The Sealed Nectar (Pocket Size)

Seerah and Biographies

In ‘Early Sources for Prophet Muhammad’s Biography’, Dr. Muhammad Saeed Mitwally aims to prove that applying Western methods of critical analysis to the available Muslim sources can take us back to early, reliable information about the Prophet (sa).

Early Western biographies of the Prophet of Islam (sa) were largely based upon the Qur’an, as well as upon the late Muslim sources dating from the sixteenth century. After the publication of Goldziher’s Muhammedanische Studien in 1890, the reliability of Muslim sources became controversial. This stance was intensified by the publication of Schacht’s The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, in which he claimed that none of the Hadith literature is authentic. In this book, Dr. Muhammad Saeed Mitwally successfully challenges some of the problems raised by the pessimistic attitude.

Students of Hadith will find this study thought-provoking and informative.

This book discusses the attempts of immoral cartoonists to malign the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) through satirical caricatures having no resemblance to reality. Likewise, it discusses the ideology of the Khārijite terrorists, their remoteness from Islām and the complete innocence of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) from them and their evil ideology. The issues of jihād and Muslim relations with non-Muslims in their countries are also discussed. This book is for open-minded people who see beyond media propaganda and wish to acquire an accurate understanding of Islām and its position on extremism and terrorism. Speaking in relation to the terrorist attacks which took place in France on 7th January 2015, Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī said: I advise the [imāms] who give sermons, the teachers, the lecturers and Muslim journalists to unite upon a single word and it is: To openly announce [their] disavowal and innocence from this action and other actions of anarchy… The people of the Sunnah hold it as their religion before Allāh that in the lands of Europe, America and other non-Muslim lands besides them in which they have settled there is a covenant, a contract [binding upon them]. Hence, they must not violate it [through treachery], ever. And speaking in defence of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) with respect to the slanderous and abusive Danish cartoons, Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī said: Muḥammad (peace be upon him) and his rightly-guided Caliphs and his noble Companions did not erect factories for the manufacture of elementary weapons such as swords and spears, let alone atomic bombs and missiles and other such wholly destructive weapons. Muḥammad (peace be upon him) did not erect a single factory because he was sent as a mercy to the worlds, to guide all of mankind to that which brings them happiness in the world and afterlife.

It is very important for anyone who wants to spread the message of Islam to study the life of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and discover how he undertook the mission of da‘wah, or calling to Islam. This book is a blueprint for da‘wah. From studying his biography we learn the lessons of patience and perseverance in the face of adversity and opposition, and the readiness to sacrifice everything for the cause of Islam. In this book, Dr. as-Sibâ‘ie shows us how the Prophet’s approach was gentle yet determined and clear-cut, with no compromise on basic issues. The author takes the most important events of the Messenger’s life, summarizes them in order to offer a brief overview, then outlines the lessons that we learn from these events. This is an excellent introduction both to the principles of da‘wah and to the seerah, the study of the life of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). It should be on the bookshelf of every Muslim who wants to call others to Allah. The Life of Prophet Muhammad: Highlights and Lessons has been translated into English by Nasiruddin al-Khattab.