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DARUL MUSANNEFIN SHIBLI ACADEMY
Allama Shibli Nomani
MUHAMMAD Shibli Nomani (1857-1914) more popularly known as Shibli
Nomani or even
simply as Shibli was born in a respected family of landed aristocracy in
Bindawal, a village of Azamgarh district in eastern U.P. in 1857. Thus Shibli
was born while the first war of independence was at its peak. Azamgarh and
surrounding areas were particularly affected by its patriotic fervour. It was a
matter of symbolic significance that on the day of his birth the freedom
fighters broke open the gates of district jail and set free the prisoners
incarcerated there. He took his first breaths in this highly surcharged
patriotic and rebellious atmosphere. It was bound to have an abiding influence
on the thinking and attitudes of Shibli in the days to come. He had imbibed the
indomitable spirit of independence in his cradle and it remained with him as a
distinctive trait of his personality throughout his life.
Shibli occupies a very important place in the history of Muslim community in
modern India. His role in revitalizing and reviving the community is enormous.
By his scholarly and intellectual attainments, he revived the memories of the
great scholars of our past. He was an accomplished scholar of Islamic sciences
and Arabic and Persian languages and literature. He was a prolific writer of
Urdu both in prose and poetry. He was a prose writer of great excellence who
remains unrivalled for the literary elegance and beauty of his writings. His
poetry, both in Persian and Urdu, was of a very high order and
excellence. He is
considered as the last great poet of Persian in India. His historical writings
opened new vistas and touched unprecedented heights of scholarly
depth, incisive
interpretation, deep insight, penetrating criticism and refreshing approach. It
earned for him the title of the first teacher of history of the Indian Muslims,
an honour that he thoroughly deserved. By his powerful writings he not only
defended Islam against the ideological onslaught of the orientalists but
eminently succeeded in creating a deep and abiding sense of pride, attachment
and belonging with the past among the Indian Muslims. His personality was
multifaceted and his contributions are immense and multidimensional. The people
whom he taught, trained and influenced are legion and the exact nature and
magnitude of their contribution in the fields of their interest is difficult to
assess. Among them are included such illustrious personalities as Hamid ud din
Farahi, Abul Kalam Azad, Saiyid Sulaiman Nadvi, Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Zafar Ali
Khan, Sajjad Haider Yaldram, Aziz Mirza, Masud Ali Mahvi, Abdus Salam Nadvi,
Abdul Bari Nadvi to name only a few. He built many institutions that
continue to
play a vital role in the life of the community. Darul Musannifin Shibli Academy
had no parallel in the Sub Continent as a centre of historical research and
publication. He was an Alim, scholar, educationist, reformer, historian,
litterateur and much more. It is, therefore, not possible to attempt even a
brief survey of his varied accomplishments and contributions in a
small article.
The endeavour here therefore would be confined to a brief study of his
association with Aligarh and the contribution that he made to the Aligarh
Movement.
1881 proved to be a turning point in his life. In that year he went to Aligarh
along with his father to pay a visit to his younger brother, Mahdi Hasan, who
was a student at M. A. O. College. In this journey he also met Sir Syed, a
meeting that was destined to change his life and give it a new purpose, meaning
and direction. In accordance with the traditions of the time he presented an
Arabic Qasida (Ode) in praise of Sir Syed. Contrary to the style of those days,
it was composed in the style of classical Arabic poetry. Sir Syed was impressed
by it as he could see through it the great creative genius of the writer. He
published it in Aligarh Gazette with a note of appreciation. This paved the way
for Shibli's eventual appointment at Aligarh. A new star of matchless
brightness
was to impart its lustre to the intellectual firmament of Aligarh and the
conditions for this were created on this occasion.
In 1882 there was a vacancy for a teacher to teach Arabic and Persian languages
in the College. Towards the end of January Shibli was appointed as Professor of
Persian and Assistant Professor of Arabic. He joined his duty on 1st
of February
1882. He spent next sixteen years at Aligarh. Initially his salary was fixed at
Rs. Forty a month. Shibli belonged to a well to do family. He seems to
have felt
deeply hurt at this paltry salary. But he also seems to have realised the
immense possibilities that Aligarh offered to the growth of his intellectual
faculties and attainment of academic excellence. He settled for the
later. There
could not have been a better bargain. Later in 1886, he was promoted as
Professor of Arabic as well and his salary was also raised accordingly.
Ultimately it rose to Rs. 100 per month. But the extremely vital role that he
was destined to play in the uplift of the College, furtherance of the
objectives
of the Aligarh Movement and enlightenment of the Muslim community of the
Subcontinent could not be determined and understood in terms of salaries and
stipends.
