Allama Iqbal Open University hosted a two-day international conference on 19 and 20 November 2025 focused on the role of Sufis in seerat studies across South Asia. Organized by the Department of Seerat Studies in collaboration with Darul Maarif Lahore, the event gathered academics, researchers and scholars to examine Sufi contributions to seerat literature, pedagogy and spiritual practice.
The opening session was chaired by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and featured addresses from Professor Shah Moinuddin Hashmi, head of the Seerat Studies department, Professor Mohamed Al-Arabi Bouazizi (Emeritus Professor, University of Zitouna, Tunisia) and Professor Nasser Mehmood, Vice Chancellor of AIOU. Speakers highlighted how Sufi perspectives enrich seerat narratives and help bridge devotional, literary and scholarly approaches to the Prophet’s life.
On the first day two parallel sessions presented research ranging from classical Sufi texts to regional Sufi poetry. Under the chairmanship of Professor Ali Asghar Chishti, papers explored Rumi’s seerat themes, Ali Hujwiri’s Kifayat al-Majub (Kashf al-Mahjub) approaches to seerat composition, traces of seerat in malfuzat, Pashto Sufi poetry and Shah Waliullah’s methods for applying seerat teachings to spiritual reform. A second parallel session led by Professor Abdul Hameed Abbasi focused on seerat debates in classical Sufi sources, Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi’s portrayals of the Prophet’s characteristics, and exegetical Sufi methodologies in works such as Qazi Thanaullah’s Tafsir Mazhari.
The second day continued with two academic tracks. Professor Mohamed Al-Arabi Bouazizi chaired one session where papers examined Ashraf Ali Thanawi’s malfuzat on prophetic conduct, Amir Khusro’s poetic seerat motifs, Shah Waliullah’s Sufi exegesis of seerat concepts and Muhammad Iqbal’s seerah thinking. The parallel session under Professor Saeed ur Rehman surveyed studies on Mulla Abdul Latif’s Risala Ikhlaq Muhammadi, Pir Karam Shah Al-Azhari’s seerat methodologies in Tafsir Zia al-Quran, malfuzat of Imam Rabbani and Mujaddid Alf Sani’s treatise on the perpetuity and authority of Prophethood.
A dedicated session marked the launch of Darul Maarif Lahore’s new publication, the Encyclopedia of the Life of the Prophet Muhammad, presented as a comprehensive reference for seerat scholarship. Professor Hafiz Muhammad Saadullah and Dr Muhammad Saeed Sheikh commented on the work’s scholarly methodology and its potential to open a new chapter in South Asian seerat writing, while Molana Zakariya Rafiq explained the editorial approach and scope. Contributors described the volume as an international-standard resource for researchers and students of Sufi Seerat.
Conference secretary Dr Hafiz Saeed Rehman summarized the gathering’s outcomes and presented a set of recommendations urging the compilation of a comprehensive bibliography and encyclopedia of Sufi seerat works, international promotion of Sufis’ contributions to hadith, fiqh and theology, and rigorous authentication of seerat traditions preserved in Sufi archives. The recommendations also called for expanded research on figures such as Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, the establishment of university centers for Sufi studies, integration of major Sufi biographies and ethical-spiritual themes into Islamic studies curricula, student training programs based on seerat and Sufi practices, and a dedicated 21st-century international seerat conference. A directory of seerat scholars and a seerat forum under the aegis of AIOU were proposed to sustain scholarly collaboration.
The closing session was chaired by Professor Mohiuddin Hashmi with Professor Sahibzada Sajid Rehman as guest. After Quranic recitation and naats, speakers paid tribute to the organizers and to the depth of research presented. Participants and attendees praised the conference for advancing Sufi Seerat scholarship in Pakistan and for practical recommendations aimed at strengthening academic and curricular frameworks across South Asia.
