->Neils51 at 11:05, 16 September 2021

2021-09-16T11:05:26Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee
| image = Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee.jpg
| image_size = 150
| caption = Fyzee in June 1949
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|04|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Matheran]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|10|23|1899|04|10|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| office = Ambassador of India to Egypt
| term = 1949-1952
| successor = [[K. M. Panikkar]]
| occupation = {{Flatlist|
* Educator
* author
* jurist
* diplomat
* Islamic scholar
}}
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| alma_mater = [[St John's College, Cambridge]]
| blank1 = Notable Works
| data1 = {{Plainlist|
* ''Outlines of Muhammadan law''
* ''A Modern Approach to Islam''
* ''Cases in the Muhammadan Law of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh''
}}
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]] (1962)
| module = {{ Infobox cricketer
| embed = yes
| club1 = [[Muslims cricket team|Muslims]]
| year1 = 1928-1930
| hidedeliveries = true
| columns = 1
| column1 = [[First class cricket|FC]]
| matches1 = 2
| runs1 = 17
| bat avg1 = 8.50
| 100s/50s1 = -/-
| top score1 = 8*
| deliveries1 =
| wickets1 =
| bowl avg1 =
| fivefor1 =
| tenfor1 =
| best bowling1 =
| catches/stumpings1 = 1/-
}}
}}
'''Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee''' (10 April 1899 – 23 October 1981) was an Indian educator, jurist, author, diplomat, and Islamic scholar who is considered one of leading pioneers of modern Ismaili studies. He also served as India's second ambassador to [[Egypt]] from 1949 to 1952, and Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Jammu and Kashmir]] from 1957 to 1960.<ref name="Daftary2014">{{cite book|author=Farhad Daftary|title=Fifty Years in the East: The Memoirs of Wladimir Ivanow|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbCbBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|date=30 November 2014|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-78453-152-2|pages=91–}}</ref>

His best-known literary work is ''Outlines of Muhammadan law'', which states that "in order to understand Islamic law, one has to be familiar with historic and cultural background of the law".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e690?_hi=0&_pos=8 |title=Fyzee, Asaf Ali Asghar – Oxford Islamic Studies Online |publisher=Oxfordislamicstudies.com |date=2008-05-06 |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Edited by John L. Esposito |url=http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.013.0690 |title=Fyzee, Asaf Ali Asghar : The Oxford Dictionary of Islam – oi |publisher=Oxfordindex.oup.com |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref> He was honoured with the [[Padma Bhushan]] award by the [[President of India]] in 1962, India's third highest civilian award.<ref name="Fyzee2005">{{cite book|author=Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee|title=Cases in the Muhammadan Law of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZibAAAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-565450-9}}</ref> In his writings, Fyzee advocates the need to incorporate modern reforms in [[Islamic law]] without compromising on the "essential spirit of Islam".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780195693010.do |title=A Modern Approach to Islam: Asaf A. A. Fyzee – Oxford University Press |publisher=Ukcatalogue.oup.com |date=2007-12-20 |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref><ref name="Tayob2009" />

==Early life==
Fyzee was born on 10 April 1899 to the [[Tyabji family]] of [[Sulaymani|Sulaymani Ismaili Bohra]] in the [[Matheran]] town of [[Maharashtra]]. He took his initial education in Mumbai and completed his [[LL.B]] degree at [[Government Law College, Mumbai]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glcmumbai.com/alumni.html|title=Alumni {{!}} Government Law College|website=glcmumbai.com|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref> In 1922 he went to England and studied at [[St John's College, Cambridge]]. At Cambridge he also studied [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]] under eminent orientalist [[Reynold A. Nicholson]].

He competed in a few [[First-class cricket]] matches between 1928 and 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/review2011/content/player/28747.html|title=Asaf Fyzee | India Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials|publisher=ESPN Cricinfo|access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref><ref name="photodivision1">{{Cite web |url=http://photodivision.gov.in/IntroPhotodetails.asp?thisPage=1445 |title=Archived copy |access-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117003720/http://photodivision.gov.in/IntroPhotodetails.asp?thisPage=1445 |archive-date=17 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1925, at the age of 26, he became a [[barrister-at-law]] and started his career as an advocate in the [[Bombay High Court]] from 1926 to 1938.<ref name="Daftary2014" /><ref name="jstor1">{{Cite journal |jstor = 4056205|title = Professor Asaf A. A. Fyzee (1899-1981)|last1 = Daftary|first1 = Farhad|journal = Arabica|year = 1984|volume = 31|issue = 3|pages = 327–330|doi = 10.1163/157005884X00228}}</ref>

