Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2027)
Advance Online Publication (Forthcoming Articles)

Articles

Sir Sayyid Aḥmad Khān and the Methodological Shift in South Asian Sīrah Writing: A Study of Khuṭubāt-i-Aḥmadiyyah

https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v12i1.789

Published 30.07.2026

Javeed Ahmad Malik
Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir, India

Abstract

Sir Sayyid Aḥmad Khān’s contribution, with a focus on his important work on Prophetic sīrah, Khuṭubāt-i-Aḥmadiyyah [Essays on the Life of Prophet Muhammad], marks a momentous shift from traditional sīrah writing to modern scientific study through emphasis on the authenticity of narrations, historical contextualisation, and a contemporary academic writing style. Sir Sayyid’s pioneering approach and effort are accredited as a basis in modern Urdu sīrah literature, focusing on the Divine worldview without leaving behind rational interpretation of the text, critical examination of narrations, and rejection of irrational and weak elements. The current study, employing analytical methodology, highlights Sir Sayyid’s endeavours to reconcile sources with modern academic paradigms, primarily in response to the objections of Orientalists regarding Prophetic sīrah. Through assessment of his efforts, this article emphasises the methodology employed in Khuṭubāt-i-Aḥmadiyyah, examines its content, and explores Sir Sayyid’s reinterpretation of some key sīrah events, such as Prophet Muhammad’s miraculous birth, his childhood trip to Syria with Abū Ṭālib, and the Ṣaqq al-Ṣadr event. By situating his contribution within the broader intellectual landscape of 19th century Indian scholarship, the study underscores his enduring legacy in shaping modern sīrah discourse and the lasting impact of his approach on succeeding scholars.

Keywords

Sir Sayyid Aḥmad Khān, Khuṭubāt-i-Aḥmadiyyah, Sīrah Writing, Methodology, Orientalists., Dawah Methodology

