Introduction

to
Seerah
Lecture # 1
 Definition of Seerah
The word Seerah has a linguistic meaning which means “a path”.

So it is a path which a person takes during his lifetime.

The Hans-Wehr dictionary gives the translation of Seerah as conduct, comportment,

demeanor, attitude, behavior, way of life, attitude, position, reaction, way of acting and
biography.

All of these are meanings of Seerah. Seerah could be the biography of any person,
not just Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam), however we have used the
word so much with Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam), that when we say Seerah,
we almost all the time are referring to the life of Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa
Sallam). However, we can say the seerah of Abu Bakr (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu), Seerah of
‘Umar (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) and so on. So Seerah is a biography of a person, their life.
 Importance of Seerah in Quran
َّْ ‫خ َْر َو َذك ََْر‬
ً ِ‫َللا َكث‬
‫يرا‬ ِْ ‫َللا َواليَو َْم اْل‬
َّْ ‫َان يَر ُجو‬ َ ‫َللا أُس َوةْ َح‬
َْ ‫سنَةْ ِلِّ َمن ك‬ ِّْ ‫سو ِْل‬ َْ ‫لَقَدْ ك‬
ُ ‫َان لَكُمْ فِي َر‬

In truth, in (the sacred person of) Allah’s Messenger (blessings and peace be upon
him) there is for you a most perfect and beautiful model (of life) for every such person
that expects and aspires to (meeting) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah
abundantly.

(al-Ahzāb, 33 : 21)

ً ‫للا ومن تولَّى فما أرسلناكْ علي ِهمْ ح ِْفي‬

‫ظا‬ ّْ ْ‫سولْ فقدْ أطاع‬
ُ ‫الر‬
َّ ‫َّمنْ يُ ِط ِْع‬

Whoever obeys the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) obeys (but) Allah
indeed, but he who turns away, then We have not sent you to watch over them.

(an-Nisā’, 4 : 80)
 ً ‫ش ًِّرا َونَذ‬
‫ِيرا‬ ُّْ ‫ َيا أَيُّ َها النّ ِب‬o‫يرا‬
َ ‫ي ِإنّا أَر‬
َْ َ‫سلن‬
ِ ‫اك شَا ِهدًا َو ُم َب‬ ً ‫ُّم ِن‬ ‫َللا ِبإِ ْذ ِن ِِه َو ِس َِرا ًًا‬
ِِّ ‫َو َدا ِعيًا ِإلَى‬
O (Esteemed) Prophet! Surely, We have sent you as a Witness (to the
truth and the creation), a Bearer of glad tidings (of the beauty of the
Hereafter) and a Warner (of the torment in the Hereafter),And (as) an
Inviter towards Allah by His command and as a Sun spreading Light.

(al-Ahzāb, 33 : 45,46)
 What is the importance of studying Seerah?

Many Muslims claim to love Allah and His

Rasool (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) yet our actions
and appearances say otherwise. Yes, Allah does not
look at your appearance but the nature of the deed
and the heart and yes, Allah is the final judge… but
would not the lover imitate their beloved? If you love
someone, you want to speak about that person
constantly and emulate your beloved and do do
everything that your beloved likes because you
LOVE that person. Love can not be very deep and
sincere if it is mere words. To love a person you
need to know much about them- their likes; dislikes;
habits; etc.
No 1: History of Islam

➔ The life of Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) is the history of Islam

➔ Seerah you would find situations and incidences that would help us in
everything that we would need to know in our life of dawah.
➔ we are not just studying the biography of a person, we are studying the
history of our religion.
➔ All of the lives of the Anbiyaa were recorded in the Qur-aan with the exception
of Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam). So to study the life of
Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) we go to Seerah.
 Example:
Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Waqqaas
(RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu), son of Sa’d ibn
Waqqaas (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) who is
one of the ‘Asharah Mubashsharah,
(one of the ten who were given glad
tidings of Paradise in this world)- would
say: “Our father would teach us the
battles of Rasool Allah, he would teach
us the seerah of Rasool Allah and he
would tell us that these are the traditions
of your fathers, so study them”.
No 2: Love of Prophet Muhammad‫ﷺ‬
➔ Second reason to study Seerah is to develop the proper love
of Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) in our hearts.
➔ Allah tala says “Say:If your fathers, your sons, your brothers,
your wives or your kindred, the wealth that you have gained,
the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in
which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His
Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then
wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah
guides not the people who are Al-Faasiqoon (the rebellious,
disobedient to Allâh) (Surah Taubah: 24)
➔ Rasoolullah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said: “None of you
will attain true faith until you love me more than your parents,
your children and the whole world” (Bukhari, Book of Belief,
Hadith 14)
➔ There are no other ways as effective and as powerful to increase our
love for the Prophet than by studying his life and times.
Example:
‘Umar bin Khattab (RadiyAllahu ‘anhu) he came to Rasool Allah (Sallallahu
‘Alayhi wa Sallam) and said…. He was a very honest and a straightforward
person. So went to Rasool Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) and said O
Rasool Allah I love more than everything except myself” I love you more than
anyone except myself”.

