He (SA) WAS…

Many Muslim salaf (righteous predecessors) have given the preservation of the seerah and the Qur’an an equal amount of attention. This is so because the seerah holds the requisite key to emulating the example of the Prophet r in all walks of his life: worship, theology, day-to-day affairs, mannerisms, teachings, transactions, appearance, etiquette, and others. While numerous reports have been collected about the seerah of the Prophet r, in this book our focus is only on those that are authentic and those that contain the clause كانَ رَسولُ الله  or  كانَ النَّبي  (kaana rasoolu-Lah or kaana n-Nabiy: The Messenger of Allah/the Prophet was… or The Messenger of Allah/the Prophet used to…), prefacing the introduction of a Prophetic instance.

Each section of the book includes sub-headings in italics that briefly share the Prophetic practice in question. Each hadith appears in Arabic followed by its English translation with parenthetical materials where it is deemed necessary. Some major supplications (du`aa’) are also transliterated for those learners interested in re-producing the relevant du`aa’ in the Prophet’s words. Finally, general lessons follow each hadith or a collection of relevant hadiths.