Abu al-Ala al-Mubarakpuri

Safiurrahman al-Mubarakpuri (1943-2006 CE / 1363-1427 AH) was an Indian Islamic scholar and author from Mubarakpur, Uttar Pradesh, who is best known for his award-winning biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He studied at the Salafiyyah University in Banaras (Varanasi) and later at the Islamic University of Madinah.

His most celebrated work is ar-Rahiq al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar), a comprehensive biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that won first prize in a worldwide competition organized by the Muslim World League (Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami) in 1979. The book is praised for its scholarly rigor, engaging narrative style, and reliance on authentic sources. It has been translated into dozens of languages and become one of the most widely read seerah books in the modern era. He also authored al-Misbah al-Munir fi Tahdhib Tafsir Ibn Kathir, an abridgment of the famous Quranic commentary.

Al-Mubarakpuri was associated with the Ahl al-Hadith movement and served as a researcher at the Islamic University of Madinah and Umm al-Qura University. His ar-Rahiq al-Makhtum made the Prophet's biography accessible to millions of Muslim and non-Muslim readers worldwide, combining academic reliability with a readable narrative style. He passed away in India and his seerah continues to be among the most recommended introductions to the life of the Prophet.