The most important thing that Shibli acquired at Aligarh was his
abiding concern
for the plight of the community and realization of the imperative need to work
for its uplift and taking it out of the morass in which it found itself. It was
a natural outcome of his contact with Sir Syed. It provided a direction to him
and gave him a purpose and objective to work for. It fired his imagination and
opened up new horizons before his eyes. This concern remained with him
throughout his life. At Aligarh he came into contact with European scholars. He
developed very close and friendly relations with Professor T. W. Arnold and
learnt from him modern methods of research and scholarship, which he put to
maximum use in putting across his own views and researches. He learnt French
from him and taught him Arabic. He has referred to him as a friend and
a mentor.
It was here that he had access to the works of the orientalists and became
painfully conscious of the great need to do something to resist and stop their
onslaught against Islam and the Muslims and it determined the course of his
future academic activities. He was a voracious reader and at Aligarh he had
access to a virtual treasure of rare books to satisfy his thirst. Sir Syed's
library was perhaps the best library of its kind during those days in
the entire
subcontinent. It had an excellent collection of Arabic and Persian books of
great Muslim scholars, which were being published in Europe and which,
according
to Shibli himself, were still beyond the reach of scholars even in
Egypt. Seeing
Shibli's interest in scholarly pursuits, Sir Syed had allowed him free
access to
his library. This opened up new vistas of research and scholarship before him.
The results of his researches delighted and amazed even great
scholars. Sir Syed
was deeply impressed by his scholarship and began to rely more and more on him
in his researches. He built a banglow for him near his residence so that he
could have easy access to his library. They spent much time together discussing
scholarly subjects of mutual interest. Shibli had a very high opinion about Sir
Syed's great qualities of mind and heart. This mutual respect and appreciation
for each other found expression on many occasions and forms a shining
chapter of
Aligarh's history.
The contribution of Shibli to the Aligarh movement and his services in
furthering its cause are varied and many. First of all he was a committed and
dedicated teacher and was fully alive to his responsibility towards educating
and building the character of his students and molding their views. His
erudition, scholarship, vast knowledge of Islam and Islamic history and his
ability to effectively communicate with them enabled him to establish effective
rapport with his students. This he used to create in the students an
interest in
Islam and instill a sense of pride and belonging to its glorious past.
He always
tried to uphold the sublime traditions of Islamic civilization and did not
inculcate in his students a sense of loyalty to the British or interest in
western civilization. He always emphasized Islamic values in his teachings,
lectures and writings.
He used every available forum to educate and train the students to be able to
fulfil their role in the society and to retain the distinctive mark of having
been students of the M. A. O. College. Besides the union where
students acquired
debating and oratory skills, there was an association with the name of
Ikhwan us
Safa. It was a forum where students were trained in Urdu speaking. He actively
participated in both these forums and gave talks and lectures there to instruct
and guide the students. He established a new forum for training students in
speaking and writing Arabic and took keen interest in its development. When
Aligarh Gazette decided to publish an Urdu supplement, its charge was given to
him. Later, it acquired a separate identity of its own and came to be known as
Aligarh Magazine. Some of his important writings initially appeared in this
magazine. Through this magazine he trained a generation of students in writing
Urdu.
An important aspect of Aligarh Movement was Sir Syed's desire to retain the
Islamic identity while acquiring modern education and acquainting oneself with
the western values. Modern education at the cost of religion was not acceptable
to him. He was very clear on this point and his pronouncements on the subject
are too well known to bear repetition. He never wanted to impose his own
religious ideas on the students or include his writings in the
curriculum of the
College. The religious aspect of the College was left entirely to the care of a
graduate of the famous seat of religious learning, Darul Ulum at Deoband,
Maulana Abdullah Ansari. Maulana Ansari was not only a product of that great
seat of Islamic education but he was also son in law of Maulana Muhammad Qasim
Nanatuwi, the founder of the Darul Ulum. Shibli was professor of Arabic and
Persian and technically religious instruction was not one of his concerns. But
it would appear in the light of the available evidence on the subject that his
role in inculcating in the students an attachment with the religion was by far
the most significant. To achieve this end he adopted various means and employed
different methods besides personal contacts. He was very closely
associated with
Lujnatus Salat, an association that was formed to ensure punctual
performance of
five times prayers among the students and was proud of his own role in
making it
a success. Sir Syed entrusted him the responsibility of giving lectures to the
students on the meaning and interpretation of the Holy Qur'an, a responsibility
that he performed with great earnestness and enthusiasm. It became very popular
among the students. When Maulana Abdullah Ansari was appointed, Shibli
expressed
his desire to be relieved of this responsibility but Sir Syed would not agree.
