Zuhri, Muhammad Ibn Muslim Al

Died 741 or 742. Arab historian.

Al-Zuhri lived in Medina and Damascus. He collected and was the first to write down reminiscences by many Muslims of the rise and early history of Islam and the Muslim community, including the life of Muhammad. The material he collected was the basis for the traditional “Life of the Prophet”; the organizing principle and chronology he used for his history of Islam was pivotal in the construction of a general history as accepted by medieval Arab historiography. Al-Zuhri’s data are an important source for the religious and legal practices of Muhammad and his associates.