After studying Arabic, Persian, and Islamic sciences with several prominent religious scholars-Shibli Nomani was one of them-Farahi, about twenty years of age, secured admission to the reputed Aligarh Muslim College in order to study modern disciplines of knowledge. His recommender was Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-1897), the founder of the college. In his letter addressed to the principal, an Englishman, Sir Sayyid wrote that he was commending him a young man who was a greater scholar of Arabic and Persian than the professors of the college. While a student at the college, Farahi rendered parts of the At-Tabaqat al-Kubra of Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sad az-Zuhri (784-845) into Persian. The translation was found to be so good that Sir Sayyid had it included in the collage syllabus.Farahi obtained his B.A from AIlahabad University.

For the next many years, Farahi taught Arabic at various institutions, including Aligarh and Dar-ul-Ulum., Hyderabad. During his stay in Hyderabad, Farahi conceived the idea of establishing a university where all religious and modern sciences would be taught in Urdu. The scheme he prepared for this purpose later materialized in the form of Jamiah Usmaniyyah, Hyderabad. He subsequently came to Sara-e-Mir, a town in Azamgarh, where he took charge of the Madrasa-tul-Islah (”School for {Muslim}Reform”), an institution based on the educational ideas of Shibli Numani and Farahi. Farahi had served as chief administrator of the school since its inception, but other engagements had until now kept him 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 was one of them – received special training from him; they were supposed to become the bearers of his thought.

An erudite scholar, Farahi commanded knowledge of a number of languages, among them Hebrew and English. He learnt Hebrew from the German Orientalist Josef Horovitz (1874-1931) who was professor of Arabic at the Aligarh Muslim College Horovitz studied Arabic with Farahi.

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 complied by his students. Among his books, besides the three already mentioned, are: Mufradat al Quran (”Vocabulary of the Quran”), Asalib al Quran (”Style of the Quran”) Jamhara-tul-Balaghah (”Manual of Quranic Rhetoric”) and Iman fi Aqsam il Quran (”Study of the Quranic Oaths).

Source: Madrasaislah.org

Hamiduddin Farahi

Hamiduddin Farahi (1863-1930) was a celebrated Islamic scholar of Indian subcontinent 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, 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, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a maternal cousin of the famous theologian-historian Shibli Nomani (1858-1914). He studied at Aligarh Muslim College at the recommendation of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1897). In his studies, he proved himself to be an expert in Arabic and Persian languages. He completed his B.A. from Allahabad University.
[edit] As a teacher

After finishing his studies, Farahi taught Arabic at various institutions, including M.A.O. College and Dar-ul-Ulum, Hyderabad. While at Aligarh, he learnt Hebrew from the German Orientalist, Joseph Horovitz (1874-1931), who was a Professor of Arabic at the M.A.O. College. During his stay in Hyderabad, Farahi conceived the idea of establishing a University where all religious and modern sciences would be taught in Urdu. 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, where he took charge of the Madrasatul Islah (School for Reform), an institution based on the educational ideas of Shibli Nomani 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 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…” [1]

Maulana Shibli Nomani 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.”[2]

Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi 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 progigious 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 … “[3]

Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani 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 (ie 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.” [4]

Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi 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.”[5]

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 and Allama Khalid Masud and others. Some of the books he wrote are:

* Mufradat al Quran (”Vocabulary of the Quran”)
* Asalib al Quran (”Style of the Quran”)
* Jamhara-tul-Balaghah (”Manual of Quranic Rhetoric”)
* Im’an Fi Aqsam al-Qur’an (A Study of the Qur’anic Oaths)
* ‘في من هو الذبيح’ (Fi man huwa al-Dhabih: Which of Abraham’s son was Sacrificed?)

Nizam al-Qur’an (Coherence in the Qur’an, a commentary on the Qur’an

Source: Wikipedia

By Aslam Abdullah

Jamia Masjid–One of Las Vegas’ mosques.

Las Vegas–October 11–Several prominent Muslim scholars deliberated on the theme of Qur`an: Law and Ethics during the recently concluded sixth annual Qur`an conference in Las Vegas. The conference on October 10 and 11 drew a big local audience that listened closely to the Qur`an scholars, who included Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, Dr. Maher Hathout, Dr. Mustapha Kuku, Dr. Abdullah Idris Ali, Dr. Muneer Fareed, Abul Haytam, Hisham Mehmod, and Mahan Mirza.

The scholars presented their work on various topics such as Ethics for common people, Permanent ethical values of the Qur`an, the Qur`an, a divine source of ethical guidance, and ethical values for personal growth.

One speaker talked about similarities between the founding principles of America and the permanent Qur`anic values of justice, equality, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The Qur`an conference was first organized by the Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2003 and the main objective was to provide a forum to Qur`an scholars in America to address some of the most pressing issues the community and the country faces.

The consensus among scholars during the sixth conference was that without ethics, law is merely an instrument of enforcing an order. With ethics on itsside, law becomes a balancing act in society enabling people to regulate their life voluntarily without any fear.

Dr. Abdullah Idris talked about the importance of connecting with the Qur`an to enhance our understanding of our world.

Dr. Munir Fareed talked about the practice of people of other religions of either vilifying or deifying religious leaders. He urged Muslims to avoid the trap  as in understanding the Qur`an is all about Allah and His majesty and guidance on earth.

Dr. Mustapha Kuku talked about the ethics of dealing with non-Muslims. He said that the founding principle of the Qur`an is the dignity of human beings and the ethics of the Qur`an promotes that in all aspects of life. Mahan Mirza focused on drawing parallel between the constitutional guarantees on personal liberty and the Qur`an concept of freedom. He suggested that the term such as Islam vs the West must be avoided as Islam is an integral part of the global village.

Dr. Maher Hathout deliberated on ethics for common people suggesting that the most essential guidance of the Qur`an can be understood by people if they connect with the Qur`an.

He urged Muslims to read to learn and not to learn to read.  Hisham Mehmoud talked about interpreting the divine ethics within the contextual framementioned in the Qur`an. He said a careful contextual understanding of the Qur`an will enable us to overcome some of the misconceptions that Muslims have developed toward the Qur`anic terms. Abul Haytham talked about using the Qur`an ethics for personal growth. He said that in addition to reading the Qur`an, people must reflect on its message and try to apply it in their personal life in order to gain a momentum intheir personal life.

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi said that ethics bring the faith our of ritualistic mode. He said acts of worship such as prayer, fasting and hajj teach people to apply principles of discipline, control and universal love in their every day life.

The presence of a large ISNA contingent in the conference was a welcome sign. ISNA is likely to become cosponsors of the conference. Next year’s conference will also become ISNA’s regional conference in the WestZone.

The conference organizers had also organized famous recitors of the Qur`an from different parts of the country. From Dallah came Hafiz Abdul Qadir; from New York, Hassan Saleh, from New Jersey, Fouad elKassas and from Thailand, Hafiz Mansour. The four reciters rendered thepowerful recitation of the Qur`an on both days of the conference.

Dr. Bahir Chowdhry and Khalid Khan, two main organizers of the conference pledged to continue with the Qur`an conference in the future.

Source: http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=3055

He has been a Visiting Professor at Loyola Law School, Georgetown University, International Islamic University, and the University of Southern California.