Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (—; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) was a Pakistani
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
, writer and
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. He co-authored ''
Sirat-un-Nabi
''Sirat al-Nabi'' ( ur, سیرت النبی) is a 7-volume seerah book, or biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which was written by Shibli Nomani and Sulaiman Nadvi
Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (—; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) wa ...
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
.
Early life and education
Sulaiman Nadvi Nadvi was born on 22 November 1884 in Desna, a village of
Nalanda District
Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda is ...
, 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 Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Sub-divisions ( ...
, in the
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
). His father, Hakeem Sayyed Abul Hasan was a Sufi.
Sulaiman Nadvi was influenced by 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
Abul Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...
who had come from Calcutta and also joined the Nadva.
Both Sulaiman Nadvi and Abul Kalam Azad were favorite pupils of Maulana Shibli Nomani. Sulaiman Nadvi became one of the biographers of the Prophet of Islam and a historian during his own lifetime.
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature (
DLitt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
) 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 Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
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 st ...
. 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 (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
. 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 Nadwi asserts that they didn't move to Pakistan with the intention of migration. Right after they reached Pakistan, Sulaiman Nadwi's health deteriorated and he tried unsuccessfully to get his permit extended from the Indian embassy, which caused grief and pain.
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
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
, published in 1933)
*
Khutbat-e-madras
''Khutbat-e-Madras'' ( ur, خطباتِ مدراس) is a collection on the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad by Syed Suleiman Nadvi, first published in 1936. Nadvi prepared the material for a non-Arab, non-Muslim audience.
Development
Na ...
*Rahmat-e-Aalam
*Seerat-e-Aisha
*
Sirat-un-Nabi
''Sirat al-Nabi'' ( ur, سیرت النبی) is a 7-volume seerah book, or biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which was written by Shibli Nomani and Sulaiman Nadvi
Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (—; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) wa ...
(Life of the Prophet) by first
Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani ( ur, – ; 3 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh.Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani ( ur, – ; 3 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh.Muhammad Ali Jauhar
*
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat Movement (1919–24), also known as the Caliphate movement or the Indian Muslim movement, was a pan-Islamist political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajma ...
*
Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...