Preface to the second edition

[ 115
proceeded to Moscow after the Russian Revolution. After spending many years there and studying the working of the Communist Revolution he moved to Turkey and later to Mecca, and returned to India only in March 1939. He was warmly welcomed by the admirers of Maulana Mahmud-ul-Hasan, but he had had an opportunity to study political movements in far-off countries and although he made Shah Wali Ullah’s writings the basis of his teachings, he introduced many things which appeared strange to stay-at-home ulama. His views, therefore, did not command orthodox support, but he remained busy in spite of his old age in propagating his philosophy and programme. He passed away a few years after his return and is buried in a village near Bahawalpur.
Till 1947, at least, political traditions of Deoband differed from those of Aligarh. This led to controversies, but perhaps it is fair to say that the establishment of a central institution catering to the requirements of religious education for the Muslim community all over the subcontinent had, within certain limitations, a unifying effect. During the Pakistan movement the majority of the teachers and the students at Deoband kept aloof from the struggle or even opposed it, but a sizable number under the leadership of sagacious and saintly Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmam took active part in the struggle and helped the Quaid-i-Azam.
Brehi Sect
It is claimed on behalf of Deoband that it follows the path shown by Shah Wali Ullah, and his maintaining the traditions which originally came in vogue at Madrasah-i-Rahimiya of Delhi. Deoband has absorbed some features of modern educational organisation, but largely it is true that it maintains the traditions of Shah Wali Ullah. The ”chain” of the students of all important teachers of the institution reaches Shah Sahib and study of Hadith occupies the same place of pride at Deoband as it did at the earlier Madrasah at Delhi. Emphasis on the spiritual side, and an attempt to incorporate best traditions of all Sufi orders and similar catholic approach to Islamic Law as characterises Shah Wali Ullah’s school of thought are visible here. It seems to be forgotten, however, that subtle but significant differences

116] Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan existed even between members of Shah Sahib’s family and exist among many who claim to betong to his school of thought. Shah Abdul Aziz, who perhaps more than anybody else was responsible for the general acceptance of Shah Wali Lilian’s views and methods, was less venturesome than his father in intellectual sphere. Shah Ismail Shaheed, on the other hand, was far more radical and occasionally overlooked the basic principle of Shah Wali Ullah that a reformer, to be effective, must not cut himself away from the group which he wishes to reform. In his eagerness to emphasise the majesty of Godhead, and underline the humanity of the Prophet, Shah Ismail Shaheed occasionally used language which hurt the susceptibilities of many Muslims. Whether Shah Ismail Shaheed came under Wahabi influence at Mecca is a moot point, but there are others who claim to follow Shah Wali Ullah’s line of approach but have been positively influenced by Wahabi writings. The fact that many things are common between the reforms which Shah Wali Ullah and the Wahabi teachers urged, naturally leads to confusion. This has been made worse by publication of works which are not Shah Wali Ullah’s and represent purely Wahabi point of view but have been wrongly attributed to Shah Sahib. The distinction between the two schools of thought has not always been maintained at Deoband, and even some of its best-known teachers have urged a point of view which is more akin to that of the Wahabi teachers or Shah Ismail Shaheed than that of Shah Wali Ullah and Shah Abdul Aziz. In fact, some enthusiasts like Maulana Rashid Ahmed Gangohi have contrasted Shah Ismail Shaheed and Shah Abdul Aziz and positively preferred the former. This attitude has contributed not a little to Deobandi-Brelvi controversy, which has occasionally led to serious situations in parts of the former Punjab.

