---
title: "What Is the Sirah? | Islam Is Mercy"
description: "The sirah is the biography of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — his life, character and mission, from his birth in Makkah to his death in Madinah."
lang: en
url: https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sirah/
---

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3.  What Is the Sirah?

# What Is the Sirah?

Written by **Islam Is Mercy Editorial Team**· 1 min readAwaiting scholar review

## The short answer

The sirah is the life story of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: his birth and youth in Makkah, the beginning of revelation, years of persecution, the migration to Madinah and the growth of the Muslim community. Muslims study it to understand the Qur'an and to follow his example.

## On this page

1.  Meaning
2.  How Muslims use it
3.  Example

**Sirah** (Arabic: سيرة; also spelled *seerah*) is pronounced *SEE-rah*.

## Meaning

The word means *way of life* or *journey*. In Islamic usage, *the sirah* (often *as-sirah an-nabawiyyah*, the Prophetic biography) is the story of the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: his orphaned childhood, his reputation for honesty, the first revelation in the cave of Hira, the years of hardship in Makkah, the migration (*hijrah*) to Madinah, his leadership of a growing community, and his final years.

Muslims began recording his life very early. Among the best-known early works is the biography by Ibn Ishaq, preserved in the edition of Ibn Hisham. Scholars draw on the Qur’an, authentic hadith and these historical reports, and they check sirah narrations carefully, because not every story told about him is equally reliable.

## How Muslims use it

The sirah is more than history. The Qur’an presents the Prophet ﷺ as a model for believers:

> لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْءَاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا ﴿٢١﴾

> There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and \[who\] remembers Allah often.

[Qur'an, Al-Ahzaab 33:21](https://quran.com/33?startingVerse=21&translations=20)Saheeh International

So Muslims read the sirah to see how he lived out the Qur’an: how he treated his family, the poor, children and his enemies, how he coped with grief and how he forgave. Many mosques hold regular sirah classes, and children learn its stories from a young age.

## Example

*“In our sirah class this week, we studied how the Prophet ﷺ forgave the people of Makkah.”*

Begin with [The Life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ](https://islamismercy.com/en/prophets/life-of-prophet-muhammad/).

## Key takeaways

-   The sirah is the biography of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
-   It helps Muslims understand the Qur'an in its real-life context.
-   Muslims study it to learn from his character and follow his example.

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## Sources

-   [Qur'an, Al-Ahzaab 33:21](https://quran.com/33?startingVerse=21&translations=20)

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## Keep reading

[Stories of the Prophets

### The Life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: A Short Biography

A short biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — from orphan in Makkah to the first revelation, years of persecution, the move to Madinah and his farewell.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/prophets/life-of-prophet-muhammad/)[Start Here

### Who Was Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?

A short introduction to the life and character of Muhammad ﷺ, the final messenger of God — from orphan in Mecca to the Prophet sent as a mercy to all people.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/who-was-prophet-muhammad/)[Glossary

### Sunnah — Meaning and Use

The Sunnah is the way of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — his words, actions and example — and the second source of guidance in Islam.

Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/sunnah/)