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Abstract

Orientalist scholarship has influenced significantly the understanding of Islamic history especially when it comes to the study of the Prophetic biography (al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah). The importance of these studies is that the biography of the Prophet takes a central place in the theological and historical formation of Islam. Orientalists have therefore taken a lot of time to analyze all the details of the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and analyze it using the western historical and analytical techniques. These methods are strongly embedded in cultural and intellectual paradigms that are radically different to the classical Islamic school of thought. One of the most debatable episodes that are considered in the Orientalist discourse is the Battle of Banu Qurayza, which the Prophet fought against a Jewish tribe in the early Islamic history. This incident has received a lot of criticism in the Western literature. Among the most influential Orientalists in this respect was the British scholar William Montgomery Watt, who made an enormous impact on the twentieth-century Orientalist scholarship of the Sīrah. Watt discussed the Battle of Banu Qurayza in a critical way, using a Western historical-analytical approach that was informed by secular and cultural presumptions. His interpretation led to direct attacks on the integrity of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Companions and the episode is presented in a context that is far removed to the true Islamic accounts as narrated by authentic sources. This paper critically analyses the way Watt treats the Battle of Banu Qurayza, his methodological premises and interpretive approaches. The study uses an analytical and comparative method to assess the findings of Watt with the Islamic scholarly tradition in order to provide a balanced academic response based on the tenets of the Islamic epistemology.