Imam Ibne Kathir’s manner and style in writing biography “Zikar Mulad-e-Rsool”; his account of the birth of the Prophet(peace be upon him)

Abstract

The way Islamic scholars and thinkers have ventured to pen down the various aspects of the life of Holy Prophetﷺ is unprecedented in human history. The biographers have covered every aspect of the life of the Prophet ﷺ; his birth, lactation, upbringing, childhood and boyhood, youth, old age, invitation to accept Islam,  jihad, patience, wars, slaves, agreements, prayers, fasting, zakat and all stages of Hajj have been recorded. The miracles and tidings related to the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ mentioned in previous heavenly books, actually happened before the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.Covering all these topics has been the fundamental duty of the biographers of the past and the present time. Thus, in the article being reviewed, Ibn Kathir briefly described the Holy birth of the Prophet ﷺ and all the related matters, citing diverse and numerous sources and various hadiths and narrations from his own famous book “Al-Badaiya wal Nahayyyah”. An in-depth study of this text makes it clear that after the writing of brief and detailed biographies of the Holy Prophetﷺ, the author has incorporated in this short text all the hadiths, traditions, relics and news that came to his hands about the Holy birth of prophet Muhammadﷺ. In the article under review, Imam Ibn Khatir's expression and style of biography writing as highlighted by the book "The Birth of the Prophet" will be examined. At the same time, the rules and principles will also be pointed out on which the hadiths and traditions of the birth of the Prophet ﷺ have been judged.