Syed Ibne Hasan Nonaharvi

Maulana Syed Ibne Hasan Nonaharvi (or Naunaharvi) (مولانا سيد ابن حسن نونهروى) was born in Nonahara, Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, India in 1899.

Studies

He went to Islamic school in Nonahara and then moved to Lucknow for higher Shia religious education. He graduated from Sultanul Madaris.

As orator

Maulana Ibne Hasan was renowned for his oratory and Urdu language speeches. He was a pious and sincere scholar with tremendous control over religious matters and reciting majlis.

Maulana Nonaharvi learned the art of oratory from his teacher Allama Syed Sibte Hasan Naqvi, who was the pioneer of the format of majalises which are recited to the present day. Before his time, majalises in Lucknow and other places contained marsiya, recited by great poets like Meer Babbar Ali Anees and Mirza Dabeer. The new format had khutba in Arabic, some tafseer with fazail of Ahlul Bayt lastly masaeb of Karbala.

Maulana Naunaharvi was known for his beautiful language and delivery of difficult tafseer and Islamic philosophy. He was also considered the best orator of the topic of Meraj and the battles of Islam. His picturisation of the battlefield and meraj had such an effect on people that the description was said to take the imagination of the listener into the event itself.

He travelled a lot and was able to recite a single majalis for 4 hours, not repeating the same topic twice. His choice of words, extempore flow of Persian, Urdu, and Arabic, control over his audience and making topics interesting made him extremely popular. He was also known as an orator who used to ask his audience to recite salawat more than 100 times in a single majlis.

He read majalis at Husainia Irshadia, Rudauli by invitation of Syed Irshad Husain Zaidi for 58 years. He also addressed majalis at Hyderabad, Rampur, Jalali, Lucknow and many other places.

He gave speech at Bismillah ceremony of eldest sister's son of Rahi Masoom Raza (they called Maulana Nonaharvi as Khalu Miyan) on 3^rd Shaban where Qais Zangipuri too was present. ^[1]

In academics

He continued his teaching work at Sultanul Madaris and then became Principal of Madrasatul Waizeen. During the last few years of his life he became ill and cut down on travelling. He died at the age of 81 years on 25 March 1980 in Lucknow and was buried in Imambara Ghufran Ma'ab.

References