Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Most Benevolent, the Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Word and blessings and peace be on the one, exalted amongst the prophet and the Seal of the apostles, Muhammad, and his progeny and companions, and on those who sincerely follow him to the Day of Judgment.

The seminary in which the writer of these lines had his first lesson was the nursery impressed upon his mind the mould of the Prophet. The age at which he was enrolled in this blessed institution was much earlier than the normal school-going age of the children; this was the seminary of his own home permeated with an air and steeped in a culture whose primal ingredient was the stamp of the Prophetic character. Every child of this household was expected to pattern his behaviour in conformity with this family tradition wherein the small collection of juvenile literature, consisting both of prose and poetry, always in circulation among the children of the family, played not an insignificant role, later on, the wise grooming of his elder brother, Dr. Hakim Syed ‘Abdul ‘Ali, was help him in going through two of the best books in Urdu on the life of the Prophet at comparatively young age. 1Urdu has, thanks to the labours of the writers in the recent past, a treasure of literature on the subject next only to Arabic.

When the writer was able to catch on Arabic and appreciate its literature, he drank in with rapt attention two of the earliest works on the Prophet’s life. One of these was As-Sirat an-Nabawiyah of Ibn Hisham and the other was Zad al-Ma’ad written by Ibn Qayyim. He did not simply go through them, but having almost lost himself in the study of these books, found his heart and mind enthralled by certitude and an unshakable conviction. He felt captivated by a tender feeling of affection for the Prophet, whose life is so full of and so packed with thrilling and soul-stirring events that next to the Qur’an, it is the most potent means for shaping one’s behaviour and creating a fervour of spirit. Besides these two books he also read avidly all those Urdu and English works on the subject which fell into his hands. The result of this intensive study has been that all of his writings so far have invariably reflected a touch of the Prophet’s life-story. Whatever warmth and vigour and freshness there has ever been in his pen and whatever lucidity of style in the expression of his ideas he has ever had it has emanated from the fascinating charm of that paradigm of perfection, that inexhaustible source of inspiration which fires one’s imagination to the regions, heavenly and sublime. In truth, he has never penned anything that does not in some way or the other reflect the elegance of that prophetic mould or his own thoughtful reflection on its profound wisdom.

His articles delineating different aspects of the Prophet’s noble character and his marvellous accomplishments have been brought out in the collection entitled Karavan-I-Medina.2

A Large number of books have been penned by the author of this book, but he has never had the opportunity to produce a treatise on the life of the Prophet, although he has ever felt the need of a biography written in a style intelligible to the modern minds, utilizing both the modern and ancient sources. Deviating not from the Qur’an and the hadith, such a biographical sketch has to be based on the original source, yet it need not be merely an encyclopaedic collectania amassing all the relevant as well as far-fetched reports on the subject without any critical examination. The biographies of this type have been in vogue a foretime but they unnecessary give rise to misgivings and doubts that are really totally unfounded, nor the Muslims need trouble their minds about them. Several savants and scholars (unaffected by the sceptical disposition of the modernist and orientalist) have already pried into these questions satisfactory. A work of this nature should also be compatible with the spiritual truths and realities which are indispensable for comprehending the true nature revelation, prophetic guidance, miracles and the recondite facts of mute reality, and should be written by one who can put his trust in the Prophet so written can be placed before every unbiased educated person (whether a Muslim or a non-Muslim) without any reservation or specious reasoning. According, the writer has placed more reliance on the original sources in describing the events and character of the Prophet and narrated them in a way that everything speaks for itself and allows the reader to arrive at his own conclusion. The life of the Prophet is a living portrait, conveying the feeling of the good and the sublime, for which the writer has no need to philosophise or draw any inference. In its charm and grace, harmony and excellence and effectiveness and appeal, the life of the Prophet does not, in truth and reality, need the polish or refinement of any writer or the exposition of an erudite scholar. All that one needs attempt is the narration of facts selected and arranged harmoniously, in a simple and unaffected style.

