MickiAddy25 at 02:57, 15 January 2026

2026-01-15T02:57:33Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian poet, writer and jurist (1905–1988)}}
{{Multiple issues|{{More citations needed|date=April 2020}}
{{Sources exist|date=April 2020}}
{{More footnotes|date=April 2020}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific_prefix = Syed-ul-Ulama
| name = Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi Nasirabadi
| honorific_suffix = Naqqan
| image =
| religion = [[Islam]]
| denomination = [[Usuli]] [[Twelver]] [[Shi`a Islam]]
| location = [[Lucknow]], India
| title = [[Grand Ayatollah]]
| post = Grand Ayatollah
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1905|12|26}}
| birth_place = [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]], British India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1988|5|18|1905|12|26}}
| death_place = [[Lucknow]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| website =
| predecessor1 = Maulana Abdul Hasan Naqvi
}}

[[Grand Ayatollah]] '''Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi Nasirabadi''' (26 December 1905 – 18 May 1988)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sayyid Ali Naqi Naqvi |url=https://al-islam.org/ur/person/sayyid-ali-naqi-naqvi |access-date=2025-07-22 |website= Al-Islam}}</ref> was an Indian [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]] [[Marja'|marja]], poet, writer, [[jurist]] and interpreter of the [[Quran]]. He has authored numerous books on [[Shia Islam]] in both [[Arabic]] and [[Urdu]], such as ''Shaheed-e-Insaniyat'' and ''Tareekh-e-Islam'', as well as a commentary on his translation of the Quran. Contemporary accounts and later scholars have described him as an influential religious writer and teacher.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

== Early life and education ==

Naqvi was born on 26 December 1905, in [[Lucknow]], [[British India]]. Around 1327 [[Hijri era|Hijri]] (1909), when he was three or four years old, his father, Syed Abul Hasan Naqvi (Mumtaz al-Ulama), took him and his family to [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Syed Rizwan Zamir |url=http://archive.org/details/syed_ali_naqan |title=syed_ali_naqan}}</ref> At the age of seven, he had a [[Bismillah ceremony|''Bismillah'' ceremony]] that was held at the Rauza-e-Imam Ali in Najaf, [[Iraq]]. Naqvi's formal education then began in Iraq, where he studied Arabic and [[Persian language|Persian]] grammar, and the basics of the Quran.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

In 1914, the family returned to India, and Naqvi's religious education continued under his father's tuition. He later attended the [[Sultanul Madaris|Sultan al-Madaris]] Seminary and studied Arabic literature with Mufti Muhammad Ali. Naqvi passed the exam for certification as a religious scholar ''(alim)'' from [[Allahabad University]] in 1923 and soon gained certifications from Nazamiyyah College and Sultan al-Madaris Seminary. In 1925, he was awarded a degree in literature ''(Fazil-e Adab).''{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

In 1927, Ali Naqvi departed for the seminaries of Iraq to study Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic theology ''(Kalam).'' He had already written and published four books. While studying in Iraq Naqvi wrote several works in Arabic, including ''Rooh Aladab Sharah Alamiyatal Arab'', ''Albait Al Mamoor Fi Emaratal Qubur'', ''Faryaad e Musalmanane Aalam'', and ''Altawae Haj Per Sharaee Nuqtae Nazar Se Bahas''. His first book published in Arabic, "''Kashf annaqab ann aqaaed Abdul Wahab Najdi''," was written in Najaf while he was a student days is the first book written against [[Wahhabis]]. His second book in Arabic, "''Aqalatalaashir fi eqamatalshaaer''", defended the act of "Matam".

