al-Sira al-Nabawiya fi Dairat al-Maarif al-Britaniya
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- Mujamma' al-Malik Fahd li-Ṭibā'at al-Muṣḥaf al-Sharīf bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
al-Sira al-Nabawiya fi Dairat al-Maarif al-Britaniya (The Prophetic Biography in the Encyclopædia Britannica) is a critical scholarly study by Walid bin Bulayhish al-Umari evaluating the presentation, sources, and methodologies used in depictions of the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ within the Encyclopædia Britannica .
Background and Purpose
The work was motivated by the author's examination of the treatment of Islam and the Prophetic biography in the Encyclopædia Britannica, which, despite its broad international reputation for academic rigor and factual authority, incorporated orientalist allegations and departed from balanced critical methodology . The book provides an overview of the encyclopedia's history—from its founding in Edinburgh in 1768 by three Scottish publishers through its subsequent editions and transition to Chicago—and critically examines its claimed editorial policy of global neutrality and comprehensive objectivity, aiming to demonstrate where that policy breaks down when addressing Islamic subjects .
Scope and Subject of Analysis
The core focus of the study is the entry titled "Muhammad: the Prophet and his message", situated within the expanded Macropaedia section under the broader topic of Islam . Based on editorial correspondence with Tom Panelas, director of public relations at the encyclopedia, the primary author of the entry was the British orientalist William Montgomery Watt, with additional contributions on Muhammad's life and legacy from scholars including Fazlur Rahman, Muhsin S. Mahdi, and Annemarie Schimmel .
The book reviews the sources relied upon by the encyclopedia's entry, including:
- Studies by Western orientalists such as Watt's Muhammad at Mecca and Muhammad at Medina, Frants Buhl's Das Leben Muhammeds, Tor Andræ's Mohammed: The Man and His Faith, Nabia Abbott's Aishah The Beloved of Mohammed, and John Bagot Glubb's The Life and Times of Muhammad .
- Early Arabic historical sources referenced through Western translations, notably Alfred Guillaume's translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sira (as transmitted by Ibn Hisham), alongside the works of al-Waqidi and Ibn Sa'd .
Methodological Critique
Al-Umari analyzes the discursive and linguistic strategies employed in the encyclopedia's entry, contrasting Western modes of argumentation—specifically counter-argumentation and the use of rhetorical false concessions—with standard evidential assessment . He highlights how the text seemingly adopts a detached, objective tone while advancing orientalist tropes, dismissing hadith literature as historically contentious, and portraying historical events through speculative secular lenses . The author also observes the historical evolution of how the Prophet's name was transliterated in Western discourse—moving from medieval derogatory corruptions to modern standardized spelling—while arguing that underlying biases persisted in the substance of the historical narrative .
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