emphasised the Prophet ﷺ as a prime historical role model, instead of relying on his miracles and his appearance.
Sīrah al-Nabi by Shiblī and later his disciple relied on the Qur’ān and later reports, it is clear Shiblī is presenting Islamic teachings, principles, and values found in sīrah at scientific and scholarly levels with logical and objective evidence.
Izzet Darwaza from Egypt wrote only based on Qur’ān. He demonstrates that it is possible to clearly determine the sīrah and events in the Prophet ﷺ era from the Qur’ān.
Muhammad Haykal also used the Qur’ān primarily, however critically and selectively used sīrah materials without mentioning references. Many facts from within were excluded, therefore his piece was accused by Muslim scholars of deviating from the agreed classical sīrah route and ignoring reliable facts due to western influence.
Muhammad Hamīdullah; used the notion of miracles as Al Waqidi did, as he was aware of the skepticism of western scholars. He used his own personal observations when visiting sīrah sites.
Ahmed Cevdet Paşa, planned to write the history of Islam including sīrah, by using the Qur’ān and Hadith, free from superstitions that emerged later on. His work was titled ‘Kisas-i Enbiya’ (‘Stories of the prophets’).
The ‘Fiqh al-Sīrah’ works by Egyptian scholar Muhammad Al-Ghazāli and Syrian scholar Sa’īd Ramadan Al-Buti made significant contributions to sīrah in terms of methodology and approach. Both show a deep understanding of the sīrah of the Prophet ﷺ, and its implications to the contemporary reader. They were more concerned about the application of sīrah and its relevance to modern readers. Their attempt to take lessons from the life of the Prophet ﷺ is evident to readers through their tablīgh methodologies and the principles of legal rulings which they took from the sīrah.
Overall, the authors seek clarification for why certain matters and incidents took place in the life of the Prophet ﷺ and therefore they have lengthy discussions on the reasons, lessons, and pearls of wisdom behind these incidents and acts.
Tariq Ramadan invites readers, Muslim or not, to research and study the life of the Prophet ﷺ to shed light on important facets of life; such as the importance of faith in life, brotherhood, justice, law, adversity, and war. He also encourages them to take lessons from reflections and comments he makes on the spiritual, philosophical, social, political, and judicial natures of the narratives from the sīrah. He constantly moves between the life of the Prophet ﷺ, teachings of the Qur’ān, and lessons relevant to modern-day situations.
Western and modern works are more focused on the different aspects of the Prophet’s ﷺ life instead of complete biographical reports, enlightening one on various aspects of his life and his contributions to the formation of peaceful empires.
Juan Cole captures the Prophet’s ﷺ consistent peaceful attitude and emphasises the centrality of peace in his life by drawing attention to the revelation of the Qur’ān over 23 years.
Non-Islamic approaches to sīrah have significantly evolved in recent years and now present a more accurate and positive image of the Prophet ﷺ.
