Nisar Ahmed Faruqi (29 June 1934 – 28 November 2004) was an Indian scholar and authority on Sufism in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, with over 50 works and 700 articles to his credit.

Early life

Professor Nisar Ahmed Faruqi was born at

Amroha Amroha is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is located north-west of Moradabad, near the Ganga River. It is the administrative headquarters of the Amroha district. Geography Amroha is located north-west of Moradabad, near th ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, the son of Tasleem Ahmed Faruqi and Maimoona Khatoon. He was the eldest of three siblings. His family traces its lineage to the second caliph of Islam,

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

, through 41 links and to

Baba Farid Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar ( ; – 7 May 1266) was a 13th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic, who was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as B ...

through 22 links.

Education

He received his early education in Oriental languages and

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

at home from his maternal grandfather and uncle. He later moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

and came back to Delhi after some months, then studied

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Jamia Urdu, Aligarh. Later, he did his Masters in Arabic and a PhD on early Muslim historiography at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

. He then joined the university as a reader in modern

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and later became the Head of Department of Arabic. He retired from service in 2002. Faruqi received many awards during his lifetime and was acclaimed for his unique and deep knowledge of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Punjabi. He received the President's Certificate of Honour from the late

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

Zail Singh Giani Zail Singh (, born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the seventh president of India from 1982 to 1987. He was the first Sikh and the first person from a backward caste to be ...

in 1983.

Employment

He was a lecturer at the

1964—1966 And then a lecturer in Arabic at Delhi College 1966—1977. He was a reader in Modern Arabic at University of Delhi 1977—1985 and became Professor and Head of Arabic Department, University of Delhi, 1985—2001.

Achievements and awards

* Alami Farogh-e-Urdu Adab Award 2004, Doha (Qatar)Nisar Ahmad Farooqui – Meri Nazar Mein by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Majlis Farough-e Urdu Adab on the Occasion of 9th Aalami Farough-e Urdu Adab Award and 7th Salim Jafri International Award, Doha (Qatar), 16 September 2004 * Delhi Urdu Academy Award for Research (1982) * Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award by

Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy ''Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi'' also known as Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy or Urdu Academy, Uttar Pradesh (Urdu: اردو اکادمی، اتر پردیش) in the interest of developing the Urdu language and preserving the Urdu tradition and cul ...

(1995) * Qazi Abdul Wudood Award for Research by Bihar Urdu Academy * Nuqoosh Award for Research (1987) Pakistan * Maikash Akbarabadi Award, Agra * Iftikhar-e-Mir Award, Mir Academy, Lucknow

Family

Nisar Ahmed Faruqi was married to Razia Faruqi, and had four children: two sons, Najmul Hadi and Nazrul Hadi, and two daughters Shumaysa and Basima. Nisar Ahmed Faruqi died on 28 November 2004 after a brief illness at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He is buried at his ancestral graveyard at Amroha Uttar Pradesh (India). His wife died on 6 June 2008 in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh (India).

Social work

Professor Nisar Ahmed Faruqi established two Urdu calligraphy training centers for boys and girls at Amroha sponsored by the

National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language ( ur, , NCPUL) is an autonomous regulatory body in the Government of India.1934 births Delhi University faculty 2004 deaths Delhi University alumni