[APT] Bidayat al Hidayah / بداية الهداية

Scholars of Ahadith (traditions) and writers of the biography of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, have explored his life from every angle and aspect from birth to death. Every event, every incident of his life has been described and narrated, but none had claimed that he has given his life’s recording its full rights. Hundreds of books have been written on the life of Muhammad and this endeavor will continue till the Day of Resurrection.

No doubt The Sealed Nectar ( Ø §Ã™â€žÃ˜ ±Ã˜ ­Ã™Å Ù‚ Ø §Ã™â€žÃ™â€¦Ã˜ ®Ã˜ ªÃ™Ë†Ã™â€¦ – Ar-Raheeq AI-Makhtum) is a book of great value and praiseworthy work on the life of Muhammad. This book has been written by the Eminent Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri of Jamiah Salafiyah, Banaras (India). The first Islamic Conference on Seerah (biography of the Prophet) was held in 1976 in Pakistan sponsored by the Muslim World League. The League announced a world contest for writing a book on the life of the Prophet. One hundred fifty thousand Saudi Riyals (SR 150,000) (forty thousand U.S. Dollars) was the grand prize for the best five books.

One hundred and seventy-one manuscripts were received from all over the world. Out of these, eighty-five were in the Arabic Language, sixty-four in Urdu, twenty-one were in English and one in French and Hausa.

A board of highly qualified scholars judged the manuscripts and announced the results. The manuscript of Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, Jamiah Salafiyah Banaras (India), author of the book in hand (The Sealed Nectar) received first the grand prize of SR 50,000 (fifty thousand Saudi Riyals) for its authentic and sound collections of the narrations. Dr. Majid Ali Khan, New Delhi, India, placed second. The third prize went to Dr. Naseer Ahmed, Islamic University, Lahore, Pakistan. The fourth prize was awarded to Mr. Harnid Mahmud of Egypt. The fifth and final prize was awarded to Abdus-Salam Hashim of Madinah Munawwarah. An extravagant prize distribution ceremony was held at Makkah Al-Mukarramah on 12 Rabi’ul-Awwal 1399 A.H. (1979 C.E.). Afterwards, the book was published by the Muslim World League and then many other organizations gained the honor of publishing this masterpiece. Darussalam also published this book in the Arabic language. I had wished to publish this book in the English language for the wider benefit of humanity. Shaikh Safiur-Rahman willingly agreed to the idea and consented to publish the English translation. The stage of translation was traversed with the help of brother Mahir Abu Dhahab, owner and general manager of Markaz Noor Ash-Sham in Damascus, Syria.