The Biography of the Prophet (PBUH) as Narrated by Al-Waqidi’s Scribe

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), quoting the news headquarters of the 33rd Iran Book Week, the book “Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra” by Muhammad ibn Sa’d ibn Mani’ al-Basri, a direct student and scribe of Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi (author of Al-Maghazi), is considered one of the most important sources of the Prophet’s biography (seerah) and the social history of early Islam. Ibn Sa’d, who lived in the first half of the 3rd Hijri century, utilized the narrations of al-Waqidi and other hadith scholars to create a work that not only encompasses the biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but also serves as an encyclopedia of the prominent figures of early Islam.

In addition to extensive information about the Companions, Successors, and Muslim scholars up to his time, the author provides a relatively detailed account of the life of the Messenger of God (PBUH). This book contains biographies of 4250 individuals who, in some way, played a role in accompanying the Prophet (PBUH). Six hundred of these individuals are women.

The outstanding feature of “Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra” in presenting the biography of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) is not in the form of a linear narrative, but rather in a classified structure based on historical and social hierarchies. In this work, Ibn Sa’d narrates the life of the Prophet alongside the lives of the Companions, Successors, women of early Islam, and the scholarly and genealogical classes of the Islamic Ummah, a narration that holds an exceptional position in the tradition of seerah writing due to its order.

In the first volume of this work, he covers the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from birth to death. This section includes precise reports on the Prophet’s lineage and his birth until his demise (PBUH). Ibn Sa’d extensively used his teacher al-Waqidi in narrating these accounts, especially in the Maghazi section, and in some cases, he presented multiple narrations alongside each other, mentioning their chain of transmission (isnad) and textual differences.

In subsequent sections, Ibn Sa’d meticulously narrates the events of the prophethood, early invitations, migration to Abyssinia, pledges of allegiance at Aqaba, migration to Medina, and the Prophet’s military campaigns (ghazawat) in chronological and thematic order. In narrating the Maghazi, he speaks of military details, army composition, consultations, and even the distribution of spoils, and in some cases, he summarizes or critiques al-Waqidi’s narrations.

Another distinguishing feature of this work is its attention to the role of women in early Islam. Ibn Sa’d has recorded the lives of Quraishi women, immigrant women (Muhajirat), and Ansar women in specific sections, mentioning their lineage, marriages, children, and social participation. These sections are considered among the earliest historical sources about Muslim women. Overall, according to some modern researchers, Ibn Sa’d can be called the founder of classified history, and his work can be introduced as an invaluable source for understanding the social structure of society in the early centuries.

“Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra” in the Modern Era

Between the years 1322 and 1347 AH (Hijri calendar), Eduard Sachau and his colleagues, including Eugen Mittwoch, Friedrich Schwall, Juliette Lippert, Carl Brockelmann, and others, published it in Leiden in 9 volumes, the ninth of which is an index of proper names.

The second edition was published in 1358 AH in Egypt by the Society for the Publication of Islamic Knowledge and Culture, with an introduction by Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari. The next edition was also done by Dar al-Sha’b al-Misriyyah. Another edition was brought to market by Ehsan Abbas through Dar Sader Beirut. The basis for these three editions is the same as Eduard Sachau’s edition.

Another edition was published in 1990 (1410 AH) edited by Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Ata by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah in Beirut. The cleanliness of this edition led Dr. Mahmoud Mahdavi Damghani to use this version for its Persian translation. This translation, in eight volumes (the first volume is the noble Prophetic Seerah), was published for the first time in 1374 SH by Farhang-o-Andisheh Publications. A part of this translation is presented below:

News of the Prophet (PBUH) Sending his Representatives with Letters to Kings and Inviting Them to Islam, and What the Messenger of God Wrote to Some Arabs and Others:

When the Prophet (PBUH) returned from the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in Dhul-Hijjah of the sixth year, he sent his envoys to kings and wrote letters to them, inviting them to Islam. And when it was said that kings do not read unsealed letters, he prepared a silver ring, whose gem was part of its head – it did not have a separate gem – and on it was written in three lines: “Muhammad Rasul Allah” (Muhammad, Messenger of God), and with that ring, he sealed the letters.

On a specific day, six of His Holiness’s envoys departed from Medina, and this was in the month of Muharram of the seventh year. Each of them spoke the language of the people to whom they were sent.

And the first envoy whom the Messenger of God (PBUH) sent was Umar ibn Umayyah al-Damri, whom he dispatched with two letters to the Negus. In one of the letters, he invited the Negus to Islam and wrote verses from the Qur’an for him. The Negus took the Prophet’s letter, placed it on his eye as a sign of respect, descended from his throne in humility, sat on the ground, embraced Islam, recited the two testimonies of faith, and said: “If I could come into his presence, I would.” He then wrote a letter acknowledging his acceptance of Islam and his affirmation, stating that he had become Muslim for the sake of God, and sent it with Ja’far ibn Abi Talib…