Zayn al-Abidin Sajjad Meerthi (also written as Qazi Zainul Abideen Sajjad Meerthi) (1910–1991) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Sunni Muslim scholar and historian and head of the Islamic studies department of

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 ...

. His book ''Tarikh-e-Millat'' is required reading in the syllabus of

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...

and in madrasas affiliated with it.

Biography

Zayn al-Abidin Sajjad Meerthi was born in 1910 in

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

United Provinces of British India The United Provinces of British India, more commonly known as the United Provinces, was a province of British India, which came into existence on 3 January 1921 as a result of the renaming of the ''United Provinces of Agra and Oudh''. It corre ...

. He was schooled at Darul Uloom Meerut and Madrasa Imdad al-Islam in Meerut. He graduated in Arabic literature from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

and specialized in ahadith at

under

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (known with honorifics as ''Sayyid Muḥammad Anwar Shāh ibn Mu‘aẓẓam Shāh al-Kashmīrī''; 16 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was a Kashmiri Muslim scholar and jurist who served as the first principal of Madrasa Ami ...

and

Hussain Ahmad Madani Hussain Ahmad Madani (6 October 1879 – 5 December 1957) was an Indian Islamic scholar, serving as the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1954.

in 1346 AH. He was a disciple of Abdul Mumin Deobandi, who was

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (also known as Shaykh al-Hind; 1851–1920) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement, who co-founded the Jamia Millia Islamia university and launched the Silk Letter Movement for t ...

's brother-in-law. At Tajwar Najibabadi's request, Meerthi became joint editor of Najibabadi's journal ''Adabi Dunya''. He later joined

Nadwatul Musannifeen Nadwatul Musannifeen ( en, Council of Writers) was an academic research institution and publishing house in Delhi. The institution was co-founded by scholars including Atiqur Rahman Usmani, Hamid al-Ansari Ghazi, Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi and Saeed ...

, a publishing house established by

Atiqur Rahman Usmani Atīqur Rahmān Usmānī (1901 – 12 May 1984) was an Indian Muslim scholar and an activist of Indian independence movement who co-founded Nadwatul Musannifeen and the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat. Usmānī was an alumnus of the Darul ...

along with

Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi (1908 – 24 May 1985) was an Indian Islamic scholar and an Urdu-language author who co-founded the Nadwatul Musannifeen. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Theology in Aligarh Muslim University. Akbarabadi was an a ...

and Hifzur Rehman Seoharwi in Delhi in 1938. Meerthi joined

as a Professor of History and exegesis at the request of its former Vice Chancellor,

Mohammad Mujeeb Mohammad Mujeeb (1902-1985) was an Indian writer of English and Urdu literature, educationist, scholar and the vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Early life and education Mujeeb was born in 1902 to Mohammad Naseem, a wealthy barris ...

. He was a member of the executive council of

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Fi ...

, the administrative council of Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow and

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 ...

's Theology faculty. He published ''Al-Haram'', a monthly journal from

, from 1957 to 1964. He was a member of the governing body of

from 1962 until his death. Meerthi died in 1991 in

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 ...

Literary works

Meerthi‘s books include: * Tarikh-e-Millat, 3 volumes namely ''Nabi al-Arabi'', ''Khilafat-e-Rashida'' and ''Khilafat Banu Umayyah'' * ''Bayan al-Lisan'' * ''Qamoos al-Quran'' * ''Intikhab-e-Sihah Sitta'' * ''Sirat-e-Tayyibah'' * ''Shaheed-e-Karbala'' * ''Arabi Bol Chaal''

References

{{Authority control 1910 births 1991 deaths People from Meerut University of Allahabad alumni Deobandis Academic staff of Jamia Millia Islamia Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Darul Uloom Deoband alumni Nadwatul Musannifeen Students of Anwar Shah Kashmiri