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Muhammad Mehr Ali

Died
1428 AH
Born in
-

Muhammad Mehr Ali (d. 1428 AH / 2007 CE) was an academic and historian who specialized in Quranic studies, the biography of the Prophet (al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah), and the critical evaluation of Western Orientalist scholarship .

Scholarly Focus and Methodology

A significant part of Ali's research was dedicated to analyzing foreign-language literature concerning Islamic foundational sources, with particular attention to English-language writings and Western Orientalism . In his analytical survey al-Ihtimam bi-al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah bi-al-Lughah al-Injliziyyah ("Interest in the Prophetic Biography in the English Language"), he classified English-language biographical works into two primary categories: writings produced by Muslim authors and those written by non-Muslims, especially British Orientalists . In this study, he critiqued the methodological assumptions of prominent Orientalists such as William Muir and David Samuel Margoliouth, challenging their handling of historical narrations and their interpretations of hadith texts related to the Prophet's life .

Ali also addressed Western theories regarding the text and transmission of the Quran in his treatise Maza'im al-Mustashriqin hawl al-Qur'an al-Karim ("Claims of the Orientalists Concerning the Noble Quran") . In that work, he argued that modern Orientalist claims alleging human authorship or borrowing for the Quran mirror the arguments originally made by the early polytheists of Mecca, systematically presenting textual and logical refutations to defend the divine origin of the revelation .

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List of Works

  • al-Ihtimam bil-Sira al-Nabawiya bil-Lugha al-Inجليزية

    This bibliographical and critical study surveys and analyzes English-language literature on the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah). It classifies and evaluates these writings according to their authorship, historical period, thematic focus, and methodology, examining both Muslim works and Western Orientalist scholarship.

  • Mazaim al-Mustashriqin hawl al-Quran al-Karim

    This critical treatise examines and refutes Western Orientalist theories and claims concerning the authorship, origins, and textual history of the Quran. Originally presented as a conference research paper in Rajab 1421 AH, it addresses both traditional authorship theories and late-twentieth-century revisionist evolutionary hypotheses.