Naqvi studied Islamic jurisprudence with Ayatullah Na'ini, [[Abu l-Hasan al-Isfahani|Ayatollah Abu Hasan Isfahani]] and Ayatullah [https://en.wikishia.net/view/Diya%27_al-Din_al-%27Iraqi Sayyid Diya' Iraqi]; Hadith with [[Abbas Qomi|Shakyh 'Abbas Qummi]] and Sayyid Husayn Sadr; and Islamic theology with [[Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi|Sayyid Sharf al-Din]], Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita', Shaykh Jawad Balaghi, and Sayyid Muhsin Amin Amli. After completing his seminary education, he received certification (ijaza') for [[ijtihad]] and became a mujtahid at the age of 27. He was given [[ijazah]] by [[Muhammad Hossein Naini|Ayatollah Naaini]]. {{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

== Career ==
{{Unsourced section|date=September 2023}}
In 1932 Naqvi returned to India where, in 1933 he was appointed the title professor in the Oriental College Department of Lucknow University. He taught Arabic and Persian there for over two decades.

In 1959, [[Aligarh Muslim University]] invited him to be in the Reader in the Theology (Dniyat) Department, which did not yet have a teaching faculty. The department created two parallel streams of Sunni and Shi'i theology, and Ali Naqvi began to oversee the affairs of the Shi'i branch. He was the Dean of Shi'i theology from 1967 to 1969 and retired from the university in 1972. <ref name=":0" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable, as the captured website provides very little information other than he was a professor at the university|date=October 2025}}

From 1972 to 1975, Naqvi was given a research professorship through the [[University Grants Commission (India)|University Grants Commission]] (UGC), and he stayed permanently in Aligarh.

== Death ==
Naqvi died of a [[stroke]] in 1988 in [[Lucknow]] on [[Eid-ul-Fitr]] at the age of 83. {{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

== Publications ==
Naqvi's works include:

