The Story of Muhammad (SAW)
A beginner-friendly retelling of the Prophet's life, in chronological chapters.
Adapted from Dr. Yasir Qadhi's 100+ episode seerah lecture series, rewritten in plain English for non-Muslims, beginners, and the curious.
About this series
Dr. Yasir Qadhi is an American scholar who delivered an in-depth seerah (biography of the Prophet) lecture series spanning over 100 episodes. His lectures cover the Prophet's life from before his birth through his death — drawing on classical sources, cross-referenced hadith, and honest engagement with scholarly debates.
We're adapting his series into short, readable chapters here. Each chapter combines several lectures and is written for someone who has never read about Islam before — plain English, every term defined, no jargon left untranslated.
Chapters (4 so far)
Why Should You Care About the Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)?
Before we begin the story, here is why a 1,400-year-old life still matters today — and what makes this man different from anyone else who has ever lived.
The World He Was Born Into — What 6th-Century Arabia Actually Looked Like
Before we get to his birth, let's set the scene. Tribal society, the Kaaba in the middle of the desert, blood feuds, and the empires that ignored Arabia — what the world looked like just before Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born.
A Boy in Makkah — The Birth and Early Childhood of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
An army of elephants. A lost well. A vow nearly fulfilled. A boy born to a young widow, raised in the desert, and orphaned again at six on the road home from Yathrib.
The Quiet Years — How an Orphan Boy Grew Into 'Al-Amin'
A six-year-old orphan returns to Makkah, finds shelter with his nearly-100-year-old grandfather, then his kind but poor uncle. He watches sheep for coins, joins a justice pact at twenty, and somehow earns a nickname the whole city would use: al-Amin — 'the Trustworthy.'
More chapters are being adapted from the lecture series. Check back regularly.