India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—A renowned Islamic Scholar and a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind(JIH), Maulana Muhammad Farooq Khan, passed away at 91 on June 28, 2023.
He is famous for translating the Holy Quran into the Hindi language.
Maulana Farooq Khan was a highly respected scholar whose expertise spanned several domains. Maulana Muhammad Farooq Khan authored several seminal books on the Holy Quran, Philosophy, Hadith, Comparative Religion, Hinduism, Spiritualism, Literature, and Poetry.
Some of his notable works include: Quran ke Tadreesi Masail, Quran-e- Majeed ke Adabi Mahasin, Ilm-e-Hadees Ek Taaruf, Hadees Saurabh, Hadees Shastra Ek Parichay, Kalam-e-Nabuwat, Mutala-e-Hadees, Parlokwad aur Bharatiya Dharamgranth, Aatma aur Parmatma, Adhyatm Ka Mahatva aur Islam, Safalta Aur Mukti Ka Eik Hi Rasta and his magnum opus – the Hindi translation of the Holy Quran.
His translation of the Holy Quran in the Hindi language was highly acclaimed and helped cascade the Quranic message to the common people of India.
Maulana Farooq Khan was born in Karpi Village, Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh in 1932. He held a Master’s degree in Hindi Literature and dedicated his entire life to pursuing and spreading Islamic knowledge. Maulana had a charismatic personality. Besides being a prolific writer, he was an orator par excellence, equally skilled in Urdu and Hindi languages. He would regale his audience with anecdotes and stories but with a moral lesson.
Maulana spent his entire life at the headquarters of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, both in Chitli Qabar (Old Delhi) and Jamia Nagar (Okhla). Until the very end, he would pray five times in congregation in the Ishaat-e-Islam mosque on the Jamaat campus in Abul Fazal Enclave and deliver lectures and talks in various programmes at JIH headquarters. He was extremely down to earth, to the extent that he was known in Jamaat circles as having a “kalandar-mizaaj” (ascetic temperament).
Paying glowing tributes to Maulana Muhammad Farooq Khan, JIH President Syed Sadatullah Husaini said, “The immense love of the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Lord was the main feature of Maulana’s personality. He was a living example of a person who unwaveringly bowed to the Greatness of the Almighty. Maulana Farooq Khan was a multi-dimensional unique personality. He was a part of the golden chain of leadership of the Islamic movement, who dedicated their entire lives and strengths single-mindedly to the path of Allah. Maulana served the Islamic movement in different domains with his blood and sweat. He dedicated his knowledge and expertise to the cause of Islam. An entire generation of modern educated youths learned the finer points of Hadees through his writings. He was a literary person of high repute in Urdu as well as Hindi. He was the tallest scholar of Sanskrit, Hindi literature, and Indian philosophy among our top brass. He was also a poet and a philosopher, but the most attractive aspect of his personality that mesmerized us was his down-to-earth and unworldly approach to life. He was an ascetic personified.”
