Sulaiman Nadvi (22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) was a British Indian, and then Pakistani, Islamic scholar, historian and a writer, who co-authored '' Sirat-un-Nabi'' and wrote ''Khutbat-e-Madras''. He was a member of the founding committee of

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

University.

Early life and education

Sulaiman Nadvi was born on 22 November 1884 in Desna, a village of

Nalanda District Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight Districts of Bihar, districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts is home to the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World He ...

, Bihar, India (then in the

Patna District Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of the Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Subdivisio ...

, in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

). His father, Hakeem Sayyed Abul Hasan was a Sufi. Sulaiman Nadvi was influenced by Shibli Nomani at Lucknow. In 1906, he graduated from

Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (translated as, House of Knowledge and Assembly of Scholars University) is an Islamic seminary in Lucknow, India. It was established by the Nadwatul Ulama, a council of Muslim scholars, on 26 September 1898. This ed ...

. In 1908, Nadvi was appointed as an instructor of Modern Arabic and Theology at Nadva. Sulaiman Nadvi was one of the favorite pupils of Maulana Shibli Nomani, along with

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

; Nadvi became one of the biographers of the Prophet of Islam and a historian during his own lifetime.

Allama Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

, too was a great admirer of his erudition and used to refer to him as Ustad ul Kul ("Teacher of all"), and is said to have approached him on religious matters. Later in life, he formed a close spiritual relation with Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi, and became his disciple.

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature (

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

) in 1941.

Contribution to Islamic literature

In 1933, he published one of his major works, ''Khayyam''. The nucleus of this book was an article on the noted Persian scholar and poet

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...

.Profile and books by Sulaiman Nadvi
on Archived Open Library (

California State Library The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...

) website. Retrieved 19 February 2024 Sulaiman Nadvi, along with others who favored Hindu-Muslim unity in British India, suggested that the term "

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

" 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. Sulaiman Nadvi founded Darul Musannifeen (Academy of Authors), also known as the Shibli Academy, at

Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the ...

. The first book published there was ''Ard-ul-Quran'' (2 volumes).

Later life and death

In June 1950, Nadvi moved to Pakistan and settled in

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 ...

. He was appointed Chairman of Taleemat-e-Islami Board to advise on Islamic aspects of Pakistan's Constitution. He died on 22 November 1953 in Karachi at the age of 69.Profile and graveside monument of Sulaiman Nadvi in Karachi, Pakistan
Retrieved 9 October 2019. However, his son Salman Nadvi asserts that they didn't move to Pakistan with the intention of migration. Right after they reached Pakistan, Sulaiman Nadvi's health deteriorated and he tried unsuccessfully to get his permit extended from the Indian embassy, which caused grief and pain.

Commemorative postage stamp

Pakistan Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor his services in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' Series on 14 August 1992.

Literary work

Nadvi's works include: *''Ahl-us-Sunnah-wal-Jamā‘ah'' *''The Arab Navigation'', lectures delivered in Bombay during March 1931. *''Khayyam'', about the contributions of

, published in 1933, . *'' Khutbat-e-madras'' *''Rahmat-e-Aalam'' *''Seerat-e-Aisha'' *'' Sirat-un-Nabi'' (Life of the Prophet) by first

Shibli Nomani Shibli Nomani (4 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Indian Islamic scholar, poet, philosopher, historian, educational thinker, author, orator, reformer and critic of orientalists during the British Raj. He is regarded as the father of Urdu ...

, the teacher of Sulaiman Nadvi. Shibli started writing this book, which was later finished by Sulaiman Nadvi after Shibli's death in 1914. *''Rahmat e alam'' * Tarikh ardul Quran

References

Contribution of Syed Sulaiman Nadvi to Ismail studies
*
BOOK REVIEWS - Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi, Tarikh-i arz al-Qur'anSulaimān Nadvī The Arab navigation

Literary Services of Syed Suleman Al-Nadvi in Seerah al-Nabawiyah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadvi, Sulaiman 1884 births 1953 deaths Muhajir people 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Scholars from Bihar Writers from Lucknow People from Azamgarh 20th-century Indian historians Pakistani people of Bihari descent 20th-century Urdu-language writers Writers from British India Writers from Karachi Writers from Patna Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama alumni Founders of Indian schools and colleges Deobandis Disciples of Ashraf Ali Thanwi Members of the Majlis-e-Shura of Darul Uloom Deoband Founders of Jamia Millia Islamia