al-Jami al-Sahih li al-Sira al-Nabawiya
- Author died
- 1439 AH
- Editions
- Dar Ibn Kathir
al-Jami al-Sahih li al-Sira al-Nabawiya (The Authentic Compendium of the Prophetic Biography) is a multi-volume contemporary work on the life of the Prophet Muhammad by the Egyptian hadith scholar Saad al-Marsafi (d. 1439 AH / 2018 CE) .
Background and Publication
The work was developed after the author spent decades studying and teaching the prophetic biography at university level . An early edition was published in 1415 AH / 1994 CE in Kuwait by Maktabat al-Manar al-Islamiyya in conjunction with Mu'assassat al-Rayyan . A subsequent edition was published in 1430 AH / 2009 CE by Maktabat Ibn Kathir in Hawalli, Kuwait .
Methodology and Scope
al-Marsafi constructed the compendium by returning directly to original Islamic sources, evaluating historical narrations according to the classical principles of hadith criticism in both transmission (riwaya) and critical analysis (diraya) . The book seeks to present an authentic, critically verified record of the Prophet's life from the premonitory signs preceding his mission (al-irhasat) and his birth through the stages of his preaching, struggles, and the establishment of the community, while defending the prophetic legacy against historical misconceptions and polemical critiques .
The author frames the biography not merely as a chronological record, but as an integrative study encompassing moral, spiritual, juridical, and civilizational dimensions . Individual volumes focus on specialized themes within the broader biographical narrative; for example, the first volume treats Khasa'is al-Sira wa-Dawruha fi Takwin al-Shakhsiyya al-Islamiyya ("Characteristics of the Sira and Its Role in Forming the Islamic Personality"), and the fourth volume examines Tariq Jihad al-Da'wa fi Daw' Sirat al-Rasul ("The Path of Da'wa and Struggle in Light of the Messenger's Biography") .
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