Orientalist vs Islamic Perspectives: A Comparative analysis of the Seerah

Abstract

This paper will reveal the methods of interpretation applied by the Orientalists and Islamic tradition in their examination of Seerah. Orientalists are established historian, who use critical source evaluation and factual historic context to write about social, political, and psychological aspects that characterized Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) life. Such an approach proves to be important by providing us with an elaborate historical context, however, may be restricted by its potential biases and lack of the transcendental view. The very idea behind the Islamic research, indeed, is to focus the efforts on the verifiability of the sources and to explain the Prophet (PBUH) life by means of guidance of the Allah. It portrays his remarkable personality and wondrous deeds that can give rise to enough deep-seated veneration amongst the Muslim community. Although it is responsible for the conservation of the custom, a less strict one leaves the interpretation borders. Through a critical comparison of the different views, this paper is going to demonstrate how they impact Muslims' outlook on their history and faith. To conclude, the paper contends for both the validity of the joint Seerah study and the significance of critical thinking and an observational aspect when engaging with different approaches in this field.

Keywords: Orientalist, Seerah, Islamists, Observational Aspects, Historical Context