Mawlānā Sayyid Mumtaz Ali | |
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| Title | Shams al-Ulama |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 27 September 1860 |
| Died | 15 June 1935(1935-06-15) (aged 74) Lahore, British India |
| Spouse | Muhammadi Begum |
| Children | Imtiaz Ali Taj (son) |
| Notable work(s) | Tehzeeb-e-Niswan,Huquq-e-Niswan,Tafṣīl al-bayān fī maqāṣid al-Qurʼān |
| Alma mater | Darul Uloom Deoband |
| Relatives | Yasmeen Tahir (granddaughter) Naeem Tahir (grandson) Ali Tahir (great-grandson) Faran Tahir (great-grandson) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni Islam |
| Founder of | Rifah-e-Aam Press |
| Teachers | Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi andMuhammad Qasim Nanautawi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
Sayyid Mumtaz Ali Deobandi (27 September 1860 – 15 June 1935) was anIndian Sunni Muslim scholar and an advocate of women rights in the late 19th century. He was an alumnus ofDarul Uloom Deoband. His bookHuquq-e-Niswan and the journalTehzeeb-e-Niswan that he started with his wifeMuhammadi Begum are said to be pioneering works on women rights.[1]
Sayyid Mumtaz Ali was born on 27 September 1860 inDeoband,British India.[2] He was a fellow and contemporary ofMahmud Hasan Deobandi and studied atDarul Uloom Deoband withMuhammad Yaqub Nanautawi andMuhammad Qasim Nanautawi.[3]
After graduating from the Deoband seminary, Mumtaz Ali moved toLahore and established a publishing house "Darul Isha'at". On 1 July 1898, he released a journalTehzeeb-e-Niswan under the editorship of his wifeMuhammadi Begum.[4] This journal continued till 1949.[5] In 1898, he started a publishing house called "Rifah-e-Aam Press" in Lahore which is said to the first press in Lahore whose owner was a Muslim.[5] In 1905, he started a journal, called,Mushīr-e-Mādar (Advisor to the mother), and then the children's journalPhūl (Flower) in 1909,[2] and laid the foundation of children's literature inUrdu.[4]
Mumtaz Ali was honoured with title of "Shams-ul-Ulama" (lit: "Sun of Scholars") by theGovernment of British India in 1934.[5] He died on 15 June 1935 in Lahore.[2]
American historian,Gail Minault argues in her article "Sayyid Mumtaz Ali and 'Huquq un-Niswan': An Advocate of Women's Rights in Islam in the Late Nineteenth Century" that, Mumtaz Ali's "Huquq-e-Niswan was undoubtedly too far in advance of its times. Given the current debate about the importance of Muslim personal reform, however, it is well to remember this early champion of women rights in theshar'iat."[6] Commending Mumtaz Ali's work,Tafṣīl al-bayān fī maqāṣid al-Qurʼān, formerGrand Mufti of Jerusalem,Amin al-Husseini, comments that "such book does not exist even in the Arab world".[4] This 6 volume work of Mumtaz Ali on the Quran also received praise from scholarly figures includingAnwar Shah Kashmiri,Abul Kalam Azad andSyed Sulaiman Nadwi.[4]
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