Character Formation in the Prophetic Sīrah within the Social Organization of the Islamic Polity; A Thematic Study of Ḥujjat Allāh al-Bāligha by Shah Walī Allāh Dihlawī (1703–1762 CE)

Abstract

This study examines the purificatory process (tazkiyah) and ethical dimensions of the Prophetic biography (Sirah Nabawiyyah) as one of the central foundations upon which the Islamic social system was established. The Prophet ﷺ did not merely present a system of worship or legal rulings; rather, he laid the foundations of a cohesive society based on the purification of the self, moral reform, and the construction of righteous individuals who positively influence their surroundings.

The study frames this subject through the comprehensive reformist vision of Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi (1703–1762)  [i], one of the foremost revivalist scholars of the Indian subcontinent. Al-Dihlawi approached the Prophetic biography from a maqāṣid-based (objectives-oriented) perspective, linking individual moral purification with social construction, and presenting an integrated understanding of social reform rooted in the Prophetic model.