He therefore continued to perform this responsibility till the end of his stay
at Aligarh. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar had observed that his interest in the
Holy Book goes back to these lectures. There must have been many
others who were
inspired by his expositions of the meaning and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an.
On the instance of Sir Syed he compiled a book on the early history of Islam
titled Bada' ul Islam (The Beginning of Islam) to be included in the
syllabus of
Theology. This book was translated into Persian by his cousin and pupil,
Hamiduddin Farahi, who was a student of the College at that time and later rose
to be the greatest scholar of Quranics in modern times. It was included in the
curriculum of Persian. The function celebrating the birth of the Prophet had
become a hallmark of the University. It is interesting to note that it
was begun
by Shibli to acquaint the students with the life account of our
beloved Prophet,
a theme that was destined to emerge as the main interest of his life and for
which he received universal acclaim. In the beginning it was held at his
residence but as it could not accommodate all those who wanted to
attend it, the
venue was shifted to some other place. Besides these, his writings, poems and
lectures went a long way in instilling in the students a deep sense of
attachment to the religious and cultural moorings of Islam. He was a source of
inspiration and a role model to the students in this regard. It could be seen
that in this particular sphere he made significant contribution in
realising and
furthering some of the basic objectives of the Aligarh Movement.
As noted above, he was a poet of great excellence. In the academic circles of
the College he was first introduced as an excellent poet. His poetic talent was
used in the service of the College and furthering of the objectives of the
Aligarh Movement. Keeping with the traditions of the time, important
personalities were welcomed at the College with a Qasida and it was invariably
his responsibility to compose and present it on behalf of the College. It would
seem that he did not relish this job which smacked of flattery still he did it
in the interest of the College. He also presented his poetic
compositions at the
annual sessions of Educational Conference. One of his most stirring poetical
compositions "Masnavi Subh-e Ummid" was presented at the 1885 session of the
conference. After depicting the hopeless situation in which the
Muslims of India
found themselves, he makes a very forceful presentation of the Aligarh Movement
and its objectives and considers it as the morning of hope for those who had
lost all hope. It contains one of the finest portrayals of Sir Syed and his
dedication to his mission. There could be little doubt about the fact that his
poetic compositions rendered yeoman service in furthering the objectives of the
Aligarh Movement and his forceful voice was an asset and a source of great
strength for the Movement.
Shibli had written some polemical writings to his credit before his joining the
College. But his career as a writer and author in fact began at
Aligarh. Here he
had access to the books that were published in Europe and Egypt and these
introduced him to a world that was not known to him before. Sir Syed's library
was perhaps the richest repository of such books in the entire Subcontinent and
Shibli had full access to it. His discussions with Sir Syed introduced him to
new ideas in the fields of literature, history and other areas of learning.
Shibli's scholarly exploits are varied and many but his greatest contributions
are in the field of history and sirat. He has been called the first teacher of
Indian Muslims in history and rightly so. The book that seems to have
stimulated
his interest in the study of history was Gibbon's history of Rome. Sir Syed had
got it translated into Urdu for his personal use. Thereafter history became the
field of his main interest and his researches in Muslim history have acquired
legendary status that has been celebrated by succeeding generations of Muslim
scholars. There could be little doubt that Sir Syed's writings on the Muslim
history particularly Khutbat-i Ahmadiyya that he wrote to dispel the
allegations
and malicious insinuations contained in the Life of Mohamet of William
Muir must
have inspired him and convinced him of the imperative need of meeting the
onslaught unleashed by the Orientalists against Islam and the Prophet. Shibli's
achievements in the field are unrivalled but it would be useful to
remember that
the trend was set by Sir Syed who was first to stand up against the scholarly
tyranny of the west against Islam. Shibli, however, was a perfectionist and he
thought it necessary to first fully equip himself with all the essential means
and resources for this onerous task before accepting the challenge and throwing
down the gauntlet. From the date of joining the College till 1887 he seems to
have been mainly engaged in study and preparation for the task that he had set
for himself. Though his reputation as a scholar was established he contented
himself with expressing his ideas and concerns for the community and the urgent
need for reform mostly through the medium of poetry.
