Fazlur Rahman Ansari Aligarh Years: 1933 - 1947

Abdul Kader Choughley, an independent South African Muslim scholar, has contributed enormously to the revival of South Asian Muslim scholarship, during the past decade or so, with several valuable studies on Islam in South Asia, focusing on Islamic revivalism. And he deserves accolades for his yet another insightful, analytical work on Fazlur Rahman Ansari (1914-1974), an original Islamic scholar and activist of South Asian origin.

While Choughley’s earlier work, Fazlur Rahman Ansari: Life and Thought (2012) provides a helpful overview of Ansari’s illustrious accomplishments in serving the cause of Islam, the present study focuses on his formative years, 1933-1947, especially his intellectual development as a student of philosophy at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. The book offers the readers insights into Ansari’s worth-emulating oeuvre. And, for this remarkable feat, Choughley is to be complimented. One of Ansari’s works, Islam: An Introduction (2019), edited by Choughley, has been recently translated into Portuguese. An upcoming work, The Qur’ānic Revelation, is an overview of Dr Ansari’s comprehensive study in the genre of Quranic studies.

Some other important works of Choughley’s contribution to the Islamic revivalism discourse are: Abdul Aleem Siddiqui and His Mission and Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi: Life and Legacy (Tawasul International Publishing, Rome, 2024). Of notable mention is How to Study the Qurʾān: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi’s Approach (Tawasul International Publishing, Rome, 2024), which is an expanded version of his lecture delivered at the K.A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University (India).