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ʻUrwa ibn al-Zubayr (c. 643-c. 712) was an early scholar and the nephew of the Prophet's wife ʻĀʼisa, who was also his most important informant. The main part of this book consists of a compilation and evaluation of the corpus of traditions about the life of Muḥammad attributed by ʻUrwa. The authenticity of a large part of these traditions is certain, they are thus the oldest authentic Muslim reports about the Prophet. The authors argue that ʻUrwa's reports by and large correctly reflect the basic features of the historical events described. Somewhat older than ʻUrwa's traditions about Muḥammad is only a report in a non-Islamic Armenian source attributed to the chronicler Sebeos (wrote around 660). This and other external evidence partly agree with the Islamic sources, sometimes providing new perspectives on the life of the Prophet. The authors can show that in such cases the ʻUrwa transmission is preferable. The crux of the much-discussed so-called Hagarism hypothesis, which proposes an alternative narrative of the origins of Islam is demonstrably based on a misreading of a Sebeos passage--back cover.

Biographical sources. --- Muslims --- Islam --- Musulmans --- Islam --- Biography --- History and criticism. --- History. --- Biographies --- Histoire et critique. --- Histoire. --- Muḥammad, --- Muḥammad, --- ʻUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, --- Biography --- History and criticism.