Sources Used and Arabic Terminologies

We will be using two primary sources for this course. Source One: Ibn Kathīr wrote an encyclopaedia of history called Al-Bidāyah Wan-Nihāyah — The Beginning and the End. He started from the beginning of creation and went all the way until people enter Jannah and Nār. One of his volumes is about the life of Rasūlullāh ﷺ, and another volume is about the Prophets, and then he has volumes on the Khulafāʾ and went all the way up to his time, and then the last volume is about Al-Fitan — The Signs of the Day of Judgement, and then the Day of Judgment, and then Jannah and Nār.

Source Two: Sahīh As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibrāhīm Al-ʿAlī. Traditionally, Seerah was a separate science from Hadīth. Scholars of Hadīth were very stringent, very strict in their rules, while the scholars of Seerah were more liberal, more flexible. The reason is, when they were dealing with Hadīth and drawing Ahkām — rulings, they wanted to make sure that they were basing rulings on Ahādīth that are sound; they did not want us to worship Allāh based on weak sources. However, when it came to Seerah, they were more flexible because they saw this as history which does not affect Ahkām, it does not affect rulings. Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal says, "When we talk about history, we are more flexible."