Madrasatu’l [ulum aligarh ka qiyam aur uske awwalin nuqush (urdu) (the establishment of madrasatu’l-[ulum aligarh and its foremost imprints)

Aligarh Muslim University represents a landmark and watershed development in the history of modern India in general and of Indian Muslims in particular. It is the embodiment of Syed Ahmad Khan’s response to the colonization of India which was altogether different from other responses by his contemporaries, both Muslims and non-Muslims. Instead of conflicting with the colonizing enemy, Sir Syed employed the latter’s resourcefulness and skills for the educational uplift of his community which, in due course, paved the way for its political stability. Presently one of the leading universities in India, it was first established as Madrasatu’l-[Ulum in 1875. The book under review is about the establishment of the same school and its early imprints. Zafarul Islam Islahi, the author of this book is the former Chairman of the Department of Islamic Studies, AMU, Aligarh, and one of the leading Indian experts in Qur’anic Studies as well as a prolific writer on Sir Syed. The book comprises seven chapters (pp. 11–128) excluding an introduction (pp. 5–10), three appendices (pp. 129–148) and a bibliography (pp. 149–152).