In the name of Allah, the All Kind, the Most Kind. We praise Him and we invoke blessings upon his noble Messenger ﷺ.
The work before you is a translation of The Mawlid by Allama Ibn Kathir (may Allah be pleased with him). It was originally translated by Shaykh Bilal Patel and later edited by Shaykh Abdus Samad Clark. The difference between the editions is that Shaykh Mahmud Al-Arna’ut and Shaykh Yasin Muhammad As-Suwas edition of Mawlid was based on an Arabic edition used for translation as opposed to Dr Munnajid edition which Shaykh Bilal has relied upon. This is a 52 page concise work on the birth of our beloved Prophet ﷺ specifically the historical events surrounding it.
Dr. Al-Munajjid, the first editor of the book divided the book into five sections and in arranging its subject matter. The treatise consists of five sub-categories; however, they are further divided into three sub-themes: the description of the Prophet ﷺ birth, suckling, his physical appearance and character as the final chapter.
It is mentioned in the editor’s foreword that the motive for re-checking the manuscript was to modify a few matters. Even though the treatise was initially edited and examined by Dr. Munajjid there were still a few areas that required attention. Below is a list of the six areas the current editor’s Shaykh Mahmud Al-Arna’ut and Shaykh Yasin Muhammad As-Suwas have focused on:1
- To check transmissions and to compare them with the sources the author (Ibn Kathir) has transmitted from.
- The editor’s confining himself, in ascription of some transmissions, to as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham and al-Bidayah wa’n- Nihayah by Ibn Kathir.
- Finding sources for the Hadith texts and their trustworthiness.
- Explaining the footnotes and clarifying the expressions used.
- Configuring the treatise and drawing a distinction between unknown and well-known and noted figures.
- Including indexesThe revised English makes the book more accessible for the common reader.
The works primary focus is the events that occurred before and after the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. Whether celebrating the birth of the Prophet ﷺ is permissible or not, is not the point of focus of the work. Allamah Ibn Kathir has opted to discuss specifically the birth and suckling of the Prophet ﷺ from a historical perspective. He has undertaken to reference the narrations from books of biography and Hadith’s connecting to this subject matter. Ibn Hajar said about him:
‘Ibn Kathir worked on the subject of Hadith in the texts and chains of narrators. He had a good memory, his books became popular during his lifetime, and people benefited from them after his death’.2
Allama Ibn Kathir has incorporated accounts from his major work Bidayah wan Nihayah in some place to assist readers with an abridged yet, a comprehensive outlook on the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. I would recommend this book to anyone studying Seerah. The book is commonly available in English, hence, of value for English speakers. This is a reliable work as it has all relevant information relating to the historical events of the Prophet ﷺ birth in a treatise form.
‘Imad Al- Din Ismail B. ‘Umar B. Kathir, was born in 700AH/1300 near Busra in Syria and died in Damascus in Sha’ban 744AH/1373. He is a great Imam, Muffasir and Muhadith who spent majority of his time in Damascus studying under many well-known scholars. His main teacher in fiqh was Buhran al-Din al-Fazari al-Shafi’. Amongst other things, he is well known for his famous Tafsir work, Tafsir Ibn Kathir which is renowned and universally accepted. Also an important work of Ibn Kathir’s is a fourteen volume history of Islam, al-Bidayah wa’l Nihayah which relates incidents from the beginning of time, including stories of previous nations and Ambiyah (as) to his time. Amongst other writings he also collated a book named al-Fitn, about the last signs of the hour. Ibn Kathir also wrote Ikhtisaar fil uloom ul hadith, Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyyah, about the life of the Prophet ﷺ and Qisas Al-Ambiyah (as), a collection of stories of prophet’s in Islam amongst others.
Publisher: Turath publishing (Available in any Islamic book store and the publishing website)
Halima Bint Muhammad Abdul Hannan
Friday 22nd Shawwal, 1439
