On Hichem Djaït and Modern Prophetic Biography

This paper addresses the topic of modern prophetic biography and its intersection with the work of Hichem Djaït. First, it reviews selected examples of modern Arab biographic production on the Prophet Muhammad, alongside Djaït’s own work on the same topic from in his three-volume collection Fī as-Sīra an-Nabawiyya. Second, by situating the text in its historical context and exploring several exemplary case studies, the article sets out the different stages through which the text of the prophetic biography has passed, focusing especially on the characteristics that the text acquires at each of these stages. Finally, in light of the aforementioned modern intellectual production on the prophetic biography, and by situating Djaït’s work within the context of postmodern intellectual discourse, the article re-evaluates Djaït’s biography of the Prophet.

Download Article Download Issue Subscribe for a year

Abstract

Zoom

This paper addresses the topic of modern prophetic biography and its intersection with the work of Hichem Djaït. First, it reviews selected examples of modern Arab biographic production on the Prophet Muhammad, alongside Djaït’s own work on the same topic from in his three-volume collection Fī as-Sīra an-Nabawiyya. Second, by situating the text in its historical context and exploring several exemplary case studies, the article sets out the different stages through which the text of the prophetic biography has passed, focusing especially on the characteristics that the text acquires at each of these stages. Finally, in light of the aforementioned modern intellectual production on the prophetic biography, and by situating Djaït’s work within the context of postmodern intellectual discourse, the article re-evaluates Djaït’s biography of the Prophet.

References