PDF

References

  1. ‘Abdullāh, Sayyid Muḥammad. Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan Aur Unkei Nāmwar Rufaqā Kī Urdu Nathar Kā Fannī Aur Fikrī Jā’izah [A Critical Analysis of the Urdu Prose of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and his Notable Colleagues]. Educational Book House, 2006.
  2. Al-Bayhaqī, Abū Bakr Aḥmad bin Ḥusayn. Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah [Proofs of Prophethood]. Translated by Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Al-Jārwī. Dār al-Ishāʿat, 2009.
  3. Carlyle, Thomas. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History. Edited by Henry David Gray. Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906.
  4. Coruh, Hakan. “The Qur’an and Interpretation in the Classical Modernism.” Australian Journal of Islamic Studies 4, no. 2 (2019): 14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v4i2.175
  5. Daryābādī, ʿAbd al-Mājid. Āp Bītī. Majlis Nashriyāt-i-Islam, 1996.
  6. Davenport, John. An Apology for Mohammed and the Koran. J. Davy & Sons, 1869.
  7. De Lamartine, Alphonse. Histoire de la Turquie [History of Turkey]. Librairie du Constitutionnel, 1854.
  8. Dehlawī, ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq. Madārij al-Nubuwwah [Stages of Prophethood]. Adabi Duniya, 2015.
  9. Al-Din, ‘Imād. Mohammedan Brought to Christ: The Autobiography. Church Missionary House, 1885.
  10. Faruqi, Ziya-ul-Hasan. The Deoband School and the Demand for Pakistan. Asia Publishing House, 1963.
  11. Ghāzī, Maḥmūd Ahmad. Muhāḍrāt-i-Sīrat [Lectures on Sīrah]. Areeb Publications, 2011.
  12. Ḥālī, Altāf Ḥusayn. Ḥayāt-i-Javaid [Lasting Biography]. Farid Book Depot Pvt. Ltd., 2014.
  13. Ḥamidullah, Muḥammad. The Life and Work of the Prophet of Islam. Translated by Mahmood Ahmad Ghazi. Adam Publishers & Distributors, 2007.
  14. Higgins, Godfrey. An Apology for Mohamed. Allahabad Reform Society, 1829.
  15. Ibn Kathīr, ‘Imād al-Dīn. Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah [The Beginning and the End]. Translated by Muḥammad Arshad Ḥasan. Maktabah Danish, 1999.
  16. Ibn Kathīr, ‘Imād al-Dīn. Sīrah al-Nabī [The Life of Muhammad]. Translated by Maulana Hidayatullah Nadwī. Hafzi Book Depot, n.d.
  17. Ibn Sa‘ad, Muḥammad. Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā [Great Generations]. Translated by ʿAbdullah ʿImādī and Muḥammad Asghar Mughal. Hafzi Book Depot, 1998.
  18. Kāndhalwī, Idrīs. Sīrah al-Muṣṭafā [The Life of Prophet Muhammad]. Kutub Khanah Aʿzāziyah, 2008.
  19. Khālid, Anwar Maḥmūd. Urdu Nathar Mei Sīrat-i-Rasūl [The Prophetic Sīrah in Urdu Prose]. Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 1989.
  20. Khan, Masood Ali. Islam in Modern India. Mohit Publications, 2008.
  21. Khān, Sayyid Aḥmad. Jilā al-Qulūb Bi Zikr al-Mahbūb [Invigorating Hearts with the Remembrance of the Beloved]. n.p., 1843. Accessed March 3, 2025. http://archive.org/details/JilaUlQaloobBezikarAlMahboobBySirSyedAhmadKhanAliGarh.
  22. Khān, Sayyid Aḥmad. A Series of Essays on the Life of Mohammed. Idarah Adabiyat Delli, 2009.
  23. Khān, Sayyid Aḥmad. Khuṭubāt-i-Aḥmadiyyah [Essays on the Life of Prophet Muhammad]. Edited by Khauthar Fatima Aligarh. Urdu version. Milli Publications, 2020.
  24. Kidwai, Abdur Raheem. Images of Prophet Muhammad in English Literature. Peter Lang, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3726/b13294
  25. Mahmud, Sayyid Fayyaz. A Short History of Islam. Oxford University Press, 1960.
  26. Malik, Javeed Amhad, and Showkat Hussain Dar. “Bahīra’s Meeting with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Argumentative Muslim Scholarship: A Critical Assessment.” Afkar Journal of Islamic & Religious Studies 4, no. 1 (2020): 19–30. https://afkar.com.pk/previousissues/Vol_4/Issue_1/article02(english).pdf.
  27. Mohsin, Muḥammad. “Urdu Adab Mei Sīrat Nighārī Kā Irtiqā” [The Evolution of Sīrah Writing in the Urdu Literature]. PhD diss., Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, 2017.
  28. Muir, William. The Life of Mahomet. Oliver and Boyd/John Grant, 1923.
  29. Muslim bin Ḥajjāj. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. https://sunnah.com/muslim.
  30. Nadwī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī. ʿAthar-i-Ḥāḍir Mei Dīn Kī Tafhīm wa Tashrīḥ [Appreciation and Interpretation of Religion in the Modern Age]. Majlis Tahqeeqat wa Nashriyaat-i-Islam, 1980.
  31. Nadwī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī. Islāmīyāt Aur Maghribī Mustashriqīn wa Muslamān Muṣannifīn [Islamic Studies, Orientalists and Muslim Scholars]. Majlis Taḥqīqāt wa Nashriyāt Islam, 2012.
  32. Nadwī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī. Nabī-i-Rahmat [The Apostle of Mercy]. Majlis Tahqīqāt wa Nashriyāt Islam, 2010.
  33. Naeem, Muhammad, Faisal @ Ahmad Faisal Abdul Hamid, Ahmad Yussuf, and Muhammad Umair Raouf. “A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Movements Aiming at Fostering Sirah Studies in British India during 1857–1947 CE.” Journal of Al-Tamaddun 19, no. 1 (2024): 297–309. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol19no1.21
  34. Nu‘mānī, Shiblī. Maqālāt [Articles]. Dār al-Muṣannifīn Shiblī Academy, 2020.
  35. Nuʿmānī, Shiblī. Sīrah al-Nabī [The Life of Muhammad]. Dār al-Muṣannifīn Shiblī Academy, 2019.
  36. Pānīpattī, Muḥammad Ismāʿīl. Maqālāt-i-Sir Sayyid [Articles of Sir Sayyid]. Majlis Taraqqī-i-Adab, 1962.
  37. Pearson, Harlan O. Islamic Reform and Revival in Nineteenth-Century India. Yoda Press, 2008.
  38. Robinson, Francis. The New Cambridge History of Islam. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
  39. Sharif, M. M. A History of Muslim Philosophy. Low Price Publications, 2004.
  40. Smith, Bosworth. Mohammed and Mohammedanism. Smith, Elder & Co, 1874.
  41. Subhas, Abdus. “Profile: Syed Ameer Ali [1849–1928].” The Milli Gazette August 16-31 (2000). https://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15-8-2000/Art19.htm.
  42. Tirmidhī, Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī [Tirmidhī’s Collection]. https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi.
  43. Troll, Christian W. Sayyid Ahmad Khan: A Reinterpretation of Muslim Theology. Vikas Publishing House, 1978.
  44. Al-Wāsey, Akhtar, and Farhat Ehsas. Shiblī Nuʿmānī. Al-Bālagh Publications, 2009.
  45. Watt, W. Montgomery. Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press, 1961.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.