Also, the recital of the Prophet’s life-story requires a conjugation of intellect and emotion, both posed on an even keel. A scholar treatment of the subject accompanied by frigid analysis and cold logical reasoning is more likely to take away the warmth of its delicate charm, the glow of whose heavenly beauty is indispensable for a correct understanding of the facts and events closely related to the sentiments of credence and beliefs. If the life of the Prophet rehearsed by anybody tries to gloss over the tender susceptibilities, the attempt would undoubtedly be assiduous but wooden; it would be a tale striking and impressive but would fail to convey the essence and substance of prophet hood, likewise, it is equally essential that the naive ness of credulity should not be allowed to becloud the soundness of intellectual judgment which is now-a-days held as the test of validity. It should neither be against the accepted principles of logical reasoning nor an eulogium, infatuated with blind faith, acceptable only to the easy-believing Muslims and traditional scholars of faith living in a world of their own creation, unconnected and without any rapport with the outer, modern world of today. An unhesitating faith with the flame of ardent love is a divine blessings, no doubt; yet, one should never forget that this the life of the Apostle of God who was sent as mercy for the whole universe and all the peoples of the world. His blessings can in no case be denied to any segment of humanity which has not had the opportunity of being brought up in an Islamic surrounding. Haply, it may turn out, by the mercy of the Lord that such persons partake the blessing of Islam by catching a glimpse of the radiance emitted by the Prophet’s life. The non-Muslims have as much claim to the life of the holy Prophet as those born in a Muslim home; or, rather they deserve it more for they stand in need of it.
The times and circumstances in which the Prophet made his advent cannot be overlooked in recounting his story. The conditions prevailing, all over the world, in the pre-Islamic time have, therefore, to be vividly portrayed. it is but necessary to describe the universal confusion, moral degradation and spiritual restlessness and disconsolateness to which man had fallen during the sixth century, as well as the social, economic and political causes that had combined to produce that gloomy atmosphere. The authors of that global degradation – tyrannical governments, messed up religions, fallacious and extremist school of thought, ruinous movements and deceptive calls and summons – all had joined hands in bringing the then world to almost complete destruction. The present writer still remembers the difficult he had to encounter in presenting a clear picture of the widespread depravation of the pre-Islamic age of pagan past in the opening section of his book Madha Khaser al-‘Alam, b’inhitat il Muslimin.3 he had to wade through almost the whole of Western historical literature pertaining to the period and to recreate the story by collecting bits and pieces scattered in numerous books.
This prelude to the life of the Prophet, now described some-what at a greater length, would help the reader to appreciate in the light of the then putrid world all around, the grand accomplishment of prophetic guidance, its greatness, the vastness of its scope, the way it sharpened the wits, solved intractable problems and harmonised seemingly irreconcilable motive and elements. What was, after all, the greatness achievements of Muhammad’s Prophet hood? It was to give hope to the despaired heart of man, to take him back to the path of righteousness, to cleanse his mind and heat of the contaminating impurity and to raise him to the sublime heights of spirituality. What a gigantic task it was can be understood correctly only when the reader has before him a clear picture of the perplexing and arduous nature of the task faced by the Prophet and his companions. Oftentimes, one it unable to comprehend the turn of events and the decisions taken by the Prophet unless he is fully aware of the social, economic and political situation then obtaining in Medina, its physical condition and geographical situation, the surrounding tribes and the relationship existing between them, balance of power struck by past settlements and treaties of peace conditions immediately preceding the hijrah4 and the tribal customs and conventions and their national code of ethics and laws. Anybody trying to study the life of the Prophet unmindful of these basic facts would be travelling in a dark tunnel wherein he can neither see to his right or left nor know where he is destined to emerge at the end of his journey.

