The Sīrah of the Prophet

Reviewed by: Zahed Fettah – Markfield Institute of Higher Education, UK

Published by: Markfield: Kube Publishing, 2023, 800pp. ISBN:978-0860378730.

Thousands of works have been penned by scholars throughout Islamic history in a multitude of languages, and each scholar wrote with some kind of purpose and objective in mind. However, most works are arguably no more than repetitions of earlier works, with perhaps a touch of simplification or abridgment. The few works that provided a strong contribution came in the form of presenting precise historical reports, carefully abridging important earlier works, or simplifying content for a specific audience, such as children or young people. My conviction is that Yasir Qadhi’s work on the Sīrah, both in the form of his lecture series and this book, stand out as a major contribution that presents the biography of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) to English-speaking audiences. He excellently breaks down major events in the Sīrah, explaining scholarly differences where necessary, and relies mainly on hadith sources and widely accepted Sīrah works, as well as other references.