Muhammad bin Abd al-Qadir Barrada
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Muhammad bin Abd al-Qadir Barrada is a contemporary academic scholar and researcher specializing in Hispanic studies, Quranic translation, and the analysis of Western and Spanish literature on the Prophet Muhammad. He is the author of the monograph Dirasat Isbaniya lil-Sira al-Nabawiya (Spanish Studies of the Prophetic Biography) .
Academic Work and Research
Barrada earned his doctorate with a dissertation titled Traducciones del alcorán: lingüística y estilística (Translations of the Quran: Linguistics and Stylistics), which investigated the linguistic and stylistic dimensions of Spanish renderings of the Quran . His scholarship focuses on the intersection of Islamic studies and Spanish Orientalist historiography, tracing how Islamic texts and the biography of the Prophet have been received, translated, and represented in Spain across different historical periods .
In his critical survey of Spanish scholarship on the Prophetic biography (sira), Barrada traces the earliest transmission of Prophetic traditions and biographical materials to the Iberian Peninsula back to the ninth century CE, noting figures such as the Syrian scholar Sa'sa'ah ibn Sallam (d. 807 CE) and classical Andalusian historians including Abd al-Malik ibn Habib and Abu al-Rabi' al-Kala'i . He examines key medieval translation milestones, highlighting the rendering of the Prophet's night journey and heavenly ascension (Libro de la Escala de Mahoma) commissioned during the reign of King Alfonso X of Castile and executed in 1264 CE by Abraham of Toledo .
Critical Analysis of Western and Spanish Literature
Barrada engages critically with the ideological and polemical frameworks that shaped Spanish historiography concerning Islam and the Prophet Muhammad . He analyzes recurring medieval and early modern tropes, such as the designation of the Prophet as a "false prophet" (falso profeta) found in ecclesiastical treatises and historical compilations like the thirteenth-century Primera Crónica General . He argues that such approaches relied on projection and polemical justifications rather than primary sources, leading to pervasive factual and historical errors .
In the contemporary context, Barrada reviews pedagogical materials, noting studies of Spanish secondary school textbooks (manuales de bachillerato) that perpetuated distorted representations of early Islamic history and the Prophet's mission . He also evaluates contemporary writings published in Spanish by Muslim authors and institutions—such as the Suhail Islamic Center—noting their efforts to present authentic accounts while pointing out limitations in their distribution . Addressing the cultural and religious needs of Muslim communities in the West, he advocates for institutional initiatives to produce accessible, well-researched Spanish-language literature on the Prophetic biography .
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List of Works
Dirasat Isbaniya lil-Sira al-Nabawiya (Spanish Studies of the Prophetic Biography) is an academic critical study examining Spanish-language literature and Orientalist scholarship on the biography of the Prophet Muhammad. The work investigates how the Prophet and Islam have been portrayed in Spanish historical, linguistic, and Orientalist writings from the medieval period through the modern era, critically evaluating distortions and misconceptions while identifying the historical and ideological factors shaping Spanish attitudes toward Islam.