The Preservation and Authenticity of Ḥadīth As a Source of Sīrah: A Critique of Robert Spencer’S Views on Historicity of Muḥammad

The account of the deeds and sayings of the prophet (ﷺ) has been carefully preserved since the dawn of Islam. This is what actually led Ernest Renan to believe that “[Islam] was born in the full light of history”, and that the life of Muḥammad (ﷺ) can be known as explicitly as that of any sixteenth century reformer. Notwithstanding, some contemporary writers doubt the historicity of Muḥammad (ﷺ) ; Robert Spencer is one of them. He is an American author. He is quite famous for his criticism of Islam and the prophet of Islam. He has published twelve books so far. He is a member of Melkite Greek Catholic Church. He contends that Muḥammad’s (ﷺ) historical value is in no way greater and more reliable than mythological figures or characters such as Robin Hood and Macbeth. He maintains that the very idea of subjecting the traditionally accepted account of the life of Muḥammad (ﷺ) and the origins of Islam will be regarded by many Muslims as an affront. To substantiate his argument, he rigorously criticizes the historical value of ḥadīth. He argues that aḥādīth were fabricated and compiled in the third century. He maintains that aḥādīth were concocted much later to be used as weapons in political strife and religious controversies. This paper is an academic attempt to prove that aḥādīth were painstakingly preserved and for that purpose various techniques were employed. Besides, it also sheds light on the reasons for the fabrication of aḥādīth and the ways and means utilized for sifting the genuine aḥādīth from forgeries. Findings of this article suggest that the minute details of the life of Muḥammad (ﷺ) have been scrupulously preserved; hence aḥādīth can be used as a reliable source of Sīrah.

Teachers Beliefs and Practices About Teaching of English at Secondary Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

TThhiiss ssttuuddyy aaiimmeedd aatt eexxpplloorriinngg tteeaacchheerrss’’ bbeelliieeffss aanndd tthheeiirr pprraaccttiicceess aabboouutt TTeeaacchhiinngg ooff EEnngglliisshh aatt sseeccoonnddaarryy sscchhooooll lleevveell iinn KKhhyybbeerr PPaakkhhttuunnkkhhwwaa,, aa pprroovviinnccee iinn PPaakkiissttaann.. TThhee mmaajjoorr oobbjjeeccttiivvee ooff tthhee ssttuuddyy iiss ttoo iidentify teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices in Teaching of English and their influence on students’ learning at secondary level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The major objective is further strengthened by the research question and hypothesis: What beliefs do teachers hold and what classroom practices do they apply in teaching of English at secondary level? And there is no relationship between the beliefs and practices of English language teachers about teaching of English at secondary level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively. Population of the study comprised all teachers and students (Male) at secondary level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is geographically divided into three main regions: the Northern, the Central and the Southern. One district was selected from each region, and data was collected from 1200 students (male) and 120 teachers (male) in both Govt. and Private sectors, by employing multi-stage cluster stratified sampling technique. The tools used for data collection involved questionnaires, interviews, and observation checklist. The data was interpreted through both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The quantitative data was analyzed using Gamma coefficient correlation, and the qualitative data (interviews) were analyzed with the help of thematic analysis after transcribing and dividing the data under different themes and sub-themes. viii The results revealed that teachers of both sectors possessed strong beliefs about teaching of English along with language and its learning, basic language skills, grammar and its rules, students learning, curriculum of English, and students’ assessment of language learning. However, Govt. teachers’ beliefs were not reflected in their actual classroom practices, which resulted in students’ low understanding of English as a subject, and as a language. Contrarily, Private school teachers performed better in their classroom practices that are also reflected from Private school students’ language learning and its functional aspect. The teachers’ classroom practices were also compared with students’ views and their result displayed lack of coordination between teachers’ beliefs and their practices in Teaching of English. Govt. teachers were supposed to be highly skilled as compared to the Private school teachers because of the trainings, refreshers courses, seminars, and workshops offered to them by the governmental and non-governmental agencies; however, the results were contrary to the supposition. A sizeable number of English language teachers in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have a little awareness regarding their personal beliefs about teaching of English; therefore, this study provides the Govt. with an insight that how English language teachers’ view and value their professional beliefs to become effective teachers. It is; therefore, recommended that proper English language content-based training may be provided to the teachers with English language background and the present bulk of non-English language teachers may be replaced by English language teachers.