Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arab historian”. Today it says “an 8th-century muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an impo”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “8th-century Arab historian”. It now reads “Muslim hagiographer and historian (704–767)”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 768 ), was an Arab historian , the author of a book now known as Sirat Rasul Allah or The Life of the Apostle of God . The bulk of the work is a history of the early battles and raids that established Islam in Arabia , but the book also gives much information about the life of Muhammad , the prophet of Islam. Ibn Ishaq lived in Medina, where he gathered the reminiscences on which he based his history. He consequently left Medina in 733 , and went to Alexandria , then to Kufa and Hira , and finally to Baghdad , where the caliph Mansur provided him with the means of writing his great work. Ibn Ishaq's work survived only as it was quoted by the later historians Ibn Hisham and Tabari . Guillaume reconstructed the work and published it in English as The Life of Muhammad . The work has been attacked by some Islamic historians as untrustworthy – particularly for its mention of the so-called " Satanic Verses ". However, Ibn Ishaq himself would have been the first to insist that he was collecting oral traditions, not necessarily vouching for their truth. In some instances he gives two versions of an event, then concludes that only Allah knows which is true. Ibn Ishaq's work is of great historical interest as the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16208652.
The opening as it stood in 2010 10 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ( , or simply Ibn Isḥaq ابن إسحاق, meaning "the son of Isaac") (died 767, or 761 (Robinson 2003, p. xv)) was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer .He collected oral traditions that formed the basis of the first biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad .This biography is usually called Sirat Rasul Allah ("Life of God's Messenger").
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370980651.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār ( / ɪ ˈ ʃ ɑː k / ; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, , or simply ibn Isḥaq , ابن إسحاق, meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767 or 761 ) was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer .Ibn Ishaq collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660800324.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
8th-century Arab historian This article is about the historian. Ibn Ishaq collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962606474.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Muslim hagiographer and historian (704–767) This article is about the historian. Ibn Ishaq collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an important biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178806313.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Muslim hagiographer and historian (704–767) This article is about the historian. His biography is known as the Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah , and it has mainly survived through several recensions.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293793538. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “arab historian”. Today it says “an 8th-century muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an impo”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “8th-century Arab historian”. It now reads “Muslim hagiographer and historian (704–767)”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
arab historian
Now
an 8th-century muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of an impo
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