In 1892 Shibli undertook an academic journey to collect necessary material for
his proposed book al Faruq. This took him to Constantinople (Istanbul), Cairo,
al Quds and Beirut. This was first journey of this kind by a professor of the
College. Sir Syed had gone to England before he launched his movement for the
establishment of the College to collect material for his rebuttal of William
Muir's infamous book on the life of Prophet. Among the professors of the
College, however, Shibli was first to have done so. In a way he was the first
ambassador of the Indian Muslims to Turkey and was instrumental in establishing
first contacts of the Muslims of South Asia with that region. This shows his
thirst for knowledge and spirit of enquiry. This journey was
undertaken with his
personal resources and without any help from any outside agency. He spent six
months on this academic tour, most of which was spent in Constantinople,
scouring its many libraries for the books that he needed. Most of the
books that
he needed were still in manuscript form. The libraries were situated at
considerable distance from each other and he had to walk for miles to go from
one library to the other and it was very tiring but he bore it cheerfully as a
labour of love. Academically this tour was a great success but the general
conditions of the Muslim countries he visited greatly dismayed and depressed
him. He had gone from a country that was under the subjugation of others to
those which were free and masters of their own destiny. He made it a point to
meet the scholars and visit the academic institutions there. But to his great
dismay same ailments seemed to be infecting those Muslim countries as well,
which were the bane of Muslim society in India. He found the great divide
between the old and new systems of education particularly very disturbing
because his studies had convinced him that without a judicious combination of
the two systems there would be no possibility of progress for the
Muslims in the
modern times. But living and breathing in a free country was an experience in
itself. In recognition of his great academic achievements and service for the
community, the Ottoman government awarded him Tamgha-i Majidi. It was
first such
honour achieved by a professor of Aligarh. It brought fame not only to Shibli
but also to Aligarh where he belonged. Theoretically, Ottoman Sultan was still
considered as the head of the Muslims and a symbol of the unity of the
community. And therefore recognition of a scholar by him was indeed a matter of
great honour. Shibli took the name and fame of the College wherever he went and
was instrumental in introducing the College to the academic circles of the
countries he visited. Those who came into contact with him were deeply
impressed
by his great scholarship and depth of knowledge. This was bound to create
favourable impression about the institution where he taught. Among
those whom he
met at Cairo was included the great Egyptian scholar Mufti Muhammad Abduhu. He
spent considerable time at the grand al Azhar University discussing with the
Ulama matters of mutual interest and looking for books in its library. On his
return he was felicitated both by the staff of the school and the College. Sir
Syed also attended the felicitations.
In 1894 Shibli was granted the title of Shams ul Ulama by the British
Government. It was the firs title that was granted to a professor of
the College
by the government. Keeping in mind the fact that Shibli had not yet crossed 37
years of his age and during those days grant of such titles was not
very common,
this event was considered to be very significant. Besides Sir Syed none of his
associates had received any title from the government so far. Even such eminent
luminaries and members of Aligarh fraternity as Hali and Nazir Ahmad
received it
much later. There were celebrations in the College. Ikhwan us Safa and
Lujnat ul
Adab held a joint function on January 19, 1894 to felicitate Shibli on the
receipt of this honour. Among others, it was attended by Sir Syed, Syed Mahmud,
Muhsin ul Mulk, Hali, Muzammilullah Khan, Theodore Beck and Arnold. The meeting
was chaired by Muhsin ul Mulk. Besides others, Hali also presented a
congratulatory poem in Arabic which was appropriately titled "From friend to
friend". Among the students Hamid ud din Farahi, Zafar Ali Khan and Ghulam us
Saqlain were included among those who spoke on the occasion and presented their
poetic compositions. The high academic standards of the students of those days
could be assessed from the fact that majority of the poetic compositions of the
students presented on the occasion were either in Arabic or Persian.
On February
17 another function was held in the Strachey Hall, which was attended by the
European officers, their ladies, notables of Aligarh and the College community.
In this function the title and the robe of honour (khil'at) was officially
conferred on him.
Under the influence of the Aligarh Movement and realising the
imperative need of
introducing modern education to the Muslims, soon after his joining of the
College Shibli had founded a school at Azamgarh with the name of
National School
in 1883. By 1895 it was upgraded as a High School. After independence it became
a Post Graduate College with the name of Shibli National Post Graduate College.
At present it is the best minority college in the province of Uttar
Pradesh with
post graduate facilities in all the main branches of Science and a number of
subjects in Arts and Social Sciences. It also offers courses in law, commerce
and education. It has all the potential of being developed as a
university. Over
a period of more than a century since it has been in existence it has continued
to fulfil the same objectives in the region of Eastern U. P. which Aligarh
Movement tried to propagate and popularise among the Muslims.
In 1895 he was nominated as a member of the Faculty of Arts and Board
of Studies
of Allahabad University. It may be recalled here that M. A. O. College was
affiliated to Allahabad University before it became Aligarh Muslim University.
