The main feature of the information that formed the basis of early historiography in Islam was that this information emerged as the irregular products of storytellers (qāṣṣ, pl. quṣṣāṣ) -they were quite prestigious then-<ref>They do not seem, however, to have been more prone to fabrications than other scholars of the early period. This deduction stems from the over-whelmingly positive reputation of the quṣṣāṣ in the early period.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004335523_008</ref> without details.<ref>Most Islamic history was transmitted orally until after the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate.Template:Harvtxt</ref> At the same time the study of the earliest periods in Islamic history is made difficult by a lack of sources.Template:Sfn While the narratives were initially in the form of a kind of heroic epics called magāzī,<Ref>The earliest sources we have on the life of Muḥammad are the maghāzī, but they are far from being a consistent literary genre because they encompass a mix of different types of texts: lists of martyrs, poetry, Qurʾānic explanations, anecdotes resembling those found in the Bible, and of course accounts of military expeditions.https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004466739_005</ref> details were added later, edited and transformed into sirah compilations.<ref name="EQ" /><ref name="Crone-1987-223">Template:Cite book</ref> From the very beginning, the process of creating the image of the Prophet as a warrior hero supported by divine help is seen as fitting the ideal hero typology and current needs during the military collapses experienced by the Umayyads. Muhammad's position gradually rose from his military stature to that of the sole and central figure in narratives who received divine assistance, in parallel with the rise in the value of the hadiths attributed to Muhammad in Islamic lawmaking although it wasn't like that in the beginning.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The stories were written in the form of “founding conquest stories” based on nostalgia for the golden age then. Humphrey, quoted by Antoine Borrut, explains that the stories related to this period were created according to a pact-betrayal-redemption principle.<ref>Borrut A., "From Arabia to the Empire - conquest and caliphal construction in early Islam", in The Historians' Quran , vol. 1 , 2019, pp. 249-289</ref> Western historians describe the purpose of these early biographies as largely to convey a message, rather than to strictly and accurately record history.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Lawrence Conrad examines the early sirah books and sees that the dates of Muhammad's birth span a period of up to 85 years. Conrad defines this as "the fluidity (evolutionary process) continued even in the written period."<ref>Conrad (June 1987). "Abraham and Muhammad: Some Observations Apropos of Chronology and Literary topoi in the Early Arabic Historical Tradition". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 50 (2): 239. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00049016</ref>
In the Arabic language the word sīrah or sīrat (Template:Langx) comes from the verb sāra, which means "to travel" or "to be on a journey". A person's sīrah is that person's journey through life, or biography, encompassing their birth, events in their life, manners and characteristics, and their death. In modern usage it may also refer to a person's resume. It is sometimes written as "seerah", "sirah" or "sirat", all meaning "life" or "journey". In Islamic literature, the plural form, siyar, could also refer to the rules of war and dealing with non-Muslims.<ref name="EI2">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
For centuries, Muslim scholars have recognized the problem of authenticity of hadith. Thus they have developed sophisticated methods (see Hadith studies) of evaluating isnāds (chains of transmission). This was done in order to classify each hadith into "sound" (ṣaḥīḥ) for authentic reports, as opposed to "weak" (ḍaʿīf) for ones that are probably fabricated, in addition to other categories.Template:Sfn Since many sīrah reports also contain isnād information and some of the sīrah compilers (akhbārīs) were themselves practicing jurists and hadīth transmitters (muḥaddiths), it was possible to apply the same methods of hadīth criticism to the sīrah reports.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, some sīrah reports were written using an imprecise form of isnād, or what modern historians call the "collective isnād" or "combined reports". The use of collective isnād meant that a report may be related on the authority of multiple persons without distinguishing the words of one person from another. This lack of precision led some hadith scholars to take any report that used a collective isnād to be lacking in authenticity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
According to Wim Raven, it is often noted that a coherent image of Muhammad cannot be formed from the literature of sīra, whose authenticity and factual value have been questioned on a number of different grounds.<ref name="EI2" /> He lists the following arguments against the authenticity of sīra, followed here by counter arguments:
Hardly any sīrah work was compiled during the first century of Islam. However, Fred Donner points out that the earliest historical writings about the origins of Islam first emerged in AH 60–70, well within the first century of Hijra (see also List of biographies of Muhammad). Furthermore, the sources now extant, dating from the second, third, and fourth centuries AH, are mostly compilations of material derived from earlier sources.Template:Sfn<ref name=Raven-Sira_662>Raven, W., “Sīra”, in: Brill Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, v.9 p.662</ref>
Later sources claiming to know more about the time of Muhammad than earlier ones. Scholar Patricia Crone found a pattern, where the farther a commentary was removed in time from the life of Muhammad and the events in the Quran, the more information it provided, despite the fact it depended on the earlier sources for its content. Crone attributed this phenomenon to storytellers' embellishment.
