Mohammad al-Hasani
Mohammad al-Hasani was an Indian Islamic scholar, writer, translator, and journalist. Although he did not receive formal academic training, he founded the Arabic-language magazine Al-Baas El-Islami, established the literary forum Al-Muntada al-Adabi, and served as editor-in-chief of the Urdu magazine Tameer-e-Hayat. His work encompassed translating major writings of Abul [Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi] and other scholars, as well as producing original writings in both Arabic and Urdu.
Biography
Mohammad al-Hasani was born on 15 October 1935 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, and received his education at home under the guidance of his father, Abdul Ali, and his uncle, Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi. He studied the Qur’an, learned Urdu and Persian from a private tutor, and acquired the basics of Arabic from his father, but did not attend a formal institution or obtain academic qualifications. He began writing at the age of thirteen, and at fourteen translated into Arabic a lecture delivered in Urdu by Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, which was later published as Between Image and Reality. In 1954 he established the literary circle al-Muntada al-Adabi, followed by the launch of the Arabic magazine Al-Baas El-Islami in 1955, and the founding of al-Rabita al-Islamiyya al-Dawliyya in 1959, which issued a bulletin in Arabic, English, and Urdu. His articles were also published in journals such as Al-Raid and Al-Muslimun. Al-Hasani was proficient in Arabic, Urdu, and Persian, and held the position of editor-in-chief of the Urdu literary magazine Tameer-e-Hayat. He died on 1979 at the age of forty-four.
Works
Al-Hasani produced a range of writings and translations in Arabic and Urdu, addressing religious, literary, and social subjects. His translations included several works of Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, such as al-Arkan al-Arba‘a, al-Sira‘ bayna al-Fikra al-Islamiyya wa al-Fikra al-Gharbiyya, Idha Habat Rih al-Iman, Rubbaniyya la Rahbaniyya , and al-Sira al-Nabawiyya. He also translated Muhammad Asad’s The Road to Mecca into Urdu, published as From the Storm to the Shore in 1960. Among his original works were Islam al-Mumtahan, a compilation of articles written between 1954 and 1975, as well as Adwa’ ‘ala al-Tariq, Ma‘a al-Haqiqa, al-Manhaj al-Islami al-Salim, al-Islam bayna La wa Na‘am , and the Urdu book Rawdat Jaman''. He also wrote biographical studies of figures including Muhammad Ali Mungeri, founder of Nadwatul Ulama, and ‘Ilm Allah al-Naqshbandi.