All that has been stated about the environs of Medina is true for the then civilized regions around Arabia also. One can neither reckon the significance of the call of Islam nor the nature of its venturesome adventure so long as one is not acquainted with the despotic rule as well as the splendour and vastness of the surrounding kingdoms, their culture and civilization, their military strength and the pretension and pageantry of their rulers who were invited by the Prophet, through his epistle, to accept Islam. Recent researches have unearthed new materials about evens, life and culture of the countries around Arabia, which were earlier either not known at all or of which the historians had only a hazy picture. A biographer of the Prophet should now take full advantage of all these new discoveries in the fields of archaeology and history and present the facts in conformity with the latest methods of comparative studies.
The writer of these lines is fully conscious of the difficulties alluded here as well as the great fund of literature hitherto accumulated in different languages through the industry of the Prophet’s biographers. Still, he considers it an honour to enter this long and luminous list of the Prophet’s biographers by attempting a new life-story of the most lovable and admirable personality of all times and ages.
The meagre amount of leisure and the poor eye-sight of the writer have, however, been the two impediments which have always prevented him from undertaking this inspiring task. He was well aware of the difficult and delicate nature of biographical writings and also of the fact that to pen the life of the greatest of all prophets was certainly most onerous. He had, of a fact, written a large number of such life-sketches-perhaps, more than most of his contemporary writers – for he had had the good fortune of penning the achievements of great reformers and revivalist of the faith, ever since he learnt to take the pen in his hand. Narration of these stories which run into a few thousand pages were no less exhilarating to him than enjoying the company of those purer souls, but he still felt diffident in driving his pen to write the life of the Prophet. He was conscious of the fact that very often a writer is so swayed by his own predispositions that he begins to paint the picture of his paragon of virtue in the colour of his resemblance. The portrait thus painted is more of the writer himself, for, instead of delineating the story of his ideal, in an objective and impartial manner, he unconsciously begins to view him in the light of his own experience and inclinations.
Those who are conversant with the science of mind and have also gained an insight into ethical conduct of the people through a person experience and study of the behaviour and deportment of their mates and colleagues over a length of time, can easily realize the inadequacy of diction and modes of expression in the faithful portrayal of a human character, its inner reaches as well as its spirit soaring high above the skies – it is a task so delicate and impassion able that not very often it comes in upon the writer himself. Only he can hope to succeed in this precarious job who has the capacity to touch the chords of another man’s sentiments, enter into his spirit of emotions and sentiments, share the tenderness as well as fervour of his passion and echo his joys and sufferings. Such a man has to have a soft corner in his heart which can perceive how others spend their lonely nights after a bustling days, how they behave within their homes and with the friends outside, how they acquit themselves in war and peace, how they carry themselves in excitement and calmness, in want and in plenty and in strength and in weakness. Verily, they are numerous heartstrings, sentiments and susceptibilities of man, still mysterious and undisclosed, for which one would not find an appropriate word in the greatest lexicon of any language.
Now, in its charm and elegance, in its catholicity and comprehensiveness and in its depiction of the most delicate and deepest feelings of human life, the biography of a prophet presents a task far more formidable than any other kin of word painting. Of a truth, it was only the Hadith5 of the holy Prophet, the like of which is to be found nowhere in the memoirs of other prophets or the greatest men whose life-story has been preserved by history, which has made it possible to penetrate into the inmost reaches of human psyche. In the compilations containing the Prophet’s acts and sayings as well as in his earliest biographies one finds such entrancing exaltations of God and moving supplications, such impassioned entreaties and absorbing orisons, expressing such heart-felt concern for the weal of entire humanity, that one’s heart begins to breathe and burn with their penetrating fervidness.6 Similarly, the utterance and speeches of the Prophet handed down by his companions and friends excel the most dainty and eloquent pieces of literature.7 With all this material at hand, one should have no difficult nor needs to be ingenious as one is wont to do in writing the lives of other great personalities in recounting the life of the Prophet. His life is the most perfect and winsome, based on unimpeachable evidence of the Divine Writ and unquestionable records of history, furnishing a vivid and detailed account of his looks and lineament, character and deportment, moral behaviour and method of prayer, his living awareness of God and anxiety for his fellow beings, the grace and elegance of his discourses, and the miraculous march of events in his momentous life. These accounts, recorded with the greatest care and restraint, present, notwithstanding the great labour undertaken by early biographers only a glimpse of that radiant soul. God may recompense them all with a goodly return, for they have left for us an undiminishing treasure in the form of the life of the Prophet which can be partaken by every individual, group and race to the end of time.

“Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much.” (Qur’an 33:21)

For these reasons, perhaps, he never ventured to attempt writing a new life of the Prophet; actually, he always considered it to be beyond his capacity. But, some of his respected friends8 repeatedly pressed him to write a life of the Prophet in Arabic which should keep in view the intellectual needs and understanding of the modern generation as well as the prevalent methods of scientific study of history and interpretation and the critical attitude discernible now-a-days. Every generation writes history afresh in a language intelligible to it, for it is necessary to do so like the continuous diagnose of disease and researches in medical treatment which undergo a change with the times. Yet, essential though it may be to keep these dispositions in mind, it should never be necessary to put up one’s own interpretation to the past events in order to give them the colour of one’s own ideologies, predilections and prejudices, which differ from man to man and change with the dawn of every day; nor the life of the prophet need be tainted with any ill-will or ignorance, nor yet should it be made a means to reflect the invariables of any particular social or political movement or ideology.

At last, God set the heart of the writer to the task and he devoted himself to it with rapt attention. He went through the Hadith literature and the biographical accounts of the prophet, old and new, in order to derive maximum benefit from all the material he could lay his hands on. then, placing reliance on the most authentic works on the subject, he started writing the present account. The works to which he is indebted most in this task are the book of Sihah,9 Sirat Ibn Hisham, Zad al-Ma’ad of Ibn Qayyim and the Sirat Ibn Kathir (which originally formed part of his larger work entitled Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayh, but later on took the form of the life of the Prophet in four volumes10). He also tried to make the best of modern works and the sources available in European languages, some which elucidate certain events of the Prophet’s life or shed new light on the society and kingdoms of the countries around Arabia during the early Islamic period. It has been his endeavour to present a integrated account of the intellectual, educative and missionary aspect of the Prophet’s life, rather than allow anyone of these to overshadow the others. His effort has also been to make the presentation as vivid, easy and familiar as possible, which, by itself, may win over the reader to follow the example of the great Prophet whose life and mission are without a parallel – unique as a biography of the greatest man of any nation and unmatched by the summons of any religion or movement. With full confidence in the magnetism of the Prophet’s life the writer considers it prudent to place a true, unhinged and undiluted account of the Prophet’s life before his readers. The language of truth is always unadorned and simple.
From October, 1975 (Shawwal, 1395) TO October, 1976 (Shawwal 1396) the writer of these lines remained completely engrossed in the task save for small spells wasted in illness of travels abroad, and was able to hand over the manuscript of the Arabic version to the Press by the end of Shawwal, 1396.

