Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi
- Died
- 1420 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi (1333–1420 AH / 1914–1999 CE) was an Indian Muslim scholar, author, and Islamic thinker, widely recognized for his historical and civilizational treatise Maza Khasir al-Alam bi-Inhitat al-Muslimin ("What Did the World Lose by the Decline of Muslims?") .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Ali Abu al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Hayy ibn Fakhr al-Din al-Hasani . His lineage traces back to Abd Allah al-Ashtar ibn Muhammad Dhu al-Nafs al-Zakiyya ibn Abd Allah al-Mahd ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib; one of his ancestors, Amir Qutb al-Din Muhammad al-Madani (d. 677 AH), migrated to India in the early seventh century AH . His father was the Indian historian and scholar Abd al-Hayy al-Hasani (d. 1341 AH / 1923 CE), author of Nuzhat al-Khawatir, and his mother was an author and poet who memorized the Quran .
Al-Nadwi was born in the village of Takiyya (also vocalized as Takiyya Kalan), in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, India, on 6 Muharram 1333 AH (1914 CE), though another report dates his birth to 1332 AH (1913 CE) . His father died when he was under ten years old, after which his upbringing was overseen by his mother and his elder brother, Dr. Abd al-Ali al-Hasani .
Education and Teachers
He began learning the Quran at home with his mother, then learned the basics of Urdu and Persian . In late 1924, he began studying Arabic under Khalil ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al-Yamani, and also studied Arabic language and literature with his uncles Aziz al-Rahman and Muhammad Talha . He further specialized in Arabic under Taqi al-Din al-Hilali when the latter arrived at Nadwat al-Ulama in 1930 . He enrolled at Lucknow University in 1927 as its youngest student, earning a licentiate in Arabic literature, and between 1928 and 1930 studied English, allowing him direct access to Western historical and intellectual literature .
In 1929, he joined Dar al-Ulum Nadwat al-Ulama, where he studied hadith—including the two Sahihs, Sunan Abi Dawud, and Sunan al-Tirmidhi—as well as parts of Tafsir al-Baydawi, over two full years under Haydar Hasan Khan al-Tonki, and read fiqh under Shibli al-Jayrajpuri al-A'zami . In 1351 AH (1932 CE), he traveled to Lahore and completed the entire Quran in tafsir under Ahmad Ali al-Lahori, and he attended hadith and Quranic commentary lectures by Husayn Ahmad al-Madani at Dar al-Ulum Deoband .
Public Career and Institutional Leadership
In 1934, al-Nadwi was appointed as a teacher of Quranic exegesis and Arabic literature at Dar al-Ulum Nadwat al-Ulama . In 1938, his first Urdu book, Sirat Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, appeared and achieved wide reception . A formative turn in his missionary work occurred during an exploratory journey in 1939 across religious centers in India, where he met the spiritual mentor Abd al-Qadir al-Raipuri, from whom he received spiritual training, and the reformer Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi, whose methodology of grassroots preaching he adopted through successive reform journeys across India and abroad .
He founded a center for Islamic instruction in 1943, launched the Risalat al-Insaniyya ("Message of Humanity") movement in 1951, and established the Academy of Islamic Research and Publications (al-Majma' al-Islami al-Ilmi) in Lucknow in 1959 . He also co-founded the Religious Education Board for Uttar Pradesh in 1960, the All-India Muslim Consultative Majlis in 1964, and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in 1972 .
Within Nadwat al-Ulama, he was chosen as a member of the administrative council in 1948, became deputy director of educational affairs in 1951 upon the nomination of Sulayman al-Nadwi, succeeded him as director in 1954, and became secretary-general (amin 'amm) of Nadwat al-Ulama in 1961 following the death of his brother, Dr. Abd al-Ali al-Hasani, holding the post until his death . Internationally, he was a member of the Constituent Council of the Muslim World League in Mecca, president of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and president of the World League of Islamic Literature (Rabitat al-Adab al-Islami al-Alamiya) in Riyadh . Among his later published studies was al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, an educational and historical presentation of the Prophetic biography .
Standing and Recognition
Al-Nadwi was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam, as well as the First Class Medal of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) .
Scholars praised his literary eloquence and spiritual focus; Muhammad al-Ghazali noted that al-Nadwi's writings brought a new spirit and language to Islamic discourse, highlighting how he drew attention to pivotal historical lessons such as the address of Rib'i ibn Amir to the Persian general Rustam . Following his passing, Yusuf al-Qaradawi described him as a distinct scholar who combined the qualities of a godly teacher (rabbani), devotion to the Quran, and emulation of the Prophetic model .
Death
Al-Nadwi died following a sudden heart attack on Friday, 23 Ramadan 1420 AH (31 December 1999 CE), at the age of eighty-six, during spiritual retreat (i'tikaf) at the mosque of his home village of Takiyya in the Rae Bareli district . He was buried that evening in his family's cemetery in the village . Funeral prayers in absentia were performed across the Muslim world, including by approximately five million worshippers at the Two Holy Mosques on 27 Ramadan .
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List of Works
Riddah wa la Abu Bakr laha (Apostasy with No Abu Bakr for It) is a treatise addressing modern intellectual secularization, philosophical materialism, and religious apathy in the Muslim world.
Al-Sira al-Nabawiya (The Prophetic Biography) is a modern biographical study of the Prophet Muhammad, presenting his life through a scholarly, faith-based, and educational approach grounded in early historical sources.
Urid an Atahaddath ila al-Ikhwan ("I Wish to Speak to the Brethren") is an advisory treatise addressed to members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Ila al-Islam min Jadid (To Islam Anew) is a collection of lectures, essays, and treatises calling for the spiritual reawakening of Muslims and their return to the comprehensive message and global mission of Islam.
Maza Khasir al-Alam bi-Inhitat al-Muslimin (What Did the World Lose by the Decline of Muslims?) is a historical and civilizational treatise analyzing the global consequences of the rise and subsequent decline of Islamic civilization.
al-Islam wal-Hukm (Islam and Governance) is a political and theological treatise examining the relationship between Islamic missionary calling (da'wah), political authority, and the methodology of prophetic reform. First published in 1398 AH / 1978 CE, the work argues that governance in Islam is a natural consequence of sincere faith and moral cultivation rather than the primary objective of prophetic mission, presenting comprehensive spiritual and educational renewal as the proper path forward.