Sir Hamilton Alexander Roskeen Gibb (A review)

The article entitled Sir Hamilton Alexander Roskeen Gibb is written by Zia-ul-
Hasan Faruqi and part of the book Orientalism Islam and Islamists.
1
He is an Indian
Muslim author and translator. As an author, he wrote valuable books like, The Deoband
School and Demand for Pakistan
2
and biography of Junaid Bagdadi (830-910 CE). As
translator, he translated Allama Iqbals time-inspiring prose-book entitled
Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam into Urdu Language.
Here, in this article, Faruqi critically analyzes the services of H.A.R Gibb (1895
1971)a Scottish Orientalistin the fields of Hadith, Quran, Islamic history and the
biography of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. To easily describe, the article can be
divided into two parts. In the first part of the article, the writer lavishly expresses the
homage to the services of orientalists in the field of Islamic studies and effectively
unmask the true nature of their claim of objective study and the lust of knowing. He
builds up the argument that orientalists in all of their study remain subjective and hardly
rise above their religious and culturally prejudices. In second part of the article, the writer
introduces H.A.R Gibb and his influential work and cautiously discloses the numerous
aspects of subjectivity in his work on Islam. Faruqi brings example from Islamic history,
Quran, Hadith and etc. to prove his argument. Such as, H.A.R Gibb looks the early
expansion of Islam with purely economic and material eyes however, he completely
neglect the reformative and revolutionary role of Islam. Moreover, by following his
predecessor, like Ignaz Goldziher, David S. Margoliouth and etc. he considers the Hadith
as forgery and fabrication. This is an evident example of his subjectivity, when he keeps
all of the argument aside and follows the preemptions of their predecessors.
Gibbs subjectivity also shown when after admitting the fact that Muslims dont
like to use the term Muhammadanism for them, he deliberately uses it to write the

1
Asif Husain, Robert Olson & Jamil Quraishi (edit.) Orientalism Islam and Islamists, (USA: Amana Publishers,
1984)
2
Zia-ul-Hasan Farooqi, The Deoband School and Demand for Pakistan (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1963)
biography of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. About Quran he wrote Quran is the record of
those formal utterences and discurses which Muhammad and his followers accepted as
directly inspired. In this statement he seems to follow the same notions which most of
the orientalist have about Quran and regard it as an extraction from Judeo-Christian
tradition and passes furtively form the real evidences.
These are merely some of those innumerable examples which have been presented
by author to reveal the camouflaged notions of a well-known orientalist and whom
objectivity in his research is affirmative in the west. The writers conclusion is strongly
valid when he argues that no orientalist can hardly escape from his cultural and religious
beliefs. However, a disagreement can be made when he reveals the subjectivity of Gibb at
the point calling Muhammad only a great statesman and not to accept him as prophet. In
my view, when he himself describes his affiliation with Christian faith the question about
the prophecy of Muhammad PBUH leaves no objection upon Gibbss objectivity in
writing the biography of the Prophet. As he states:
I make bold to say that the metaphors in which Christian doctrine is traditionally
enshrined satisfy me intellectually as expressing symbolically the highest range of spiritual truth,
which I can conceive.
Along with this strong affirmation on Christian faith I think it leaves no
justification to question upon his objectivity about the biography of Muhammad PBUH.
Because if one along with his Christian faith accepts the prophethood of Muhammad,
consequently, this acceptance will eradicate his first article of faith which Gibb boldly
claims in above stated lines. This can be more precisely understood from the example of
Prophet Muhammads PBUH own life like the treaty of Hudaibiyah in which Quraysh
complained in writing Muhammads PBUH name with the appellation of the messenger
of Allah.
Farman Ali
University of Management of Technology
March, 14, 2014