Historian, Poet, and Architect of Urdu Literary Criticism

Considered the pivotal ‘Figure of Consequence’ of Urdu language and literature, Shibli Nomani is that self-made personality who kept the flame of oriental art and sciences kindled in the tempestuous storm of western influence. – Aftab Ahmad Siddiqui

Shibli is among the select few who under the guidance and companionship of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan broke free of the stereotypical Maulvi-image and ventured into the preserve of literature. He was the first who precisely put together the history of Islam as it was, in Urdu. He penned a series of insightful books about pivotal personalities in Islam, which included several eminent predecessors. His most famous and noteworthy book is the biography of the second caliph Omar Farooq titled "Al-Farooq". The last in this series of books was "Sirat-un-Nabi", which remained unfinished till his last breath. Later, it was completed and published by his student Syed Sulaiman Nadvi. In addition to these works, Shibli wrote numerous historical and research articles, which gave rise to a general interest in history and historiography. He was also a skilled poet and discerning critic who is considered one of the founders of Urdu criticism. During his stay in Aligarh, Shibli also benefited from Professor Arnold and courtesy him became acquainted with Western civilization and its social etiquette. Shibli acknowledged the finer aspects of the western society and blended it with his oriental values. This convergence made the traditionalists treat him with despise which eventually forced Shibli to leave Nadwa, and later incline himself with west-centric circles without any feeling of mediocrity.

Shibli composed poetry in both Urdu and Persian but with an evidently distinct style. His Persian verse largely includes themes of sensual love and is not much read. In Urdu, he versified communal and political themes. Commenting on his Persian poetry, Hali remarked, “How can someone believe that this is the very same person to have written near-sacred books like Al-Farooq, and the biography of Maulana-e-Rum? This is not Ghazal-poetry, this is firewater infused with an arousing intoxication. Hafiz’s ghazals might be extremely stirring with respect to themes, but when considering novelty of though, these (Shibli’s) ghazals are steamier”.

Shibli was born in Bandwal near Azamgarh in 1857 in a lineage of people of Rajput descent. Shibli was temperamentally close to Imam Abu Hanifa, thus instead of Numan bin Thabit, he began writing Nomani, expressing his chauvinistic Hanafism. His father was among Azamgarh’s famous lawyers, who was also a landlord and a merchant of sugar and indigo. He decided to impart religious education to Shibli. Shibli studied Persian, Arabic, Hadith, Fiqh, and other Islamic sciences from the leading scholars of his time. After graduating, he took a job as Qarq-Amin (bailiff) for a short span and then appeared for the law exam, which he failed, but succeeded the following year. After an unsuccessful stint at advocacy at different places, Shibli got a job as an Arabic and Persian teacher in Sir Syed's College in Aligarh. This is precisely where the plot gets thickened in Shibli’s story. Shibli visited Turkey, Syria, and Egypt while working in Aligarh. As a friend of Sir Syed and a scholar of Arabic and Persian, he had a very prosperous stay in Turkey. On the recommendation of Atiya Faizi's father Hassan Afandi, who had considerable influence in the court of Sultan Abdul Hamid, Shibli was awarded the ‘Tamgha-e-Majidiyah’. On his return, he wrote Al-Mamoon and Sirat-e-Numan. In 1890, Shibli again visited Turkey, Lebanon and Palestine and visited the libraries there. On his return from this journey, he wrote "Al-Farooq". After the death of Sir Syed in 1898, Shibli left Aligarh and returned Azamgarh indulging in the development of his self-founded "National School" (now Shibli College). He then moved to Hyderabad, where during his four-year stay he wrote Al-Ghazali, Ilm-ul-Kalam, Al-Kalam, the biography of Maulana-e-Rum, and Muwazana-e-Anis-o-Dabir. After that he came to Lucknow where he handled the educational affairs of Nadwat Ulema. In the midst of Nadwa's busy schedule, he wrote the now celebrated “She’r-ul-Ajam”. Maulana had two marriages. His first marriage took place at a very early age and his first wife died in 1895. In 1900, at the age of 43, he remarried a very young girl, who died in 1905. In 1907, following an accidental shot of a pistol, he lost one of his legs. It was his dream to bring together great scholars and establish an institution of scientific research and learning called "Dar Al-Musnnafin". Though he had made most of the arrangements for it, but the institution could be inaugurated only after his death. Due to some of Maulana's activities, his opposition in Nadwa had grown. Eventually, he had to part ways with the organization, which he worked so hard to develop. Later, he came to Azamgarh and engaged in school and landlord-ship. Here his health began to decline and he died on November 18, 1914. An extremely pivotal and laborious personality, Shibli had a penchant for perfection, for every task that he undertook he completed it with great care, affection, and diligence. Due to his knowledge and fame, he had access to Muslim and non-Muslim rulers of many states at that time, who helped him in his scholarly and research projects.