From 1938 to 1947, Fyzee was Principal and Perry Professor of Jurisprudence in [[Government Law College, Mumbai]]. After the [[partition of India]], he remained in that country and served as the second Indian ambassador to Egypt from 1949 to 1952.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of former Ambassadors |url=https://www.eoicairo.gov.in/page/previous/ |website=Embassy of India |location=Cairo, Egypt}}</ref> In 1952 he was appointed as a member of the [[Union Public Service Commission]], [[New Delhi]]. He also held the position of Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Jammu and Kashmir]] from 1957 to 1960.<ref name="Daftary2014"/><ref name="jstor1"/>

==Writings==
{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = right
| quote = We need not bother about nomenclature, but if some name has {{sic|be|nolink=y}} given to it, let us call it liberal Islam
| source = -'''Fyzee on Liberalism in Islam'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eprints.uinsby.ac.id/258/1/Buku%202%20Fix_233.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-10-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004213016/http://eprints.uinsby.ac.id/258/1/Buku%202%20Fix_233.pdf |archive-date=2015-10-04 }}</ref>
}}
Apart from his academic and government duties, Fyzee made significant contributions to the modern scholarship of Ismaili studies. He wrote several books based on Islam, which promoted the idea of modernizing Islam.<ref name="Daftary2014"/>

Following are some of books written by Fyzee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationallibrary.gov.in/ResultKeyword.php?start=0&p_f=0&id=fyz&id1=personal |title=National library |publisher=National library |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1244081?c=people |title=Fyzee, Asaf A. A. (Asaf Ali Asghar) (1899–) – People and organisations – Trove |publisher=Trove.nla.gov.au |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50-27098/ |title=The pillars of Islam / |publisher=Worldcat.org |access-date=2015-10-04}}</ref>
* ''Outlines of Muhammadan law'': This is Fyzee's most famous book. The first edition was published in 1949 by [[Oxford University Press]]. This book discuss topics related to "Islamic law" with respect to India and topics related to "Freedom of religion".<ref>{{cite book|title=Outlines of Muhammadan law (Book, 1974) |publisher=[WorldCat.org] |date=2015-05-28 |oclc = 1987252}}</ref> The fourth edition of the book included topics related to change in English law with respect to Muslim immigrants in England. It also incorporated new laws resulting from the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|formation of Bangladesh]] and the [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization|introduction of Islamic policies]] in [[Pakistan]].<ref name="Fyzee1974">{{cite book|author=Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee|title=Outlines of Muhammadan law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iQI9AQAAIAAJ|year=1974|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-560375-0}}</ref>
* ''A modern approach to Islam'': This book posits a re-interpretation of [[Sharia|Islamic jurisprudence]] and re-discovery of original Islamic philosophy. In this book, Fyzee argues that modern reforms can be incorporated in Islamic law without compromising on the "essential spirit of Islam".<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="Tayob2009">{{cite book|author=Abdulkader Tayob|title=Religion in Modern Islamic Discourse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eMiZ3-karLcC&pg=PA134|year=2009|publisher=Hurst Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-953-2|pages=134–}}</ref>
* ''Cases in the Muhammadan law of India and Pakistan''
* ''Cases in the Muhammadan law of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh''
* ''Compendium of Fatimid Law''
* ''The Pillars of Islam''

==Honours and recognition==
* In 1956 Fyzee was elected as a corresponding member of the [[Arab Academy of Damascus]].<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He was the honorary secretary of the Islamic Research Association from 1933 to 1949.<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] by the [[President of India]], the third highest civilian award of India.<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He was an original associated member on the executive committee of the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''.<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He lectured as a visiting professor in several American and Canadian universities.<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He was a member of the [[Royal Asiatic Society]].<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He held the "Commonwealth Fellowship".<ref name="jstor1"/>
* He was a member of the Indian delegation to the Third General Conference of [[UNESCO]], held in [[Beirut]] in November 1948.<ref name="photodivision1"/>

==See also==
* [[Syed Akbaruddin]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fyzee, Asaf Ali Asghar}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Politicians from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian Ismailis]]
[[Category:Sulaymani Bohras]]
[[Category:St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni]]
[[Category:University of Kashmir]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Indian legal writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]

Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee - Revision history

->Neils51 at 11:05, 16 September 2021