Biographical SourcesIt cannot be denied that there are many fallacious hadith in both the Sira
and other early Islamic works, and even Muslims recognize this. On the^44
other hand, there are traditions which are probably true, but which are
condemned by some Muslims on theological grounds. In the en^45 d, the
authenticity and witness of Islamic hadith cannot be rejected out of hand;
rather each tradition must be examined on an individual basis.
The biography of Muhammad, which follows, is primarily structured on Ibn
Hisham's Sira as given in The Life of Muhammad (ed. and trans.
Guillaume), Ibn Bukayr's recension of Ibn Ishaq's Sira as given in New
Light (ed. Guillaume), Ibn Sa`d's Kitab al-Tabaqat (trans. Haq), Tabari's
Ta'rikh as given in The History of al-Tabari (ed. and trans. YarShater et al.)
and Waqidi's Maghazi (abridged, ed. and trans. Wellhausen). The English
translation of Kitab al-Tabaqat is referred to as Classes, and that of the
Ta'rikh of Tabari is referred to by the title History. A general outline of the
early traditions on Muhammad's biography can be found in Appendix A.
Notes:
[1] Unfortunately, there are very many traditions, whose isnads have been
falsified or corrupted over the centuries. The following pages also provide
an ample number of cases where the isnads of various traditions have been
tampered with.
[2] There are many istances, however, where even traditions with "sound"
chains of transmitters have been rejected by Muslim authorities as they do
not conform to one's theological views. See Juynboll, Authenticity, p. 139;
Jeffery, Materials, p. viii; Ibn Hisham's note in Guillaume, Muhammad, p.
691, n. 10. Numerous examples of this sort can also be found in the
following pages. See p. 326, n. 11.
[3] Schwally, GQ, vol. 2, p. 129; Guillaume, Muhammad, p. xiv.