مطالعہ سیرت میں مادی تعبیرات ۔۔تنقیدی و تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Abstract

The life of Prophet Muhammad(S.A.W) has been one of the most popular subjects among the Muslims since the early period of Islam. Due to its highly significant nature, writers in every period of history have been investing their intellectual efforts in discovering new aspects of Seerat-un-Nabi. Sometimes like the Quran, Seerat-un-Nabi(S.A.W)is also interpreted to prove certain ideas on religious grounds. New methods of analysing historical events are also being applied to the study of Seerah. Sometimes the conclusions drawn from the study of Seerah seem to be in agreement with the spirit of modern age but they conflict with the very soul of Islam. Muslim modernists and Orientalists often seem to interpret Seerah in a way that endorses their own point of view regarding Islam. In this dissertation an attemp has been made to analyse the work of those Seerah writers who have tried to portray the life of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) on materialistic grounds,i.e., who have tried to prove that the real purpose of Prohpet's struggle was to bring about a social and economic revolution that will end all kind of social discriminations in the world. Such writers indriectly try to undermine the importance of dogma in Islam and over stress the value of social and economic teachings of the Prophet. As a complete code of life Islam addresses all the aspects of human life, however, faith continues to have a pivotal role in Islam and all its teachings aresomehow a source of strenthening its beliefs. Writers who try to fit the life and teachings of the Prophet (S.A.W) in the frame of historiacl materialism, appear to overlook the very essence of his teachings. While applying such ideas to the life of the Prophet, some oreintalists even try disembellish his character by saying that the purpose of all his struggle was to gain power and authority which he finally achieved in Madinah. In this research study the views of such writers (who either try to prove Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) a social reformer or portray him as a commmon man, overpowered by his desires)have been analysed in the light of Historical facts, Quran and Hadith. A breif introduction of historical materialism has been given in the beginning. The methodology of these writers for studying Seerah has also been compared to the principles established by Islamic scholars. The analysis of the materialistic interpretations of Seerat-un-Nabi (S.A.W) has been made into two sections, i.e., Makki period and Madani period. In the chapter relating to Makki period, the material interpretations of Muhammadan revelation, his mission, Abyssinian migration, the story of Gharaneeq and the Prophet's miracles have been discussed and analysed in detail. The material interpreations of Medinan migration and Ghazwat and other important Medinan events have been critically analysed in the fourth chapter. The concluding chapter deals with the impact of material interpretations of Seerat-un-Nabi upon the the study of Seerah in particular and understanding of Islam in general. The main objective of this research study is to find out whether the unique interpretations of Seerah incidents presented by the Orientalists and Muslim modernists are in accordance with the spirit of Islam or not. The fallacies of such writers have been determined in the light of Quran, Hadith and Historical facts.