Sira
/ˈsiːrə/noun
A biographical account, especially the traditional biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Did you know?The most famous sira tradition preserves accounts of Muhammad’s life, teachings, battles, and miracles, with Ibn Ishaq’s lost eighth-century biography surviving mainly through later redaction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*s-y-r
“To go, travel, or proceed; a reconstructed root associated with movement and conduct.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
sāra
“He went, traveled, or proceeded.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
sīra
“A way of proceeding, conduct, custom, or course of life.”
8th Century
Arabic
sīrat al-nabī
“The life-course or biography of the Prophet; the developing genre of prophetic biography.”
Medieval Islamic scholarship
Arabic
siyar
“Biographical accounts and, in another legal usage, rules concerning relations and conduct in warfare.”
Modern English
English
sira
“A specialized scholarly term for Islamic biographical literature, especially Muhammad’s biography.”