Sirat Ibn Ishaq = al-Siyar wa al-Maghazi
- Author died
- 151 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr
Sirat Ibn Ishaq (also titled al-Siyar wa al-Maghazi) is the foundational early Arabic biographical work on the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, compiled by the historian and traditionist Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH / 768 CE) .
Composition and Structure
According to classical accounts, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur commissioned Ibn Ishaq in Baghdad—or al-Hirah—to compose a comprehensive historical book for his son, the future caliph al-Mahdi, spanning sacred history from the creation of Adam down to his own time . When the resulting volume proved exceptionally long, the caliph ordered it abridged and deposited the exhaustive version in the royal treasury . Other scholars argue that Ibn Ishaq had already compiled his material in Medina prior to his journey to Iraq, noting that his direct informants were predominantly Medinese and Egyptian .
The work was structured into three principal divisions :
- Kitab al-Mubtada' (The Beginning): covering primordial creation, biblical prophets, and pre-Islamic Arabian history .
- Kitab al-Mab'ath (The Advent of Prophecy): detailing Muhammad's genealogy, early life in Mecca, the start of divine revelation, and the persecution faced by early Muslims until the Hijrah .
- Kitab al-Maghazi (The Military Expeditions): chronicling the Medinan period, military campaigns, delegations, treaties, and the Prophet's death .
Transmissions and Recensions
Ibn Ishaq's text was transmitted through various student recensions that varied slightly in phrasing and content . The most prominent transmitters include:
- Ziyad ibn Abd Allah al-Bakka'i (d. 183 AH), whose transmission is widely regarded as among the most reliable because he read the entire text twice under Ibn Ishaq's direct dictation .
- Yunus ibn Bukayr (d. 199 AH), whose version represents one of the earlier transmissions and contains distinct variations in the listing and details of early converts and events .
- Salamah ibn al-Fadl al-Razi (d. 191 AH), who transmitted both the Mubtada' and Maghazi sections .
- Ibrahim ibn Sa'd and Abd Allah ibn Idris, among other prominent scholars who preserved portions of the work .
Reception, Abbreviation, and Influence
The work gained definitive authority in Islamic historiography. Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri directed students of military campaigns to Ibn Ishaq, stating: "Whoever desires the maghazi, let him consult Ibn Ishaq" . Similarly, al-Shafi'i remarked: "Whoever wishes to attain deep mastery in maghazi is entirely dependent upon Ibn Ishaq" .
The book reached widespread circulation primarily through the editorial recension of Ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH or 218 AH), who studied al-Bakka'i's transmission . Ibn Hisham refined and pruned the original text—excising much of the pre-Islamic genealogical digressions, uncorroborated poems, and verses unrelated to the biography—producing the standard text known as Sirat Ibn Hisham . This redaction subsequently generated important commentaries, such as al-Suhayli's (d. 581 AH) al-Rawd al-Unuf and Mughultay's (d. 762 AH) al-Zahr al-Basim .
Surviving fragments of Ibn Ishaq's original recension as transmitted by Yunus ibn Bukayr were later collected from manuscript holdings in Morocco and the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus and published in modern scholarly editions .
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