Dr Syed Zafarul Hasan

Syed Zafarul Hasan (February 14, 1885 - June 19, 1949) was a prominent twentieth-century Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 philosopher.

Biography

Syed Zafarul Hasan was the eldest son of Khan Sahib Syed Diwan Mohammad.

Syed Zafarul Hasan was educated at Allahabad (M.A., LL. B.) and obtained doctorates from the universities of Erlangen

Erlangen

Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....

 and Heidelberg

Heidelberg

-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

, Germany

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...

, and Oxford University. Dr Zafarul Hasan was the first Muslim Scholar of the Indian sub-continent to secure a PhD from Oxford in Philosophy. His doctoral thesis Realism is a classic on the subject. Prominent philosophers and educationists lauded his work, among them, his teacher Prof. J[ohn] A[lexander] Smith (1863-1930), and Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

He started teaching at the Muslim University, Aligarh, India in 1911. In 1913, he became professor of philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 at Islamia College

Islamia College

Islamia College may refer to:*Islamia College , Lahore, Pakistan*Amiruddaula Islamia Degree College, Lucknow, India*Islamia College , Peshawar, Pakistan*Islamia Science College , Karachi, Pakistan...

, Peshawar. From 1924 to 1945 he was professor of philosophy at the Muslim University, Aligarh - where he also served as Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. There, in 1939, he put forward the 'Aligarh Scheme' along with Dr Afzaal Hussain Qadri. They published a scheme ("The Problem of Indian Muslims") proposing three independent States.

From 1945 until the partition of the sub-continent, Dr Hasan was Emeritus

Emeritus

Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 Professor at Aligarh. In August 1947, he migrated to Lahore, Pakistan. He started work on a book that he could not complete due to his death in 1949. Only one volume ("PHILOSOPHY - A Critique") was ready, which was published from Lahore by Institute of Islamic Culture in 1988.

He received honours and served on a number of bodies: Member of Court, Member of Executive Council, Finance Co., Com. of Advanced Studies, Aligarh Muslim Univ.; Dir., Jamiat-ut-Tamaddunil-Islami, Bombay; Member, International Academy of Philosophy, Erlangen. Pres., Islami Jamaat, Aligarh. Member: Education Committee, All-India Muslim League; Kant Gesellscaft (Germany); Mind Assn. (England); Philosophical Congress (India); Academic Council of Muslim Univ. at Aligarh.

Works

• Realism - An Attempt To Trace Its Origin And Development In Its Chief Representatives (Cambridge University Press, London, 1928)
• Realism (translated into Urdu), 1927
• Monismus Spinozas, 1922
• Descartes' Dualism, 1912
• Philosophy and Education, 1927
• Philosophy and Its Advantages, 1931
• Realism is not Metaphysics, 1931
• Islamics, 1936
• The Problem, 1933
• Revelation and Apostle, 1937
• Message of Iqbal, 1938
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Islam
• Philosophy of Kant
• PHILOSOPHY - A Critique (Institute of Islamic Culture, Lahore, 1988)

Sources

* WORLD BIOGRAPHY, Fourth Edition of the BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE WORLD [INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN BIOGRAPHY, (Incorporated in 1934), 296 Broadway NEW YORK 7, N.Y.], page 2183).