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This lecture is the next installment of the “Sīrah of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the World’s Languages” lecture series organized by the Digital Sīrah Project.
Malayalam, a language spoken by over 40 million people today, is part of the Dravidian language family and has evolved over many centuries. Long before Malayalam reached its classical form, the Muslim community in Kerala, known as the Mappilas, was already creating writings on the Sīrah. They employed Arabic-Malayalam, an earlier writing system that adapted Arabic script to align with Malayalam speech, to produce Sīrah literature.
The lecture will trace these texts through different historical periods, from the early Arabic-Malayalam writings to later works in standard Malayalam. The broader aim is to demonstrate how the concept of the Sīrah was not merely translated into Malayalam but was reinterpreted within the specific historical and cultural context of the region.
The event will be held in English.
