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Salaam alaikum, I'm looking for legit (English) biographies; physical books, eBooks, audio books, video documentaries, etc. of 14 Masumeen AS. I prefer detailed works rather than high level overviews. If anyone can guide me I'd greatly appreciate your efforts. JazakAllahu Khairan

Salaam There are many Seerah books compiled by Ahlul Sunnah. Many of them are written for general readers. An award-winning book, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (الرحيق المختوم) authored by Ahlul Hadith scholar Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, translated in English as "The Sealed Nectar", has gained much recognition. Is there any such book on life of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) compiled by Shia scholar for general readers? I mean what is the best book on life of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) compiled by shia scholars, and that is written for general readers? PS it would be nice, if that book is translated in English as well.

Assalamu Alaykum, I want to read some books where I can find the biographies of our Imams and also the Hadiths of Ahlul Bayt. Thank You

Salaam! On Youtube, Allama Sayyid Mukhtar Shah Qadri Rizvi has a series of lectures on the lives of famous awliya Allah. Amongst this lecture series he also has started a series of lectures on the lives of the Imams. He has done from Imam Zayn al Abidin (as) to Imam Ali Reza so far ... Here is the link on Youtube for Imam Zayn al Abidin: It is in Urdu/Hindi. I found it very informative, intellectual, and (in this one) emotional. I hope all fair minded people will enjoy listening to it to increase their love of Ahlul Bayt and Aal Muhammad (sal allahu alayhi wa sallam).

