Genealogy of the Prophet: Reassessing Ibn Saʿd’s Qur’ānic Reference in Sīra Nabawiyya

Abstract

Genealogy plays a crucial role in historiography. An account of genealogy serves as an instrument to legalize kinship in the Arab tribal world. One of the most important aspects in understanding the history of Prophet Muḥammad’s life (the Sīra Nabawiyya) is his genealogy. It is not an exaggeration to say that almost all the biographies of Muḥammad commence their discussion by introducing his lineage, including Ibn Sa’d, one of the prominent figures in Islamic historiography. The present study seeks to explore Ibn Saʿd’s hermeneutical response to and understanding of Qur’ānic reference to the Prophet’s genealogy. It will also analyse for what specific reasons these understandings were developed in its socio-religious contexts. The study is qualitative in nature and is one in which the researcher will employ both descriptive and source-critical approaches. The study in its findings argues for the appropriateness of using 26:219 as reference to the Prophet’s genealogy. Its analysis proposes that it was the influence of his master that leads Ibn Sa’d to invent the connection between the Prophet’s genealogy and the Qur’ān. Furthermore, his approach to ‘Qur’ānise’ the nature of the narrative appears to be another reason that influence Ibn Saʿd to create such connection.