# ''Alami Mushkilat ka hal'' in Shu'a-i 'Amal (Jul 2009): 30–39 https://archive.org/stream/syed_ali_naqan/syed_ali_naqan_djvu.txt
# ''Ashk-i matam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quaumi Press, 1957.
# ''Asiri-yi ahl-i haram'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quaumi Press, 1940.
# ''Aurat awr Islam'' in Shu'a'-i 'Amal (May 2009): 6–13
# ''Aza-yi Husayn ki ahamiyat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quaumi Press,1959.
# ''Aza-yi Husayn par tarikhi'' tabsarah. Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quaumi Press, np.
# ''Bani umayyah ki adavat-i-Islam ki mukhtasir tarikh'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1994.
# ''Hamaray rusum va quyud'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1939. 313
# ''Hayat-i qaumi'' Lucknow: Imamia Mission, 1941
# ''Hazrat 'Ali ki shakhsiyat: 'Ilm aur a'taqad ki manzil par'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1969.
# ''Husayn aur Islam'' Lucknow: Manshurah Imamiyah Mission, 1931. (Pdf Hindi)
# ''Husayn Husayn aik tarruf'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quaumi Press, 1964.
# ''Husayn ka atam balaydan'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1936.
# ''Husayn ka paygham 'alam-i insaniyat kay nam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1959 (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Husayn ki yad ka azad Hindustan say mutalbah'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1950
# ''Husayni iqdam ka pahla qadam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1953.
# ''Ibadat aur tariqi ibadat'', 2nd ed. Lucknow: Nizami Press, np.
# ''Iqalat al-athir fiiqamat al-sha'a'ir al-Husayniyah'' Najaf: Matba'ah Haydariyyah, 1929.
# ''Isbat-i pardah'' Lahore: Imamia Mission, 1961.
# ''Islam ka paygham pas-uftadah aqwam kay nam'' Lucknow: Imamiah Mission, 1936.
# ''Islam ki hakimanah zindagi'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1935.
# ''Islami culture kia hay?'' Lahore: Imamiyah Mission, 1960.
# ''Jadid tuhfatul avam'' Lahore: Iftikhar Book Depot, np.
# ''Karbala ka tarikhi vaqi'ah mukhtasar hay ya tulani?'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1960.
# ''Karbala ki yadgar payas'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1959.
# ''Khilafat-i Yazid kay muta'alliq azad ara'in'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1953. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Khuda ki ma'rafat'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1938.
# ''Khutbaat-e-Karbala'' ([http://www.slideshare.net/changezi/khutbat-e-karbala-hindiby-syed-ul-ulema-syed-ali-naqi-naqvi-sahab-ts Pdf Hindi / Pdf Urdu]
# ''Khutbat-i Sayyidul 'ulama' muta'lliq karnama-yi Husayn'' Lucknow: Idarah-yi Payam-i Islam, np.
# ''La tufsidu fi alard''. 3rd ed. Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1998.
# ''Ma'rakah-yi Karbala'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1935.
# ''Majmu'ah-yi taqarir''. 5 vols. Lahore: Imamiyah Kutubkhana, np.
# ''Maqalat-i Sayyidul 'ulama’'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1996.
# ''Maqsad-i Husayn'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1956.
# ''Mas'alah-yi hayat an-nabi aur vaqi'ah-yi vafat-i rusul'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1973.
# ''Masa'il va dala'il'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, 1944.
# ''Mawlud-e-Ka'bah'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, np. (Pdf Hindi)
# ''Mazhab aur 'aql'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1941. 314
# ''Mazhab shi'ah aik nazar main'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1970. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Mazlum-i Karbala'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission 1941.
# ''Mi‘raj-i insaniyat: sirat-i rasul aur al-i rasul ki roshni main'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1969
# ''Mujahidah-yi Karbala'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1933.
# ''Muqaddamah-yi tafsir-i Qur'an'' Lucknow: Idarah 'Ilmiyah and Nizami Press, 1940.
# ''Muqaddema Nahjul-balagha''
# ''Muslim personal law – Na qabil-i tabdil'' Lucknow: Imamia Mission, 1996.
# ''Mut'ah aur Islam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1933.
# ''Nigarshat-e-Sayyidul 'ulama’''. Lahore: Imamiah Mission, 1997.
# ''Nizam-i zindagi'', 4 vols. Lucknow: Al-Va'iz Safdar Press, 1940. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Qatil al-'abrah'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1960.
# ''Qatilan-e-Husayn ka madhhab'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1932.
# ''Qur'an aur nizam-i hukumat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1972.
# ''Qur'an kay bayan al-aqvami irshadat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1976. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Qur'an-i majid kay andaz-i guftagu main ma'yar-i tahzib va ravadari'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1976. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Radd-i Wahhabiyya'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, np. (Pdf English / Pdf Hindi / Pdf Urdu)
# ''Rahbar-i kamil: Savanih-i 'Ali'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1961.
# ''Rahnumayan-i Islam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1962. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Rusul-i Khuda'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1961.
# ''Safar namah-yi Hajj'' Lucknow: Nizami Press, 1977. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Sahifah al-'amal'' Lucknow: np., 1939.
# ''Shahid-i insaniyat'' Lahore: Imamiyah Mission Pakistan Trust, 2006.
# ''Shuja'at kay misali karnamay'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1954.
# ''Ta'ziahdari ki mukhalfat ka asal ra'' z Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1963.
# ''Tadhkirah-i huffaz-i shi'a'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1935.
# ''Tafsir fasl al-khatab''. 8 vols Lahore: Misbah al-Qur'an Trust, 1986.
# ''Tahrif-i Qur'an ki haqiqat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1932.
# ''Taqiyah'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1952. (Pdf Hindi)
# ''Tarikh-i Islam'' 4 vols. Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1961. 315
# ''The compilation of Nahjul-balagha ''(Pdf Urdu / [http://maulaali.com/Ali-Maula/the-compilation-of-nahjul-balagha/ English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203174209/http://maulaali.com/Ali-Maula/the-compilation-of-nahjul-balagha/ |date=3 December 2019 }}
# ''Tijarat aur Islam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1933. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Usul aur arkan-i din'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1973 (Pdf Hindi)
# ''Usul-i din aur Qur'an'' Lahore: Imamiyah Mission, 1964.
# ''Usvah-yi Husayni'' Lucknow: Imamiyah Mission, 1986.
# ''Va'dah-yi jannat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1979.
# ''Vujud-i hujjat'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1932. (Pdf Urdu)
# ''Yad aur yadigar'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1968.
# ''Yazid aur jang-i Qustantaniyah'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Quqmi Press, 1965.
# ''Zikr-i Husayn'' Lucknow: Imamia Mission, np.
# ''Zindah savalat'' Aligarh University Press, 1971.
# ''Zindah-i javid ka matam'' Lucknow: Sarfaraz Qawmi Press, 1935.

