Notes about Censorship and Self-Censorship in the Biography of the Prophet Muhammad

The study of the medieval literary output about Muhammad's life should go hand in hand with the study of his history, for which we have rich evidence in a variety of sources. Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad and its epitome by Ibn Hisham were products of their time. A case of self-censorship applied by one of Ibn Ishaq's informants and two cases of censorship applied by Ibn Hisham, who omitted many of his predecessor's materials, contribute to a better understanding of the social and political context of the biography.