Hamiduddin Farahi

Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. The modernist Farahi school is named after him.

He was instrumental in producing scholarly work on the theory 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. He also started writing his own exegesis, or tafsir of the Quran which was left incomplete on his death in 1930. The muqaddimah, or introduction to this is an important work on the theory of Nazm-ul-Quran. He was the son of Abdul Kareem Sheikh and Muqeema Bibi, and the brother of Rasheeduddin Sheikh. He was a cousin of the famous theologian and historian Shibli Nomani, from whom he learned Arabic. He was taught Persian from Maulvi Mehdi Husain of Chitara (Azamgarh). He travelled to Lahore to study Arabic literature from Faizul Hasan Saharaupuri, who was considered a master at that time in this field. At the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to the Aligarh Muslim University to study the modern disciplines of knowledge. He was recommended by Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University. Sir Syed wrote that he was sending someone who knew more Arabic and Persian than the professors of the college. While studying at the college, Farahi translated parts of At-Tabaqat-ul-Kubra of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (784 – 845 AD) into Persian. The translation was later included in the college syllabus. Farahi eventually graduated from MAO College.

Shibli Nomani wrote, "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."

Sulaiman Nadvi wrote, " ... The Ibn Taymiyya 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 prodigious intellect ... It is a matter of great sorrow that such a brilliant personality graced the world and then perished, but the world could not recognise its grandeur ... "

Manazir Ahsan Gilani wrote, " ... 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 (i.e. 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."

Abdul Majid Daryabadi wrote, "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."

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: Majmua' Tafseer-e-Farahi (Collection of Tafsir-e-Farahi) ‘في من هو الذبيح’ (Fi man huwa al-Dhabih: Which of Abraham's son was Sacrificed?)

Death and legacy Hamiduddin Farahi died on 11 November 1930 at Mathura, UP, British India at age 66.