A Critical Review of Sīrah Portrayals in Marshall Hodgson’s The Venture of Islam

The study of Islamic history and the biography of the Prophet Muham-mad has captivated the attention of numerous historians, both Muslim and non-Muslim alike. For Muslims, the primary motivation has been to gain a thorough understanding of the Prophet’s life and to convey this knowledge accurately to future generations. Additionally, the quest to comprehend the historical trajectory of the Muslim community and derive lessons from it has been a significant factor. The majority of them took care to be impartial in this work, tried not to damage the image of the Prophet when choosing narrati-ons, and avoided superstitious information. Whenever necessary, they have conveyed shazic information and strange narrations, but they have taken care not to make judgments on the basis of these narrations. They tried to stay away from doubtful subjects and were careful not to make different claims by establishing connections through unconnected events. The attitudes of non-Muslims and especially Orientalists towards Islam have generally been two-fold. Some of the researchers have made evaluations of the events with a sci-entific attitude, without distorting the truth and with a moderate perspective. Others have consciously chosen to engage in baseless claims, accusations, forced interpretations, linking unrelated issues and distorting events due to their religious beliefs. Their interests, which have intellectual, social, and poli-tical aspects, ultimately aim to create doubts in the minds of Muslims in order to distract them from their religious references and thus easily exploit them. However, there were some who adopted both attitudes and who, although they seemed moderate, could not get out of the Orientalist line. As a matter of fact, those like Hodgson, who were determined to act more objectively and scientifically, could not always stay away from the cultural codes of the soci-ety in which they grew up, and could not get away from the positivist point of view. Thus, this study provides a critical analysis of the biographical infor-mation presented by Hodgson in his work, The Venture of Islam. It examines his interpretations of the sīrah, categorising them into seven distinct sub-headings, and identifies the traces of a secular perspective that are void of revealed knowledge. Of course, in order to make these determinations, his work and life were examined, the information found was examined and com-pared with the narratives in the main sources and the information was com-pared

Biography · Exploit · History of Islam · Islam · Public figure · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Qur’anic Interpretation Studies

• Erken Dönem İslâm Diplomasisinde Hediye (H. 7-132/ M. 628-750)

  Open Access•Selim Argun, Ümit Eskin•İslami İlimler Dergisi•2020

  Add to list