Masadir Talaqqi al-Sira al-Nabawiyya
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- Mujammaʻ al-Malik Fahd li-Ṭibāʻat al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Masadir Talaqqi al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (Arabic: مصادر تلقي السيرة النبوية والعناية بها عبر القرون الثلاثة الأولى, romanized: Maṣādir Talaqqī al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya wa-al-ʿInāya bihā ʿabr al-Qurūn al-Thalātha al-Ūlā, lit. 'Sources of Receiving the Prophetic Biography and Its Cultivation Across the First Three Centuries') is a contemporary study on the historiography and textual sources of the Prophetic biography (sīra) by Dr. Muhammad Anwar Muhammad ʿAli al-Bakri . The book examines the primary literature and scholarly traditions through which the biography of the Prophet Muhammad was preserved, recorded, and transmitted during the first three Islamic centuries .
Scope and Contents
In his introduction, al-Bakri highlights the early Muslim community's dedication to preserving the Prophet's life events, quoting figures such as Ali ibn al-Husayn (Zayn al-ʿAbidin) on how military expeditions (maghāzī) were taught alongside chapters of the Quran, and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri regarding the centrality of biographical study . He also analyzes how the Quran directly and indirectly documents details concerning the Prophet's lineage, upbringing, character, bodily traits, and exclusive prerogatives (khaṣāʾiṣ) .
The text is structured into an introduction and three main chapters:
- Chapter One: Introduction to the Discipline of the Prophetic Biography (Madkhal ilā ʿIlm al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya) covers the religious and practical significance of the Sira in Muslim life, defines the terminology of the genre, and outlines its core distinguishing characteristics .
- Chapter Two: The Most Important Sources of the Prophetic Biography (Ahamm Maṣādir al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya) surveys the fundamental genres from which biographical information is derived across six subsections:
- The Holy Quran (al-Qurʾān al-Karīm)
- Books of Hadith and prophetic traditions (Kutub al-ḥadīth al-sharīf / kutub al-sunna)
- Works on the Prophetic persona and characteristics (Kutub al-shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyya)
- Works on the proofs and miracles of prophethood (Kutub dalāʾil al-nubuwwa)
- Works on exclusive prophetic prerogatives (Kutub al-khaṣāʾiṣ al-Muḥammadiyya)
- Specialized works on campaigns and biography (Kutub al-maghāzī wa-al-siyar al-mutakhaṣṣiṣa)
- Chapter Three: Prominent Authors on the Prophetic Biography in the First Three Centuries (Ashhar man Sannafa fī al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya fī al-Qurūn al-Thalātha al-Ūlā) divides the early historiographical efforts into three progressive stages: oral transmission (al-riwāya), categorization and compilation (al-taṣnīf), and formal authored composition (al-taʾlīf) .
Reception
The book is referenced in modern Islamic legal and educational resources as a specialized guide for researchers seeking to evaluate and navigate classical sources and reports of the Prophetic biography .
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