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Virtuous deeds of Hafiz Farman Ali
Hafiz Farman Ali’s name has become a household word with the Urdu-Persian-Arabic speaking people in general and the Hafiz (Protector/Guardian of Qur’an), Qaari, mufassir (commentator) o mutarajjim (translator) o mufakkir (thinker) e Qur’an, ulemas (religious scholars) wa zakirs (orators), and students attending seminaries in general and those who recite Holy Qur’an in particular. Every one who reads translation of a few lines, verses or chapters of the Holy Qur’an naturally becomes anxious to learn the life history of Hafiz Farman Ali; and when they are told the slight story of his life, they become completely enamoured of it and are filled with a wonder and awe.

There is hardly a Shiite Family in the sub-continent who may not have the translation of the Holy Qur’an and commentary by Hafiz Farman Ali. But it is an ironical that very few people know about his life and hardly any one has seen his picture. After great efforts, hunt, and researches, a glittering and mesmerizing article is being presented about his scholastic personality.

Hafiz Farman Ali: As a Holy Qur’an Memoriser and Translator
Place of birth and age: Farman Ali’s homeland was Maloof, a well known and populous settlement in the state of Bihar, town in Bihar’s ‘Chandanpatti’ district of Darbhanga which is famous for mangoes namely Malda. History speaks that Moghal emperor, Babar got planted 10 million saplings of Malda mangoes which is known for its juice, pulp and sweetness with freshening flavor. Sadat Muhammad ibn Syed Asghar Ali, his exact date of birth is not known but he was born round 1876, as it assumed and as told about the age he lived in. His name was Syed Farman Ali and his father’s name was Syed Lal Muhammad bin Syed Asghar Ali, Farman Ali’s exact date of birth could not be ascertained but considering his age of death and total age he lived, his birth is considered to be around or in 1876.

Religious Education:

Maulana Farman Ali was very fond of education since his childhood, so after receiving honorary training from his elders, he visited Madrasa Nazimiya, Maulana Fakhruddin, the cousin of cousin of the late, was the first, Mumtaz-ul-Afazil in the city. The test of principle was prepared by the then supreme authority Syed Kazim Yazdi (Urwatul Wathqa) and he wrote such answers in Arabic that Ayatullah Yazdi that infinite praises and blessing were bestowed upon him during stay in Lucknow; he also acquired the knowledge of medicine and attained perfection in it. The name of the teacher of this skill, training and practice could not be ferret out.

His Contemporary Scholars and distinguished Friends:

Among Farman Ali’s prominent contemporaries and closed friends are Maulana Syed Sibte Hasan Jaa’esi, Maulana Syed Haroon and Maulana Dawood Zangipuri. Notably copies of Mumtaz al Faazil, the last annual examination of these four gentlemen, were sent to Iraq for evaluation, examining their answer sheets, the local scholars; especially the late Ayatullah Yazdi praised them highly and termed their answer a manifestation of their superior ability. Syed Najmul Hasan Qibla was honoured and received the honorary degree of “Ijtihaad”. Examining the copies of these students, the scholar of that time acknowledged that the person who can train such a high level of talisman should be my deputy in India.

Even during the stay of Madarsa Sulemania, he had a Sunni friend, namely Maulvi Rahmatullah, who will be mentioned under the heading ahead.

Teaching and Employment:

On the initiative of the All India Shia Conference, Rabi Ul Awwal, 1323 (May 17, 1905 AD), foundation of a religious seminary was laid down, namely Madarsa Seminary, in the heart of Patna City, Capital of Bihar, India on the 9th of Rabi Ul Awwal in 1323 hijri (May 17, 1905 AD). At the request of the trustee, Mr Badshah Nawab Rizvi, Maulana Farman Ali Qibla accepted the post of its first principal and at that time, in view of the need for a religious seminary, he engrossed himself making it a centre of learning. He devised an excellent academic curriculum, invited qualified teachers to teach and also performed his own teaching duties. So in a few months he gave the Madrasa such a status that “When the 4th Annual Meeting of the Madarsa Sulemania was held, the British Commissioner was also present in it, Sahib Bahadur praised him lavishly on the basis of the fact that such an excellent education centre which is running without any governmental aid is doing so well. He also liked the syllabus of the Madarsa from the bottom of his heart.” He performed this service for a few years and trained distinguished students during his teaching and employment. Even today, the fragrance and light of their knowledge and art can be felt directly or indirectly through his students spread throughout the globe.

