Ibn Hisham

Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik bin Hisham ibn Ayyub al-Himyari (Arabic: أبو محمد عبدالمالك بن هشام‎‎), or Ibn Hisham edited the biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Ishaq's work is lost and is now only known in the recensions of Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari. However, Ibn Hisham admits in the preface to his biography of Muhammad that he omitted matters from Ibn Ishaq's biography that "would distress certain people".
He was also said to have mastered Arabic philology in a way which only Sibawayh had.

Contents

• Readings from the life of the prophet pbuh by ibn hisham 4 10
• Works
• References

Ibn Hisham has been said to have grown up in Basra and moved afterwards to Egypt, while others have narrated that his family was descended from Basra but he himself was born in Old Cairo. Either way, it is in Egypt where he gained a name as a grammarian and student of language and history. His family was of Himyarite origin, though some narrators trace him to Mu'afir ibn Ya'far, while others say he is a Dhuhli.

Works

As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, an edited (though not copied) version of Ibn Ishaq's original work. It is now considered one of the classic works on the biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

He also wrote a work on South Arabian antiquities: Kitab al-Tijan li ma'rifati muluk al-zaman (Book of Crowns in knowing kings of the age)