The Book on the Life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Allah, exalted is He, says: “Allah knows best where to place His message.” (1)

When Heraclius, the emperor of Byzantium, questioned Abū Sufyān about the Prophet’s attributes—may Allah have mercy on them—he asked, “How is his lineage among you?” Abū Sufyān replied, “He enjoys noble lineage among us.” Heraclius commented, “That is how messengers are sent: from the noblest families of their people,” meaning the most honored in ancestry and the largest in tribe—may Allah’s blessings be upon them all.

He is the master of the children of Adam and their pride in this world and the next: Abū al-Qāsim, Abū Ibrāhīm, Muḥammad, Aḥmad, al-Māḥī, by whom disbelief is erased; al-ʿĀqib, after whom there is no prophet; al-Ḥāshir, at whose feet mankind will be gathered (2); al-Muqaffī (3); the Prophet of Mercy; the Prophet of Repentance; the Prophet of Battle; the Seal of the Prophets; al-Fātiḥ (the Opener); Ṭā Hā; Yā Sīn; and ʿAbd Allāh.

Al-Bayhaqī (4) said: Some scholars have added that Allah, in the Qur’an, called him Messenger, Prophet, Ummī (5), Witness, Bearer of Glad Tidings, Warner, Summoner to Allah by His permission, a Radiant Lamp, Compassionate, Merciful, [wa-nadhīran mubīnan] (“a manifest warner”), and Mudhakkir (“a reminder”). He also made him a mercy, a blessing, and a guide, [wa-sammāhu ʿabdan] (“and He named him Servant”).

We shall cite the hadiths transmitted about his names—blessings [and peace] (6) be upon him—in a separate chapter after completing the biography, for many reports exist on the subject. The two great ḥadith masters al-Bayhaqī and Abū al-Qāsim ibn ʿAsākir devoted special attention to collecting them, and others produced separate works (7), to the extent that some—may Allah have mercy on them—sought to compile for him a thousand names. The eminent jurist Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī al-Mālikī, commentator on al-Tirmidhī in his book al-Ahwadhī (8), listed sixty-four (9) of them. Allah knows best.