Failasuf Chi-Town

Prof Mustansir Mir.. a small, unassuming, man who dedicated decades of his life studying Pre-Islamic Arabian and Persian poetry (this is as described by  some known public figure that I heard whom I will not mention here). He is in my opinion the most prolific proponent of the Farahi-Islahi school of thought.

Here are some papers he has written on Qur’anic studies – http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Q_Studies/

Also availabe are some of his books on Amazon – click here

The effect on the Muslim world by Ahmad Deedat is the following. The European political domination over Muslim countries, what we know as Colonialism, carried with it its essential religious ethic – Christianity.

We know that at the political level, colonialism was essentially secularist. But at the level of morality, the ethic they carry is Christian morality.

From the people in the Muslim world, colonialism was seen as a rise and globalization of Christianity. The talk of the town was always this big threat called Christianity. In fact, this talk may have been initiated by colonialists themselves sometimes.

The colonialists  say, if Islam is true, why would God let us dominate you? Is it not evident be it from the perspective of the colonized or the colonizer, that domination and truth belongs to christianity?

This rhetoric led to a crisis of confidence and pride in Islam, and in the Indian sub-continent for example, a lot of Muslims became Christian. Likewise we hear this also in Indonesia today as well. This conversion of so many Muslims to Christianity became a global phenomena.

As Christian missionary work was taking roots, they implanted their worldview and ethic indefinitely in the Muslim world in various critical ways. They developed plans and literatures to cater to “dawah” to Muslims.

So this was the scenario in which Sheikh Ahmad Deedat emerged heroic. Christianity is essentially falsefood, and it is not hard to break down falsehood. Ahmad Deedat had the right personality for this. If we notice in his debates, he always appeared calm with his beaming smile. He exuded confidence in taking on Christian zealots in a manner so inspiring to an Ummah that had lost its pride and self-confidence.

Ahmad Deedat comes on the world stage and defeats various Christian preachers in public debates. He repeated this enough times to be noticed by Muslims. At a time when Muslims were overwhelmed by the psychological impact that Christianity politically and economically dominated and won over Islam – this feeling slowly withered with the emergence of Ahmad Deedat.

This is because Ahmad Deedat was able to articulate the flaws of the Bible. This he articulated through very effective communication. So up to the 1970s, the personality of Ahmad Deedat impacted primarily in making Muslims know that there is someone out there who can take on any Christian scholar, even if that person himself cannot.

So in this light, Ahmad Deedat was a giant personality. He fulfilled the commandment of Quran to call to the path of Allah with hikmah — with beautiful sermons at the level of the masses and argue with others in the best ways. This verse refers to the People of the Book. From this, we take and realize that debating and arguing is an art in itself and the Quran commands us to execute it with wisdom and make clear what is right and wrong.

This is an art that Ahmad Deedat fulfilled. Not so much that he converted thousands of people to Islam, but psychologically he put Muslim anguish and doubts at peace regarding the question of Christianity through the art of argumentation, of making things clear, in a debate and dialogue setting. He made muslims feel good about themselves and intellectually strong through knowing that their scripture is the correct scripture.

Sothis is the legacy of Ahmad Deedat.

Now that he has passed away, missionaries have studied Ahmad Deedat inside out. Ahmad Deedat was someone who not only debated publicly but also sent his literature out to everyone. So missionaries were able to obtain his writings and study him to guess what he would say and argue in future debates. Through this, Christian missionary experts have now come up with answers to Ahmad Deedat, point by point.

Evangelicals in the Christian world  are of two levels – 1) passionate preachers, and 2) people who look from an intellectual perspective. Christians that go to places like Hartford Seminary and Harvard Divinity etc, most of them are generally confused about Christianity.

What we have to know is that research work now has gone way farther than at the time of Ahmad Deedat. Even Christians themselves have realized their numerous flaws in their own research works.

Unfortuantely, Muslim debaters nowadays are still stuck and limit themselves to Ahmad Deedat’s arguments even though, for instance, Jewish professors have now done research work far beyond the works of Ahmad Deedat.

Example One. We treat the current Bible as Injil, but it is not Injil historically speaking. At most, it is a book of “Hadith” — reports. The statements of Sayyidina Isa in the Bible is basically historical statements.

Example Two. All research on the Jewishness of Jesus — how it is impossible for him to say something as blasphemous  and going against Jewish ideas of monotheism, of One God. How can a Jew have pagan beliefs is very problematic. We see there are similarities of Christianity and Hinduism as having somewhat pagan rituals. So this influence of paganism in Christianity is inconceivable considering he was Jewish.

So in the areas of research about holy scriptures, we now have a lot more information than in the days of Ahmad Deedat. We have a better understanding of ancient architecture at that time. We also know the available manusrcripts at that time.

For example, the Quran talks about specific events of Isa A.S. The Quranic answer is most plausible where Jesus defended his mother, Maryam in the cradle as a baby. If Maryam did someting wrong as in Bible, she would have been inflicted with harsh Jewish punishment. So why was Maryam not stoned to death? This is impossible since she was born and raised in a temple, within the confines of a religious institution and a society with a strict religious law. She could not have escaped. She would have gotten severe punishment from the religious authorities. Only the Quran gives a plausible answer.

Also, the latest research shows that Jesus’s disciples – the 12 disciples – are shown as being members of his own family – so surely they look similar to Jesus himself. This is even more so since they all have beards. So when they thought they caught Jesus, it sheds light to other possibiliities than what we have always thought. Jesus belonged to the royalty said to be from the descendant of David.

What we are saying here is that we need a new Ahmad Deedat. Not one, but many! Zakir Naik has filled his shoes to some degree. But we really need someone at the level of Ahmad Deedat and Zakir Naik specifically in USA because a lot of conversion to Christianity is going on amongst the youth. In fact many new Muslims left Islam and went back to Christianity. Another importance of having a new Ahmad Deedat in America is the fact that scholars from America have a large effect on the whole world.

Wallahua’lam.

Farahi was born in Phreha (hence the name “Farahi”), a village in the district of Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh, India). He belonged to a distinguished family, and was a maternal cousin of the famous theologian-historian Allama Shibli Nomani (1858-1914).

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).

From Wikipedia:

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.
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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

This man is such a uniquely “Quranic” thinker among the Malays. I admire the tafsir maudhuiy approach very much. As I’ve lately distanced myself a bit from ivory tower intellectuals, I find Siddiq Fadzil as an ideal public intellectual, astounding statesman and orator. Of course there is always something to disagree with almost any scholar, I really admire the leadership of Siddiq Fadzil.

See some quotes and works by him here on this site - http://drsiddiqfadzil.blogspot.com/

“While we have simple internet students who can rattle off the latest attacks on al-Junaid, we are impoverished when it comes to finding one who can write a book of creed that deals with the problems of our youth in the West. Thus, he is equipped to save the 7th century Muslims from the Hashwiyah, but defenseless to answer the attacks of Dawkins, Crone and the cult of materialism in his own time.” (–Sh. Suhaib Webb)