Nov 6, 2025, 12:00 pm- 1:00 pm CT

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Devotion in Colonial Islam: Representations of Muhammad in Urdu Sira

Composition of the sīra (biography of the Prophet Muḥammad) is a centuries-old tradition through which Muslims have recorded the memory of their beloved Prophet and expressed devotion. This presentation examines how such writings shape the biographical image of a sacred figure, with particular attention to nineteenth-century colonial North India. I focus on Sir Sayyid Aḥmad Ḵẖān’s Urdu text, al-Khut̤bāt al-Aḥmadīyah (1870), to trace how new movements—such as the vernacularization of religious literature into popular languages like Urdu—transformed the ways Muslims engaged with the Prophet’s life. For authors in this context, contributing to shaping Muhammad’s image was a way to meet purposes such as reviving theological interest in Islam, reforming local Islamic beliefs, and providing access for a generation of Indian Muslims no longer fluent in Arabic and Persian. Beyond these broader debates, I also highlight intriguing decisions Sir Sayyid made in composing his biography: Why did he need to compose the Urdu-language work in the United Kingdom? And why did he prioritize publication of the English translation, leaving the Urdu original unpublished for nearly two decades?

About the Speaker: 

Adil Mawani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto. As a scholar of Islamic Studies, he specializes in colonial and postcolonial Islam in South Asia, with an emphasis on Arabic- and Urdu-language materials.