Grand AyatollahSyed Ali Naqi Naqvi Nasirabadi (December 26, 1905 – May 18, 1988)[1] was an Indian Twelver Shia Marja, poet, writer, jurist and interpreter of the Quran. His written works include numerous books in Arabic as well as works in Urdu such as Shaheed-e-Insaniyat and Tareekh-e-Islam, and a commentary upon his translation of the Quran. Naqvi authored over 100 books and 1000 shorter works on Shia Islam. Contemporary accounts and later scholars have described him as an influential religious writer and teacher.[citation needed]
Naqvi was born on December 26, 1905 in Lucknow, British India. Around 1327 Hijri, when he was three or four years old, his father Syed Abul Hasan Naqvi (Mumtaz al-Ulama) took him and his family to Iraq. At the age of seven, he had a Bismillah ceremony that was held at the Rauza-e-Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq. Naqvi's formal education then began in Iraq, where he studied Arabic and Persian grammar, and the basics of the Quran.[citation needed]
In 1914, the family returned to India, and Naqvi's religious education continued under his father's tuition. He later attended the Sultan al-Madaris Seminary and studied Arabic literature with Mufti Muhammad Ali. Naqvi passed the exam for certification as a religious scholar (alim) from Allahabad University in 1923 and soon gained certifications from Nazamiyyah College and Sultan al-Madaris Seminary. In 1925, he was awarded a degree in literature (Fazil-e Adab).[citation needed]
In 1927, Ali Naqvi departed for the seminaries of Iraq to study Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic theology (Kalam). He had already written and published four books. While studying in Iraq Naqvi wrote several works in Arabic, including Rooh Aladab Sharah Alamiyatal Arab, Albait Al Mamoor Fi Emaratal Qubur, Faryaad e Musalmanane Aalam, and Altawae Haj Per Sharaee Nuqtae Nazar Se Bahas. His first book published in Arabic, "Kashf annaqab ann aqaaed Abdul Wahab Najdi," was written in Najaf while he was a student days is the first book written against Wahhabis. His second book in Arabic, "Aqalatalaashir fi eqamatalshaaer", defended the act of "Matam".
Naqvi studied Islamic jurisprudence with Ayatullah Na'ini, Ayatollah Abu Hasan Isfahani and Ayatullah Sayyid Diya' Iraqi; Hadith with Shakyh 'Abbas Qummi and Sayyid Husayn Sadr; and Islamic theology with Sayyid Sharf al-Din, Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita', Shaykh Jawad Balaghi, and Sayyid Muhsin Amin Amli. After completing his seminary education, he received certification (ijaza') for ijtihad and became a mujtahid at the age of 27. He was given ijazah by Ayatollah Naaini.
In 1932 Naqvi returned to India where, in 1933 he was appointed the title professor in the Oriental College Department of Lucknow University. He taught Arabic and Persian there for over two decades.
In 1959, Aligarh Muslim University invited him to be in the Reader in the Theology (Dniyat) Department, which did not yet have a teaching faculty. The department created two parallel streams of Sunni and Shi'i theology, and Ali Naqvi began to oversee the affairs of the Shi'i branch. He was the Dean of Shi'i theology from 1967 to 1969 and retired from the university in 1972.
From 1972 to 1975, Naqvi was given a research professorship through the University Grants Commission (UGC), and he stayed permanently in Aligarh.
Zindah-i javid ka matam Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1935.
Controversy
Naqvi faced opposition from some members of the Shia Islam community for some contents of his book Shaheed-e-insaniyat. Some sections of the book claim that there was water in the tents of Husayn ibn Ali during the Battle of Karbala. Other parts question if Ali Asghar was truly martyred by Hurmula's arrow.
Shaheed-e-insaniyat was privately published by Idaar-e-Yaadgar-e-Husaini, an organization of 300 members whose purpose was to review, compile, edit, and present a book on Karbala that would be acceptable for a broader audience to read. The book was written in 1942 (1361 AH) by a team of Ulemas from different religions: Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Naqi Naqvi compiled their contributions into a book form.
Initially 500 copies were printed for review by the organization members who were asked to comment on the text. The public release of this draft led to the controversy, with Naqvi being criticized by some members of the community, due to them believing that he was the sole author of the book.
Family
After his father's early death, Naqvi raised his four brothers, all of whom became scholars of Shia Islam.
Maulana Syed Abdul Hasan Naqvi (1940–2001), Lucknow, India
Maulana Syed Murtaza Naqvi (1927–1994), Lucknow, India
Maulana Syed Kazim Naqvi (1934–2018), Chairman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Naqvi's son, Professor Syed Ali Mohammad Naqavi, was the Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Aligarh Muslim University, a position previously held by his uncle. Naqavi currently heads the Dara Shikoh Interfaith Center of Aligarh Muslim University and has published at least 34 books on various topics.[2]
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