Chapter 1 - Definition of Seerah

Definition of Seerah

Linguistic meaning: A path, a path where somebody walks, a direction which

somebody takes, to walk in a particular direction
Figurative meaning: a persons life, the path that someone has gone on/been
in, lived life in a direction of.
Seerah can also be used as a description
E.g. This person has a beautiful way of life
Surah Taha [20:21]
Allah asks Musa (as) whats in his hand. Musa replies that it is his staff &
describes it. Allah commands Musa to drop the staff, which became a snake.
Then Allah commands Musa to grab it & not to be afraid
Seize it and fear not; We will return it to its former condition.
The word Allah uses is seerah to mean first form, former condition.
Even your physical form & the way you act/talk is a part of your seerah
Technical terminology

Seerah is a literary term. Translates to biography

Seerah shaksiya biography of someone
Seerah datiyah autobiography
Seeratul Nabawiya prophetic biography
Scholars describe it as everything & anything in connection to the life & times
of the Prophet (saw)
Prophets physical descriptions, mannerisms, his campaigns, his family/home
life, etc. are all part of the seerah
Early compilations of seerah are referred to as Al-Maghazi, about the
military campaigns of Prophet
Why study seerah?

Seerah has been around since Day 1. Seerah & Quran go hand in hand
Preconceived notions of Seerah
Its been presented to us in form of books, in Sunday school, or maybe you
came across it in some form of text in pamphlet or book. This form of seerah
has been only a dry presentation of facts (only names, dates & places)
Or maybe, seerah has only been told like a fairytale (long time ago, such an
such person lived in a such and such place & did this)
Purpose of sSerah is asking yourself: what benefit can you take from it?
When we look in the Quran, Allah turns our attention to the Prophet.
There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent
pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who]
remembers Allah often. [Surat Al-Ahzab, 33:21]
There is no role model better than the Prophet (saw). The Prophet will be the
ultimate role model for you, when & only when you completely immerse

yourself into the life of the Prophet. Put yourself in the shoes of the Prophet.
When you know just certain facts about Prophet, like dates, or specific events,
or even Hadiths, it just becomes technical facts. You start to look at Prophet
from a technical point of view (ie. List of facts like on a resume). We need to
humanize the Prophet
The average Muslim tends to present Prophet in a very non-human fashion.
People who are new to Islam (both youths & re/converts) have an impression
of the Prophet like hes a superhero like hes out of this world & not relatable
to the rest of us.
True, the Prophet was super awesome, in his speech, his mannerisms, but it
becomes ingrained in your psyche that the Prophet is not relatable at all. Of
course, he should be respected, but he should not become distant to us. He
becomes someone I read about that I should go oooh and aaah about,
rather than someone I can relate to.
When we study his life, it humanizes him when we read about the various
aspects of his life.
Studying the seerah allows us to extract practical & relevant lessons
Hadith refers to the actual traditions & narrations of the Prophet. It includes
what he said, what he did, what he approved of.
Hadith is technical, its excerpts of his life. A lot of times, Hadith is presented
without context, very technical. The Islamic jurists derive fatwa from those
Hadiths. Most of our interactions with the Prophet is from those technical
hadiths, but its not part of the overall narrative of the Prophets life. Hadith
shouldnt be studied exclusively absent of the seerah.
Sunnah is a very subjective term. The seerah is a part of the Prophets sunnah.
Everything thats related to the life & existence of the Prophet is related to
sunnah.
The Makkan period of Prophethood was 13 years. The Madinan period of
Prophethood was 10 years.

But in standard books of seerah, of the book will be dedicated to the

Madinan period while is dedicated to the Makkan period.
Explanations
There are more narrations about the Madinan period than Makkan period,
because there were more Sahaba. Also, the life, practice, &message of the
Prophet was a lot more open in the Madinan period. The first 3 years of
Prophethood (in the Makkan period) were private, because it was not safe at
the time for Muslims.
In the Madinan period, the message of Islam was very open. From a surface
look, there were more events in the Madinan period, such as Battle of Badr.
Hadith has a different level of criteria than the seerah. Hadith has to be
handed over to the legal experts to make important decisions about
halaal/haraam, while seerah is about the overall life of the Prophet, which
doesnt have legal implications. Seerah includes talking about the Prophets
emotions, such as the pain & grief he experienced constantly after losing
family members throughout his life. It gives you consolation, knowing that
your Prophet went through these very tragic moments, gives you strength to
carry on.

We do have quite a bit of info on the Makkan period, but then we judge
everything by the Hadith, like were not getting certain bits of his life from a
certain chain of experts as the Hadith.
Benefits of studying seerah

In studying the Prophets (saw) life, youll therein find the most perfect role
model
Studying the seerah vs. taking a few random Hadith humanizes the Prophet.
Hes not just some distant person with a cool story.
Seerah allows us to extract lessons to apply to our own lives
Life of the Prophet is a direct aid in understanding the Quran, how to live life
according to the Quran.
The Prophet was a living, breathing, walking, talking Quran
When you study the Prophets life all the way through, youre able to observe
the Prophet interact with individuals (Non-Muslims, Muslims, youth, women)
things we contemporary Muslims have questions about.
No single human beings life has been documented like Prophet Muhammads
life.
Everything about him was observed, like the color of his skin (a medium skin
tone), the symmetry of his face (an open, broad, welcoming face not a round
huge face, but a very welcoming & pleasant face), his forehead (little bit large),
his eyes (his pupils were very dark), & so on.
His physical appearance, his conduct, his mannerism were all documented.
He was always in thought, always in concern about how to help people. He
never had a moments rest. He was always busy with something.
For long periods of time, hed be very quiet & serene. He wouldnt talk
unnecessarily.
When Prophet would talk to people, hed completely turn & face people. Hed
turn his whole body, not just his head. If he was sitting, then hed get up, turn
to the side, face the person, and then talk to whoever was talking to him.
Hed gesture at people with his whole hand; he wouldnt point with his index
finger.
He was always the first person to say salaam.
When he had to talk to someone across the room, he wouldnt yell at people
across the room. Hed walk across the room, touch the person on the shoulder,
& speak to them pleasantly.
He would introduce himself when hed meet new people. Hed say salaam,
greet them very politely. He didnt just dive into business with them he was
warm with people.
The Prophets message is universal.
Early prophets that Allah sent down have been for specific people or specific
nations, but Prophet Muhammads message is for everyone.
And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of
good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know. (Surat Saba,
34:28)
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.
(Surat Al Anbya, 21:107)

 Part of the gift & miracle of the Prophet was that he used to speak with very
brief comprehensive, profound words.

He was able to say a whole lot with very little.

Allah tells us in the Quran that for every nation there was a messenger. For
every people, there was someone sent to guide them.

But just like the Prophets would encompass so much, his existence would
encompass so much.
There were over 100,000 prophets & messengers sent to each demographic
throughout time. But Muhammads life still serves as an example, a guide for
1400+ years, for 25+ generations.