The Brelvis follow Maulvi Ahmed Raza Khan who was born in 1855 in Bans Bareli of Rohilkhand Division. They stand for old traditional Islam and enthusiastically defend Sufi and religious practices to which Wahabis and some Deobandis take exception. Maulvi Ahmed Raza Khan wrote some fifty pamphlets on controversial subjects. He criticised not only Shah Ismail Shaheed and’the Wahabis but even Shah Wali Ullah. Some recent Brelvi writers, however, draw a distinction between Shah Ismail Shaheed
The Religious Groups
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t
and Shah Wali Ullah. Maulvi Ahmed Raza Khan was critical of Aligarh movement but his group has not been generally antiBritish on the lines of Deoband. Owing to the absence of a major Madrasah like that of Deoband the influence of the Brelvi group among the educated classes has not been very considerable but it is popular among the masses, and in West Pakistan, especially in south-western parts of the Punjab, its hold is strong.
Sufi Orders
The Brelvi school believes in the homage to saints and organisations of some Sufi orders and the Brelvi organisations like Hizb-ul-Ahnaf occasionally merge. Generally, the Sufi orders %vork through personal contact between the Pir and the disciple or in small groups, but occasionally organisations on a bigger scale have also been attempted. In particular efforts made by Khwaja Hasan Nizami who belonged to the family of a famous saint of Delhi deserve to be mentioned. In 1908 he tried his hand at a countrywide organisation of the Pirs of all spiritual orders collected under ”Halqa-i-Nizam-ul-Mashshaikh” and in July 1909 brought out a journal, Ni:am-ul-Mashshaikh, to propagate the objects of the Halqa. Owing as much to individualistic approach of the Pirs as of their mutual differences, his attempts did not succeed. The magazine was, however, popular and useful, mainly owing to the literary skill of its promoter and of Mulla Wahidi, its editor. It continued in existence for more than thirty years. Pirs in predominantly Muslim areas have rarely adopted or patronised such modern methods, but there are exceptions. For many years a magazine entitled Sufi was issued from a small town in the Punjab, and was patronised by a local saint. Sufi journals generally use simple language and have a broad, humanitarian approach.
Nadva-tuI-UIama of Luck now
This institution came into existence in 1894 as a result of the efforts of some religious-minded Government officials, ulama and Sufis, who wished to bring the ulama together and remove sectarian differences. Syed Ahmed Khan was somewhat sceptical of the

118 J Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan

organisation’s success but welcomed the move. The main work of the organisation was the establishment of a Dar-ul-UIoom at Lucknow which has had an interesting, if somewhat chequered, history. For some time Shibli Nomani, for many years Syed’s co-worker and later a critic, was associated with the institution. Under his influence it gained in importance but in 1914 he was forced to resign. It has a magnificent building constructed with a grant from Bahawalpur State. It never gained the popularity and importance which Deoband has in religious circles, but it has developed its own characteristics. The tradition of training in literary craftsmanship and style of modern Arabic which Shibli introduced is maintained in some degree and the ”Academy of Authors” (Dar-ul-Musannifin) at Azamgarh manned by the former students of Nadva may almost be called its by-product. We shall deal with these institutions more fully in the next chapter, relating to Maulana Shibli Nomani.
Notes
1. K.M. Pannikar, A Survey of Indian History, p. 283.
2. W.C. Smith, Modern Islam in India, p. 320.
3. Haji Nazir Ahmed, Tazkira-tul-Abidin, Delhi, 1333 H., pp.68-9.

(p. 119) SHAMS-UL-ULAMA ALLAMA SHIBLI NOMANI
Chapter 8
SHIBLI (1857-1914)
ALL the four major figures, whose careers have been described in the preceding pages, were connected, in one way or another, with Aligarh. One of them (Hall) spent very little time at Aligarh ; another (Viqar-ul-Mulk) introduced many changes, which his two predecessors in office would, in all probability, have resisted. Still they were all leaders of the Aligarh movement. They all believed in the value of this movement for raising their community from low political, economic and intellectual level to which it had fallen and devoted their lives to the accomplishment of this object.
The man of genius whose activities form the subject-matter of this chapter was also connected with Aligarh, but some of the results of his efforts were quite different from those achieved by the other four. Perhaps his most dramatic contribution to the making of modern Muslim India is not in the strengthening of the Aligarh movement but in undermining it. After his education, he spent sixteen years on the staff of Aligarh College; the remaining sixteen were spent partly at Hyderabad and partly in attempting to build up a rival and almost a hostile organisation.
Shibli was born in the year of the Indian Revolt, at a village near Azamgarh. His father was a prominent member of the local bar, a big zamindar and an industrialist. The promising child received the best education available in the old Islamic Madrasahs, and was deeply influenced by Maulana Muhammad Faruq, a celebrated scholar, who was stoutly opposed to the new movement of Syed Ahmed, and had written a poem in opposition to the famous Musaddas of Half. His father, however, had by now come under the spell of Syed Ahmed, and not only did he give high modern

