Sayed Nafees al-Hussaini

{{Short description|Pakistani Islamic scholar and Calligrapher (1933–2008)}}

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{{Infobox religious biography

| honorific-prefix = {{small|PP SI}}

| name = Sayed Nafees al-Hussaini

| honorific-suffix = Nafees Raqam

| native_name = {{Nastaliq|سید نفیس الحسینی}}

| native_name_lang = ur

| image = Sayed Nafees al-Hussaini.jpg

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| religion = Islam

| denomination = Sunni

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| movement = Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat

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| known_for = Calligraphy

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| nationality = {{flag|British India|name=British India}}
{{flag|Pakistan|name=Pakistani}}

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| birth_name = Sayed Anwar Hussain

| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|03|11|df=y}}

| birth_place = Sialkot, Punjab, India

| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|02|05|1933|03|11|df=y}}

| death_place = Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

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| father = Syed Muhammad Ashraf Ali

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| awards = Pride of Performance
Sitara-i-Imtiaz

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| influenced = Zayd ibn Ali
Bande Nawaz
Syed Ahmad Shaheed
Abdul Qadir Raipuri, Bilal Abdul Hai Hasani Nadwi

| students = Allah Wasaya
Abdul Majeed Ludhianvi

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| profession = calligrapher
Islamic scholar
Poet

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| office = 3rd president of Iqra Rozatul Atfal Trust

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| predecessor = Muhammad Yusuf Ludhianvi

| successor = Abdul Majeed Ludhianvi

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Sayed Nafees al-Hussaini (11 March 1933 – 5 February 2008) (Urdu: سید نفیس الحسینی) was a calligrapher, Islamic scholar, poet, and spiritual figure. He was also blessed with calligraphy at one of the doors of the Masjid Al Haram in Makkah.{{cite news|url=https://dailypakistan.com.pk/07-Feb-2020/1089622|publisher=dailypakistan.com.pk|author=مولانا مجیب الرحمن انقلابی|title=حضرت سید نفیس الحسینی شاہؒ ……ایک عہد ساز شخصیت|date=7 February 2020|access-date=11 July 2020}}

Early life and education

Sayed Nafees Al-Husseini was born in 1933 in Sialkot.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} His real name was Sayed Anwar Hussain but he became known as Nafees Al-Husseini Shah in the Islamic world.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} He received his early education at a high school in Bhopalwala. In 1947, he came to Faisalabad and studied up to FA.

Career

Nafees al-Hussaini started his calligraphy career in 1948. He inherited the art of calligraphy from his father, Sayed Muhammad Ashraf Ali, who was an expert in Naskh and had a reputation for expertise and calligraphy in the Holy Qur'an. In 1952 he set up his office in Lahore. He gained special place and expertise in Naskh and Nastaliq scripts, apart from this he also created works of art in Kufic, Thuluth, Ruqʿah script and Ijaza. Nafees Al-Husseini visited many countries and participated in the International Calligraphy Competition in Iran and Egypt as a judge.{{cite news|url=http://algazali.org/index.php?threads/%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%82%D8%AA-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%AD%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%86%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%B3-%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%85-%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%DB%81-%D8%A7%EF%B7%B2.3821/|author=algazali.org|title=سیّدنفیسُ الحسینی رحمہ اﷲ|access-date=11 July 2020}} He also invented a script in Nastaliq called "Nafees Nastaliq".{{cite news|url=http://www.cle.org.pk/Downloads/NafeesNastaleeq_Release_Notes.pdf|publisher=crulp.nu.edu.pk|title=Nafees Nasta'leeq - Center for Language Engineering|access-date=11 July 2020}}

He also served as Central Deputy Emir of Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.{{cite news|url=https://www.nawaiwaqt.com.pk/08-Feb-2019/981189|publisher=nawaiwaqt.com.pk|title=حضرت سید نفیس الحسینی شاہ|date=8 February 2019|access-date=11 July 2020}}

Awards

  • Pride of Performance (1985){{cite news|url=https://www.urdupoint.com/pakistan/news/arifwala/national-news/live-news-908463.html|title=عالم دین سید نفیس الحسینی نفیس رقم کی9 ویں برسی آج منائی جائے گی|date=4 February 2017|access-date=11 July 2020}}
  • Sitara-i-Imtiaz
  • First prize in a calligraphy exhibition of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in 1980.
  • First prize in the All Pakistan exhibition of Quranic calligraphy in 1982 organized by the Pakistan Public Relations Society.

Death

He died in Lahore on 5 February 2008. Funeral prayers were offered at Badshahi Masjid Lahore in which more than one lakh people from all over the country participated. And according to his will, he was buried in the graveyard of Khanqah Syed Ahmed Shaheed.

See more

References