The writer has great pleasure in acknowledging hid debt of gratitude to two of his friend who have been of great assistance to him in the writing of this book. One of them, Maulana Burahanuddin Sambhali, a lecturer in Hadith in the Nadwatul ‘Ulama, rendered him valuable help by finding out the relevant ahahdith11 and verification of certain matters mentioned by the early biographers, Mohiuddin Ahmad is another colleague who has helped the writer in going through the Western sources, encyclopaedias and historical literature. Mohiduddin Ahmad has also rendered this work into language. May Allah recompense them both for their sincere and arduous assistance to the author.
For quite some time the author has been used to dictate this writing owing to his weak eye-sight, and hence he had to take help of some students of the Darul ‘Uloom in this case also. Of these, two students, Muhammad Mu’adh of Indore and ‘Ali Ahmad Gujrati, as well as Nur Alam Amini Nadwi, a young teacher of the Nadwi ‘Ulama, have been specially helpful to him. As for the maps included in this book, care was taken to get them prepared as accurately as possible for they are essential for understanding the politico-geographical situations described in this work. While Muhammad Hasan Ansari, M.A. (Geo) and Professor Muhammad Shafi, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Department of Geography, Muslim University, Aligarh, as well as the colleagues of the latter have taken personal interest in the preparation of these maps, valuable suggestion were given by Muhammad Rabe’y Nadwi who is Head of the Department of Arabic Literature in the Darul ‘Uloom, Nadwatul ‘Ulama and is also the author of a text book geography of Arabia. May thanks also due to Mahmood Akhtar of the Allahabad University for recasting these maps afresh for the Urdu and English versions. Lastly, a mention may be made of his nephew, Syed Muhammad Al-Hasani, who has rendered this book into Urdu with the same enthusiasm as he had translated some of the earlier Arabic works of the present writer. May Allah bless all of them for their labours.

In the end the author seeks the mercy of God for his own self and beseeches the Lord to make this work beneficial to all those who go through it. if this work succeed in stirring the embers of Prophet’s love in the heart of any Muslim or creates a longing in any non-Muslim to know more about the blessed Prophet and his teachings, the writer would deem his labour to have been amply rewarded. Yet, its true reward, as one might wish and earnestly ask for, would be its acceptance by the Lord as a means for one’s salvation in the hereafter.

Abul hasan ‘Ali

Rae Bareli
Friday, 15th December, 1978

Footnotes:

1. The story has been told by me in At-Tariq-ilal-Medina, in which I have told how deeply impressed I was by Rahmat-ul-lil-‘Alamin, a popular biography of the Prophet by Qazi M. Sulaiman Mansurpuri
2. The Arabic version known as at-Tariq-Ilal-Medina has been printed thrice from Medina, Lucknow and Damascus while its Urdu version has been published by the Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, Lucknow.
3. The English version has since been printed as Islam and the World, by the Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, Lucknow.
4. Lit. “emigration”, a word often transcribed as ‘hegira’, is applied to the emigration of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) from Mecca to Medina. It marks the starting point of the Muslim era.
5. Lit. “a saying,” it stands for the “prophetic tradition, a short account of some act or word of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and passed on by a chain of trustworthy narrators.”
6. One should see the author’s article “Life of Muhammad as reflected by his Prayers,” since printed in the form of a booklet, which explains what a deep insight the innermost feelings of human mind and heart as reflected by the Prophet’s prayers and how impressive they are in shaping one’s conduct and morals.
7. The chapter of “Finality of the Prophethood” in the author’s another work Islamic Concept of Prophethood needs be seen.
8. One who was most insistent, was Sheikh Muhammad Sawwaf, founding member of the Rabitat ‘Alami-I-Islami, Mecca and Adviser, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia
9. The Sihah or Sihah Sittah comprises the six most trustworthy collections of Traditions compiled by Bukahri, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah.
10. Published by ‘Isa al-Babi al-Halabi, Ltd. (1384/1964), Mustafa ‘Abdul Wahid, ed.
11. Plural of Hadith