Syed Waheed Ashraf


Syed Waheed Ashraf is an Indian Sufi scholar and poet in Persian and Urdu. Ashraf received his B.A., M.A. and PhD degrees from Aligarh Muslim University. The title of his doctoral dissertation was A Critical Edition of Lataife Ashrafi. After serving at a number of Indian universities, Ashraf retired as head of the department of Arabic, Persian and Urdu at the University of Madras in 1993. Fluent in seven languages, he writes in Urdu, Persian and English, has written, edited or compiled over 35 books and a number of research articles, and has been honoured in India and abroad. Ashraf has focused on upholding and propagating the principles and practices of Sufism.

Biography

Parents

Ashraf traces his lineage to a family of Syeds in Kachhauchha Sharif, a small town in the district of Ambedkar Nagar, eastern Uttar Pradesh. He was born on 4 February 1933, the third child of librarian Syed Habeeb Ashraf and Syeda Saeeda. Habeeb worked in the village library; although he was enrolled at Firangi Mahal, a madrasa in Lucknow, he did not complete his education due to the death of his father. He was well-versed in Ilmul Jafar and Ilmul Ramal. Habeeb wrote to his eldest son, Syed Amin Ashraf, six months before his death asking him to be home on 3 February 1972 for his burial.
Syeda Saeeda was the daughter of a Unani doctor in the village. Before her marriage, she assisted her father in the preparation of drugs in his dispensary and acquired a knowledge of Unani medicine.

Siblings

Habeeb and Syeda had four sons and three daughters. The two elder sons were Syed Amin Ashraf and Syed Hameed Ashraf. The youngest son was Syed Ashraf. Their daughters were Syeda Mahmooda, Syeda Masooda and Syeda Raheen. Syed Amin Ashraf received his PhD in English literature from Aligarh Muslim University, and later taught in the same department. Amin Ashraf is regarded as an accomplished poet in Urdu ghazals. He has compiled three poetic collections – Jadae Shab, Bahare Ijaad and Qafase Rang – and a collection of his papers in a book, Bargo Bar. He has received awards from Ghalib Academy, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy in Lucknow. Several critical essays about his poetry have been published. Their second son, Syed Hameed Ashraf, studied Shariah at Al Jamiatul Ashrafia Mubarakpur and Darul Uloom Deoband, received B.A., M.A. and M.Phil degrees in Arabic literature from Aligarh Muslim University and taught at a number of Indian madrasas. Syed Waheed Ashraf learned Islamic theology from his brother, Syed Hameed Ashraf.

Education

Ashraf received his primary education from the village madrasa and graduated from middle school in Baskhari, a small town near his home, in 1948. He received his high-school certificate from Mohd. Hasan Inter College in Jaunpur District. After high school, Ashraf suspended his studies for seven years due to poor health. He then earned his undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees from Aligarh Muslim University.

Professional career

After receiving his PhD, Ashraf was a temporary lecturer at Punjabi University in Patiala for a year before returning to Aligarh University as a UGC senior research fellow. In 1971, he received a permanent faculty position as a lecturer at M.S. University of Baroda in Gujarat. In 1977, Ashraf joined the University of Madras as a reader in Persian. He became a professor in 1982, and retired as head of the department of Arabic, Persian and Urdu at the University of Madras in 1993.

Spiritual odyssey

Ashraf was devoted to Sufi literature. After completing his education at Aligarh Muslim University, he gave spiritual allegiance to Syed Qadeer Ahmad Ashrafiul Jilani in Kichaucha Sharif. He was initiated into the Ashrafiya order, and Jilani made him his successor. Ashraf delivered lectures on Masnavi Maulan Rum at his home in Baroda.

Works

Books

Sufism and Islamic studies

Urdu
Urdu
Urdu

English