120 J
Modern Muslim India and the Bink of Pakistan

... ^j * untJlltrl
education to his other children-one of whom was sent to England for higher studies-but it was suggested to Shibli that he, too, might make up his deficiencies by acquiring a knowledge of English. This he disdainfully refused, and, with the highest attainments in Islamic sciences, had to spend some very unhappy years, trying unsuccessfully to obtain petty jobs in Government offices.
Ultimately, in 1883, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Arabic at the Aligarh College. He impressed Syed Ahmed favourably. He was keen, well-read and ambitious, and the old man took very kindly to him. He gave him a cottage in the compound of his own bungalow, placed his library, which at that time had probably the richest collection in India, of printed books on Islamic subjects, at his disposal and had him for meals almost -every day. He made full use of the opportunities available at Aligarh College, participated enthusiastically in its manifold activities and became one of Syed Ahmed’s principal helpmates. He had received traditional education under renowned teachers and had shown promise as a poet and writer, but hitherto his efforts had been confined to sectarian polemics. Syed Ahmed’s rich collection of Arabic works published in Europe and Egypt (and virtually unknown in India) opened new vistas before him. At Aligarh he found not only written treasures of learning, but also scholars with whom he could usefully discuss matters of common interest and learn what advances had been made in the West in the technique of historiography and kindred subjects. In this, he owed much to(Sir Thomas) Arnold, who joined Aligarh College a few years later and, among other things, taught French to Shibli, but the process had started much earlier-with Syed Ahmed Khan.
The first fruit of Shibli’s acquisition of new learning and reorientation of his attitude was a long and scholarly paper which he read before the Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1887. It was entitled ”Mussalmanon ki Guzashta Talim” but was really a masterly study of Muslim contribution to knowledge.
About the same time Shibli undertook a more ambitious programme. In those days series like ”Heroes of the Nations” were popular in England. Possibly inspired by these, Shibli prepared a plan relating to the ”Heroes of Islam”. The first book of the series was Al-Mamun, a biography of Mamun-ul-Rashid, which was
Shibli
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I
•published in 1887. Originally, Shibli proposed to confine himself
to prominent Muslim rulers-the series was called Silsilah-i-FarmanRawayan-i-Islam-in Urdu-and the detailed plan given in the introduction to Al-Mamun lists only ten prominent rulers, whose biographies were proposed to be written. Soon the plan was revised so as to include the ”heroes” in various branches of Islamic learning. The second book of the series was a biography of Imam Abu Hanifa, published in 1893. The third, which came out in the year in which Shibli left Aligarh, was his masterpiece, Al-Faruq. The original plan was too ambitious to be fully implemented, but Shibli, later, wrote two other biographies-lives of Imam Ghazah
and Maulana Rumi.
From time to time Shibli was also writing his learned articles or essays. Some were written to refute Western allegations against Islam and Muslims, e.g. Al-Jizyah and Kutub Khana-i-Sikandriya. Perhaps the most scholarly of these papers was Tarajum (”The Translations”), which could have been very well called ”Muslims and Sciences of Other People,” as it gave a fairly full account of the steps taken by the Muslims in the heyday of their glory, to incorporate into Arabic the fruits of the learning of Greece, Iran,
India, etc.
These and other historical writings, ’:ke Shi’r-ul-’Ajam, ’Ilmul-Kalam and Al-Kalam, greatly enriched Urdu literature. They provided first-rate reading material on different facets and personalities of Islamic history. They also introduced into Urdu techniques and method of Western historiography. One has only to read Shibli’s introductions to Al-Mamun and Al-Faruq to realise how much he valued the advance which the modern historians of the West had made over earlier writers-Muslims and others-and which he incorporated in his works. In the introduction to Al-Mamun he says, ”I openly admit that in the present age the art of historiography has reached such a high level of advancement and the critical subtlety of Europe has made such profound additions to its principles and details that the old writings have become totally inadequate for our purpose.” He reiterated the same view, eleven years later, in the introduction to Al~Faruq. After naming some old classics of Arab historiography, he says, ”The truth i? that considering the progres which the arts