In the name of Allah The holy prophet`s birth and early life. Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 CE (Common Era) in the city of Mecca in the Hijaz. Today this place is a part of Saudi Arabia. As his father had passed away shortly after marriage, his grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib became his guardian. ‘Abd al-Muttalib was the respected head of the clan of Hashim and the tribe of Quraysh, to which his clan belonged. With the Quraysh being the biggest and most influential tribe in Mecca, ‘Abd al-Muttalib was seen as the master of all of Mecca. The Prophet was only about five to six years old when he lost his mother. Orphan Muhammad then lost his grandfather and custodian ‘Abd al-Muttalib at the age of eight. Now one of ‘Abd al-Muttalib’s sons, Abu Talib, became the guardian of his orphan nephew. Abu Talib was so careful about his nephew and used to take him with himself in his trading journeys. Hence Muhammad as a young boy travelled to Syria and some other places. Islamic traditions state that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Abu Talib 's caravan to Syria, they met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira. Bahira foreseened Muhammad's career as a prophet of God and advised Abu Talib to be as more careful as possible about him. Due to his upright character Muhammad acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الأمين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator. Some of the people of the society among which Muhammad was living, had used to oppress the poor people. Therefore Muhammad and some other youths decided to establish a campaign in order to defend the poor people against the powerful oppressors. They took an oath whenever they saw someone is oppressed they do not be calm down till the oppression is removed. The name of this campaign was “Half-ul-Fozool”. Some years afterwards Muhammad was sent to a trading journey in the service of a wealthy widow named Khadijah. So faithfully did he transact the widow’s business, and so excellent was the report of his behavior, which she received from her old servant who had accompanied him, that she soon afterwards married her young agent; and the marriage proved a very happy one, though she was fifteen years older than he was. Prophet Muhammad was 25 when he married Khadijah. Throughout the twenty-six years of their life together he remained devoted to her; and after her death, when he took other wives he always mentioned her with the greatest love and reverence. The first revelation. Muhammad was deeply interested in matters beyond this ordinary life. He used to go a cave that became known as “Hira‘” on the Mountain of “Nur” (light) for contemplation. The cave itself, which survived the times, gives a very vivid image of Muhammad’s spiritual inclinations. Resting on the top of one of the mountains north of Mecca, the cave is completely isolated from the rest of the world. It provided a proper place for him to adore almighty Allah. It was there one night toward the end of his quiet month that the first revelation came to him when he was forty years old. He heard a voice say: “Read!” He said: “I cannot read.” The voice again said: “Read!” He said: “I cannot read.” A third time the voice, more terrible, commanded: “Read!” He said: “What can I read?” The voice said: “Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth. “Createth man from a clot. “Read: And it is thy Lord the Most Bountiful “Who teacheth by the pen, “Teacheth man that which he knew not.” When he returned in great distress of mind to his wife Khadijah, She did her best to reassure him, saying that his conduct had been such that Allah would not let a harmful spirit come to him and that it was her hope that he was to become the Prophet of his people. For the first three years -or rather less- of his mission, the Prophet preached to his family and his intimate friends, while the people of Makkah regarded him as one who had become a little mad. The first of all his converts was his wife Khadijah, and the second his cousin Ali, whom he had adopted and was bringing him up in his own house. At the end of the third year the Prophet received the command to “arise and warn,” whereupon he began to preach in public. When he started calling people to Islam publicly, the new religion gradually attracted more people but, not surprisingly, also increasing hostility from the idol worshipping population of Mecca. The Prophet was subjected to harassment and abuse. However, armed with patience and determination, and protected by his uncle Abu Talib the Prophet was able to carry on preaching the new faith to people. Converts to Islam, some of whom were slaves, had to suffer all kinds of persecution, including brutal torture and murder, at the hands of the enemies of the new religion in Mecca. In 614 CE, the Prophet had to instruct a group of Muslims to escape the persecution to Abyssinia and seek the protection of its just Christian king. The Quraysh then sent a delegation to the king, carrying precious gifts, to secure the extradition of the Muslim refugees. The king, however, rejected the bribe and let the Muslims stay in Abyssinia. One year later, the Quraysh imposed economic and social sanctions on the Prophet, his followers, and his clan. As a result, the Muslims withdrew to a mountain in Mecca. The sanctions lasted about three years before collapsing in 618/619 CE as a result of Prophet`s prescience. Because he informed people that the document on which the Quraysh covenant about the sanctions was written and they had put it inside Ka`bah, was destroyed by termite. Migration to Yathrib Soon afterward, the Prophet lost his wife Khadija. Matters got worse quickly with the death of his uncle and protector Abu Talib. Prophet Muhammad started to suffer more from the disbelievers’ relentless attempts to uproot Islam and destroy its followers. During the pilgrimage season in 622 CE, Muhammad met in Mecca with a number of chiefs from the city of Yathrib. Having converted to Islam, the chiefs made a secret pledge to protect the Prophet against the Quraysh threats. However, the Quraysh learned about the agreement, so the people from Yathrib had to return quickly to their city. Sensing that the danger to Muslims has increased, Muhammad instructed them to immigrate individually or in small groups to Yathrib. The Quray[Edited Out]es tried to prevent Muslims from fleeing Mecca to Yathrib, but the converts continued to sneak out gradually. The continuing immigration of Muslims to Yathrib where they had allies was already very bad news for the Quray[Edited Out]es. This could yet get much worse if Muhammad also would move to that city. They decided that they had no other option but to kill him. The various clans of the tribe of Quraysh agreed to act as one and assassinate the Prophet while asleep. The idea behind acting collectively was that no one party could be blamed for the killing and become embroiled in a war of vengeance with the clan of Hashim. The assassination plan, however, was sabotaged by divine intervention. The night the murder was planned to take place, Allah informed His Prophet of the danger and ordered him to secretly leave Mecca. He asked his devoted cousin Ali to sleep in his bed to prevent Quray[Edited Out]es` suspicion, and in the darkness of night left Makkah toward the city of Yathrib. The latter became known as “al-Madina al-Munawwara” (the illuminated city), or “al-Madina” for brief, after the arrival of the Prophet. This famous event, known as the “Hijra ” (immigration), occurred in 622 CE, about twelve years after the revelation of the first verses of the Qur’an. This flight was destined to have far-reaching consequences in establishing the Islamic community, strengthening the position of Islam, and spreading its message. This famous event, known as the “Hijra ” (immigration), occurred in 622 CE, about twelve years after the revelation of the first verses of the Qur’an. This flight was destined to have far-reaching consequences in establishing the Islamic community, strengthening the position of Islam, and spreading its message. The Prophet lived in al-Madina for about ten years. By the time of his departure from this world in 632 CE, Islam had become well established as the religion of the Arabian Peninsula and had made inroads in neighboring regions; Muslims had become a major force to be reckoned with in the area. For easy reference, this is a short chronology of major events in the life of Prophet Muhammad(1) : Date (CE) Event 570 Birth of the Prophet in Mecca. His father was already dead when he was born. 575-576 The death of the Prophet’s mother. 578 The death of the Prophet’s grandfather and custodian ‘Abd al-Muttalib. The Prophet’s uncle Abu Talib became his guardian. 610 The first revelation of the Qur’an. 612-613 The Prophet started calling people to Islam publicly. 614 The first immigration of Muslims to Abyssinia escaping the persecution of the idol-worshipping Meccans. They stayed there for three months. A second immigration to Abyssinia, involving more Muslims, took place later on. This time, the immigrants stayed in Abyssinia until 628 CE when they rejoined the Prophet in al-Madina. 615 The tribe of Quraysh imposed economic and social sanctions on Muslims and the clan of Prophet Muhammad, Hashim. 618-619 The collapse of the sanctions. 618-619 The death of Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle, triggering increased hostility from the Meccans toward the Prophet. 622 The emigration of the Prophet from Mecca to al-Madina. 624 The first major battle of the Muslims against the disbelievers, known as the battle of Badr. 630 The Muslims conquered Mecca without fighting. 632 The last revelation of the Qur’an. 632 The departure of the Prophet from this world in al-Madina. (1). Source of the chronology: http://www.quranicstudies.com/prophet-muhammad/a-short-biography-of-prophet-muhammad/

