I am a scholar of Islamic intellectual history with a keen interest in how premodern Islamic traditions relate to the present. In my research, I am interested in premodern traditions of Islamic historiography as well as their reception in modern Muslim societies, particularly in colonial and postcolonial South Asia. I examine the construction, repetition, and re-working of historical narratives in the interest of varied cultural projects in Muslim societies. I am currently working on a book manuscript based on my PhD dissertation titled, 鈥淚bn Khald奴n: His Idea of History and its Reception in South Asia.鈥 This study re-examines the ideas of the historian and theorist 鈥楢bd al-Ra岣尘腻峁 Ibn Khald奴n (1332鈥1406) in the context of medieval commentarial traditions. Additionally, it questions the scholarly consensus on the reception of Ibn Khald奴n鈥檚 ideas in modern South Asia.
My teaching covers a broad range of subjects, including the traditions of philosophy, theology, Sufism, and historiography in the Muslim world. By critiquing contemporary representations of these traditions, I aim to illuminate the past and provide means of addressing present challenges.
鈥淚bn Khald奴n鈥檚 Reception in Colonial South Asia鈥 (forthcoming with the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society)
"Understanding Scriptural Citations in Ibn Khald奴n鈥s Muqaddimah." Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society 34.02 (2021): 31鈥43.
鈥Kal腻m in a Post-Traditional World: Shibl墨 Nu鈥m腻n墨鈥s Construction of Authority in 鈥业濒尘耻濒-碍补濒腻m and al-Kal腻m.鈥 Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies, Changing Muslim Narratives in Colonial India, 3, no. 2 (2018): 43鈥79. . Published by Indiana University Press.