Shibli Numani

Synonyms

Allama Shibili Nu’mani; Shibli Nomani; Shibli Nu’mani

Definition

Shibli Numani (1857–1914) was a scholar of Islamic intellectual history and theology. He is most famously associated with two of the most important post-1857 rebellion educational institutional initiatives – the Aligarh and the Nadwa movements.

Early Education and Final

Shibli Numani, popularly simply known as Shibli, was born and died in Azamgarh, present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. His formative years were spent with Maulana Muhammad Farooq Chirayakoti, an eclectic rationalist scholar and opponent of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan. In Chirayakoti’s study circle, Shibli received a diverse religious education. From Chirayakoti he studied the classical noncanonical texts of Mu‘tazilite theology, Arab adaptations of ancient Hellenic natural science, and philosophy. Through him, Shibli was exposed to Muslim scholars with philological interests in Sanskrit and Hebrew ([2], p. 341).

Shibli spent most of his life as an educator...