Hamiduddin Farahi
Encyclopedia
Hamiduddin Farahi was a celebrated Islamic scholar of Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

 known for his groundbreaking work on the concept of Nazm, or Coherence, in the Quran. He was instrumental in producing scholarly work which proved that the verses of the Quran are interconnected in such a way that each Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...

, or Chapter, of the Quran forms a coherent structure, having its own central theme, which he called umood (the theme which stands out). He also started writing his own exegesis, or tafsir, of the Quran which was left incomplete due to his death in 1930. The Muqaddimah, or the Introduction, to this tafsir is an extremely important work on the theory of Nazm-ul-Quran.

Early life

Farahi was born in Phreha (hence the name "Farahi"), a village in the district of Azamgarh
Azamgarh
Azamgarh is a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is headquarters of Azamgarh district and Azamgarh Division.-History:Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts of the State, once formed a part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except the north-eastern part of it which was included in the...

, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He was a maternal cousin of the famous theologian-historian Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani
Allamah Shibli Nomani was a respected scholar of Islam from Indian subcontinent during British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He is known for the founding the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin in Azamgarh...

 (1858–1914). He studied at MAO College
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

 and Allahabad University
Allahabad University
Allahabad University , is a premier Central University located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Its origins lie in the Muir Central College, named after Lt...

. In his studies while completing B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

, he proved himself to be an expert in Arabic and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 languages.

As a teacher

After finishing his studies, Farahi taught Arabic at various institutions, including M.A.O. College
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

 and Dar-ul-Ulum, Hyderabad. While at Aligarh, he learnt Hebrew from the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...

, Joseph Horovitz (1874–1931), who was a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of Arabic at the M.A.O. College
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

. During his stay in Hyderabad, Farahi conceived the idea of establishing a University
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 where all religious and modern sciences would be taught in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

. The scheme he prepared for this purpose later materialized in the form of Jamiah Uthmaniyyah, Hyderabad. He subsequently came to Sara-e-Mir, a town in Azamgarh
Azamgarh
Azamgarh is a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is headquarters of Azamgarh district and Azamgarh Division.-History:Azamgarh, one of the easternmost districts of the State, once formed a part of the ancient Kosala kingdom, except the north-eastern part of it which was included in the...

, where he took charge of the Madrasatul Islah
Madrasatul Islah
Madrasatul Islah, a traditional Islamic institution of learning, at Sarai Mir in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh was established by Maulana Muhammad Shafi 1906 with the help of prominent people of the area, with a view to reform the Muslim society ....

(School for Reform), an institution based on the educational ideas of Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani
Allamah Shibli Nomani was a respected scholar of Islam from Indian subcontinent during British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He is known for the founding the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin in Azamgarh...

 and Farahi. Farahi had served as chief administrator of the school since its inception, but other engagements kept him away from becoming actively involved in its affairs. From 1925, when he came to Sara-e-Mir, to 1930, the year of his death, Farahi devoted most of his time and energy to managing the affairs of the Madrasa-tul-Islah and teaching there. A few students - Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Qur'an, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an—an exegesis that he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.-Early life:...

 was one of them - received special training from him and later became the bearer of his torch.

Recognition of his work

Farahi is well known to most scholars of the sub-continent, who have acknowledged his outstanding contribution to Islamic thought and learning.

Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi writes, "It has been generally accepted that in recent times, very few have reached the position Allama Farahi has been blessed with by the Almighty as far as deliberation on the Qur'an is concerned. He has spent the major portion of his life pondering on the meanings of this Book, and has written such a masterful commentary on the Qur'an that it is difficult to find its parallel even in the early period..."

Maulana Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani
Allamah Shibli Nomani was a respected scholar of Islam from Indian subcontinent during British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He is known for the founding the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin in Azamgarh...

 writes, "It is generally believed that a talented person can in no way remain unknown to the world. Experience as well as history bear testimony to this. However, each rule has an exception. Maulvi Hameed Uddin ... is a good example of such an exception ... In this age, his treatise "Tafseer Nizaam-ul-Quran" is as essential and beneficial to Muslims as pure water is to the thirsty and exhausted."

Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi
Syed Sulaiman Nadvi
Allama Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi was an eminent Indian and Pakistani historian, biographer, littérateur and scholar of Islam...

 writes, " ... The Ibni Taimiyah of this age has died on 11 November 1930 --- someone whose brilliance is very unlikely to be surpassed now and whose comprehensive command of oriental and occidental disciplines is a miracle of this era. A profound scholar of the Qur'an ... a unique personality ... an embodiment of piety ... an unfathomable sea of knowledge ... an institution within himself ... a literary genius ... a researcher of prodigious intellect ... It is a matter of great sorrow that such a brilliant personality graced the world and then perished, but the world could not recognize its grandeur ... "

Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani
Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani
Manazir Ahsan Gilani was an Islamic scholar from the Deobandi school of thought, which is one of the major Islamic schools in Indian subcontinent. He was born in September 1892. He wrote many books...

 writes, "... the revivalist movement launched by Shah Wali Ullah [in the eighteenth century], in recent years has drawn inspiration from "Tafseer Nizaam-ul-Qur'an" the work of a distinguished scholar, Maulana Hameed Uddin Farahi. Among other features of this commentary (i.e. relationship between the Qur'an and the Bible, and various literary discussions), its salient feature is the unprecedented attempt in it to bring out the coherence between the verses. It is this coherence which sometimes provides enough evidence that the Qur'an is a Divine Book."

Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
Abdul Majid Daryabadi was an Indian Muslim writer and exegete of the Qur'an. He obtained his BA in Philosophy from Canning College, Lucknow in 1912. In his academic career, he edited the Urdu weekly Sach and then Sidq . Amin Ahsan Islahi, another Indo-Pak Muslim scholar, also worked with him on...

 writes, "In this age, Allama Hameed Uddin Farahi is the most outstanding personality as far as Qur'anic Studies are concerned. He not only occupies a distinguished position among the scholars of recent times, but, in fact, has discovered some new principles for the interpretation of the Qur'an. The foremost among them is his philosophy of coherence in the Qur'an."

Works

Most of Farahi's work is in Arabic. Farahi's chief scholarly interest was the Quran, the focal point of all his writings. Most of his published works are in the form of notes that were later compiled by his followers such Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Qur'an, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an—an exegesis that he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.-Early life:...

 and Allama Khalid Masud
Khalid Masud
Allama Khalid Masud was a Muslim scholar of Pakistan. He spent the major part of his life with Moulana Amin Ahsan Islahi. He conveyed ideas and thoughts of his teacher and Imam Farhi to general public...

 and others. Some of the books he wrote are:

See also

  • Amin Ahsan Islahi
    Amin Ahsan Islahi
    Amin Ahsan Islahi was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Qur'an, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an—an exegesis that he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.-Early life:...

  • Khalid Masud
    Khalid Masud
    Allama Khalid Masud was a Muslim scholar of Pakistan. He spent the major part of his life with Moulana Amin Ahsan Islahi. He conveyed ideas and thoughts of his teacher and Imam Farhi to general public...

  • Javed Ahmed Ghamidi
    Javed Ahmed Ghamidi
    Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is a well-known Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar and exegete, and educationist. A former member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, who extended the work of his tutor, Amin Ahsan Islahi. Ghamidi is the founder of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and its sister...

  • Tafhim-ul-Quran
    Tafhim-ul-Quran
    The Tafhim-ul-Quran is a 6-volume translation and explanation of the Qur'an by Abul Ala Maududi. Maududi spent 30 years writing his Tafsir; he began in 1942 and completed it in 1972....

  • Tadabbur-i-Qur'an

External links

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