•122 ] Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan

of historiography and biography have made at the present time, even those priceless treasures are not of much use.”
Gibbon was the first major European historian to whose works Shibli had access. A few months after joining the staff of Aligarh College, he records in an Urdu letter his unbounded joy over discovering the wealth of new learning he found in Syed Ahmed’s library. He refers, in general, to ”some Arabic books on history and geography” which were printed in Europe and were ”unknown to many big people, to say nothing of me,” but singles out Gibbon for specific reference : ”Mr Gibbon’s history which Syed [Ahmed Khan] Sahib has got translated (into Urdu) at an expense of Rs. 600 is being studied by me.”
Gibbon, the greatest of the English historians, had dealt at length and, for a European writer of these days, comparatively fairly with certain episodes of Muslim history. As Shibli noticed, he was the first to differ from many European (and Muslim) historians who had held Hazrat Umar responsible for the destruction of the great library of Alexandria. Like Shibli he was also a stylist and his grasp of his subject was broad and highly intelligent. It js hardly surprising that he fascinated Shibli, who quotes him with approval in his first book, Al-Mamun, and has other favourable •references elsewhere. No documentary confirmation is available, but Shibli’s daily routine-uninterrupted writing in the morning -and relaxation and social company in the afternoon-so closely resembles Gibbon’s schedule as described in his Autobiography, that this may not be a mere coincidence, and may have been •consciously modelled on the English historian’s sensible method of work.
Gibbon’s history was available to Shibli in Urdu, but even otherwise he found means-through contacts with the Professor of History at Aligarh College?-to keep in touch with the progress of historiography in the West, and in his books one comes across names with which the present Urdu writers-and many teachers of history .’-are not acquainted. For example, Ranke was a German historian, who revolutionised historical method in the West in the nineteenth century. He laid down the principles for scrutiny and evaluation of the historical material, indicated what should be the attitude of the historian towards his subject and
Shibli
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the personalities dealt with by him, and propounded what would fce the correct style for a scientific historian. He did more than anyone else to make history a science rather than a branch of literature. Shibli was not unacquainted with even this recent historian and in his introduction to Al-Faruq, after remarking that Ranke was the great European historian of the modern times and the pioneer of a new school in historiography, gives a brief resume of Ranke’s views on the historical method.
Apart from acquaintance with the theory and technique of prominent European historians, Shibli took special pains to remain acquainted with the Western writings on his own subject -Islamic history. When he wrote Al-Mamun, he had Palmer’s life of Harun-ul-Rashid before him, and though he differed from some of the latter’s conclusions, a study of his book must have suggested to him some new things, new method of treatment, etc. Later, when he began the writing of Al-Ghazali, he had before him two European works on Imam Ghazali and, as he admits, he made use of one of them.
By adoption of these methods, Shibli enriched Urdu literature and also promoted the objectives of the Aligarh movement, which aimed at raising the intellectual and educational level of Indian Muslims by drawing upon what was beneficial in East and West. But his contribution to national progress was even more significant. In his selection of historical personalities for detailed study and in his treatment of their life and work, he took care to emphasise what was rational, liberal and progressive in Muslim history. Mamun was preferred to the more popular Harun-ulRashid because the former’s reign was the great age of Muslim intellectual activity. In his study of Imam Abu Hanifa, Shibli took great pains to emphasise that out of the four recognised schools of Islamic Law, the Hanafi school is most liberal, and •could best provide a legal basis for a civilised and progressive society. Similar considerations motivated the writing of Al-Faruq -and Al-Ghazali. In fact, if historical writings of Shibli are carefully studied it is seen that, except where he is dealing with Western criticism of Islam and Muslims, he is normally highlighting those periods and personalities of Muslim history which offer guidance and provide inspiration to the present-day

124 ] Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan

Muslims in enabling them to take their proper place in the world of today.
All this was in furtherance of the goals of the Aligarh movement. Shibli did more. In some of his writings he directly dealt with the factors which militated against Muslim progress and wrote things-as about the old system of education and the recent Muslim approach to’the sciences developed’by the non-Muslimswhich could not please the majority of the orthodox u/ama. Some of these have been omitted from, the eight-volume edition of Maqalat-i-Shibli edited by Syed Suleman Nadvi who, with all his learning and dedication, lacked Shibli’s courage and grasp of the true needs of the Muslim community, but have been included in Baqiyat-i-Shibli, recently published from Lahore. Even Maqalat-iShibli contains writings which run counter to the isolationist, selfcomplacent approach which Aligarh movement sought to destroy,1 and which some of Shibli’s successors have popularised.
Shibli did not serve the cause of Aligarh movement merely by propagating its ideals and objectives. For a long time, during his stay at Aligarh, he carried on direct publicity for the college and personages connected with it. He wrote Qasidas when prominent visitors came to Aligarh. He accompanied the delegations which visited Bhopal and Hyderabad to raise funds for the college. In

1887 he wrote a iongpoem, entitled Subh-i-Ummeed(”The Dawn of Hope”) which is the best versified account of the Aligarh movement and contains, perhaps, the warmest tribute ever paid to Syed Ahmed Klu’n.