Shibli is one of the founders of Urdu criticism. He has expressed his critical views comprehensively in his two magnificent books “She’r-ul-Ajam” and “Muwazana-e-Anis-o-Dabir”. In Muwazana-e-Anis-o-Dabir, Shibli has defined the basic principles of Marsiya (eulogy) as well as eloquence, rhetoric, similes, metaphors and other linguistic devices. In She’r-ul-Ajam, he has attempted to understand the purpose and discover very essence of poetry. He tries to explain the relationship between a word and its meaning, encompassing all genres of classical Urdu poetry. He has also clearly differentiated between the different elements of poetry, historicity and poetry, and narration and poetry. Poetry, he believed, was a matter of taste and conscience, for which there was no comprehensive or contradicting definition. He considers passion and feeling as the real essence of poetry as opposed to perception. Although poetry is impossible without emotions, Shibli claims that establishing a vibrancy in emotions, rather than excitement or bustle, is what poetry is all about. Anything that overcame the heart with emotion, he considered that to be poetry. Thus, Shibli brings to notice a poem's sensory and artistic aspects in his critique, while also stressing the proper use of a word. He posits the word as the body and meaning as its soul and claims that if finer meanings appear in the guise of well-used words, they will turn out to be more potent than ever. The British government conferred the title of Shams-ul-Ulema to Shibli in appreciation of his scholastic contributions. Shibli College and Dar-ul-Musnafin, the institutions he founded, are still actively involved in knowledge and research. Shibli's contribution to the Urdu language is one that can never be overlooked.

Akbar Allahabadi was one of the most forthright poets of the Urdu language. His poems are a true reflection of his time, giving a comprehensive account of all the moral, cultural, political and psychological dispositions of the people living in Northern India. His poetry is a melting pot of revolutionary, classical, innovative, and meticulous creative faculties. Akbar was a revolutionist and a reformer even though he was a traditionalist. He was regarded as a noteworthy poet of his time by commoners and elites alike. According to Shams-ur-Rehman Farooqi, after Mir Taqi Mir, Akbar Allahabadi has used the most Urdu words in his speech. During his time, neither did he confront the Maulvis, nor was he impressed by the graces that came from the West, nor did he care about the British rulers nor did he bring the leaders to mind.

Considering Akbar’s poetry to be merely humorous, is taking an unfair note of not only his poet capabilities but also Urdu poetry as a whole. Be it Ghazal, Rubai, or Qita, there is no poet of the modern times who has left such a beautiful treasure of poetry as Akbar. He brought innovative elements into classical poetry. In one poem, he’d combine different styles and genres. He also tried his hand at blank verse and wrote better independent poems than other poets of his time. In this regard, his poem "Ek Kida" is truly a piece of work. The blend of inclusivity and ingeniousness in his poems is not found in any other Urdu poet except Iqbal. Akbar was the first poet to symbolically use the common words from everyday language like camel, cow, sheikh, mirza, engine etc., and paved the way for symbolic poetry in Urdu. For those who have literary tastes, his words are full of novelty of thought, wit, eloquence, and pithiness. He also laid bare the true faces of politicians. Akbar is the first poet to depict woman, sometimes in the form of Nazneenan-e-Firang and sometimes in the form of a theater actress, in the entirety of her being; completely different from the traditional lovers of Urdu poetry. With respect to satirical literature, he is a paragon of humorous Urdu poetry.

