Hundred Great Muslims, By Khwaja Jamil Ahmad

572 Pages·2010·21.5 MB·English

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LIBRARY OF ISLAM
P.o. Box 1923, Des Plaines, IL 60017-1923 (U.S.A.)
First published 1987 by Library of Islam
P.O. Box 1923

DesPlaines, IL 60017-1923 (U.S.A.)

Copyright © 1987 Library of Islam
All rights reserved. No part of this pUblication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, Including photocopy, recording or any information
retrlllVal system without permission in writing from the publisher.
DISTRIBUTOR:
'Kazi Publications Inc.
3023West:BeImont Avenue
.eni~, IL60618 (U.S.A.)
AUTHOR:
Ahmad, Kh. Jamil
HUNDRED GREAT MUSLIMS
ISBN: 0-933511·16-7
TYPESETTING & COVER DESIGN:
A-1 Typesetting, Chicago
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DEDICATION
To His Majesty Shah Faisal Shaheed
The most conscientious and courageous, sagacious and respected
Muslim ruler since the time ofSalahuddin the Great- one who was
a symbol of Muslim unity and solidarity, piety and strength
during the present century.
CONTENTS
Page
IX

Foreword by L. F. Rushbrook Williams

Preface to First Edition
xii

I. Muhammad (PBUH), the Prophet of Islam 3

II. Great Leaders :
1. Abu Bakr 12

2. Umar the Great 19

3. Usman 34

4. Ali (The Lion Hearted) 40

5. Abuzar Ghaffari 48

6. Imam Hussain 53

7. Umar bin Abdul Aziz 57

III. Great Women:
1. Khadija tal-Kubra 67

2. Aisha Siddiqa 69

3. Fatima az-Zahra 72

4. Rabia Basri 76

IV. Religious Teachers, Legists and Traditionists :
1. Imam Jafar Sadiq 81

2. Imam Abu Hanifa 84

3. Imam Malik 92

4. Imam Shafii 96

5. Imam Hanbal 99

6. Imam Bukhari 102

7. Imam Muslim 105

8. Imam Ghazali 10C)

9. Imam ibn Taimiya 113

v
vi
Contents
V. Sufis and Saints: Page
1. Abdul Qadir Jilani 119
2. Bayazid Bustarni 123
3. Data Ganj Bakhsh 125
4. Khawaja Mueenuddin Chishti 128
5. Ibrahim bin Adham 132
6. Nizamuddin Aulia 135
VI. Thinkers and Scientists:
1. Muhammad bin Musa Al-Khawarizmi 141
2. Jabir ibn Hayyan 145
3. Abu Ishaq Kindi 149
4. Zakrriya al-Razi 152
5. Abu Ali Sina 157
6. Al-Biruni 163
7. Ibn al-Haitham 166
8. Ibn al-Baitar 170
9. Ibn Rushd 174
10. Al-Mawardi 180
11. Nasir al-Din Toosi 183
12. Abul Qasim al-Zahrawi 188
13. Sir Shah Muhammad Sulaiman 191
VB. Poets and Writers :
1. Mutanabbi 197
2. Firdausi 200
3. Sa'adi 206
4. Hafiz Shirazi 212
5. Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi 218
6. Vmar Khayyam 223
7. Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib 229
8. Maulana Altaf Husain Hali 234
9. Maulana Shibli Nomani 237
10. Iqbal 241
11. Maulvi Abdul Haq 252
12. Syed Sulaiman Nadvi 256
VIII. Artists and Musicians:
1. Abu Nasr Farabi 263
2. Amir Khusrou 268
3. Mian Tansen 274
4. Sinan 277
Contents VII
Page
5. Behzad 279
6. Ibn al-Bawwab 282
7. Bundoo Khan 284
IX. Refonners, Revolutionaries and Patriots:
1. TheSaint ofSirhind 291
2. ShahWaliullah 297
3. Shaikh Abd al-Wahhab 304
4. Syed Ahmad Barelvi 307
5. Jamaluddin Afghani 313
6. SyedAhmadKhan 319
7. Mustafa Kamal 326
8. Maulana Muhammad Ali 333
9. Maulana HasratMohani 339
10. Muhammad Ali Jinnah 345
X. Rulers,Statesmenand Administrators:
1. Waleed-The Umayyad Caliph 359
2. Haroon-ar-Rashid 362
3. Yahya Barrnaki 367
4. Mamoon-ar-Rashld 370
5. Abdur Rahman al-Nasir 379
6. Nizamul Mulk Toosi 384
7. Sultan Mahmood of Ghazni 387
8. Zahiruddin Babur 391
9. Sher ShahSuri 395
10. Sulaiman the Magnificent 401
11. Aurangzeb Alamgir 405
12. Tipu Sultan 412
13. Malik Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud 420
14. Malik Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz 424
XI. Soldiers,Generals and Conquerors:
1. Sa'ad ibn Wakkas 431
2. Khalid bin Waleed 434
3. Musa ibn Nusair 443
4. Tariq ibn Ziyad 446
5. Muhammad bin Qasim 449
6. Sultan Bayazid Yildirim 452