After bidding adieu to Madarsa Sulemania, he came to Muzaffarpur where he started practicing Hikamt (wisdom) and medicine and in a few days his fame spread far and wide. It is said that those doctors who were engaged in Allopath practice soon disappeared before his roaring practice.

Without going into much detail about the students of Maulana Farman Ali, the concealed name was ascertained (since there was no print media available at that time in an around the state of Bihar). However, in view of the intellectual capacity of those who were well known for their asceticism and piety. The personality and erudition of his teacher can well be assessed. Some of them are mentioned here: 1.	Ustad al Waezeen Allama Syed Adeel Akhtar (Former Principal, Madarsa tul Waezeen, Lucknow) 2.	Maulvi Syed Muhammad, he was always proud of the discipleship of the late Farman Ali and took the name of his teacher with great respect and pride. 3.	Maulana Prof. Syed Ejaz Hussain Jafari was also his trained student. He was the Head, Department of Arabic, University of Dhaka (Now in Bangladesh). He made his respected teacher famous with his intelligence, quick-witted and knowledge 4.	Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Gopalpuri, he came to Patna at the behest of his respected teacher, and appointed as a teacher of Madarsa Suleimania, then he was promoted and became principal of the same Madarsa

Personality, Traits and Habits:

A careful study of the life, traits and habits of the late Farman Ali reveals that he was a man of many facets. Here are some of the highlights of his life.

Simplicity and Humility:

The late Farman Ali was an eloquent figure of simplicity and humility. He lived a very simple life. He used to do his own work even during the medicinal practice of Muzaffarpur (Bihar), he would sit on the ground with his poor relatives and students and helped them in their work, and he spoke to his countrymen in the local dialect of the town that is why he was loved by all. He was the first to buy bicycle in the area. At that time there was no train between Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga so he used to commute 70 Kilometers between the two cities. He is one of the greatest men who knows the art of living.

High Esteem:

When the news of tendering the resignation of Hafiz Farman Ali spread all over the religious and social circles, the whole of Azimabad was shocked. People rushed to his native place, Chandapatti, to reconcile the matter in question and get him ready to withdraw his resignation, but he did not want to go back to the place once he left.

Righteousness, Glory and Splendour:

The Farman Ali’s relationship as well as his righteousness and justice were special and common. Have a look at an incident – once a hunter’s bird was snatched, the complainant named the son of one of his relatives, paid the hunter out of his own pocket, and get ambers smeared on the palm of the boy. No one dared to speak out on such a big event; it was an effect of his horror and honour. But to make disciplinary at any cost was his principle of his illuminated life.

Apart from the above, he was full of spirit of service to the people, he helped people whenever he got the opportunity with his scholarly works, wisdom and medicine, though the scholars where highly valued at that time, his name was recommended in the court of Nawabs, the believers did not hesitate to recommend the name settlers of their own native place.

Marriage and Children:

He was married to Kaniz Syeda, daughter of his uncle, Syed Zaheeruddin Ibn Syed Asghar Ali, who was the sister of Maulana Syed Fakhruddin. Among many children, the only one daughter ‘Bibi Haajra’, survived. Desiring to have male offspring, the late Maulana also married a widow, a believer of Mohalla Kamra, Muzaffarpur, but she too gave birth to a daughter who died in infancy. Maulana Farman Ali has only two maternal grand sons and three grand daughters.