This happy state of affairs was, however, not permanent. Shibli was extremely proud and sensitive by nature, and the treatment which an Assistant Professor of Oriental Languages receives at a modern college hurt him. He was also not impressed with the intellectual results of modern education. He contrasted the religious devotion to learning, which he and his companions at the old Madrasahs had felt, with the mercenary attitude of the college boys, and began to feel that the system of education which had produced Syed Ahmed, Hali, Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Viqar-ul-Mulk -and Shibli-should not be underrated. He had discussions with Syed Ahmed, and urged that the ideal system of education would be ”a mingling of the old and the new”-really a modified
Shibli
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form of the old system and not the new which was being followed at Aligarh.
In 1894, an organisation of the ulama (Nadva-tul-Ulama) was started, with such a wave of enthusiasm that, to quote Suleman Nadvi, the successor of Shibli, ”many believed that this would lead to the establishment of the Government of the Maulvjs”.2 This seemed to offer to the able and ambitious young man all that he wanted. Shibli felt that by capturing and developing this institution, not only could he try his experiments in education but, as his lifelong friend Abdul Halim Sharar has said, he thought that ”by becoming the head of religious ulama, he would get a status and authority, which was even beyond Syed Ahmed Khan”. He, therefore, took active part in the annual gatherings of the Nadva, and soon after the death of Syed Ahmed, resigned from the Aligarh College in 1898 to devote himself entirely to the new movement.
He, however, had to wait for some years before he could join the central office of the Nadva at Lucknow. At that time the Governor of the ProVince was Sir Antony Macdonell, who seemed to believe that every gathering of more than five self-respecting Muslims was a danger to the public peace, and began to show marked attention to this gathering of the ulama. Officers of the police shadowed the prominent leaders of the organisation, with the result that most of them left British India-some on pilgrimage to Mecca, and others to seek a sanctuary in Indian states. Shibli was also a suspect, and, after consultations with Mohsin-ulMulk, he took asylum in Hyderabad. Here he got a remunerative post, and till Mohsin-ul-Mulk had secured the new Governor’s consent to his return, and he had paid off the debts left by his father, he did not return to the north.
By now Shibli was something of a national figure, on account of his writings on historical, religious and literary subjects, and his association with the Nadva enhanced the importance of the institution. He also worked hard to make it a powerful instrument of service to the community and a means of realisation of his dreams. He was in charge of the Dar-ul-Uloom, that was being maintained by the Nadva, and he introduced many wholesome changes in the curriculum. He knew from bitter experience how essential a knowledge of English was for making headway in this

