Sīra

views updated May 21 2018

Sīra. ‘Life’, in Islam of the Prophet Muḥammad. No connected biography of the Prophet was written, but ḥadīth (traditions) of what he said and did were already being collected during his lifetime. The earliest work on the biography of Muḥammad was by ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr, but the dominant work became that of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq whose Sīra survives in a recension by ibn Hishām. Also of importance are the works of al-Wāqidī, especially his Kitāb al-Maghāzī.

SIRA

views updated May 14 2018

SIRA Scientific Instrument Research Association