70 English Seerah entries
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham dates the Fijar War to the Messenger’s youth and recounts the dispute between Quraysh and Kinana on one side and Qays ‘Aylan on the other. The account explains the conflict’s cause and name, describes the fighting and the Messenger’s limited presence with his uncles, and records the commanders and outcome.
Ibn Hisham, with reports from Abu ‘Ubaydah and Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The conflict arose after ‘Urwah al-Rahhal granted protection to a trade caravan sent by al-Nu‘man ibn al-Mundhir. Al-Barrad challenged the protection and later killed ‘Urwah at Tayman Dhu Talal during a sacred month, setting off the war.
Ibn Hisham, with editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After Quraysh learned of ‘Urwah’s killing, they left ‘Ukaz. Hawazin pursued them and caught them before they reached the sanctuary; the fighting stopped at night when Quraysh entered the sacred precinct, then resumed on later days. The page also preserves Labid’s verses concerning ‘Urwah.
Ibn Hisham, with verses by Labid ibn Rabi‘ah
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account says that the Messenger attended some of the battle days with his uncles. He said that he used to return to them the arrows shot by their enemies.
Ibn Hisham, reporting the Messenger’s statement
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq says the war began when the Messenger was twenty. It was called Fijar because Kinana and Qays ‘Aylan violated the sacred prohibitions between them.
Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Harb ibn Umayyah commanded Quraysh and Kinana. The account says Qays initially had the advantage, but Kinana prevailed by midday; Ibn Hisham notes that he abridged the longer account so it would not interrupt the Messenger’s biography.
Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
This account follows the Messenger’s marriage to Khadijah, her trade journey to Syria, her lineage, their children, and her conversation with Waraqah about the signs Maysarah had witnessed. Variant reports and editorial notes are identified separately.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham says the Messenger married Khadijah at twenty-five, while noting reports that place his age at twenty-one, thirty, thirty-seven, or another age.
Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Khadijah entrusted her goods to the Messenger for a trading journey to Syria, with her servant Maysarah. A monk near whose hermitage he rested recognized a sign and said that no prophet had ever rested beneath that tree. Maysarah later reported what he witnessed on the return journey.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After Maysarah told her what he had heard and seen, Khadijah approached the Messenger, praising his kinship, standing, trustworthiness, character, and truthful speech, and offered herself in marriage.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account traces Khadijah’s lineage through Khuwaylid ibn Asad and gives the lineages of her mother Fatimah, grandmother Halah, and great-grandmother Qilabah.
Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The report says the Messenger married Khadijah and gave her twenty young she-camels as her dowry. Ibn Hisham says she was his first wife and that he married no other woman during her lifetime. The editor records variant accounts of who arranged the marriage and the age of Khadijah.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq lists al-Qasim, al-Tahir, al-Tayyib, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah. Ibn Hisham gives an order of birth; his notes record that al-Tahir and al-Tayyib are generally understood as titles of Abdullah and that reports differ about when al-Qasim died.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham says Ibrahim’s mother was Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah. A report identifies her as the woman given to the Messenger by al-Muqawqis from Hafn in the district of Ansina.
Ibn Hisham, with a report from Abdullah ibn Wahb
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Khadijah told Waraqah ibn Nawfal what Maysarah had reported. Waraqah said that, if it was true, Muhammad would be the prophet awaited by this community. The page also preserves verses in which Waraqah expresses his long anticipation.
Ibn Ishaq, with editorial notes by Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
This account describes why Quraysh rebuilt the Ka‘bah, the warnings and events surrounding its demolition, how the work was divided among the clans, and their dispute over the Black Stone. The Messenger of Allah resolved the dispute by having the clans lift the stone together on a garment and then placing it himself.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Quraysh wished to roof the Ka‘bah but feared demolishing it. The account explains that it stood as a pile of stones, then recounts the stolen treasure, the wrecked ship whose timber was used, the Coptic carpenter, and the serpent that frightened the builders.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
When Abu Wahb tried to remove a stone from the Ka‘bah, it leapt from his hand and returned to its place. He warned Quraysh to build only with lawful wealth, not money from fornication, usury, or injustice.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial note
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq says Abu Wahb was the Messenger’s maternal uncle and a noble man. The source includes verses praising his generosity and lineage.
Ibn Ishaq, with a poem quoted in the source
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The source assigns different sides of the Ka‘bah to Banu Abd Manaf, Zuhrah, Makhzum, Jumah, Sahm, Abd al-Dar, Asad, and Adi.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s note
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Al-Walid began the demolition after invoking Allah, and Quraysh joined him the next morning. At Abraham’s foundation they found green stones fitted together. The source also relates inscriptions reportedly found at the Corner, the Station, and on a stone in the Ka‘bah.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The Qurayshi clans disputed which group would place the Black Stone, formed rival alliances, and prepared to fight. They later made a blood oath; the account continues with consultation on the next printed page.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Abu Umayyah proposed that the first person to enter the mosque arbitrate. The first was Muhammad, whom Quraysh trusted as al-Amin. He placed the Black Stone on a garment, asked each clan to lift one side, then set it in place himself.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Al-Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib’s poem describes an eagle carrying off the serpent that had frightened Quraysh during the rebuilding, allowing them to resume the work.
