Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi (1908 – 24 May 1985) was an Indian Islamic scholar and an

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 ...

-language author who co-founded the

Nadwatul Musannifeen Nadwatul Musannifeen () 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 Ahmad Akbarabadi ...

. He served as the dean of the Faculty of Theology in Aligarh Muslim University. Akbarabadi was an alumnus of

Jamia Qasmia Madrasa Shahi Madrassa Shahi (alternatively known as Jamia Qasmia) is an Islamic seminary in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1879 by the poor Muslims of Moradabad under the supervision of Islamic scholar, Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi, who also est ...

Darul Uloom Deoband Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic university and seminary ( darul uloom) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. Established in 1866 by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Fazlur Rahman Usmani, Sayy ...

, St. Stephen's College, Delhi and the Oriental College, Lahore. He taught at

Jamia Islamia Talimuddin Jamiah Islamiah Talimuddin Dabhel (or Dabhel Jamiah Islamiah or Jamiah Islamiah Dabhel) is a Deobandi Islamic seminary in Dabhel, Gujarat, India. Education pattern The Jamiah has the following departments: * Nazirah-e-Qur'an (reading the Qur ...

, Madrassa-e-Aalia, Fatehpuri,

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 ...

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

and the

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. He authored books including ''Fehm-e-Quran'', ''Ghulaman-e-Islam'', ''Siddiq-e-Akbar'' and ''Musalmano Ka Urooj-o-Zawal''. His students include

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

and Mushir-ul-Haq.

Birth and education

Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi was born in the

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

n city of

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

in 1908. He studied his primary classes at home, then he studied in

, and later graduated from the

. There he studied under

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (; 26 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was an Islamic scholar from Kashmir in the early twentieth century, best known for his expertise in the study of hadith, a strong memory, and a unique approach to interpreting traditions, ...

Shabbir Ahmad Usmani Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an Islamic scholar and an activist of the Pakistan Movement, who served as the of Pakistan in 1949. He was the first to demand that Pakistan become an Islamic state. He was a religio ...

and

Ibrahim Balyawi Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi (1887–1967), also spelt as Muhammad Ibrahim Balliavi, was an Indian people, Indian Sunni Muslim scholar who served as the 6th Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. He spent almost 50 years instructing Hadith, Logic in Isla ...

. He then undertook specialist courses at

Oriental College, Lahore The Oriental College is an institution of oriental studies in Lahore. It is located next to Government College University, Lahore. It was founded by Adi Brahmo Samaj preacher Pundit Navin Chandra Rai in 1876. He served as its vice principal f ...

. During the period, Akbarabadi was appointed as a teacher of oriental languages in Madrasa-e-Aaliya, Fatehpuri. He gained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in Arabic from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

Career

After completing studies at

, Akbarabadi taught at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, Dabhel. He then taught oriental languages in Madrassa-e-Aalia, Fatehpuri. After completing his M.A from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, he became a lecturer in the same college. In the meantime

(Former President of Pakistan) became his student. In 1938, Akbarabadi established

along with Atiqur Rahman Usmani, Hamid al-Ansari Ghazi and Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi. He was offered principalship of the Madrasa Alia, in Calcutta, of which he took the charge on 2 February 1949. In 1958, Akbarabadi became the dean of the Faculty of Theology in the

. He transformed a weak faculty and introduced graduate teaching and a doctoral programme. He supervised his (and the faculty's) first doctoral thesis, on

, which was later published by

in 1974. During 1961 and 1963, Akbarabadi was invited by

Wilfred Cantwell Smith Wilfred Cantwell Smith, (July 21, 1916 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian Islamicist, comparative religion scholar, and Presbyterian minister. He was the founder of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in Quebec and later ...

to be a visiting professor in the Institute of Islamic Studies at the

in Canada. His students at the institute included Mushir-ul-Haq, the former vice-chancellor of the

University of Kashmir University of Kashmir (UoK), informally known as Kashmir University (KU), is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public State university (India), state university located in the Hazratbal neighbourhood, on the western side of ...

. He retired from the AMU in 1972. After that, he was a visiting professor at the

and then at

then made him director of its new research department, Shaikhul Hind Academy, a post he held from 25 December 1982 until his death on 24 May 1985.

Literary works

He began his writing journey with '' Da'watul Haq''. His works include: *''Al-riq fi al-Islam'' *''Fehm-e-Quran'' *''Ghulaman-e-Islam'' * ''Hindustan ki shar'i haisiyat'' * ''Hind Pak̄istān kī taḥrīk-i āzādī aur ʻulamāʼe ḥaqq kā siyāsī muʼaqqaf'' * ''K̲h̲ut̤bāt-i Iqbāl par ek naẓar'' *''Musalmano Ka Urooj-o-Zawal'' *''Siddiq-e-Akbar'' *''Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi aur unke Naaqid'' *''Uthman Zinnurayn'' *''Wahi Ilahi''

Legacy

Studies of Akbarabadi include: *''Maulana Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi: Ahwaal-Aasaar'' by Dr Masood Alam Qasmi *''Maulana Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi: Hayat-o-Khidmat'' by Dr Qaiser Habeeb Hashmi *''Maulana Saeed Ahmad Akbarabadi aur unki Adbi Khidmat'' by Miss Jahan Ara (Thesis submitted in

Punjab University, Lahore 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 ...

Birth and education

Career

Literary works

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading