Trust and Skepticism in Western Academic Study of the Holy Prophet’s Seerah
Farhad Ghoddousi, a research member of Wayne State University in Michigan, made the comment in an address to a webinar titled “Discussions on Biography and Seerah of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH)”, which was organized by the MIT Shia Muslim Association (ZEKR).
Here are excerpts from his remarks at the webinar:
Muslims usually have had three intentions when studying the life of the Holy Prophet of Islam (Seerah):
The Prophet of Islam is the true embodiment of the religion, a revered figure and a good role-model whose way of life is therefore regarded as an example of morality and behavior for all Muslims.The Quran was revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam over 23 years, so a better knowledge of his life helps to understand better the reasons for the revelation of the Quran’s verses and as a result, the meanings of the verses.Given the fact that the Holy Prophet had a key role in the early Islamic period, the study of his life is very important for knowing about and writing the history of the events of that period.
Muslims, therefore, paid special attention to the biography and Seerah of the Holy Prophet from the early period of Islam. But it has not been an easy task because of different viewpoints about the reason, importance and authenticity of the sources of events and their narratives which have all been included in the sciences related to Islamic biography.
The study of the Prophet’s biography in the West (by non-Muslims) dates back to the Middle Ages. Most of the biographies written by Westerners during this period included inter-religious arguments trying to prove that according to the facts about his life, Prophet Muhammad could not have been a true prophet and so his book (the Quran) is a collection of his mental emanations and Islam is, in an optimistic view, a fake version of Judaism or Christianity.
Unfortunately, such arguments were recorded in the minds of most Europeans and became the prevailing European discourse about the Prophet even in the 17th century.
However, from the beginning of the 18th century some European writers presented a positive image of the Prophet as a religious reformer. And a secular view about him introduced him as a great man, victorious legislator and a social reformer. These two viewpoints resulted in a more realistic and positive understanding of his life and Seerah among Westerners.
But introducing Muhammad (PBUH) as a political and military leader intentionally prevented his introduction as God's messenger and a role-model for Muslims.
In the 20th century some Christian writers revised their view on Muhammad's (PBUH) role in God's plan for humanity and stressed the common points between Islam and Christianity.
The scientific and academic studies of his Seerah in the West started in the mid-19th century and went through two phases: one of general trust in historical and Hadith sources and another of widespread skepticism about their authenticity.
In the second phase, researchers mostly focused on non-Islamic sources and physical evidence such as inscriptions and coins. It seems that from the second decade of this century, a new phase has begun in Western academic studies on Nabawi Seerah, which has taken a middle approach towards Islamic sources: neither general trust nor widespread skepticism. They refer to them, criticize them and compare them with other non-Islamic sources.