126 ] Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan

queer world, and he made its study compulsory m the Madrasah. He introduced some other changes in the educational methods, and text-books also-but the most marked feature of his educational method was the special attention which he devoted to a few select students. He took great pains to pick out and train the promising youths, who could carry on his work and spread his message. In particular, he gave them a thorough training in the craft of writing, so that they could establish themselves as authors and succeed him in the intellectual leadership of Muslim India. Two of the young men who received special attention from him were Syed Suleman Nadvi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad-his literary and political successors.
The changes introduced by Shibli at the Nadva did not involve an educational revolution. The students were not even taught history and geography, to say nothing of an adequate study of scientific subjects. Their knowledge of English was also perfunctory. They could not possibly fulfil all the needs of a modern society, but with basic brightening of the intellect, the inculcation of a special attitude towards national problems, and by a thorough training in the techniques of influencing public opinion-through oratory and authorship-they could be expected to realise Shibli’s dream of leading the Indo-Muslim community.
The first clear* indication about what Shibli was really aiming at was given in April 1910 by his young and self-confident colleague, Abul Kalam Azad. He wrote a long article on ”Nadva-tul-Ulama and the Goal of the Indian Muslims” and, after emphasising that the modern education had produced nothing except ”job-hunters,” pointed out that the only hope for the Indian Muslims lay in following the lead of the Nadva-tul-Ulama. In a well-phrased article, which appealed inAl-Nadva, the official organ of the Nadva, he said:
All examinations of the causes of our decline and decay lead to the conclusion that there is nobody to shepherd our confused and dispersed flock. But the group of people which the school at Nadva-tul-Ulama is producing, through its education and training, will bring together and lead this flock which has lost its way. [Translated from Urdu,]
This article roused suspicion amongst some supporters of Aligarh, and one of them replied \vith an article, ”Another Attack
Shibli
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On Aligarh”. A controversy started in the press, but shrewd and tactful Shibli calmed the ruffled waters by saying that the Nadva was not opposed to Aligarh, and had, in fact, received continuous support from Syed Ahmed Khan, Syed Mahmud, Mohsin-ul-Mulk and Viqar-ul-Mulk.
Nearly two years later, on the annulment of the partition of Bengal, Viqar-ul-Mulk wrote his famous article, which marked the beginning of a far-reaching change in the political policy so long associated with Aligarh. About this time, Turkey, which was then the principal Muslim power in the world, was in seriousdifficulties, and as they were attributed to the policy of the British Foreign Minister, Sir Edward Grey, the Indian Muslims were bitter against the British Government. In the new atmosphere, Shibli and Abul Kalam Azad felt that the time had at length come to make a bid for the leadership of Muslim India. Azad started Al-Hilal, with which we shall deal in the next chapter, and Shibli also embarked on a new era of brilliant political writings in prose and in verse.
In some of his poems, he gave expression to the poignant grief at the troubles of Turkey and criticised the Western powers which had started a new ”Crusade” against the Muslims. In others, he used a deft pen to pour ridicule over many things, which had the support of Syed Ahmed Khan and his successors. One of them was the All-India Muslim League, which in 1913 changed its objective to ”Suitable Self-Government for India”. Of course there was nothing new about the qualification which the League leaders wished to impose on the constitution of the self-governing India. Since 1883, the Muslim leadership had urged that the Muslims would get very poor representation under an unmodified system of democratic elections, and had always stood for arrangements specially suited to this subcontinent. But Shibli said that the qualification of ”suitability” was simply a cloak for old loyalist Policy, and wrote many effecti\e poems which are remarkable for a light touch, beautiful phrasing and subtle sarcasm. The same is true of his poems about the proposed university at Aligarh. With their satirical poems and articles, Shibli and Abul Kalam Azad made it impossible for the Aligarh authorities of the day ta establish the university on the lines acceptable to Government,.

)28 ] Modern Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan

and its inauguration had to be postponed for many years.
In all these poems there were veiled and occasionally unveile ’ attacks on the ideals and policy associated with Aligarh. Syed Ahm< Khan and his successors had urged that it was in Muslim interesi to be loyal to the Government in pbwer. Shibli called this a slavis mentality and referred to Aligarh College as ”An Institution fi Tranming in Slavery”. He did not realise, as Viqar-ul-Mulk statet that loyalty to Government was not an ”end” but a ”means” to the welfare of the Muslims-and when Muslim interests requin a change in the policy, Aligarh leaders were the first to advocai it and, as the later events proved, men educated at Aligarh Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali, and Zafar Ali Khan-were in tl vanguard of an anti-British movement.
In his criticism of Aligarh, Shibli was occasionally less thai fair, but in those days of emotional frenzy this did not lessen tb appeal of his poems and articles. They were beautiful, master!’ utterances and went home. It appeared likely that Shibli’s dream o his Nadva replacing Aligarh in the leadership of Muslim Indu was about to be fulfilled, but just when the cup of Shibli’s desires was brimful, it was snatched from his hands. Shibli, by his intellectual powers, ability to plan ahead and ’self-sacrifices, was well qualified for the leadership of Indian Muslims, but he had some personal handicaps also. His religious views were considered heterodox and, in some matters, he behaved in a manner which may not be embarrassing for a poet or an artist, but which did not enhance his reputation as a leader of a religious movement. He was also haughty and touchy and soon his colleagues of Nadva combined to get rid of him. He himself provided the opportunity. In 1913, he took disciplinary action against a colleague of his for writing an article on ”Jehad”. This led to a strong agitation against him, and Shibli, who possibly thought that he would be considered indispensable by the Nadva, tendered his resignation. It was readily accepted, and Shibli’s opponents successfully resisted all attempts he made to stage a come-back.
Shibli died within a year of this, but before he died, this gifted, industrious, restless being had established, at Azamgarh, an Academy of Authors (Dar-ul-Musannifin) which continues to propagate the ideas with which he was associated during his latter
Shibli