Muhammad Souman Elah

Muhammad Souman Elah is a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. His research focuses on the history of Islam in modern South Asia, with particular attention to Sufism, religious reform, and revival through the Barelvi movement, specifically the writings of its founder, Ahmad Raza Khan (1856–1921). Souman’s dissertation examines how prophetology, polemics, and fatwas shaped theology and Sufi praxis in the colonial Indian public sphere.

He has presented his research at international conferences, including the European Conference on South Asian Studies (2025), the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting (2025), and the Annual Conference on South Asia (2024).

He earned a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from the Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts from the IBA Karachi. His master’s thesis was titled Islamic Law, Polemics, and Normative Islam in the Fatawa of Ahmad Raza Khan and Sayyid Nazir Husain.