Sirah
/ˈsiː.rə/noun
An Islamic biographical account, especially the life story of the Prophet Muhammad.
Did you know?The best-known sirah tradition traces back to Ibn Ishaq’s eighth-century biography of Muhammad, which survives largely through a later recension by Ibn Hisham.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Islamic Arabic
Arabic
sāra
“He traveled, proceeded, or journeyed; the verb underlying the later noun.”
Early Islamic period
Arabic
sīra
“A way of proceeding, conduct, or life course.”
8th Century
Arabic
Sīrat Rasūl Allāh
“The life or biography of the Messenger of God, referring especially to Muhammad’s biography.”
9th Century
Arabic
al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya
“The prophetic biography, particularly the recension associated with Ibn Hisham.”
Modern English
English
sirah
“An English scholarly loanword for Islamic prophetic biography, often also written sira or seerah.”