7. Tirnur,the World Conqueror 457
8. Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi 465
viii
Contents
Page
9. Muhammad II, The Conqueror, (Seventh Ruler of the 471
Ottoman dynasty.)
10. Yusuf ibn Tashfin 475
11. Khairuddin Barbarossa 479
12. Ahmad Shan Abdali 481
XII. Historians, Geographers and Explorers:
I. Tabari 489
2. Al-Masudi 492
3:
Ibn Khaldun 496
4. Ibn Batuta 500
S. Sulaiman al-Mahiri 507
Index 513
FOREWORD
Khwaja J amil Ahmad is well known inPakistan as a journalist with long
and varied experience of newspaper work, broadcasting and feature
articles. He is also a good scholar, trained in my University of Allahabad,
and a pupil of the savants like Dr. Ishwari Prasad and Dr. Tripathi whom,
in their early years I was privileged to recruit to work in the Department of
Mughal Studies which I founded. I have known Mr. Jamil Ahmad for many
yearsthroughhiswritings;andit waswithgreatpleasurethatIwasableto
make his personal acquaintance while he was in Government service as
Information Officer. During more than one of my visits to Pakistan as a
government guest, he acted as my Conducting Officer, and helped me in a
number of ways.
I was, therefore, veryinterested to learnthathe has now written a book on
Hundred Great Muslims, and that he is embodying in this book, among
other pieces, some of his admirable biographical studies of prominent
Muslim poets, philosophers, scientists, scholastics, statesmen, warriors
and explorers.Oneoftheremarkablefeatures oftheGreatMen whom Islam
has given birth to is the wide range of their genius. History can show many
examples of warriors who have also been distinguished men of letters, of
statesmenwho havebeenexcellentpoets, andofscholarswho haverisento
the positions of great power and responsibility.
Nearly a generation ago, I edited a book entitled Great Men of India, in
which I naturally included studies, each written by a distinguished
specialist, of a number of prominent Muslims from Mughal timesto ourown
day. This book has long been out of print, although I still receive letters
asking from where copies can be obtained. Thus I am quite sure that there
will be a steady demand of the book which Mr. Jamil Ahmad has written,
angled as it is from the stand-point of a patriotic Pakistani, proud of his
country's great tradition of Muslim culture. I have read a number of the
individual biographies which will be included in this book, and am
impressed with their excellence. I feel confident that the book will appealto
many readers both in Pakistan and outside.
SILCHESTER
September 26, 1967. L.F. RUSHBROOK WILLIAMS
IX
PREFACE
Muhammad (PBUH) the Prophet of Islam and the greatest benefactor of
mankind, had accomplished not only an impossible task of uniting the savage
and warring Arabs tribes but also gave birth to a society which created the
greatest revolution in the annals of mankind-a revolution which embraced all
spheres of human activity. In less than thirty years, after the death of the
Prophet, the Arabs swept over two of the mightiest empires of those times­
Persians and Romans-and later became pioneers in the realm of art and learning.
The memorable words of the Holy Prophet of Islam, "Seek knowledge
even unto the distant China," awakened a love of learning and a spirit of enquiry
among the Muslims which hitherto lay dormant in them. They were responsible
for reviving not only the dead Greek and Indian learnings but also made lasting
contributions to almost all branches of sciences and arts and thus provided the
necessary link between the ancient and modern civilizations. The light of learn­
ing which illuminated Cordova, the seat of Arab culture in Spain, at last dispelled
the gloom that had enveloped the Mediaeval Europe, giving birth to Western
Renaissance.