== Controversy ==
Naqvi faced opposition from some members of the [[Shia Islam]] community for some contents of his book ''Shaheed-e-insaniyat''. Some sections of the book claim that there was water in the tents of [[Husayn ibn Ali]] during the [[Battle of Karbala]]. Other parts question if [[Ali al-Asghar ibn Husayn|Ali Asghar]] was truly martyred by Hurmula's arrow. {{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

''Shaheed-e-insaniyat'' was privately published by Idaar-e-Yaadgar-e-Husaini, an organization of 300 members whose purpose was to review, compile, edit, and present a book on Karbala that would be acceptable for a broader audience to read. The book was written in 1942 (1361 AH) by a team of Ulemas from different religions: Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Naqi Naqvi compiled their contributions into a book form.{{fact|date=January 2026}}

Initially 500 copies were printed for review by the organization members who were asked to comment on the text. The public release of this draft led to the controversy, with Naqvi being criticized by some members of the community, due to them believing that he was the sole author of the book.{{fact|date=January 2026}}

== Family ==
After his father's early death, Naqvi raised his four brothers, all of whom became scholars of [[Shia Islam]].

* Maulana Syed Abdul Hasan Naqvi (1940–2001), Lucknow, India
* Maulana Syed Murtaza Naqvi (1927–1994), Lucknow, India
* Maulana Syed Kazim Naqvi (1934–2018), Chairman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Aligarh Muslim University, [[Aligarh|Aligarh, India]]
* Maulana Syed Baqir Naqvi (1938 – present), [[Dubai|Dubai, UAE]]

Naqvi's son, Professor Syed Ali Mohammad Naqavi, was the Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Aligarh Muslim University, a position previously held by his uncle. Naqavi currently heads the Dara Shikoh Interfaith Center of Aligarh Muslim University and has published at least 34 books on various topics.<ref name=":0">{{cite web
|url = http://www.amu.ac.in/ShowFaculty.jsp?did=85
|title = Department of Shia Theology
|publisher = amu.ac.in
|author = Aligarh Muslim University
|accessdate = 16 January 2011
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110105153401/http://www.amu.ac.in/ShowFaculty.jsp?did=85
|archive-date = 5 January 2011
|url-status = dead
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.slideshare.net/changezi/rizwan-ph-d PhD Thesis of Syed Rizwan Zamir on Syedul Ulama Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi t.s.]
*[http://www.slideshare.net/changezi/syed-ul-ulama-hayat-aur-karname-salamat-rizvi Syed ul ulama hayat aur karname – By Salamat Rizvi]
*[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Syed+Ul+Ulema+Maulana+Syed+Ali+Naqi+Sahab+Naqvi%22# Video Majalis of Syed Ul Ulema Allama Ali Naqi Naqvi (Naqqan Sahib)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naqvi, Ali Naqi}}
[[Category:Indian grand ayatollahs|Ayatollah Syed ul-Ulema Ali Naqi Naqvi]]
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian Shia clerics]]
[[Category:Ijtihadi family]]
[[Category:Scholars from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Aligarh Muslim University]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Lucknow]]

Ali Naqi Naqvi - Revision history

MickiAddy25 at 02:57, 15 January 2026