_ living islam : Islamic tradition _ https://www.livingislam.org/ Sahih Sira Works (Q: What do the hadith scholars such as Imams Ahmad, al-Bukhari and others say about the authenticity of the narrations in Ibn Hisham's book of sira?) Al-Dhahabi declares him trustworthy (thiqa) in Mizan al-I`tidal where he mentions that the hadith master `Abd al-Ghani ibn Surur al-Maqdisi (d. 600) had reservations about him. I did not find anything from Ahmad, al-Bukhari and their contemporaries. However, Imam Ahmad voiced the truism that "there are three fields in which there are no sound reports: Maghazi, i.e. Sira, Tafsir, and end of times (fitan, malahim)" - meaning: for the most part. (Q: Are there any books of seera that contain only rigorously authenticated narrations? If not, why?) The same hafiz Ibn Surur actually compiled a Sira entitled al-Durrat al-Mudi'a but it is not in print. Ibn Hazm's Jawami` al-Sira also awaits publication - his expressed precondition was to narrate only the sahih - and he also has other works on aspects of the Sira (such as the Farewell Khutba, in print). I would recommend the Sira part of al-Dhahabi's Siyar A`lam al- Nubala'. Awaiting publication is his Muntaqa or selections from the Andalusian master al-Suhayli's (d. 581) al-Rawd al-Unuf, itself a luminous commentary on Ibn Hisham. There was also a documentation of the hadiths of Ibn Hisham's work by the Hafiz Ibn Hajar but, alas, the latter was lost. Recently some books were compiled to that intention: - Dr. Muhammad Abu Shahba's al-Sira al-Nabawiyya in two large volumes. - al-Rahiq al-Makhtum by al-Mubarakfuri. - Sahih Sirat Ibn Kathir by al-Albani. Our teacher Dr. Nur al-Din `Itr recommended Abu Shahba's work to us. (Q: How do scholars of history go about authenticating narrations they gather in their books?) Through both isnad analysis and the accumulation of similarities from differing sources. The latter was al-Waqidi's specialty as he spend tireless days and months interviewing even the humblest of people for bits of information and would visit all the sites in person, as opposed to relying only on verbal scholarly reports. (Q: Would one have to have studied books in hadith methodology to know a certain narrated historical account is sound or not?) Unless it is mass-transmitted then yes, one would have to apply the methods of hadith criticism to assess authenticity. (Q: In some books of history, such as Ibn Khallikaan's Waafiyaat al-Ayaan, there are some narrations he cites for a particular person but there is no chain attached to it. For example, Al-Firabri said about his teacher. Should one assume that this kind of narration is sound even though one cannot authenticate it personally?) Yes, while trying to find the same in earlier works with full chains such as the books of Tarikh and Tabaqat, and also because Ibn Khallikan has a good reputation in what he transmits. GF Haddad 2008-11-01