Ṭāhir al-Mawlawī and the Methodology of Sīrah Writing

Abstract

Ṭāhir al-Mawlawī (d. 1951) was a writer and poet, Sufi, mathnawīkhwāṇ, educator, journalist, translator, and also a Mawlawī shaykh. His multifaceted identity influenced his approach to writing sīrah of Prophet Muḥammad (peace be on him) and secured him a unique place in the literature. His books, newspaper essays, and magazine articles on the life of the Prophet bear traces of a synthesis that combines classical Islamic historiography with modern pedagogical and literary sensibilities. While classical Arabic texts and early modern Ottoman heritage generally stand out in sīrah studies, less attention has been paid to authors who worked on sīrah writing and reinterpreted this genre under the conditions of political and cultural transformation in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. This gap makes Ṭāhir al-Mawlawī’s texts more meaningful and special. Evaluating sīrah not only as a transmission of religious knowledge but also as a tool for education and identity construction, Ṭāhir al-Mawlawī addresses readers of all ages in his writings and aims to draw attention to these values. His choice of sources, personal Sufi depth, and the rhetorical power provided by his literary competence add different dimensions to the sīrah narrative. Thus, sīrah ceases to be merely a historical narrative recalling the past and becomes a dynamic literary genre that seeks answers to current social needs. His narrative strategies and pedagogical orientation set a precedent for subsequent sīrah writers, influencing later authors in their efforts to interpret Prophetic events in dialogue with contemporary social realities. In this context, Ṭāhir al-Mawlawī’s sīrah writing can be considered a hybrid model that blends classical Islamic historiography with modern pedagogical concerns and literary style.