Sulaiman Nadvi


Sulaiman Nadvi was a Pakistani historian, writer and scholar of Islam. He co-authored Sirat-un-Nabi and wrote Khutbat-e-Madras.

Early life and education

Sulaiman Nadvi was born on 22 November 1884 in then British India). His father, 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 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 conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature 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 noted Persian scholar and poet Omar Khayyam.
Sulaiman Nadvi, along with others who favored Hindu-Muslim unity in British India, suggested that the term "Urdu" 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, also known as the Shibli Academy, at Azamgarh. The first book published there was Ard-ul-Quran.

Later life and death

In June 1950, Nadvi moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi. 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.
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 detiorated and he tried unsuccessfully to get his permit extended from the Indian embassy, which caused grief and pain.

Literary work

Nadvi's works include: