Why are events from the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) told in different versions?

The reports were collected long after his death, and small differences arose through memory along the way. Some narrators also shorten a story on purpose. Even so, the core of the events remains clear.

A well known example is the incident under the tree. While travelling, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was resting in the shade and had hung his sword on a branch. An enemy took the sword, stood over him and asked who could save him now. The Holy Prophet (saw) calmly answered with a single word: Allah.

In some books the story ends there. Others go on to say that the sword fell from the man’s hand. This fuller version fits the whole scene. The Holy Prophet (saw) lay before him without any fear. This calm and this complete trust in God shook the man so deeply that his hand trembled. The hadith above records both versions side by side.

Why are there such differences? The reports were gathered into books long after the death of the Holy Prophet (saw). Until then they were passed on from person to person. Anyone who has retold a story knows how this works. One person remembers a detail, another leaves it out. On top of that, some authors deliberately shorten a story because only one particular point matters to them.

Differences like these usually concern details, not the core. In every version of this incident the Holy Prophet (saw) trusts completely in God, and God protects him, just as He promised in the verse above.

So there is no need to be unsettled by different versions. One can compare them and ask which fits best with the character of the Holy Prophet (saw) and with the Holy Qur’an.