The Arabs, being practical people, had employed both observation and
experiment in their pursuits of science-an advance over the Greek scientists
who confined themselves to observation only. Their efforts in the realm of
science were, therefore, crowned with greater success.
The invention of the Mariners Compass enabled the sea-faring Arab
mariners to explore the distant seas. The latest research by the celebrated
South African anthropologist, Dr. Jefferys, has credited the Arabs with the
discovery of the New World-America-five centuries ahead of Columbus.
The teachings of the Holy Prophet of Islam had given birth to an ideal
society, composed of a group of selfless people, who for thirty years success­
fOlly experimented in true democracy in the world-based on equality, fraternity
and justice-which has no parallel in the annals of mankind. In that ideal demo­
cracy, there was no material distinction between the Caliph and an ordinary
citizen.
Xl
xu Preface
Some of the most outstanding and charming personalities of Islam come
from among the Companions of the Prophet, who lived during this period of
ideal democracy. It is very difficult to make a selection from this group of
selfless devotees to Islam, who staked their all for the glory of their New Faith.
But, the scope of the book demanded a larger canvas for selection which
was provided by the outstanding scientists and scholars, historians and explorers,
artists and writers, statesmen and rulers, revolutionaries and reformers of later
Islam.
The inspiration to write this book I got from One Hundred Great Lives
published by the Home Library of the Times of India Press, Bombay, in the
early thirties of the present century. HundredGreatMuslims has been modelled
on the same lines and has been divided into 12 biographical categories.
The Editors and the Publishers of the OneHundred GreatLives have done
great mjustice to the Muslims by including only two biographies of the sons of
Islam-Muhammad (PBUH) the Prophet of Islam and Kamal Ataturk. It is
strange that some of the greatest conquerors of the world like Timur, Khalid,
Tariq and Salahuddin Ayyubi; great rulers like Harun, Mamun, Sulaiman, the
Magnificent and Abdur Rahman al-Nasir; great scientists and scholars like Ibn
Khaldun, ibn Sina, Baroni, Razi and Khwarizmi; great historians and explorers
like Tabari, Masudi, Ibn Batuta and Sulaiman al-Mahiri; great writers and poets
like Hafiz, Saadi, Firdausi, Omar Khayyam and Iqbal did not find a place in this
book.
It is only to counter this utter injustice to the sons of Islam that I decided
to write this book. There is another reason as well.
The ignorance of our educated class towards the achievements of their
ancestors in different spheres of human activity, especially in the realm of
sciences and arts impelled me to raise the curtain which hung over the glorious
achievements of the sons of Islam.
The Western education is responsible for creating an inferiority complex
among our educated classes who link the entire development of sciences and
arts to the West. They are much familiar with Western Scientists like Newton
and Stephenson, Harvey and Masconi but not with greater Muslimscientists like
Khwarizmi and Ibn Sina, Baruni and Ibn Nafis. But, modern research, including
some outspoken admissions by Western orientalists have brought out the truth
about the achievements of Muslim scholars and scientists during the mediaeval
times. These orientalists are Robert BritTault, John Draper, Phillip K. Hitti,
George Sarton, Max Meyerhof, H. G. Farmer and Carra De Vaux.
Efforts have been made to provide documentary evidence for the achieve­
ments of the sons of Islam from the writings of Western orientalists, in order
to save the author from a possible charge of partisanship towards Islam.