Sulaiman Nadvi

Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (m), with Ross Masood and Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Afghanistan

Sulaiman Nadvi (Urdu: سید سلیمان ندوی‬‎—Sayyid Sulaimān Nadwī; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) was a Pakistani historian, biographer, littérateur and scholar of Islam. He co-authored Sirat-un-Nabi and wrote Khutbat-e-Madras.[1]

Maulana Sulaiman Nadvi was the founding member of Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University) situated in New Delhi, India. He was elected as the member of the foundation committee headed by Mahmood Hasan which was met on 29 October in 1920 in Aligarh in United Province, British India.

Early life and education

Nadvi was born on 22 November 1884 in then British India). His father, Hakeem Sayyed Abul Hasan was a Sufi.[1]

His first teachers were Khalifa Anwar Ali of Desna and Maqsood Ali of Ookhdi. Later he received his education both from his elder brother, Hakeem Sayyed Abu Habeeb and his father. His father was a physician at Islampur near Patna and was a highly respected person in the local community. In 1899, he went to Phulwari Sharif (Bihar) where he became a disciple of Maulana Mohiuddin and Sulaiman Phulwari. From there, he went to Darbhanga where he studied for a few months at Madrasa-e-Imdadia.

In 1901, he was admitted into Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama at Lucknow. He studied for seven years at Nadva. He was also appointed sub-editor of the journal, An-Nadwa. His first article, Waqt (Time) was published in the monthly Urdu Journal Makhzan edited by Abdul Qadir. Maulana Shibli Nomani came to Lucknow and was appointed as 'Secretary of Nadva'. Sulaiman Nadvi was highly influenced by Maulana Shibli Nomani at Lucknow. In 1906, he graduated from Nadva. In 1908, Nadvi was appointed as an instructor of Modern Arabic and Theology at Dar-ul-Uloom Nadva. His contemporary at Nadva was none other than Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who had come from Calcutta and also joined the Nadva.[1] Both Sulaiman Nadvi and Abul Kalam Azad were favorite pupils of Maulana Shibli Nomani.[1] Maulana Sulaiman Nadvi was later destined to become one of the great biographers of the Prophet of Islam and a great historian during his own lifetime.[1]

Aligarh Muslim University conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature (DLitt) in 1941.[1]

Contribution to Islamic literature

In 1910, Shibli Nomani began writing Sirat-un-Nabi in Urdu, but died before completing it. After Nomani's death in 1914, Nadvi left his position as a professor at Deccan College, Pune and traveled to Azamgarh. There he edited and published the two first volumes of Sirat-un-Nabi penned by Nomani, and completed the remaining four volumes himself. The work was initially funded by Sultan Jehan Begum of Bhopal, and later by Nizam of Hyderabad.

In October and November 1925, Nadvi delivered a series of eight lectures on the life Muhammad at Madras. These lectures were later published as Khutbat-e-Madras.

In 1933, he published one of his major works, Khayyam. The nucleus of this book was an article on noted Persian scholar and poet Omar Khayyam.[2][3]

In 1940, he published Rahmat-e-Aalam, a children's book about Muhammad.

Nadvi, along with others who favored Hindu-Muslim unity in British India, suggested that the term "Urdu" be abandoned in favour of "Hindustani" because the former conjured up the image of a military conquest and war whereas the latter had no such symbolic baggage.[4]

Nadvi founded Dar-ul-Mosannefeen (Academy of Authors), also known as the Shibli Academy, at Azamgarh. The first book published there was Ard-ul-Quran (2 volumes).[1]

Emigration to Pakistan and death

One of Sulaiman Nadvi's biographers writes,"He is scholarly and objective in his treatment of history, which appeals more to the mind than to the heart. "[1]

In June 1950 (after the partition of India), Nadvi moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi. He was appointed Chairman of Taleemat-e-Islami Board to advise on the Islamic aspects of Pakistan's constitution. He died on 22 November 1953 in Karachi at the age of 69.[5]

Literary work

The following is a list of some of the most famous works of Hazrat Syed Sulaiman Nadvi.

  • Sirat-un-Nabi (Life of the Prophet) by first Shibli Nomani, the teacher of Sulaiman Nadvi. Shibli started writing this book, which was later finished by Sulaiman Nadvi after Shibli's death in 1914[1]
  • Ardh al-Quran
  • Seerat-e-Aisha
  • Durûs-ul-Adab
  • Khutbat-e-Madras
  • Rahmat-e-Aalam[5]
  • Naqûsh-e-Sulaimân
  • Hayât Imâm Mâlik
  • Ahl-us-Sunnah-wal-Jamâ'ah[5]
  • Yâd-e-Raftagân[6]
  • Barîd Farang
  • Seir-e-Afghânistân
  • Maqâlât-e-Sulaimân
  • Khayyam (about the contributions of Omar Khayyam, published in 1933)[1]
  • Hayat-e-Shibli (1943)[6]

English translation of his book include:

  • Fundamental principles of an Islamic state (Karachi, Jamaat-e-Islami, 195?)
  • Sovereignty of Allah (Karachi, Maktabat-al-Sharq, 1953)
  • Brief life of the blessed prophet (Lucknow, M.S. Siddiqi, 196?)
  • Indo-Arab relations (Hyderabad, India, Institute of Indo-Middle East Cultural Studies, 1962)
  • The education of Hindus under Muslim rule (Karachi, Academy of Educational Research, All Pakistan Educational Conference, 1963)
  • Human rights and obligations, in the light of the Korʼan and Hadith (Dacca, S.M. Zahirullah Nadvi, 1966)
  • The Arab navigation (Lahore, Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1966)
  • A comparative study of Islam & other religions (Lahore, Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1977)
  • Hadhrat Ayesha Siddiqa : her life and works (Safat, Kuwait, Islamic Book Publishers, 1986)
  • Muhammad, the ideal prophet (Islamabad, Dawah Academy, International Islamic University, 1989)
  • Heroic deeds of Muslim women (Islamabad, Dawah Academy, International Islamic University, 1990)
  • A geographical history of the Qurʼan (Lahore, Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1992)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 http://shibliacademy.org/founders/Syed_Sulaiman_Nadvi, Profile of Sulaiman Nadvi on shibliacademy.org website, Published 23 March 2009, Retrieved 20 Dec 2016
  2. ↑ Syed Sulaiman aur Tibb Unani by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Mutallae Sulaimani, Edited by Prof. Masoodur Rahman Khan Nadvi and Dr. Mohd. Hassan Khan, Darul Uloom, Tajul Masajid, Bhopal, 1986, p. 285-293
  3. ↑ Syed Sulaiman Aur Tibb Unani by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Akhbar-ul-Tibb, Karachi, Pakistan, Nov. 1987, p. 9-12
  4. ↑ "Myths about Urdu". DAWN. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  5. 1 2 3 http://khanqahashrafiya.blogspot.com/search/label/Allama%20Hazrat%20Saiyid%20Sulaiman%20Nadvi%20r.a, Profile and graveside monument of Sulaiman Nadvi in Karachi, Pakistan, Retrieved 20 Dec 2016
  6. 1 2 http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=1630, Brief profile of Sulaiman Nadvi on salaam.co.uk website, Retrieved 20 Dec 2016


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