Literary Notes: Seeratun Nabi — an encyclopedic work on Islam and Prophet (PBUH)

A LARGE number of books have been written in Urdu on the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but Shibli No’mani’s Seeratun Nabi is among the most popular and most prominent ones.
Shibli No’mani (1857-1914) conceived the idea of a detailed and authentic work in Urdu in several volumes on the Prophet (PBUH) of Islam — recording events of his life, his way of living, disposition, temperament, morals, conduct and teachings. For the purpose, Shibli collected a large number of works in several languages, notably Arabic, visited several libraries and engaged a team of scholars and assistants. Despite extreme hard work Shibli could not finish the work due to ill health and could pen only two volumes.

When Shibli was on his deathbed he had asked Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (1884-1953), one of the most capable of his disciples, to complete the work. On Shibli’s death, on Nov 18, 1914, only the first volume was ready. The second volume was almost complete, but Sulaiman Nadvi added much to it after he found a note by Shibli that pointed out the required additions, as Shibli had left behind a huge pile of aides-memoire, first drafts and references.
Sulaiman Nadvi wrote the remaining five volumes of the seven-volume gigantic work. Due to Nadvi’s additions, some scholars, such as S.M. Ikram, feel that the second volume may be considered a joint effort by both Shibli and Nadvi. Seeratun Nabi covers not only all the important events of the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but also almost every aspect of his life and teachings with references.
The historical background and the details that explain certain injunctions of Islam, along with basic beliefs and worships, truly make Seeratun Nabi an encyclopedic work. Though some scholars, for instance Prof Dr Zafar Ahmed Siddiqi, have pointed out some lacunas, still they value Shibli’s hard work, appreciating his vigorous style of writing, his profound knowledge on history and his successfully rejecting the incorrect conclusions drawn by some western scholars.
Seeratun Nabi‘s first volume (1918) has two forewords by Shibli, elaborating the need for writing seerat, its importance, historical development of the art of writing Prophet’s life, famous books written on seerat, the difference between Hadith and seerat, works on the Prophet’s (PBUH) life penned by Europeans and where they erred. Shibli has also described the principles of research that he had applied in writing this book. After forewords, the main text describes a brief history of Arabs, the recorded ancestry of the Prophet (PBUH) and his family, beginning of Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood, migration to Madinah, battles against the nonbelievers and the Prophet’s life till 9th year Hijri.
The second volume (1920) describes the Prophet’s (PBUH) life till the year 11th Hijri, his passing away, the Prophet’s (PBUH) physical appearance and countenance, moral practices, his routines, his sittings with the companions, the addresses that the Prophet (PBUH) made from time to time, his wives and offspring. Apparently, with the death of the Prophet (PBUH) the description of his life and seerat should end, but since the book was planned in a way that it may also explain the religion that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had brought, the third volume (1924) describes the proofs of his prophet-hood including miracles, Muslims scholars’ point of view on miracles, descent of angels on the Prophet (PBUH), his ascendance to the heavens, Quran and its revelation as well as personal and prophetic qualities of the Prophet (PBUH).

The deliberation on Islam and its teachings is carried forward in the fourth volume (1932) and, in addition to explaining ‘vahi’, the Divine inspiration and revelation, this volume explains the basic beliefs of Islam, such as, belief in the only God, Allah, and His oneness, belief in angels, belief in the scriptures revealed to the previous prophets and the hereafter. The fifth volume (1935) describes the basic worships of Islam: salah (prayers), zakat (obligatory alms), saum (fasting), haj (pilgrimage), jihad and other injunctions, such as taqva (fear of God), ikhlaas (sincerity), sabr (patience) and shukr (gratitude). It also covers some issues related to Islamic jurisprudence.
The moral teachings and moral values of Islam are presented in the sixth volume (1938). It explains the obligations and rights of an individual, vices and virtues as well as etiquettes. While writing the last and the seventh volume, Sulaiman Nadvi migrated to Pakistan and it was published finally in 1980, some 27 years after the author’s death. It discusses societal obligations, business dealings and transactions, concept of ownership in Islam, legislation and system of government.
Many scholars believe Sulaiman Nadvi was Shibli’s true successor and fully capable of taking forward the unfinished work as he was, just like his teacher and mentor Shibli, an authority on Islamic Studies and had a command over the Arabic language, capable of consulting the original sources on history and hadith.
M. Tayyib Bakhsh Badayuni translated the first two volumes of Seeratun Nabi into English, published under the title Sirat-un-Nabi: The Life of the Prophet (PBUH).
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Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2024