A Review of Reviews: An Assessment of Drinking from the Shore
Dr. Abdur Rahim Kidwai is a well-known scholar who has made significant contributions to several fields of study, including Literary Orientalism, Qur’anic Studies, English Language Teaching, and Translation Studies. Published by K.A. Nizami Center for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University in October 2025, Drinking from the Shore is a collection of his book reviews on Sirah and Literary Orientalism. The volume comprises 89 book reviews written for the Muslim World Book Review, ranging from 1986 to 2023. The collection is divided into two parts — the first covering reviews of books on Sirah and Hadith Studies, and the second focusing on Literary Orientalism.
An introduction written by Md. Mursalim, the editor of the collection, precedes the section on Sirah and Hadith reviews. The introduction effectively traces the shift in Sirah writing from a predominantly chronological approach towards more multidimensional approaches encompassing thematic, chronological, interfaith, jurisprudential, and other novel methodologies. Notably, the editor connects this shift with the events of 9/11, which encouraged scholars and readers to examine evolving trends in Islamic scholarship against the backdrop of a considerable rise in Islamophobia. The introduction also provides a detailed analysis of Dr. Kidwai’s Images of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in English Literature, thereby establishing the author’s significance in the field of Sirah studies. Though engaging and informative, this analysis could have been more concise and condensed, as its considerable length makes it somewhat overwhelming within the introduction to a separate collection of book reviews.
The first part of the book deals with a wide corpus of works on Seerah and Hadith Studies. It provides insights into the works of numerous scholars, ranging from traditionalists like Qazi Sulaiman Mansurpuri (1867-1930) and Maualna Abdul Majid Daryabadi (1892-1977) to modernists like Kecia Ali (b. 1972) and Jonathan A.C. Brown (b. 1977). This diversity in the collection rightly mirrors the author’s depth of knowledge. Notably, many of the book reviews are dedicated to the works of Non-Muslim authors, which shows Dr. Kidwai’s attempt for interfaith understanding and healthy engagement. As such, Kidwai provides critical analysis of the biographies of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) written by scholars such as John Adair, a professor at Surrey University, UK and Craig Considine, a professor at Rice University, US. Apparently, many of the works featured in the first section stand at the intersection of Islamic Studies and Literary Orientalism, and could have been placed confidently in the latter part of the collection. Such works include Masood ul Hasan’s English Poems on the Prophet Mohammad (2015) and Gunny Ahmad’s The Prophet Muhammad in French and English Literature: 1650 to the Present (2010). This overlap suggests that the boundaries between two fields of study, particular when closely connected to each other, are not always absolute and concrete. Some of the reviews are too short and read more like comments, such as on those on M.A.J. Beg’s Brief Lives of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (1990) and Mohammad Amin’s A Spark from the Dynamo of Prophethood (2002). Further elaboration of these reviews could have provided a better understanding of the books in reference. Nonetheless, the Sirah and Hadith reviews are an interesting read for the students and scholars of Islamic Studies and Theology and throw light on books dealing with various aspects of the aforementioned fields of study, such as the traditional commentaries on Hadith collections, the representations of the Prophet in Western Literature, the chronological biographies of the Messenger as well as thematic and focused study on specific aspects of the life of Prophet Muhammad.
The second part begins with a scholarly introduction to Literary Orientalism by Dr. Abdur Rahim Kidwai. The introduction recounts the personal observations and reflections of the author on his initial encounters with instances of Literary Orientalism in the works of canonical literary authors. As a student of a master’s degree in English literature, Dr. Kidwai noted examples of Orientalism in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Bacon’s “On Boldness”, Coleridge’s Kubla Khan and Eliot’s The Waste Land. Later, he explored similar traces in the works of Lord Byron during his first and second Ph.D. programmes at Aligarh Muslim University and the University of Leicester, respectively.
Dr. Kidwai, on account of his recognised scholarship in the field of Literary Orientalism, traces its origins, development, scope and contemporary relevance. He notes that several works on Literary Orientalism had already appeared long before the publication of Edward Said’s Orientalism in 1978. Such works include Marie de Meester’s Oriental Influences in the English Literature of the Nineteenth Century (1914), Edna Osborne’s Oriental Diction and Theme in English Verse, 1740–1840 (1916) and B. P. Smith’s Islam in English Literature (1937). The author goes on to provide the background and historical context of Orientalism, which gradually seeped into literary works as well. He also throws light on Literary Orientalism across various periods, such as the Renaissance and the Romantic period. Separate subsections on Literary Orientalism in the works of P. B. Shelley and Wordsworth have also been incorporated, which elucidate instances of distorted and erroneous representations. Overall, the introduction gives a captivating account of this underexplored area of study and revisits dozens of works on Literary Orientalism to establish its context and relevance. Dr. Kidwai provides a well-substantiated record of the theoretical and practical implications of Orientalism in general and Literary Orientalism in particular.
The reviews in the latter part of the collection deal mainly with works concerning representations of Islam and Muslims in various literary genres and forms, including fables, novels, travelogues and letters. Once again, the reviews cover an exhaustive corpus of books, including those by writers from Syria, Iraq, India, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. A wide range of topics relevant to the broad field of Literary Orientalism are explored, including the depiction of Islam in European literature, Arabia in English poetry, novel trends in literary representations of the Orient, the post-26/11 impact on Literary Orientalism, and Islamic artistic elements in the context of postcolonial and postmodern discourses. Once again, some of the reviews, such as those of Sara Suleri’s The Rhetoric of English India and Theo D’haen’s Unwriting Empire (edited volume), are too short to provide a satisfactory understanding of the works. However, the collection is no less than a treasure chest for those interested in the areas of study discussed, and, as the name itself suggests, it provides a panoramic and concise view of a wide-ranging collection of books.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Opinion Desk.