Maulana Naeem Siddiqui (1916 – 25 September 2002) was a Pakistani

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

, writer and politician. He was among the founder-members of the

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

and a close associate of

Abul A'la Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi (; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred C ...

and

Amin Ahsan Islahi Amin Ahsan Islahi (; 1904 – 15 December 1997), was a Pakistani Islamic scholar best known for his Urdu exegesis of the Quran, '' Tadabbur-i-Quran'' ("Pondering on the Quran"), which he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's (1863 – 1930), id ...

Early life and career

Naeem Siddiqui was born on 5 June 1916 at

Chakwal Chakwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a city in Chakwal District in the Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the Largest cities of Pakistan, 48th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west o ...

, Punjab, British India.Dr.Abdulla Hashmi, Naeem Siddiqui ke Ilmi wa Adabi Khidmat (Urdu), Matboo'aat-e-Suleimani, Lahore 2011, p.21, p.34, p.35 He was home-schooled and then from Government High School,

Khanpur Khanpur may refer to: Places in India * Khanpur, Chanditala-II, a village in Hooghly district, West Bengal * Khanpur, Delhi, a neighbourhood in Delhi * Khanpur, Ghazipur, a village in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh * Khanpur, Gujarat, a town in G ...

. He completed ''Molvi Faazil'' at Uloom-e-Islamia (institution for Islamic religious sciences) and then got the degrees of "Munshi" (Graduation) and of ''Munshi Faazil'' (that was equivalent to master's degree at that time) in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...

from the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1938. Naeem Siddiqui was among the founder members of

along with its founder

. However, due to irreconcilable differences with its leadership, he quit Jamaat in 1994 and founded the Islamic religious and political party tehreek e Islami along with his fellows in 1994.Naeem Siddiqui, Pachpan Saala Refaqat (Urdu), Alfaisal Nashiran, Lahore 2010, pp.2–5, p.61, p.71, p.78, p.119, p.128 In 1996, Tehreek-e-Islami split into two groups, one group was led by Naeem Siddiqui himself while the coordinator of the other group was ''Hafeez-ur-Rehman Ahsan''. Due to the endavour and mediation of some Arab-countries-based Pakistani friends, both groups were re-united in 1998. He explained the story of the reunion in a letter to his friend Khwaja Maqbool Ellahi in 2001 by saying that our difference was unique and now our union is also very unique.

Contributions

Literature

Siddiqui started his literary career by joining biweekly magazine, ''Kausar'', from

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

under the editorship of Nasrullah Khan Aziz. Later, he joined the monthly Charagh-i-Rah and remained its editor for nine years. He was instrumental in using the above outlets to disseminate Islamic knowledge and raise awareness on Islamic culture. He was credited as a poet of a unique style and wrote verses on religious, political and social issues. Through his short stories, poetry and articles in magazines such as the Charagh-i-Rah, he helped in creating a wide audience for Islamic literature and poetry in Pakistan and the Muslim world. He was also editor of the monthly magazine ''Tarjuman-ul-Quran'' for a long time after the death of Maulana Maududi.

Writings

Major books

Siddiqui is well-known for his biographical work on Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, ''Muhsin-e-Insaniyat'', or ''The Benefactor of Humanity''. This book describes and explains various stages of prophetic revolution. Furthermore, he is also the author of many books dealing with issues related to the socio-politico-economics system of Islam. His other major books include: * ''Communism ya Islam'' (کمیونزم یا اسلام) – An ideological critique published 1972, contrasting

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

ideology with Islamic principles. * ''Ma’rifat‑e‑Maududi / Al‑Maududi'' – A critical and analytical study of Abul A‘la Maududi’s ideology and movement. * ''Taleem ka Tehzeebi Nazariya'' (تعلیم کا تہذیبی نظریہ, “Civilizational Approach to Education”) – A scholarly exploration of education’s role in building Islamic civilization. * ''Pachpan Saala Rifaqqat'' (پچپن سالہ رفاقت, “Fifty-Five Years of Companionship”) – Memoir reflecting his decades-long association with Maududi; reprinted 2010. * ''Tahreeki Shaoor'' (تحریکی شعور, “Revolutionary Consciousness”) – A pamphlet on political activism. Other notable works include ''Haq-o-Batil'' (1952), ''Tanjziyati Sirat ke Lawazim'', and ''Islami Iqtisadiyat mein Infiradiyat aur Ijtimaiyyat'', covering Islamic economics, ethics, and political theory.

Journal & magazine articles

Siddiqui served as editor for several influential publications: * ''Charagh‑e‑Rah'' – Urdu monthly, Karachi; he edited multiple issues in the 1950s–60s. * ''Tarjuman‑ul‑Quran'' – Monthly scholarly journal, which he also edited post-Maududi era. He also authored more than 700 research articles on the matter of socio-politico-economic system of Islam which have been published in various journals such as the monthly ''Tarjuman-ul-Quran'', monthly ''Siyaraa'', monthly ''Chiraagh-e-Raah'', bimonthly ''Na'shur'', weekly ''Takbeer'', weekly ''Shahab'', weekly ''Asia'' and weekly ''Tasneem''.

Death

Siddiqui died on 25 September 2002 in Lahore due to ill health at the age of 86. His funeral prayers were offered at the Mansoora Ground. It was led by Mian Tufail Mohammad, former Emir of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Naeem 1916 births 2002 deaths Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan politicians Pakistani political party founders Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Urdu-language non-fiction writers Islamic democracy activists 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam