Studying the Seerah is the best way to learn about the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as it is full of lessons and examples of inspiration which influence our lives to this day. The Seerah is full of events which cover:
- Ibadah
- Building brotherhood
- Responsibilities towards the family
- Politics
- International relations
- Economics
The youth should be encouraged to study the Seerah from an early age as this will create interest (within the youth) towards studying the life of the Prophet ﷺ and naturally this interest will create love towards the Prophet ﷺ.
In the modern age, there is a tendency to study the Seerah from an individualistic secular perspective i.e. the Ibadah aspect of the Seerah is emphasised upon a lot, as a result the Seerah is not studied with the view of solving modern day problems. The Seerah is full of examples that highlight how various problems including political problems were solved in accordance with Islam, after all politics is about taking care of the affairs of people; in today’s day and age politics is associated with power, cheating and corruption, however Muslims historically viewed politics as a responsibility which entailed taking care of the affairs of the masses and solving all of life’s problems in accordance with Islam.
Once the first Islamic state was established in Madinah by the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ established relations with tribes and built brotherhood amongst the Muhajireen and the Ansar, thus the basis for political unity within Madinah was Islam. The Prophet ﷺ undertook various actions which related to economics, international relations and foreign policy as these actions allowed the Islamic state of Madinah to grow and propagate Islam within the Arabian Peninsula.
There are many examples from the Seerah that highlight the political success of the Prophet ﷺ and one particular example is the treaty of Hudaybiyyah which was a watershed moment for the Muslims. The Muslims were on their way to Makkah to perform Umrah during 6 AH and when the Muslims reached a place called Hudaybiyyah, the Quraish did not allow the Muslims to enter Makkah, subsequently the famous treaty of Hudaybiyyah occurred. Some of the conditions of the of the treaty were:
- There will be a truce for 10 years between the Muslims and the Quraish of Makkah
- Any person becoming Muslim from Makkah and goes to Madinah will be sent back to Makkah and if any Muslim went to Makkah, he/she will not be returned
- The Muslims will return back to Madinah and come back the following year to perform Umrah
Some of the Muslims felt that some of the conditions of the treaty were unfair towards the Muslims, however the treaty was a victory for the Muslims. Allah سبحانه و تعالى revealed the Ayah below in relation to the treaty of Hudaybiyyah:
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًۭا مُّبِينًۭا
“Indeed, We have granted you a clear triumph ˹O Prophet˺.” Surah Al Fath, verse 1.
Subsequently after the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, there were many victories for the Muslims which included the conversion of Amr Ibn Al-As رضي الله عنه, Uthman Ibn Talha رضي الله عنه, Khalid Ibn Al-Walid رضي الله عنه and the liberation of Makkah.
The treaty of Hudaybiyyah is an example of a political event that occurred at the time of the Prophet ﷺ and there are many lessons that we can learn from the event and this event changed the political landscape (of the Arabian peninsula) in favour of the Muslims.
Thus, when studying the Seerah its important that we study the Seerah from the perspective of it having an impact on our world view i.e. our world view should be shaped and influenced by Islam as this will enable the Muslim Ummah to refer to Islam when solving personal and political problems.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى say’s:
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“We have sent you ˹O Prophet˺ only as a mercy for the whole world.” Surah Al-Anbya, verse 107
Indeed the Prophet ﷺ is the perfect example for us, thus the Muslims have to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in all aspects of life, be it Ibaadah, Hajj, fasting and politics.
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