Is there a difference between the terms "Prophetic Biography" and "Prophetic Sunnah," to what extent does the Prophetic Biography rely on the sciences of hadith, and what are the books of the Prophetic Biography?
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The questioner : What is the relationship between the term "Prophetic Biography" and the term "Prophetic Sunnah" in its legal and jurisprudential sense, and consequently, to what extent does the Biography rely on the sciences of hadith? And what references do you recommend for the Biography?
The Shaykh : What is the first question?
The questioner : The term "Biography" and the term "Sunnah."
The Shaykh : We find no disagreement between the Biography and the Sunnah if we remember that the Sunnah includes his (peace be upon him) sayings, his actions, and his approvals. The Biography of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not exceed these three types; it is speech and action, and it may include approval. However, what can be said is that the Biography is more specific than the Sunnah. It is said that every Biography is a Sunnah, but not every Sunnah is a Biography. This is the technical usage of the term "Biography," which refers to his (peace and blessings be upon him) expeditions and battles. This is the predominant usage. However, we find, for example, that Ibn al-Qayyim, in his book *Zad al-Ma'ad*, included in the Biography of the Messenger (peace be upon him) matters of purity, prayer, zakah, marriage, divorce, and the like, because all of this falls within his (peace be upon him) Sunnah, whether in speech, action, or approval. So, there is no major difference between the Sunnah and the Biography, except in terms of generality and specificity, as we said: every Biography is a Sunnah, but not every Sunnah is a Biography. This is a technical usage, and there is no dispute in technical usage. As for the second question:
The questioner : To what extent does the Biography rely on the sciences of hadith?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is actually attributed to it. Books of the Biography, even today, have not been attended to by a scholar who applies the methodology of the science of hadith and Sunnah to them, verifying what conforms to the rules of hadith and grading it as good, and conversely, weakening or declaring fabricated what contradicts the rules of the science of hadith. However, we distinguish in reality from one book to another. The book mentioned earlier, *Zad al-Ma'ad*, we can say that its intention was to mention what is established in the Sunnah, but whether it succeeded or erred is another matter; it was merely an intention. Many weak hadiths, based on hadith rules, occurred in his book, let alone the specific Biography of his (peace be upon him) expeditions and battles. More precise in adhering to what is established is the book of the Biography by al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi, which consists of volumes from his great book *Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya*. I would have liked, and I actually started, but I was cut off at the beginning of the path. I would have liked someone with knowledge of the science of hadith, its narrators, and its defects to come to the book of the Biography by al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir, abridge it from the chains of narration and the tracing of sources from which the general public does not derive much benefit, abridge those, and specify what is established from what is not established. In that case, it would have been a new opening for the Muslim community regarding the Biography of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Incidentally, I say something that is not hidden: I published and printed that when I was able to review *Fiqh al-Sirah* by Dr. al-Bouti, and I found him saying that he selected the material of this book from what is authentic in the six books of hadith and what is authentic in the books of the Biography. My heart was very pleased with this book because I thought that he had actually followed a path that no one had followed. But, unfortunately, the news was not true. When we entered into studying the texts of the book, we found that there is no difference between it and any work by a contemporary, particularly in the Biography, such as al-Haykal, or even our well-known colleague, the great Islamic writer Muhammad al-Ghazali. All of them quoted from the books of the Biography without any verification and without any application of the rules of the science of hadith to these narrations they quoted. So, the doctor mentioned above followed the path of these people, but he added a large sign at the beginning of the book to draw the attention of students to the fact that he brought a new opening. And our example for that is that you know that he narrates from al-Waqidi, and al-Waqidi is abandoned, indeed a liar according to Imam Ahmad and others. Then, I do not know if he knew that the one he is quoting from is al-Waqidi or not. This is an example of the one who walks, as it is said. The detailed discussion of this is in my book *Defense of the Noble Prophetic Hadith*, which is printed.
The Shaykh : What is the first question?
The questioner : The term "Biography" and the term "Sunnah."
The Shaykh : We find no disagreement between the Biography and the Sunnah if we remember that the Sunnah includes his (peace be upon him) sayings, his actions, and his approvals. The Biography of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) does not exceed these three types; it is speech and action, and it may include approval. However, what can be said is that the Biography is more specific than the Sunnah. It is said that every Biography is a Sunnah, but not every Sunnah is a Biography. This is the technical usage of the term "Biography," which refers to his (peace and blessings be upon him) expeditions and battles. This is the predominant usage. However, we find, for example, that Ibn al-Qayyim, in his book *Zad al-Ma'ad*, included in the Biography of the Messenger (peace be upon him) matters of purity, prayer, zakah, marriage, divorce, and the like, because all of this falls within his (peace be upon him) Sunnah, whether in speech, action, or approval. So, there is no major difference between the Sunnah and the Biography, except in terms of generality and specificity, as we said: every Biography is a Sunnah, but not every Sunnah is a Biography. This is a technical usage, and there is no dispute in technical usage. As for the second question:
The questioner : To what extent does the Biography rely on the sciences of hadith?
The Shaykh : Yes, this is actually attributed to it. Books of the Biography, even today, have not been attended to by a scholar who applies the methodology of the science of hadith and Sunnah to them, verifying what conforms to the rules of hadith and grading it as good, and conversely, weakening or declaring fabricated what contradicts the rules of the science of hadith. However, we distinguish in reality from one book to another. The book mentioned earlier, *Zad al-Ma'ad*, we can say that its intention was to mention what is established in the Sunnah, but whether it succeeded or erred is another matter; it was merely an intention. Many weak hadiths, based on hadith rules, occurred in his book, let alone the specific Biography of his (peace be upon him) expeditions and battles. More precise in adhering to what is established is the book of the Biography by al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi, which consists of volumes from his great book *Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya*. I would have liked, and I actually started, but I was cut off at the beginning of the path. I would have liked someone with knowledge of the science of hadith, its narrators, and its defects to come to the book of the Biography by al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir, abridge it from the chains of narration and the tracing of sources from which the general public does not derive much benefit, abridge those, and specify what is established from what is not established. In that case, it would have been a new opening for the Muslim community regarding the Biography of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Incidentally, I say something that is not hidden: I published and printed that when I was able to review *Fiqh al-Sirah* by Dr. al-Bouti, and I found him saying that he selected the material of this book from what is authentic in the six books of hadith and what is authentic in the books of the Biography. My heart was very pleased with this book because I thought that he had actually followed a path that no one had followed. But, unfortunately, the news was not true. When we entered into studying the texts of the book, we found that there is no difference between it and any work by a contemporary, particularly in the Biography, such as al-Haykal, or even our well-known colleague, the great Islamic writer Muhammad al-Ghazali. All of them quoted from the books of the Biography without any verification and without any application of the rules of the science of hadith to these narrations they quoted. So, the doctor mentioned above followed the path of these people, but he added a large sign at the beginning of the book to draw the attention of students to the fact that he brought a new opening. And our example for that is that you know that he narrates from al-Waqidi, and al-Waqidi is abandoned, indeed a liar according to Imam Ahmad and others. Then, I do not know if he knew that the one he is quoting from is al-Waqidi or not. This is an example of the one who walks, as it is said. The detailed discussion of this is in my book *Defense of the Noble Prophetic Hadith*, which is printed.