In the name of Allah. Salam. Here's short yet beautiful excerpts about certain wives of the Prophet (pbuh&hp); http://www.hajij.com/en/holy-prophets-wives Enjoy reading. Ma Salam.

Dear all, in 1982, an Ayatullah Shariatmadar Committee based in Lahore published a book called "Sharīʿatnāmah. Inqilāb-i Islāmī Īrān meṇ Aghā-yi Sharīʿatmadār kā kirdār". Its author was a certain Maulvī ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Bangash. Does anyone of you have any information on him? Thanks for your help, Simon

Short biography of Imam Al-Hadi (as) on occasion of his Martyrdom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfufFIQPVIE&feature=youtu.be

Assalamu-Alaykum wa Rahmatul-Allah wa Brakatuh I am wondering if any of you came across a biography for Almufadhal b.Amr. I am aware of the rijal books grading of the man, I am looking for more details about his life. shukran.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركته I was hoping someone might have information relating to Shaykh Mohammad Baqir Bahbudi and his life. From what I know at this moment, he was a Mohaqqiq, he had written a book called Saheeh al-Kaafi in which he only put a few thousand narrations, and he had also inspected some of Bihaar al-Anwaar. On top of that people say his Minhaaj is inconstant, so we ignore his gradings. After that I'm clueless of him. I was hoping someone can provide some of the following information: A biography if there is any Criticisms of his Minhaaj Statements of scholars on him That would be much appreciated. والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركته **Edit: I places this thread in the Qur`aan, Hadeeth, and Du`a forum, since he was a Mohaqqiq of Hadeeth

(salam) Biography of Bibi Fatima (sa).. Let's all read as much as we can about this purity that left us this day.. To weep for her is to weep for the moons.. As they were left alone today, and her sun, the king of kings, Imam Ali (as).. Ya RasulAllah.. We are sorry :( Guilt twangs at my heart though I do not know why.. Bibi Fatima (sa) can I uphold your honour? Can I? Asalamu Alaykum Ya Imam al-Mahdi (as), May you forgive me for my disobedience towards my 'fathers' and my 'mother' though I am not worthy of calling her mother, I am not one of her sons.. May I be forgiven for my sins, O Allah. I can say though, that I love Bibi (sa).. I wish it was enough, I wish. May you be comforted in the heavens with the presence of your father (saww) next to you. Asalamu Alaykum Ya Fatima. http://www.al-islam.org/gracious/