If one storyteller should happen to mention a raid, the next storyteller would know the date of this raid, while the third would know everything that an audience might wish to hear about.<ref name="Crone-1987-223"/>
In the case of Ibn Ishaq, there are no earlier sources we can consult to see if and how much embroidering was done by him and other earlier transmitters, but, Crone argues, "it is hard to avoid the conclusion that in the three generations between the Prophet and Ibn Ishaq" fictitious details were not also added.<ref name="Crone-1987-223"/><ref name="Pickard-352">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Raven-Sira_662/>
Discrepancies compared to non-Muslim sources. But there are also similarities and agreements both in information specific to Muhammad,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and concerning Muslim tradition at large.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Raven-Sira_662/>
Some parts or genres of sīra, namely those dealing with miracles, do not qualify as sources for scientific historiographical information about Muhammad, except for showing the beliefs and doctrines of his community.<ref name=Raven-Sira_662/>
Nevertheless, other content of sīra, like the Constitution of Medina, are generally considered to be authentic,<ref name="EI2" /> although it does not fulfill any of the conditions of authenticity in the Islamic recording system such as having a reliable chain of narrators up to the person who recorded it.
Content
The sīrah literature includes a variety of heterogeneous materials, containing mainly narratives of military expeditions undertaken by Muhammad and his companions. These stories are intended as historical accounts and are used for veneration. The sīrah also includes a number of written documents, such as political treaties (e.g., Treaty of Hudaybiyyah or Constitution of Medina), military enlistments, assignments of officials, letters to foreign rulers, and so forth. It also records some of the speeches and sermons made by Muhammad, like his speech at the Farewell Pilgrimage. Some of the sīrah accounts include verses of poetry commemorating certain events and battles.<ref name="EI2" />
At later periods, certain type of stories included in sīrah developed into their own separate genres. One genre is concerned with stories of prophetic miracles, called aʿlām al-nubuwa (literally, "proofs of prophethood"—the first word is sometimes substituted for amārāt or dalāʾil). Another genre, called faḍāʾil wa mathālib — tales that show the merits and faults of individual companions, enemies, and other notable contemporaries of Muhammad.<ref name="EI2" /> Some works of sīrah also positioned the story of Muhammad as part of a narrative that includes stories of earlier prophets, Persian Kings, pre-Islamic Arab tribes, and the Rashidun.<ref name="EI2" />
Parts of sīrah were inspired by, or elaborate upon, events mentioned in the Qur'an. These parts were often used by writers of tafsir and asbab al-nuzul to provide background information for events mentioned in certain ayat.<ref name="EI2" />
Template:Islamic prophets
Comparison to hadith
In terms of structure, a hadith and a historical report (khabar) are very similar; they both contain isnads (chains of transmission). The main difference between a hadith and a khabar is that a hadith is not concerned with an event as such, and normally does not specify a time or place. Rather the purpose of hadith is to record a religious doctrine as an authoritative source of Islamic law. By contrast, while a khabar may carry some legal or theological implications, its main aim is to convey information about a certain event.Template:Sfn
Starting from the 8th and 9th century, many scholars have devoted their efforts to both kinds of texts equally.Template:Sfn Some historians consider the sīrah and maghāzī literature to be a subset of Hadith.<ref name="Ahmad">Template:Cite book</ref>
Reception
In Umayyad times, storytellers used to tell stories of Muhammad and earlier prophets in private gatherings and mosques, given they obtained permission from the authorities. Many of these storytellers are now unknown. After the Umayyad period, their reputation deteriorated because of their inclination to exaggerate and fantasize, and for relying on the Isra'iliyat. Thus they were banned from preaching at mosques.<ref name="EQ"/> In later periods, however, works of sīrah became more prominent.