Al-Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib, as cited by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account states that the Ka‘bah stood eighteen cubits high in the Messenger’s time and names its coverings, including the first brocade covering.
Ibn Ishaq, with editorial notes by Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq describes the Hums practices developed by Quraysh and adopted by allied tribes: restrictions on pilgrimage clothing and food, avoidance of ‘Arafah, and customs around circumambulation. The account then explains how Islam restored the rites of Hajj and ended these restrictions.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Quraysh claimed a special status as descendants of Abraham and guardians of the Sanctuary. They therefore distinguished the sacred precinct from the open land, stopped standing at ‘Arafah themselves, and extended some of their practices to children born to residents of both areas.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Kinana and Khuza‘ah joined Quraysh in this practice; Abu ‘Ubaydah reports that Banu ‘Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah did so as well. The section includes verses by ‘Amr ibn Ma‘dikarib and Laqit ibn Zurarah.
Ibn Hisham, quoting Abu ‘Ubaydah and pre-Islamic poets
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
At Jablah, Banu ‘Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah defeated Banu Hanzalah of Tamim. Laqit ibn Zurarah was killed and Hajib ibn Zurarah captured. The following page records the aftermath and poetic recollections.
Ibn Hisham, with later poetic citations
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
At Dhu Najab, Hanzalah prevailed over Banu ‘Amir. Hassan ibn Mu‘awiyah was killed, Yazid ibn al-Sa‘iq captured, and al-Tufayl ibn Malik fled. The source quotes verses by al-Farazdaq and Jarir and says the full accounts are longer.
Ibn Hisham, citing al-Farazdaq and Jarir
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The Hums added restrictions on preparing food during ihram, entering hair tents, taking shade, eating food brought from outside the Sanctuary, and clothing for the first circumambulation.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Those unable to obtain Hums clothing were required to circumambulate naked; garments brought from outside the Sanctuary were discarded and could not be reused. The account records verses about such discarded clothes.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account says the Qur’anic instruction to depart from where the people depart restored standing at ‘Arafah, while the commands to wear adornment and eat and drink ended the Hums restrictions concerning clothing and food at the House.
Ibn Ishaq, with Qur’anic citations and editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq relates reports about Jewish scholars and Christian monks who expected the Messenger’s mission from their scriptures, and Arab soothsayers who claimed to receive fragments of heavenly news through the jinn. The account then discusses shooting stars, the jinn’s response to the Qur’an, and several reports of foreknowledge.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Jubayr ibn Mut‘im reports seeing the Messenger at ‘Arafah before revelation. Ibn Ishaq then explains that Jewish scholars and Christian monks knew descriptions of him from their books, while Arab soothsayers claimed to learn fragments through jinn.
Ibn Ishaq, with a report from Jubayr ibn Mut‘im
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
As the Messenger’s mission drew near, the jinn were barred from their former listening posts and pelted with shooting stars. Surah al-Jinn recounts a group hearing the Qur’an, believing in it, and returning to warn their people.
Ibn Ishaq, quoting Qur’anic passages
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
When shooting stars appeared, Thaqif consulted ‘Amr ibn Umayyah, whom they regarded as exceptionally perceptive. He reasoned that if the familiar navigational stars were falling, the world’s end might be near; if other stars were affected, the event concerned a matter Allah intended for creation.
Ibn Ishaq, with lexical notes by Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The Ansar say they had interpreted shooting stars as signs of a ruler’s death, a kingdom granted, or a birth or death. The Messenger explains that reports of divine decrees descend through the heavens; jinn once stole fragments and conveyed them to soothsayers, who mixed truth with error, but that access was then barred.
Ibn Ishaq, transmitting a report from al-Zuhri
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
A woman of Banu Sahm known as al-Ghaitalah was a soothsayer. Her familiar spirit gave cryptic warnings about slaughter and the downfall of men of Ka‘b; Quraysh understood them only after the battles of Badr and Uhud.
Ibn Ishaq, from an unnamed learned informant
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham identifies al-Ghaitalah as a woman of Banu Murrah ibn ‘Abd Manat of Kinana and the mother of the Ghiyatil mentioned by Abu Talib.
Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
When Janb asked its soothsayer about the Messenger, he declared that Allah had honored and chosen Muhammad, purified his heart, and that he would remain among them only a short time.
Ibn Ishaq, reporting from ‘Ali ibn Nafi‘ al-Jurashi
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
‘Umar sees a man enter the Prophet’s mosque and suspects he may have been a soothsayer. The man greets him, confirms that he has accepted Islam, and the report continues beyond the printed page.