Around that time a move was afoot to remove Persian as a subject from the
syllabi of the University as its syllabus was considered to be below standard.
Due to his intervention it was retained and Shibli was asked to prepare a new
and suitable syllabus. He prepared a standard syllabus for this purpose. The
course of study that he prepared continued to be taught at the university for
many years. Shibli used to give a portion of the income that accrued
to him from
this course to the College fund.
Sir Syed died on March 27, 1898. Shibli left the College after few
months. First
he took leave for six months in May and after the expiry of the leave, he
tendered his resignation form the service of the College. Thus the relationship
that had that had begun in 1882 and had lasted for sixteen years that
saw Shibli
achieve glory and fame, came to an end. It may, however, be useful to remember
in this context that in spite of all the admiration of Shibli for Sir Syed and
appreciation of Sir Syed for the unusual calibre and talent of Shibli, there
were a number of issues on which they differed. Men of substance do not agree
with each other on each and every point. It was only natural that men of such
stature as Sir Syed and Shibli would differ on some issues. It does not seem to
be a coincidence that Shibli continued to serve the College as long as Sir Syed
was alive in spite of whatever differences he might have had with him and in
spite of the fact that he had been contemplating to leave thee College
for quite
some time. It was only after his death that he found it necessary to severe his
relationship with the College. Even long after he had left Aligarh, there were
moves particularly during the stewardship of Muhsinul Mulk to revive his
association with the College. It would appear that Shibli was not averse to the
idea but some how it did not materialise. Shibli lived another eighteen years.
These years saw his talents blossom to the full. He authored many
great books on
a variety of subjects with equal ease and felicity. One is struck with
wonder on
the range of his interest. On every subject that he did chose, he wrote with
compelling authority and beauty. But the crowning glory of his scholarship was
the biography of the Prophet, peace be on him, for which he received universal
acclaim and which remains unsurpassed even today. He founded many institutions
and participated in many movements. These include, among others, Darul
Musannifin Shibli Academy, Nadwatul Ulama and Madrastul Islah. His role in
mobilising assistance and support for Turkey was very important. He did not
actively participate in politics but supported the Congress from the very
beginning. These and many other aspects of his life are no doubt very important
but they are out of our purview here. In the midst of the plethora of real and
alleged differences of Shibli with Sir Syed and Aligarh Movement, it would be
useful to remember that after Sir Syed Shibli was the most towering personality
among the galaxy of great men who had gathered around him and he made enormous
contribution towards furthering the objectives of the Aligarh Movement.
Muhammad Shibli Nomani
Born 3rd June 1857 in Bindawal Azamgarh (UP)
Died on 18th November 1914 in Azamgarh (UP)
Father : Shaikh Habibullah
Mother: Moqeema Khatoon (d/o Mr.Qurban Ahmad, Phariha Azamgarh)
Wife: Majidunnisa (Married 1876-77)
Brothers : Mahdi Hasan, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad
Children : Hamid Hassan Nomani , Rabia Khatoon , Jannutul Fatima
Teachers: Maulana Farooq Chirayyakuti, Chirayyakot Azamgarh, Maulana Irshad
Husain, Rampur, Maulana Faiz ul Hasan Saharanpuri, Lahore, Maulana Ahmad Ali
Saharanpuri
MAO College Association: 1882 – 1898, Professor of Persian and Arabic
Founder Editor: The Aligarh Magazine (Urdu)-1891
Famous Students:
Hamid ud din Farahi, Abul Kalam Azad, Saiyid Sulaiman Nadvi, Muhammad Ali
Jauhar, Zafar Ali Khan, Sajjad Haider Yaldram, Aziz Mirza, Masud Ali Mahvi,
Abdus Salam Nadvi, Abdul Bari Nadvi, Shibli Mutakallim Nadvi
Books :
Seerat-un-Nabi – 7 Volumes (co-edited by Syed Sulaiman Nadvi),
Muqadmat-Seeratun Nabi,
Al-Farooq : Biography of Hazrat Omar Farooq (R.A.),
Al-Ghazali,
Al-Mamoon ,
Seerat-un-Noman,
Swaneh-Maulana Roomi,
Al-Kalam,
Ilmul-Kalam,
Safar Nama
Room-Misr-o- Shaam,
Sherul-Ajam -5 Volumes,
Kuliyat-e-Shibli (Urdu),
Kuliyat-e-Shibli (Farsi),
Mawazenah Anees-o-Dabeer,
Al-Inteqar,
Auragzeb Alamgeer per Ek Nazar
Shibli Hostel at Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh India
(Shukran = Thank you)
--
*Shahzad Shameem*
--
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