During the early centuries of Islam, the sīrah literature was taken less seriously compared to the hadiths.<ref name="EI2" />
Today, although the orthodox Islamic approach frequently uses sirah material in its sermons, Qur'anism and the academic community (including those called hadith or khabar and whose chain of transmission are labeled as sound by their authors) approach this material with suspicion. While Yaşar Nuri Öztürk notes that the hadiths, which have now reached millions, were initially limited to a few hundred, Mehmet Özdemir (prof.dr.) draws attention to the almost non-existent number of miracles (dalāʾil al-nubuwwa) in the first records and the hundreds of additions made in later periods.<ref>Özdemir, Mehmet, (2007). Siyer Yazıcılığı Üzerine, Milel ve Nihal, 4 (3), 129-162</ref>
Many Western scholars suspect that there was widespread fabrication of hadith (either entirely or by the misattribution of the views of early Muslim religious and legal thinkers to Muhammad) in the early centuries of Islam to support certain theological and legal positions.Template:Citation needed In addition to fabrication, it is possible for the meaning of a hadith to have greatly drifted from its original telling through the different interpretations and biases of its varying transmitters, even if the chain of transmission is authentic.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="MU">Template:Citation</ref> While some hadith may genuinely originate from firsthand observation of Muhammad (particularly personal traits that were not of theological interest, like his fondness for tharid and sweets), Western scholars suggest that it is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible to determine which hadith accurately reflect the historical Muhammad.<ref name="MU"/>
Early compilations of sīra
The following is a list of some of the early Hadith collectors who specialized in collecting and compiling sīrah and maghāzī reports:
ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr (d. 713). He wrote letters replying to inquiries of the Umayyad caliphs, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and al-Walid I, involving questions about certain events that happened in the time of the Prophet. Since Abd al-Malik did not appreciate the maghāzī literature, these letters were not written in story form. He is not known to have written any books on the subject.<ref name="EQ" />
Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. Template:Circa), a central figure in sīrah literature, who collected both ahadith and akhbār. His akhbār also contain chains of transmissions, or isnad. He was sponsored by the Umayyad court and asked to write two books, one on genealogy and another on maghāzī. The first was canceled and the one about maghāzī is either not extant or has never been written.
Musa ibn ʿUqba, a student of al-Zuhrī, wrote Kitāb al-Maghāzī, a notebook used to teach his students. The work was lost but a manuscript of Kitab al-maghazi was recently rediscovered. Some of his traditions have been preserved, although their attribution to him is disputed.<ref name="EQ">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 767 or 761), another student of al-Zuhrī, who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Prophet. His traditions survived through a number of sources, most notably Ibn Hisham and Ibn Jarir al-Tabari.
The sīrah literature is important: in the Urdu language alone, a scholar from Pakistan in 2024 produced a bibliography of more than 10,000 titles, counting multivolume works as a single book and without integrating articles, short essays and unpublished manuscripts, with the researcher also precising that the literature in Arabic is even more important.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hagen, Gottfried, Sira, Ottoman Turkish, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 585–597. Template:ISBN.
Jarar, Maher, Sira (Biography), in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 568–582. Template:ISBN.
Williams, Rebecca, Sira, Modern English, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 582–585. Template:ISBN