Syed Akbar Hussain Allahabadi was born on November 16, 1846 in Qasba Bara of Allahabad district. His father Tafazzul Hussain was a Naib Tehsildar. Akbar's early education took place at home. At the age of eight or nine, he could read Persian and Arabic textbooks. Then he was admitted to the Mission School. But due to poor financial situation at home, he had to leave school and find a job at the age of fifteen. Akbar worked for a railway contractor for a few days for Rs. 20 per month. During this time, he improved his English skills and passed the bar test in 1867. He worked as a lawyer for three years before becoming a High Court litigator. He gained a thorough understanding of judges, lawyers, and court proceedings during this time. In 1873, he passed the Advocacy Examination for the High Court. He was appointed as a judge in a short period of time.

He was promoted to Subordinate Judge in 1888, and then to Judge of the Court of Appeal in 1889. In 1905, he retired as a Sessions Judge and spent the rest of his life in Allahabad. His second wife passed away not long after he retired. Akbar just couldn't brave the fact that his newborn son, whom he adored, had died in his second wife's womb. He was absolutely broken by the ordeal, and he became a permanent convalescent. Ishrat Hussain, his second son from Fatima Sughra, was taken to London for study. Khadija Khatun, his first wife, lived until 1920 but was never allowed to visit the "Ishrat Manzil." Akbar was given the title of "Khan Bahadur" by the government in 1907, and he was also designated a Fellow of Allahabad University. On September 9, 1921, Akbar passed away.

Akbar is considered to be the master of satire and humor in Urdu poetry, for his humor doesn’t just have an amusement-affect, it has deeper connotations to it. Akbar's keen eyes noticed how quickly the world was changing, as well as the new classes that were emerging. People began to look down on their Indian values as Westernism grew in popularity. In order to devote his poetry to the service of his country and nation, he developed a style in which there is outward mockery and humor but inside counsel and criticism. No one is singled out as the object of Akbar's satire. Everyone believes that satire is directed at someone else and goes on a laugh, but after maturely reflection, one realizes that Akbar was speaking directly to all of us. Akbar has put forth a lot of effort to bring the issue to a raise. He truly has paved the way for poets that followed him. His poetry is much more significant than the finer points and virtues of his craft.

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was born in 1878 in Rampur. His father Abdul Ali Khan was associated with the Rampur court. His father passed away when he turned two and acquired his initial studies under the guidance of his mother. He was schooled in Rampur and Bareily and then graduated with distinction from Aligarh. Pleased with his good performance, his brother, Maulana Shaukat Ali sent him to Oxford for I.C.S. where he chose History and Law as his subjects. On his return in 1899, he worked for states of Rampur and Baroda. After sometime he moved to Kolkata and started a weekly ‘Comrade’. Alongwith English, his mastery over Urdu was also perfect. He started an Urdu daily 'Hamdard’ for public. He expressed his opinions against the British fearlessly and spent a major part of his life in imprisonment for participating in Freedom movement with no impact, however, on his patriotic fervor. In 1919, he started Khilafat Movement in which Indian muslims supported him wholeheartedly, then he participated in Gandhiji’s Non-co-operation Movement. Under the influence of this movement, he founded Jamia along with Gandhiji, which has now become Central University. He was an active member of Congress and was imprisoned for many years for non-co-operation.Upon his release in 1923, he was appointed the President of Congress Party and worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. Anguished by nation’s agony, Maulana visited England for the Round Table Conference and in spite of being unwell; he delivered a fiery speech which is worth writing in golden letters in the history of Indian freedom movement. Apart from being a master author, Maulana had a mastery over poetry and prose. He was interested in poetry since his childhood and the poetic ambience of Rampur proved to be a boon for him. Those days, Dagh’s fame was at its zenith, apart from Ameer, Tasleem and Jalal. Daagh was so impressed with his intelligence that if he did not visit, he was called to come. Towards the end, he became interested in ‘ishq-e-haqeeqi’ but could not devote much time due to engagements. His two brief collections have been published entitled “ Kalam-e-Jauhar’