Prophetic Biography
Madinah, the fountain of enlightenment
Course Description
In this last module we conclude the Medinan period with the passing of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم .This period of the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم life saw significant changes in the spiritual and social life of the community: the finalising of the ritual fast, the call to prayer, and almsgiving, as well as new rules relating to trade and to newlysanctioned military engagement. In treating these matters, we will highlight the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم steadfastness, unfailing resolve, and wisdom in how he implemented these new laws and how he overcame the barriers and challenges he faced. As we shall see, his response was always informed by the Qur’anic command ‘and push back with that which is better’ (Q41:34). Through a close study of this final period in his life, students will develop a greater appreciation and admiration for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and draw inspiration and wisdom that will inform their own lives.
The life of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is a cornerstone for the full understanding of Islam. Every other Islamic discipline serves to elucidate how the tradition (sunnah) of the Prophet was embodied in his noble life.
In this year course, divided into three modules, each module comprising 10 of weeks. The Prophetic life is studied in a chronological order following the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم age at the time of events. Particular attention will be given to those Prophetic events that express virtuous character in the face of adversity. In addition, a sign posting of how other Islamic disciplines use prophetic events to inform their respective disciplines and were in the Quran these are mentioned. This is to cultivate in students an awareness and desire to further their learning of Islam’s integrated scholarly tradition.
Course Outline
Please find below detailed plan for each lesson, the Topic and a description of what will be covered in this lesson.
Course Text
The course draws on works that came to inform Islam’s traditional pedagogy and represent its’ normative expression. These works are cited below for reference followed by brief biography authors:
1. Ibn Hishām, ‘Abd al-Malik. Al- sīrah al-nabawiyyah. 4vols. Edited by Muhammad Muhyi al-Din ‘Abd al-Hamid.Cairo: Matba’ al- Hijäzi, 1963
2. Trevor Le Gassick, Muneer Goolam Fareed and Ismāʻīl Ibn-ʻUmar Ibn-Kat̲hīr (2006). The life of the prophet Muḥammad : Al-Sīra al-nabawiyya.4. Reading: Garnet.
3. Al-Shāmī, Muhammad b.Yusuf al-Salihī. Subul al-Hudā wa al-Rashād fī sīrah khayr al-‘Ibād. 12vols Edited ‘Abd al-Mu’izz ‘Abd al-Hamid Cairo:Ihyā al-turāth al-Islamiyy, 2002
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām ibn Ayyūb al-Ḥimyarī al-Muʿāfirī al-Baṣrī
(died 7 May 833), or Ibn Hisham, edited the biography of Islamic Prophet Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq. The nisba Al-Baṣrī means “of Basra”, in modern Iraq Ibn Hisham has been said to have grown up in Basra and moved afterwards to Egypt. His family was native to Basra but he himself was born in Old Cairo. He gained a name as a grammarian and student of language and history in Egypt. His family was of Himyarite origin and belongs to Banu Ma‘afir tribe of Yemen. As-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah, ‘The Life of the Prophet’; is an edited recension of Ibn Isḥāq’s classic Sīratu Rasūli l-Lāh ‘The Life of God’s essenger’....Read More
Ibn Isḥāq’s now lost work survives only in Ibn Hishām’s and alTabari’s recensions, although fragments of several others survive, and Ibn Hishām and alTabarī share virtually the same material.
Wikipedia. (2022b). Ibn Hisham. [online] Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Hisham
Ibn Kathir is Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathir ibn Daww ibn Dara’, Abu al-Fida’ ‘Imad ai-Din
born in 70111302 in a village outside of Damascus, where he moved with his brother at the age of five. He later travelled in pursuit of Sacred Knowledge, becoming a principle Shafi’i scholar, hadith master (hafiz), and historian who authored works in each of these fields, though he is perhaps best known for his four-volume Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim [Commentary on the Mighty Koran], which reflects its author’s magisterial command of the sciences of hadith. He died in Damascus in (al-A ‘lam (y136), 1.320).
(Keller, Nuh Ha Mim. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. Rev.ed. Beltsville, MD: Amman, 1996)
Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood
Shaykh Thaqib has travelled to numerous places over the last 10 years in pursuit of sacred knowledge. This began at several deen intensives with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf from whom the impetus to his seeking sacred knowledge belongs. After travelling to Morocco he went to Hadramawt to the village of Tarim where he sat at the feet of the spiritual Masters and jurists including Habib Umar bin Hafiz.
He travelled to Damascus a number of times and studied under Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, Shaykh Abdul Wahaab Shaykh Muhammad al Yaqoubi, Shaykh Adnan al Majd, Shaykh Maree al Rashid and Shaykh Khalil al Sabbagh. His travels also led him to Mauritania to study with Murabit al Hajj, to Liverpool to study with Shaykh Siraj Ud-Din and to Istanbul at the feet of the gnostic and friend of Allah, Shaykh Mahmud Effendi; and studied with Shaykh Ehsaan Hojah and Shaykh Muhammed Ameen Siraj.”
Shaykh Thaqib has been teaching on Sacred Study for 12 years and part of the Fountain teacher for now over 22 years.
Location
Bury Park Community Centre, 161, 161b Dunstable Rd, Luton LU1 1BW.
Zoom: links will be provided via email
Date/Time
Starting – 7th October 2023 for 10 weeks
Saturday – 11.30am to 12.30pm
Course Content
You must be logged in to view the course content.
