مصادرِ سیرت کی ترتیبِ اولویت : روایتی علماء اور معاصر متجددین کے معیاراتِ تحقیق کا تقابل

The Prioritization of Sīrah Sources: A Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Contemporary Modernist Research Criteria

Abstract

This article presents a detailed analysis of the prioritization of sources in the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (Sīrah). On one hand, it examines the methodology of traditional scholars, who employ a well-reasoned hierarchy of sources: the Qur’an, the Ṣaḥīḥayn, the other Kutub al-Sittah, followed by works such as those of Ibn Isḥāq–Ibn Hishām, al-Wāqidī, and al-Ṭabarī. On the other hand, it explores the approach of modernists, who prioritize historical plausibility, rational acceptability, and comparative study as the primary criteria. The article compares the theoretical foundations of both methodologies, their principles for classifying sources, and the practical implications of each. It concludes that the traditional scholarly hierarchy is not only internally coherent but also indispensable for a sound understanding of Sīrah sources, whereas modernist criteria are sometimes susceptible to personal and ideological biases.