The Sealed Nectar (Ar Raheeq Al Makhtoum) - Deluxe Edition

The Sealed Nectar (الرحيق المختوم, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum) by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri is a biography of the Prophet Muhammad that won first prize in the Muslim World League's worldwide Seerah competition. This is the English Deluxe Edition from Darussalam: about 655 full-colour pages, 17x24 cm, hardcover, with maps, battle diagrams and photographs. If you want one Seerah book in English, this is the one to start with, and the Deluxe Edition is the easiest version to follow.

Why this biography stands out

Many books on the life of the Prophet are either very short or very long. The Sealed Nectar sits in between. It is detailed enough to cover each major event properly and short enough to read cover to cover. Mubarakpuri tells the story in order and keeps close to the classical sources, so the reader gets the events as the early biographers recorded them rather than a modern retelling.

The book was written for a Muslim World League competition on the biography of the Prophet in the late 1970s and took first prize, with an award of SR 50,000. It has since been translated into many languages and reprinted many times.

What the book covers

The chapters run in chronological order:

• Arabia before Islam: its tribes, rulers and religions
• the Prophet's family line, birth, childhood and early life in Makkah
• the first revelation and the years of calling people to Islam in Makkah, including the persecution of the early Muslims and the migration to Abyssinia
• the Hijrah to Madinah and the building of the first Muslim community
• the battles and treaties of the Madinan years: Badr, Uhud, the Trench, Hudaybiyah, Khaybar, the Conquest of Makkah, Hunayn and Tabuk
• the Farewell Hajj and the Prophet's final illness and death

The closing sections describe the Prophet's household and his character, so the book ends with the man himself rather than only with events.

What the Deluxe Edition adds

This is the edition to buy if you want to see where things happened. According to Dar-us-Salam, it adds:

• maps tracing the Hijrah route, the expeditions, and the tribal territories of Arabia
• battle diagrams for Badr, Uhud, the Trench and Hunayn
• timelines and family trees
• photographs of the Hijaz and historical sites

It is printed in full colour on glossy paper, and runs to roughly 215 pages more than the standard edition. For readers who have been to Makkah and Madinah for Umrah, the maps and photographs make the places they visited much easier to connect with the story.

About Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri

Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri was born on 6 June 1942 in Husainabad, near Mubarakpur in the Azamgarh district of India. He taught for many years at Jamia Salafia in Varanasi, then worked from 1988 as a researcher at the centre for the Prophet's biography at the Islamic University of Madinah. From 1998 until his death on 1 December 2006 he worked at the Darussalam research centre in Riyadh. He also supervised Darussalam's abridged edition of Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

Edition details

Who this book suits

It suits anyone in the UAE who wants to know the life of the Prophet properly in English: families reading together, teenagers and students, new Muslims, and pilgrims preparing for Hajj or Umrah. Its size and colour print also make it a good gift for Ramadan and Eid.

Related books

Arabic readers can buy the original Ar-Rahiqul-Makhtum. For a shorter overview, see Abridged Biography of Prophet Muhammad. To read about the people around him, try Companions Around the Prophet and Men and Women around the Messenger. For younger readers, Story of Mohammed in Makkah and Story of Mohammed in Madina tell the same story at a child's level. For the Prophet's teachings, Riyad-us-Saliheen is the natural next book, and Urdu readers may like Tafsir Ibn Kathir in Urdu, which Mubarakpuri supervised. See the Prophet's Seerah collection for more.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Sealed Nectar?

The Sealed Nectar (الرحيق المختوم, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum) is a biography of the Prophet Muhammad by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri. It follows his life in order, from the Arabia he was born into, through the Makkan and Madinan years, to the Farewell Hajj and his death. It won first prize in the Muslim World League's Seerah competition.

What is special about the Deluxe Edition?

It is printed in full colour on glossy paper, 17x24 cm, with maps of the Hijrah route and the expeditions, diagrams of battles such as Badr, Uhud, the Trench and Hunayn, timelines, family trees and photographs. Dar-us-Salam lists it at about 655 pages, roughly 215 more than the standard edition.

Is this edition in English?

Yes. This is the English Deluxe Edition. The original Arabic, Ar-Rahiqul-Makhtum, is also available at Darussalam UAE.

Who was Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri?

An Indian scholar, born on 6 June 1942 near Mubarakpur in Azamgarh, India, who died on 1 December 2006. He taught at Jamia Salafia in Varanasi, worked as a researcher at the Islamic University of Madinah's centre for the Prophet's biography, and from 1998 worked at Darussalam's research centre in Riyadh.

What prize did The Sealed Nectar win?

First prize, SR 50,000, in the worldwide Seerah writing competition organised by the Muslim World League in the late 1970s. Sources give the year as 1978 or 1979.

Is it suitable for teenagers and new Muslims?

Yes. The writing is clear and the colour maps make the events easy to follow, so it works for teenagers, students and new Muslims as well as adults. For young children, the Story of Mohammed in Makkah and in Madina children's books are a better start.

How many pages is it and what is the ISBN?

About 655 pages in hardcover, 17x24 cm. ISBN 9786035001106.

How long does delivery take in the UAE?

Orders dispatch from Sharjah. Standard delivery takes 2 to 4 working days, and delivery is free on orders over AED 300.