Amazing Work of Memorizing the Holy Qur’an:

Love of home land and religion is a natural thing but religious prejudice and love prevails over homeland because if love of homeland is part of faith then love of religion and its defense is real faith. That is why pious and understanding people do not bargain for the protection of their religion. Scholars are also pillars and members of religion and long history has shown that they sacrificed their houses and whatever they had, even their lives were sacrificed in defending the cause and spread of religion. They did their best to uphold the religion head high. Among the name of the defenders of religion Hafiz Farman Ali is also seen at the top of the list. Through his influential and convincing dialogues and numerous scholarly articles, he demonstrated the legitimacy of Shi’ism to others. The incident of memorizing the Holy Qur’an is also and excellent link in the “defense of Shi’ite”. At the time of staying at Muzaffarpur, Maulana Farman Ali was the next door neighbor of Maulana Rahmatulla who was the Headmaster in Madarsa Jamia al Uloom; they were quite frank to each other. Maulana Rahmatulla once jokingly said that, “Shiites do not have Hafiz (memorisers). Obviously, the defenders of religion like Farman Ali were not going to digest and put up with this, he started memorizing the Holy Qur’an from that day. It is pertinent to state that it is generally considered difficult to memorise the Holy Qur’an after reaching the age of consciousness and adulthood, but he completed the memorization of the whole Holy Qur’an (all Chaters), surprisingly rather amazingly in a short period of only five months with his God gifted intelligence. Readers, scholars and memorisers from all over India came together to witness this marvelous deed and from all of them Maulana Farman Ali showed his wit, wisdom, exceptional memory power and his God gifted intelligence. He could recite from chapter ‘Al-Hamd’ to chapter Surah ‘Al-Nas’ to Chaptar ‘Al-Hamd’, in the same way, tone and Qirat. Farman Ali with his perfect knowledge had to go far and wide in memorization and dialogue; in this regard he probably went to Punjab for the first time when there was a debate with the Qadianis in Qadirabad, Gujarat.

Translation of the Holy Qur’an, an Invaluable Gift:

If all the efforts, abilities and deeds of Farman Ali are examined carefully, it will be known that what made him city of horizons and a living immortality is the “Translation footnotes and commentary of the Holy Qur’an. On the contrary, his scholarly, religious, social preaching and missionary life filled is summed up: it will be summed up in the translation and commentary of the Holy Qur’an. He has also expressed it frankly, fairly and invariably. Please pay heed to the pivotal passage: “………..And I humbly pray Almighty to impart it to me declaring it as a source of forgiveness and whenever and wherever a person has his book of deeds in his hand, may Almighty I have the Holy Qur’an in my right hand”. (Introduction to the Holy Qur’an)

One wonders where the language of villager got such eloquence, smoothness and meaning fullness of Kausar that a teacher of art like Mirza Muhammad Hadi Aziz Lucknowite (Lucknowi) after seeing the translation of the Holy Qur’an by Farman Ali, expressed his feelings and impressions of knowledge and expertise of Farman Ali in the translation work of the Holy Qur’an: ‘I was very keen to see this long awaited translation. My belief is that if the Book of Allah had been revealed in Urdu, there would not have been any difference between his translation and a single point of it; it is a book in itself. May Almighty keep him alive and may such miracles continue to appear from him.’

Fond of literary taste, Hazrat Aziz Lucknowi says in pure poetic style and words, he has termed the above mentioned sentences as a means of expressing his feelings and emotions, otherwise if we look at the mirror of reality then the concept of Urdu language and vocabulary at the time of revelation of the Holy Qur’an is ridiculous. Just imagine, where is the time of revelation of the Holy Qur’an and were is Urdu, poles apart. But considering the literary movement of Lucknow at that time, if one analyzes these sentences, then perfection of knowledge and literary attributes of Farman Ali will be fully revealed. Here a line of the prominent poet of Urdu literature, Hazrat Mir Anees in praise of Hafiz Farman Ali: ‘Salt-eating is my eloquence’. It is a fact that whenever there is a buzz of speech are adorned in Urdu World, Mir Anees’s sense of language and literature will be appreciated and tributes will be paid to him. Mir Anees has used such a simple and chiseled language in his poetry that the language is constantly changing but his own fluency of language and flow of feeling will remain in their place for ever. That is why Josh Malihabadi said, “Urdu poetry may take any form with the changing of times but Urdu language will invariably need Anees.”

