This text is the first English translation of The Maghāzī of Sayyidunā Muhammad ﷺ by the eminent Tabi’i scholar Musa ibn ‘Uqbah, the earliest biography of the Messenger of Allahﷺ currently known to exist.

Renowned in his own time as a muhaddith and historian, Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah ranks as one of the first individuals to compile reports specifically related to the sīrah, the biography of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. More significant, however, is the fact that his Maghāzī (Expeditions) was acclaimed by his contemporaries and by scholars of later generations, as the most authentic work of its genre.

Following its completion, The Maghāzī of Sayyidunā Muhammad ﷺ served as an authoritative source for many later works on the life of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ.

A sub-genre within the field of Prophetic studies, the maghāzī literature covers the battles and military expeditions of the Prophetic era, and by extension, the biography of the Prophet ﷺ as well. The maghāzī literature is thus both historical and religious in its scope. What sets The Maghāzī of Sayyidunā Muhammad ﷺ apart, even among the works of maghāzī and sīrah, is the fact that its author was a muhaddith first and foremost, and as such, adhered to strict requirements for documentation of both narrators and narrations in his works. The result is that his Maghāzī is a work of history that is documented almost to the same standards as a work of hadith.