Rasool Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) told him “until you love me”,
meaning you don’t really attain the complete faith until you love me more than
your own self. So ‘Umar bin Khattab (RadiyAllahu ‘anhu) came back and
said” O Rasool Allah, Now I love you more than my own self”. Rasool Allah
(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said “Al aan imaan ” Now you have attained the
complete faith”.
No 3: To follow the Best Example

Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) says who

ever seeks the pre-eminence of the
hereafter, the wisdom of this life, just
purpose,and the embodiment of
morality and character, let him follow
Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa
Sallam) the Prophet of Allah. So
Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa
Sallam) is the embodiment of
“Khuluq”- The perfect character. And
by studying his Seerah, we will be
more able to follow his way.
 No 4: Understanding Quran

➔ The Qur’an is a very profound book and it cannot be understood

without context.
➔ Some aayaats (verses) in the Quran that are independent of the
circumstances of revelation.
➔ Seerah gives us the explanation of aayaat.
➔ We will not understand this verse until we study the Seerah – when
it was revealed and why it was revealed.
 Example:
Manay aayaat of Surah Ahzaab were revealed regarding the battle of Al-Ahzaab
(Khandaq). Many aayaat in Surah Aal-‘Imraan were revealed relating to an event
that happened in the time of Rasool (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam). So you have a
major section of Surah Aal-‘Imraan, which was a dialogue between Muslims and
Christians, based on the Christian delegation that came from Najran to visit Rasool
(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam). These ayaat were revealed to support Rasool
(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) in his dialogue with the Christians. And the latter part
of Aal-‘Imraan is dealing with Ghazwah (Battle) of Uhud. Now the details of the
ghazwah are not mentioned in the Surah.
No 5: His life (Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam)
illustrates the methodological steps of the Islamic
movement.
Rasool Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) went through stages. He went
through steps started by a secret da’wah. And then it became public. And
then later on Jihaad. These stages are important for Islamic movement.

we have Qur-aan and Sunnah which are verbal teachings, but how do we
apply these verbal teachings? By looking at the application of Rasool
(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) and the Sahaabah (radiyAllahu ‘anhum).
No 6: Studying Seerah is ‘Ibaadah

➔ We are not doing this to entertain ourselves. This is ‘ibaadah.

➔ There is ajr (reward) in studying this.
➔ We are worshipping Allah by coming together and studying the life
of Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam).
➔ Allah says “Say if you do love Allah then follow me (i.e.
Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) Allah will love you and
forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.”(Aal ‘Imraan 3: 31)
 No 7: A source of optimism
The Seerah raises our hopes, lifts our spirits and blesses us with
optimism. By studying the Seerah we can understand that the people
before us suffered even more. In fact, in the Qur’an, Allah tells the
Prophet :

We are going to recite to you the stories of the previous prophets in order
that your heart attain affirmation.

Qur’an [11:120]
NO 8: A miracle
The Seerah itself is a miracle of the Prophet . His whole life is an indication
that he is the Prophet of Allah – coming from where he came, with the lack of
education that he had and yet coming forth with the message, the eloquent
scripture. The Prophet came from the midst of a barbaric nation and within
twenty years or so after the first revelation, he revolutionized the entire nation.

The famous scholar Ibn Hazm says,

If the Prophet had not been given any miracle, other than his life and his
times, it would have been sufficient to prove that he is a prophet from Allah.
NO 9:A precise methodology for the revival of the Ummah
The Seerah lays out a precise methodology for the revival of the Ummah. If
we want to bring about honor and glory to his Ummah, we have to look at
what he did. He began from zero and within his lifetime achieved so much.

The Seerah brings about the knowledge with which we can defend the honor
of our Prophet . His honor has always been under attack, from day one – he
was called a magician, a madman and what not. In our times the Prophet is
called a bloodthirsty terrorist, a womanizer etc etc. How are we going to
defend him if we do not know whether these things are true or not? And if
certain elements are true, then how do we understand them?
➔ We can also learn about the lives of the
companions.
➔ we study the stories of Abu Bakr and
Umar and Ali, the stories of Anas and
Jabir, Talha and Jubair – they were all
legendary people. They inspire us by their
sacrifices, struggles, patience and
perseverance. Each and everyone of
them is a role model for us.
 CONCLUSION
Many Muslims claim to love Allah and His Rasool (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa
Sallam) yet our actions and appearances say otherwise. Yes, Allah does not
look at your appearance but the nature of the deed and the heart and yes,
Allah is the final judge… but would not the lover imitate their beloved? If you
love someone, you want to speak about that person constantly and emulate
your beloved and do do everything that your beloved likes because you
LOVE that person. Love can not be very deep and sincere if it is mere words.
To love a person you need to know much about them- their likes; dislikes;
habits; etc.
JAZAK ILLAH U KHAIR