Farman Ali’s translation is also one of the best masterpieces of Urdu language and literature. He has used such smooth and common sense language in it that once you start reading then keep on reading, keep on refreshing mind and caressing soul. After getting acquainted with the Arabic language, the pleasure of translation becomes ever greater, just look at the verse and its translation: ‘Yes! Why? You became disbelievers after believing. So taste the punishment of yoru disbelief.’

This style of speech and smooth language have distinguished Farman Ali from other translators looking at this unique language, it can be said that times will keep changing but like the poetry of Mir Anees, this language of Qur’an will also live on forever.

Maulana Ibn Ali Wa’ez’s words are certainly based on faith:

“Needs will change or increase with time and translation and interpretation of Qur’an will be required but Urdu translation of Qur’an can no longer be fluent, easy and sweet like the translation of Farman Ali. If this claim is true, then we can say that the translation of Farman like the dirge of Anees, the translation of Farman will also be alive with Urdu language. Urdu language will survive in the shadow of dirge of Anees and Farman Ali’s translation of the Holy Qur’an. The thought of ending it is nothing more than a dumb dream”.

In fact in this translation, he had put his heart and sincerity along with his knowledge and understanding, and the result of his sincerity is that today India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, England, USA, Africa, Australia and in every Urdu speaking Muslim in general and Shia in particular, appreciates his perfection. That is why his translation is being published again and again. Praise be to God for making full use of this peerless translation.

Farman Ali’s pen gems, besides the translation of the Holy Qur’an, the list of his pen gems that could be traced is as follows:

1.	Grammar Book (Printed)

2.	Kitab al-Sarf (Printed)

3.	Al Wali The famous scholar of Ahl-e-Hadith, Maulvi Sanaullah Amritsari, the editor of Ahl-e-Hadith (Amritsar) had a written debate with Hafiz Farman Ali on the interpretation of verses of Wilayat which was published in magazines, Ahl-e-Hadith and Islah (Lucknow), published under the name of ‘Al-Wali’.

4.	Book of Theology (Four Volumes): In connection with the compilation of the syllabus of Madarsa Sulemania, he wrote four books on Theology in Urdu, in view of which it is still often published intermittently.

5.	Biography of Fatima Zahra s.a. (Unpublished)

6.	Fedak (Unpublished)

Death:

Cholera epidemic broke out in Muzaffapur, Bihar (India) in 1916 in which Hafiz Farman Ali passed away on the 8th May, 1916 (4 Rajab ul Marajjab, 1334 AH), after suffering for eighth days, Company Bagh, Muzaffarpur Karbala is his last resting place. This holy place is associated the name of the Martyr of Martyrs, Imam Hussain (a.s.) where the mourners of the city in large number pay homage on the 10th Muharram and 20th Safar (40th day after martyrdom i.e., Chaliswan), mourners also visit to the mausoleum of Hafiz Farman Ali and recited Surah Fateha for the deliverance of the blessings and God’s mercy with the memory of the work of his wonder.

Safi Lucknowi composed his date of death in the manner and style; a couplet is cited as under:

Thoughts made a mountain, so it turned out to be history A chapter, Al Hamd, need to memorise the Holy Qur’an

Urooj Faizabadi’s couplet depicts exact and personality of excellences history:

	Follower of justice Farman Ali settled down in Paradise When the voice heard, you are right, so enter it forever.