The hagiographic elements in sirah literature : An analysis of narratives recounting the battle of uhud

Reading the accounts of life of the Prophet, one might, encountered with multiple, diverse and contradictory reports as well as hagiographical elements embedded in the writings about him. Recent studies have shown that Sīrah literature consists of hagiographic element. However, this type of element did not receive much attention, especially on its nature and pattern. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze and extract the hagiographical element embedded in the works of Sīrah by early Muslim biographers in the ninth century; Ibn Hishām (d. 218/833 or 213/828) and Ibn Saʿd (d. 230/845), specifically in the Battle of Uḥud. Furthermore, it seeks to explore the setting of their writings in Sīrah Nabawīyyah. This study is qualitative in nature, and the researcher would employ both descriptive and source-critical approaches. Textual analysis would be used as the main mechanism of this research in analysing the textual content of Hadith al-Maghāzī in the battle of Uḥud. Its analysis seek to confirm that both Ibn Hishām and Ibn Saʿd’s reports include with hagiographic pattern namely miracles, martyrology, asceticism and faḍāil. The study in its finding confirms the existence of hagiographic pattern in Sīrah and argues that their approaches are affected by political influence, social-culture context and and influence of their teachers. It recommends for future study and analysis of early Sīrah literature, in order to explore more deeply the existence of hagiographic pattern in this area.