In the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him), there are patterns for everyone and as a believer, He (pbuh) must be followed in our practical life. Allah (swt) says: “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah often.” (Al-Qur’an, Surah al-Ahzab, 33: 21) It, therefore, is very important to learn the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Moreover, there are some other reasons for studying the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A few of them are as follows:
It is an Obligatory (Fard) Task: Studying the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is obligatory for each and every person who claims himself or herself as a believer. We all believers know that our main testimony goes to two issues, such as (i) to believe in one Allah and (ii) Muhammad (pbuh) is His (swt) messenger. Now, the question is that if we do not know about Allah (swt) and Muhammad (pbuh), how do we believe in them? What do we believe in them? Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is not present among us physically and we are not fortunate people like His (pbuh) companions (sahaba) who could observe the life and actions of the Prophet (pbuh), the only way to learn about His (pbuh) life is to study the Sirah; biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We must keep in our mind that the best Sirah is the Qur’an. Once the people came to Ummul Mu’minin Ayesha (r.) after the departure of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and asked about His (pbuh) lifestyle, she replied by asking a question. That was, do you not study the Qur’an? Yes, the best way to learn the biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the Qur’an as He (pbuh) applied and executed all the teachings of the Qur’an in His (pbuh) life. There are some other authentic books on the biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Here you can find some biographies (Sirahs) of the Prophet (pbuh), click here.
Why do you have to learn about his life?
1. To Understand the Qur’an: It is not possible, in true sense, to understand the Qur’an unless we know about the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
2. To Strengthen our Iman (belief): If anyone wants to strengthen his/her iman, he must study the biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Through the study of His (pbuh) life, we can only know the way of Islam and how to spend our worldly life for the betterment of our last/final life; the hereafter (al-Akhirah)
3. To improve our Character and Behavior: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not only sent as a mercy to the world as Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Surah al-Anbiya’, 21: 107) But also to perfect the moral character. The Messenger of Allah says: “I have been sent to perfect good character.” (Mu’atta Malik, Hadith no. 1614) Therefore, if anyone wants to perfect his/her moral character, he/she must study the biography of the Prophet (pbuh) not only for getting known the ways but also for inspiration.
To conclude, it can be stated that the life of the Prophet (pbuh) is not comparable to anyone in the history of men. It is really a miracle that includes each and every good and moral attribute and, thus, becomes a model for others. Imam Ibn Hazam (r.) said: “If the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had not been given any miracle other than his Sirah (Biography), it would have been sufficient to prove that He is the Prophet of Allah.” (Al-milal wan Nihal, Vol-2, p-90).
