What Are Hadith and Seerah?

Hadith is a collection of traditions comprising the prophet Muhammad’s sayings, which, along with descriptions of his everyday life, serve as the primary source of guidance for Muslims aside from the Quran.

While Seerah Of Prophet Muhammad is a collection of tales concerning specific incidents in the prophet’s life.

A hadith and a historical account (Seerah) are structurally quite similar; they both include isnads (chains of transmission).

The fundamental distinction between a hadith and Seerah is that a hadith is not concerned with an occurrence in and of itself, and does not usually mention a time or place.

Hadith, on the other hand, is used to record religious teaching as an authentic source of Islamic law. A Seerah, on the other hand, may have some legal or religious consequences,

but its primary goal is to transmit information about a specific occurrence.

Many academics have devoted their work to both types of writings equally from the 8th and 9th centuries. According to certain historians, the Seerah and Maghazi literature is a subset of Hadith.

Al Sira Al Nabawiyya PDF

If you want to educate yourself about al-Sira al Nabawiyya to teach it to your children, download al Sira al Nabawiyya by Ibn Kathir as a PDF to read it on any device you have. Or download Seerah for kids PDF and let your kids learn on their devices.

You can also order Seerah books for kids from Madinah Media and have them delivered to your house. They have lots of Seerah stories for kids that they can learn from.

If you want them to learn from a professional tutor instead, sign them up for Noor Academy’s ( house of Quran ) Islamic studies program! They get to learn more about the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the most fun, interactive, creative way.

Why Is Seerah Important?

It’s a Guide

Seerah works as a guide for all Muslims. Allah SWT sent the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a teacher and guide for the word of God. Mustafa is the name Allah has given to our Prophet which means “the chosen one”.  

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), then, took the mission and did it perfectly. That’s why we should closely observe his life and learn from the tiniest details in it.

To begin with, examining Muhammad’s (Peace Be Upon Him) life provides proof of his Prophethood. Only by studying his Seerah can we learn about his Prophethood. 

To Know the Islamic History

Furthermore, Islam has a distinct history. Every Messenger of Allah has a life history, however brief. In the Quran, there are snippets of events linked to the life of Muhammad (PBUH), who was sent to the entire universe with the character of Islam. 

We come to the Seerah to learn about Islam and our Last Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH).

To Better Understand the Quran

We cannot understand the Quran correctly until we have Seerah in our hands. First and foremost, the Quran was given to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and it was progressively revealed during the course of his Prophethood career.

Seerah Of Prophet Muhammad assists us in comprehending situations and occurrences in relation to each Ayah presented in the Quran. Seerah and the Ayahs of the Qur’an are inextricably linked.

To Follow the Prophet’s Spirit of Islam

Studying Seerah Of Prophet Muhammad will finally lead to Muslims truly following Muhammad (PBUH). Seerah makes it possible to follow him in his totality. 

It’s hard to follow him if you don’t know who he is. We cannot draw life lessons without first learning about the circumstances that occurred to him and how he dealt with those challenges during his entire career.

To Better Love Our Prophet

Muslims all over the world claim to love the last prophet, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), more than their own lives, but to be honest, no one truly loves Him since what he stated via his teachings and what he did practically are not mirrored in the Muslim character in our days.

It implies that we as Muslims say it with our mouths but do not demonstrate it by fully obeying him. Technically, developing a love for someone is impossible until you know her/him totally. Love without knowledge is ridiculous.

One can profess love for someone, but s/he will never be practical about it. Similarly, Muslims cannot develop real love until they are acquainted with Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) via his Sirah.

Muslims all across the world profess their love for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and become furious when someone says something negative about him. All of that without knowing him. We may assume that if Muslims read his Sirah, the love in their hearts would definitely rise, and the entire scenario will change.

To Build a Better Muslim Identity

Seerah Of Prophet Muhammad study truly aids a Muslim in building an authentic Muslim identity. Studying the Seerah connects one to Islam and Muslims all around the world. 

Seerah lifts our spirits and instills love in the hearts of the Muslim community all around the world. To put it another way, it inspires us to love and care for Muslims who live far from our current location.

To make the Prophet Mohammad’s Seerah a model for breaking out of our current state of darkness, Muslims must look beyond our obsession with his miracles and rituals. 

We must shift our focus from his domestic life, as important as it is, to the difficult tasks and heavy burdens of the battlefields of Badr, Uhud, Khaybar, and Hunain. We must see him as a Messenger as well as a religious leader and a commander. Only then can he become both our “model” and the “greatest of exemplars.”

What are the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad?

The Holy Prophet continues to be a model of piety, love, devotion, and strength for all mankind, not just Muslims. His life, although being chronicled, is one of the most interesting and debated lives on the planet.

Many people continue to desire even the tiniest information about the life of the man known as Mohammed. So let’s reflect on some of his characteristics.

He was the most modest person on the planet. His humility is still one of his most inspiring qualities. According to a narrative, the Prophet once said:

“I will not give up five habits as long as I live: To eat sitting on the ground with slaves, to ride on a pony without a saddle, to a milch goat with my own hands, to wear coarse woolen cloths, and to greet children, so that it may become a popular habit after me and people follow suit”. 

The Prophet Muhammad is said to have walked with his head down and his eyes fixed on the ground rather than the sky. He is reported to have walked with great strides and a faint somber aura, lowering his head as though descending from above.

Despite tremendous hate and backlash from the community, the Prophet stayed constant in his goal to be an example of patience, understanding, and tolerance in the beginning. According to the Prophet, he informed his friends and family members:

“Be lenient to the people in their affairs and do not be rigid; give hope to them and do not cause break up among them…Islam is a balanced religion, so be moderate in acting on its commandments”.

There are many examples of the Prophet’s characteristic of staying away from the riches or material goods of this world. One is such: 

“The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (MABPWH): ‘Take this amount and buy a shirt for me’. Ali (MABPWH) says: ‘I went to the market and bought a shirt for twelve dirhams’. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) looked at it and said: ‘A cheaper shirt would suit me better. O Ali! Do you think the shopkeeper will take it back?’”

The gentleness and tranquility of the Prophet Mohammed, as stated in the Holy Quran, is what made him so tremendously strong, and serves as a reminder to us all of the power of love, peace, and quiet strength.

“So (O Prophet!) it is owing to the great mercy of Allâh that you are gentle towards them. Had you been harsh, hard-hearted, they would have certainly dispersed from around you; hence pardon them and ask protection for them, and consult them in matters (of administration), and when you are determined (after due consultation), put your trust in Allâh. Verily, Allâh loves those who put their trust in Him.”

(Surah al-Imran)

It also has been said that the Prophet Muhammad would be up in prayer even in the middle of the night. One such story was when the Prophet’s wife found him sobbing in prayer, teaching us all the power of appealing to Allah for pardon.