A CRITICAL STUDY OF CLINTON BENNETT’S THOUGHTS TOWARDS SIRAH OF THE HOLY PROPHET ﷺ

Sirah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the topic on which a lot of work has been done both in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. For Muslims it was the source of aspiration and adaptation for the practical purposes of social life while for the non-Muslims it was the source of inquisitiveness and understanding Islam as a successful religion in the past and present time. Therefore, Muslim enthusiastic interest in the biography of the Holy Prophet ﷺ developed and evolved into a regular science while the west has modified the knowledge of biography according to their own order of preference but within the same biographic precedents. Both have tried to reconstruct the biography of the Holy Prophet ﷺ historically, chronologically and logically. Clinton Bennett is one of the western scholars who has contributed not only in the Islamic literature but also the biographic field. His work consists of numerous issues in Islam. Whatever he has learned from Islam and the Sirah of Holy Prophet and thus concluded in the form of his own thoughts, he has expressed most of them in his famous five books for example ‘In Search of Muhammad’, ‘Muslims and Modernity’, ‘Studying Islam’, ‘Interpreting the Qur’an’, and ‘Victorian Images of Islam’ (doctoral thesis)’. This study focuses on Clinton Bennett’s work on Sirah specifically with his broader view of the subject. This research is descriptive and analytical in nature and presents a detailed analysis of the work it is based upon.

Is There an Association Between Placental Inflammatory Lesions and Vaginal Microbiota in Preterm Labour? a Case Control Study

Background: Preterm birth continues to be a significant contributor to neonatal mortality and morbidity despite diverse unique interventional strategies. There is need for better understanding of differences and influences of the now characterized vaginal microbiome on terminal inflammatory effects in the uterine microenvironment in term and preterm labour to improve on current strategies. How the existence of a postulated placenta microbiome also affects this understanding should be considered. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the association between the maternal vaginal microbiota and placental inflammatory lesions in preterm labour and to determine the presence of a placenta microbiome. Methods: In this nested study, we enrolled 36 case and control placentas in a 1:1 ratio matched for age and parity from women delivering preterm between 26 to 36 weeks gestation. The profile of bacteria in the vaginal tract and placenta was characterized and compared through 16S rRNA sequencing. All histologic inflammatory lesions were graded and staged as per recommended latest consensus guidelines on reporting placental lesions. Results: Preterm placentas were associated with greater rates of inflammation (43.3%) compared to term placentas (23.3%). Acute histologic chorioamnionitis accounted for the greatest proportion with higher rates in preterm (33.3%) than term placentas (6.67%). Placenta microbial samples had a sequence read success rate of only 5.7% bearing similarity to oral, environmental and vaginal tract bacteria. Conclusion: (1) Acute histologic chorioamnionitis was associated with preterm labour. (2) There is lack of evidence to support the existence of a placenta microbiome.