An Analytical Study of Dr. Mohar Ali’s Intellectual Legacy in refuting the Orientalists’ Narratives on the Prophetic Sirah
Keywords:
Orientalism, Prophetic Biography (Sirah), Islamic Historiography, Muhammad Mohar Ali, Critique of Orientalist DiscourseAbstract
This research paper aims to analyze the efforts and scope of the contemporary Islamic scholar, Dr. Muhammad Mohar Ali in confronting and refuting the Orientalists’ views regarding the Sirah of the Holy Prophet PBUH. Dr. Mohar Ali in his book “Sirat al Nabi and the Orientalist”, counters various allegations put forth by the Orientalists especially David Samuel Margoliouth, William Muir and William Montgomery Watt. He briefly examines and refutes the false claims of Orientalists including that the family of the noble Prophet PBUH was of no importance, allegation of Prophet PBUH having epilepsy, the financial motive behind the marriage of the Prophet PBUH to Hazrat Khadijah R.A., the commandments of the Holy Qur'an being taken from Christianity and Judaism and many other related components. Using a painstaking methodology founded on Islamic historiography, Dr. Mohar Ali reinforces the integrity of the Holy Prophet PBUH, the legitimacy of the Holy Qur'an, and nature of his mission. A scholarly, evidence-driven response to the realm of Orientalist scholars, it provides Islamic historiography with a fierce defense against ideological bias. This research exemplifies Dr. Mohar Ali's important involvement to re-imagining of the early Muslim history and serves like a well-balanced answer to the Orientalist arguments which have shaped Western perception of Islam and its early texts.
References
https://kingfaisalprize.org/professor-mohammad-muhar-ali/
For more information about life history of Dr. Muhammad Mohar Ali, please visit: https://www.bmri.org.uk/biogs/Muhammad-Mohar-Ali.pdf ; https://shoncharon.com/details/593 ; https://kingfaisalprize.org/professor-mohammad-muhar-ali/
William Muir was a Scottish Orientalist. He was born on April 27, 1819, in Glasgow. He received his education at Kilmarnock Academy in Haileybury College and the University of Edinburgh. He joined the Civil Services of Bangal in1837. He has been the Secretary of North-Western Governors, Member of the Agra Revenue Board, and chief of the Intelligence Department during the Mutiny. In 1865, he served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. He appointed the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces in 1868 and selected as a member of the Financial Council in 1874, He got retirement in 1876 as a member of the Council of India in London. From 1885 to 1903, he held the position of Principal at the University of Edinburgh. He passed away in 1905. William Muir's well-known books include: Life of Mahomet and History of Islam to the Era of the Hegira, Annals of the Early Caliphate, The Caliphate, The Koran: Its Composition and Teaching, The Mohammedan Controversy. For more details, please consult: Encyclopedia Britannica, ("Muir, Sir William")11th Edition, Vol. 18, P. 958
David Samuel Margoliouth was an English scholar and Orientalist with a notable work in Islamic Studies. He was born in October, 1858 in London. He served the University of Oxford as professor of Arabic in 1889–1937. He was also a minister of the Church of England. He traveled through middle-east for a long time. His works on the history of Islam, include Mohammed and the Rise of Islam (1905), The Early Development of Mohammedanism (1914), and The Relations between Arabs and Israelites Prior to the Rise of Islam (1924). He died in London on 22nd March, 1940. For more details, please consult: Encyclopedia Britannica, ("David Samuel Margoliouth") online through this link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Samuel-Margoliouth
Montgomery Watt was born in 1909. In 1919, he was admitted to George Watson's College. In 1929, he got a Bachelor's degree in Classics and another Bachelor's degree in Ancient History and Philosophy from Balliol College, Oxford University. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1943. In 1947-1979, he served in University of Edinburgh as an Arabic Language lecturer. His notable works include: The Truth in the Religions; a Sociological and Psychological Approach, The faith and practice of al-Ghazali, Muhammad at Mecca, Muhammad at Medina, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, Muhammad's Mecca, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Islamic Political Thought, Islamic Surveys: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, The Majesty That Was Islam, What Is Islam?, Muslim-Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions, Early Islam, Islamic Creeds, History of Islamic Spain, Islamic Political Thought , Islam and the Integration of Society, Islam: A Short History, A Christian Faith for Today. For more details, please see: Hillenbrand, Carole, The Life and Work of W. Montgomery Watt, Edinburgh University Press, 2019, Pages: 4-9
Dr. Muhammad Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, (Madinah: King Fahd Complex for the printing of the Holy Qur’an, 1st Edition, 1997 C.E.), Vol. 1A, p. 131.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 131-132.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 132.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 133-134.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 138.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 143.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 144.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 156.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 158.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 158.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 187.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 190.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 191.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 192.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 193-194.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 509-510.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 261.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 262.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 265-266.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 291-319.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, pp. 210-211.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1A, p. 211.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1B, p. 684.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1B, pp. 684-685.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1B, pp. 689-690.
Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol. 1B, pp. 725-726.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Muhammad Umair Raouf, Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Naeem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
• Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
• Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material.
• Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
• NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
• No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures, that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits
