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Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi
Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi
Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi
Sayyid Sulaimân was born in 1884 C.E. (23 Safar 1302 H.) in a well-
known Sayyid family of Desna, a village in the district of Patna (Bihar,
India). His father, Hakim Sayyid Abul Hasan, known for his learning
and piety, was highly respected in the locality.
The young Sulaimân received his early education from his elder brother.
Then he joined the Arabic Madrasah at Phulwari Sharif and later he
enrolled himself in the Madrasah-e-Imdadia, Darbhanga.
In 1904, when Allâmah Shibli Nu'mâni joined the staff of Nadwa, Sayyid
Sulaimân came under his direct tutorship, a relationship which turned
into a lifelong companionship between the two great scholars of modern
India.
The association of Sayyid Sulaimân with Al-Hilâl would not last long. In
1912, Allâmah Shibli Nu'mâni got him appointed as Assistant Professor
of Persian at the famous Deccan College, Poona. Here, too, he did not
stay for long. The death of his illustrious teacher, Shibli Nu'mâni, two
years later, obliged him to return to Azamgarh and take up the
unfinished literary work of his master.
Service to Islâm
Sulaimân Nadwi, whose life had been an uninterrupted devotion to
scholarship and literary pursuits, was called upon to devote his energies
to the service of Islâm and his country. The first quarter of the twentieth
century was a period of trials and tribulations for the Indian Muslims in
particular. The political scene was tense, surcharged with revolution.
The caliphate held by the Turkish Sultan was at stake. The Western
powers were conspiring to do away with the "Sick Man of Europe." The
wars in the Balkans and Tripoli and ultimately World War I, were all
pointing to this end. In India too, the Indian National Congress and
especially the All-India Khilafat Committee, under the dynamic and
inspiring leadership of Maulânâ Muhammad Ali, had created a stir
throughout the length and breadth of the subcontinent which led to an
unprecedented awakening of the masses. Sayyid Sulaimân Nadwi, too,
could not resist responding to the national call. In 1920, he joined a
Khilafat Delegation, headed by Maulânâ Muhammad Ali, to London, for
securing equitable and just treatment of Turkey at the hands of the
victorious Allies.
In 1924, when the Sharif of Makkah and King Ibn Saud of Najd were at
war, Sultan ibn Saud sought the help of the Khilafat Committee to settle
the dispute. A delegation, headed by Sayyid Sulaimân Nadwi, which
included Maulânâ Muhammad Ali and Shoaib Qureshi went to Hijâz in
1926 and fearlessly placed the views of Indian Muslims before Sultan ibn
Saud for establishing a truly democratic rule in the Holy Land. In 1926,
Sayyid Sulaimân presided over the memorable annual session of Jamiat-
ul-Ulema at Calcutta, which considered the deteriorating Hindu-Muslim
relations in the subcontinent due to the Shuddhi-Sanghattan Movement
started by the Shardhanand-Malaviya Group. The same year, the
Maulânâ, at the invitation of King Ibn Saud, headed a delegation of
celebrated Muslim leaders, including Maulânâ Muhammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali, to Makkah to participate in the Motamar-i-Alam-i-
Islami (World Islâmic Conference). Delegations of almost all Muslim
countries participated in the conference and Sayyid Sulaimân Nadwi
had been elected the Vice-President of the Conference. On his return
from Makkah, he retired from active politics and decided to devote his
heart and soul to literary pursuits only.
Sayyid Sulaimân Nadwi had started his career as the sub-editor of An-
Nadwa, a well-known magazine devoted to religious research. In 1910 he
joined as an assistant editor and lead writer of the celebrated Al-Hilâl of
Maulânâ Abul Kalâm Âzâd. He wrote some of its best editorials,
including one on the Cawnpur Mosque incident which electrified the
Indian Muslims. But his association with Al-Hilâl lasted two years only.
In 1914, when the Shibli Academy was established and its official organ,
the Ma'ârif started publication, he became its founding editor. This
magazine, during the last 44 years of its existence maintained an
enviable record of high-class articles.
His first book was Durûs-ul-Adab, an Arabic reader in two parts. In 1912
he compiled a Dictionary of New Arabic Words. In 1915 he brought out
the first volume and in 1918 the second volume of Ard-ul-Qur'ân (the
lands of Qur'ân), which is a priceless piece of historical research and
refutation of orientalist propaganda against the geographical
descriptions of ancient lands and nations given in the Qur'ân. This is the
only book of its kind in Urdu.
In 1910, he wrote another very important biographical work, Sîrat-e-
'Â'ishah, which is the most authentic book on the life of Hazrat
'Â'ishah , wife of the Prophet of Islâm .
The Khayyâm, which appeared in 1933 deals with the life and work of
Umar Khayyâm. It is yet another popular work of his. Dissipating
popular misconceptions propagated in the West about Khayyâm being a
dreamer, steeped in wine, he brought out Khayyâm's great contributions
to mathematics, astronomy and science.
Sayyid Sulaimân Nadwi developed a style which was sober and lucid
but at the same time convincing and impressive. It was especially
suitable for his historical writings. He was scholarly and objective in his
treatment of history.
Migration
The brutal persecution of Muslims in India by the Hindu majority
community compelled him to migrate to Pakistan in 1950. The pleadings
of the Prime Minister of India not to leave India could not dissuade him
from going to Pakistan where he was immensely needed to guide the
framing of a truly Islâmic constitution. On arrival in Karachi, he was
made President of the Islamic Talimat Board, attached to the Constituent
Assembly. He had come to Pakistan with an ambitious plan in his mind
of establishing an Academy of Islamic Studies in Karachi that could rival
the Shibli Academy of Azamgarh (UP). But he was not destined to live
there long and died three years after, in 1953. His death was mourned
throughout the world of Islam and the loss of this great scholar,
historian, and religious writer was universally acknowledged. His death
created a void in the literary life of the subcontinent that cannot be easily
filled.
Literary Works
1. Sîrat-un-Nabi (7 volumes)*
2. Ard-ul-Qur'ân (2 volumes)
3. Hayât Imâm Mâlik
4. Ahl-us-Sunnah-wal-Jamâ'ah
5. Khutbât-e-Madrâs (ONLINE)*
6. Sîrat-e-'Â'ishah*
7. Arab-o-Hind ke Ta'alluqât*
8. Arbon ki Jahâzrâni*
9. Naqûsh-e-Sulaimân
10. Rahmat-e-'Âlam
11. Hayât-e-Shibli
12. Yâd-e-Raftagân
13. Barîd Farang
14. Seir-e-Afghânistân
15. 'Umar Khayyâm
16. Maqâlât-e-Sulaimân (3 volumes)
17. Khawâtîn-e-Islâm ki Bahâduri (Heroic Deeds of Muslim Women)*
The starred (*) titles have been translated partially or wholly into
English. Several of these works have been described above. The others,
in brief, are:
Hayât Imâm Mâlik - A biography of Hadrat Imâm Mâlik ibn Anas (d.
179H.), which also contains details of his works, including the
famous Mu'atta. This book also included details of the lives of
prominent tâbi'în and fuqahâ' as well as the history of the study and
compilation of hadîth.
Yâd-e-Raftagân - Between 1916 and 1953, with the death of any well-
known person in Azamgarh - friend, scholar, lawyer, poet, politician,
head of state, etc. - Sayyid Sulaimân would write to express his heartfelt
feelings on their passing away. This book is a collection of such writings.