Ibn Ishaq, from a report transmitted by Abdullah ibn Ka‘b
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman recounts leaving his Zoroastrian home in Persia after encountering Christianity, traveling from one righteous bishop to another, and seeking the awaited Prophet. Enslaved on the way to Medina, he recognized the signs he had been given, accepted Islam, and gained his freedom with the Messenger’s help.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman describes his upbringing in Jayy near Isfahan as the son of the village chief. His father kept him close, and Salman became the keeper of the sacred fire. After visiting a Christian church, he was impressed by their worship and began to favor their religion over the Magian faith.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After his father chained and confined him, Salman contacted the Christians. When a Syrian trading caravan came, he escaped with them and traveled to Syria, beginning his search for a righteous teacher.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman served a bishop who urged people to give charity but secretly hoarded it. After the bishop died, Salman revealed the hidden treasure to the community; they refused to bury the man and replaced him with another bishop.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman loved the next bishop for his devotion and asceticism. Near death, the bishop said he knew only one remaining person who followed their way and directed Salman to a man in Mosul.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman followed his teacher’s instruction to stay with a righteous companion in Mosul. As that man neared death, he directed Salman to another believer in Nisibis.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Salman stayed with the companion in Nisibis, who followed the way of the earlier bishops. Before dying, he directed Salman to a righteous man in Amorium.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
In Amorium, Salman acquired cattle and sheep while living with a righteous man. Near death, this companion described the awaited Prophet and his signs: he would migrate to a land between two lava fields, accept gifts but not charity, and bear the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After his companion’s death, Salman paid merchants from Kalb with his livestock to take him to Arabia. They enslaved and sold him at Wadi al-Qura. A Jewish man from Banu Qurayzah later bought him and took him to Medina, where Salman recognized the place described to him. He later heard that the Messenger had arrived at Quba.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham gives Qaylah’s lineage and identifies her as the mother of the Aws and Khazraj.
Ibn Hisham
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After hearing that the Prophet had arrived, Salman tested two signs: the Messenger declined charity but accepted a gift. Salman then looked for the Seal of Prophethood when they met at al-Baqi‘, recognized it, and embraced and kissed him.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The Messenger urged Salman to contract for his freedom. The Companions provided three hundred young palm trees, which the Messenger planted himself; he later gave Salman gold that covered the remaining forty uqiyyahs, freeing him.
Salman al-Farisi, as transmitted by Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The index begins another report attributed to Salman about a man who used to appear between two groves in Amorium. The available excerpt stops as the report begins.
Ibn Ishaq, reporting from Salman al-Farisi
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account describes four Qurayshi men who rejected idol worship and searched for the upright religion of Abraham: Waraqah, ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh, ‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith, and Zayd ibn ‘Amr. It relates the different paths they followed and continues into reports about the beginning of revelation.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Four men of Quraysh secretly discussed their people’s worship of stones and concluded that they had abandoned Abraham’s religion. They dispersed to seek the upright faith.
Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Waraqah studied Christian scripture. ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh later accepted Islam and migrated to Abyssinia, but there became Christian and died there outside Islam.
Ibn Ishaq
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After changing his religion, ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh would pass the Muslims in Abyssinia and say that he had fully opened his eyes while they were only beginning to see.
Ibn Ishaq, reporting from Muhammad ibn Ja‘far ibn al-Zubayr
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Jahsh died, the Messenger married his widow Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan. The Negus arranged the marriage and gave her a dowry of four hundred dinars on the Messenger’s behalf.
Ibn Ishaq, with a report from Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Husayn
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith went to Caesar, became Christian, and gained standing at his court. Ibn Hisham omits the fuller account, citing the same reason he gave when abbreviating the Fijar War.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s note
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Zayd rejected both Judaism and Christianity, avoided idolatrous sacrifices, and sought Abraham’s faith. Asma bint Abi Bakr recalls him proclaiming his belief beside the Ka‘bah.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Reports preserve Zayd’s poems affirming worship of Allah alone and rejecting the idols of his people, along with editorial notes on variant wording and attribution.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Hisham records al-Hadrami’s lineage and variant genealogical readings.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Zayd reproaches Safiyyah for telling al-Khattab when he tried to leave Makkah in search of Abraham’s religion.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
A report describes Zayd’s devotions and verses when he faced the Ka‘bah.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Al-Khattab drives Zayd from Makkah. Zayd travels in search of Abraham’s religion, and a monk tells him that a Prophet bearing it is about to arise from his homeland.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
After Zayd is killed on his return toward Makkah, Waraqah composes an elegy for him; Ibn Hisham notes variant attribution of some verses.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
Ibn Ishaq transmits a passage presented in the source as a Gospel description of the Messenger, followed by the beginning of the account of his mission.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
Life before Prophethood
Translated selection
The account attributes to the disciple Yuhannas a Gospel passage naming the coming Munhamanna, which the source identifies with Muhammad.
Ibn Ishaq, with Ibn Hisham’s editorial notes
