نبی اکرم ﷺ کی عائلی زندگی پر مستشرقین کے اعتراضات کا جائزہ

Orientalist Perspectives on Prophet Muhammad’s (ﷺ) Family Life: A Critical Review

Abstract

The personal and family life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) represents an ideal model of moral, social and spiritual balance. His relationships with his wives were characterized by compassion, justice and mutual respect, offering a practical framework for Muslim family ethics. However, Orientalist scholars have often scrutinized the Prophet’s (ﷺ) family life through a Western lens, leading to critical interpretations that reflect cultural bias, partial understanding, or deliberate distortion. Among these scholars, W. Montgomery Watt stands out for his detailed yet controversial analysis of the Prophet’s marriages and domestic life and some other orientalists also. This study aims to critically examine the objections raised by Orientalists regarding the Prophet's (ﷺ) family life. The significance of this research lies in countering such critiques through a contextualized and evidence-based approach, clarifying misconceptions, and highlighting the moral foundations of Islamic family principles rooted in the Prophet’s(ﷺ) example. The main objectives of this research are to present the major Orientalist criticisms concerning the Prophet’s (ﷺ) family life, to evaluate the historical and intellectual backgrounds of these critiques and to respond to them using authentic Islamic sources and modern scholarly analysis. The methodology employed is analytical and historical in nature. It involves a thorough review of primary Islamic texts, classical and modern commentaries on the Prophet’s life, and a comparative study of Orientalist literature. The research applies critical discourse analysis to deconstruct the assumptions underlying Orientalist objections and to offer a reasoned Islamic response.