Nabī-e-Rehmat: Prophetic Sīrah as a conduit for reform and revival in 20th-century India

Author

Farheena Tariq AbbasiFollow

Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Fall 2023

Date of Submission

2023-09-30

Advisor

Aliya Iqbal Naqvi, Visiting Faculty, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Social Reform, Prophetic Sirah, Revival, 20th Century British India, Revisiting Jahilliyah

Abstract

This paper looks at the section on Jāhiliyyah in Maulānā Abūl Ḥasan ʿAlī Nadwī’s version of Prophetic Sīrah, Nabī-e-Rehmat to understand how he presents the concept of Jāhiliyyah as a reoccurring state of moral and spiritual degeneracy that poses a constant threat to Muslims in all times. It looks at how this definition of Jāhiliyyah was used by Maulānā Nadwī to assert a moral and spiritual reform amongst the Muslims of the 20^th century instead of a political one.

This paper studies the trends in historiography in India to understand how History has been used in India as a means of reform and revival. This is followed by a survey of 10 famous Prophetic Sīrahs of the 20^th century to shed light on the uniqueness of Maulānā Nadwīs work.

By contrasting Maulānā Nadwī's understanding of Jāhiliyyah as a state of moral degeneracy with Maulānā Mawdūdī understanding of it as a state of obedience to a system that is in disobedience to Allah, this paper explains the differing forms of reform and revival that can be interpreted from the Prophetic Sīrah in light of the circumstances of Muslims in different times and societies.

Pages

5,67

Recommended Citation

Abbasi, F. (2023). Nabī-e-Rehmat: Prophetic Sīrah as a conduit for reform and revival in 20th-century India (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/254