According to Islamic tradition, the book is an edited recension of Ibn Isḥāq's Sīratu Rasūli l-Lāh (سيرة رسول الله) 'The Life of God's Messenger'.
[4] Ibn Hishām said in the preface that he chose from the original work of Ibn Isḥāq in the tradition of his disciple Ziyād al-Baqqāʾi (d. 799), omitting stories from Al-Sīrah that contain no mention of Muḥammad,[5] certain poems, traditions whose accuracy Ziyād al-Baqqāʾi [n 1] could not confirm, and offensive passages that could offend the reader.
[8][9] Ibn Hishām gives more accurate versions of the poems he includes and supplies explanations of difficult terms and phrases of the Arabic language, additions of genealogical content to certain proper names, and brief descriptions of the places mentioned in Al-Sīrah.
[10] According to Islamic tradition Ibn Ishaq's biography from the early Abbasid period was the most renowned and highly documented, but no copies exist.
These traditions, which he orally dictated to his pupils,[8] are now known collectively as Sīratu Rasūli l-Lāh (Arabic: سيرة رسول الله "Life of the Messenger of God").
In addition, Guillaume (at p. xxxi) points out that Ibn Hisham's version omits various narratives in the text which were given by al-Tabari in his History.
[18] Here, Ibn Ishaq's introductory chapters describe pre-Islamic Arabia, before he then commences with the narratives surrounding the life of Muhammad (in Guillaume at pp. 109–690).
Ibn Ishaq's works had been referenced numerous times as a major source of information by future scholars who would delve into the biography of Muhammad.
Abdul-Qasim Abdur-Rahman as-Suhayli (d. 581) presented an extensive annotation of the biography of his book, Ar-Rawd al-Anf.
After this, Abu Dharr al-Khushayni (d. 604) addressed the parts that were unclear, as well as providing some criticism in his Sharh Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah.