Dr. Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi (1931-2022)
Dr. Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi, the pioneer of Islamic Economics and recipient of King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies in 1982, breathed his last at 5:30 pm in San Jose, California on November 11 (about 4:00 am IST on November 12). He was 91.
Nejatullah Siddiqi was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India on 21st August 1931. He was 13-year-old when his father Hakeem Abdul Quddus passed away; his mother, then, took care of him and gave him the best possible education. He passed his intermediate examination in 1949 and, then, pursued religious and Qur'ānic Studies at Rampur and Sarai Mir, Azamgarh. He did his masters from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and wrote his Ph.D. thesis on "A Critical Examination of the Recent Theories of Profit" in 1966. He was Associate Professor of Economics and Professor of Islamic Studies at AMU, as well as Professor of Economics at King Abdul Aziz University's Centre for Research in Islamic Economics in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He later worked as a Fellow at the Centre for Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and as a visiting scholar at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah. He was an Emeritus Professor of Management Studies at AMU.
Dr. Siddiqi supervised a number of Ph.D. theses at Aligarh Muslim University, India; Ummul Qura University, Makkah; Imam Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Sokoto University, Nigeria over the course of his long academic career. He had been an editor of or advisor to a number of academic journals. He served on numerous committees and attended numerous conferences around the world. He was very helpful to everyone and shared his valuable knowledge with the community. He was also Chief Patron of Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF).
Dr. Siddiqi was a prominent writer in the Urdu and English languages. He has 63 works in 177 publications in 5 languages and 1,301 library holdings. Many of his works have been translated into Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Hindi, Bengali and other languages. Banking without Interest, which witnessed 27 editions in three languages between 1973 and 2000 and is held by 220 libraries worldwide, is perhaps his most widely read book.
His other books are:
Economics, an Islamic Approach, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1999
Teaching Economics in Islamic Perspective, Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, KAAU, Jeddah, 1996
Role of the State in the Economy, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1996
Insurance in an Islamic Economy, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1985
Partnership and Profit-Sharing in Islamic Law, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1985
Issues in Islamic Banking. The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1983
Muslim Economic Thinking, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1981
Contemporary Literature on Islamic Economics, The Islamic Foundation, Leicester, U.K, 1978
Economic Enterprise in Islam, Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1972
Some Aspects of the Islamic Economy, Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1972
Muslim Personal Law (Edited), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1972
Recent Theories of Profit: A Critical Examination, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, India, 1971
His Books in Urdu are:
Tahreek-e-Islami Asr Hazir Mein (Contemporary Islamic Movement), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1995
Qur'ān aur Science (Excerpts from Syed Qutb's Tafsir with a detailed Introduction), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1978
Nash'at Saniyah Ki Rah (Towards Islamic Renaissance), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1974
Insurance Islami Ma'ishat Mein (Insurance in Islamic Economy), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1974
Ghair Sudi Bank Kari (Interest Free Banking), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1969
Shirkat aur Mudarabat Ke Shar'i Usul (Shari'ah Principles of Partnership and Profit-Sharing), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1969
Islam Ka Nazarriyah Milkiyat (2 Vols.) (Islam's Theory of Property), Islamic Publications, Lahore, Pakistan, 1969
Islam Ka Nizam-e-Mahasil (Translation of Abu Yusuf's Kitab al Kharaj), Islamic Publications, Lahore, Pakistan, 1966
Islam Mein 'Adl-e-Ijtimat'i (Translation of Syed Qutb's Al 'Adalah al Ijtimaiyah fi'l Islam), Islamic Publications, Lahore, Pakistan, 1963
Islami Adab (edited) (Islami Literature), Markazi Maktaba Islami, Delhi, India, 1960
Dr. Siddiqi was awarded King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies in 1982, Lariba American Finance House Award in 1993, Award for Life-long Contributions to Islamic Insurance and Banking by Takaful Forum, New York in 2000, and Shah Waliullah Award-2001 by Indian Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) in 2003.
Dr. Siddiqi became greatly influenced by the writings of Maulana Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi in his student days and joined Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH). He was imprisoned during Emergency in India and remained in jail for several months as a prisoner of conscience. He was also member of Jamaat's Central Advisory Council.
JIH President Syed Sadatullah Husaini has mourned the passing away of Dr. Siddiqi. In a media statement on November 12, expressing his grief over the demise of the world-renowned economist, the JIH President said that Dr. Siddiqi's contribution to the field of Islamic economics was unparalleled and he pioneered the concept of Islamic banking and laid the foundations of what is currently a thriving multi-billion-dollar industry.
Mr. Husaini held that Dr. Siddiqi was a very versatile personality dedicated to learning and development and, despite living abroad, he contributed intellectually to many forums and institutions in India. Calling his demise, a great loss to the Muslim world and the Islamic Movement, Mr. Husaini said, "His passing away leaves a great vacuum in the field of Islamic economics and finance."
Offering his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members, the JIH leader said, "May Allah forgive him, grant him the highest position in Paradise and bestow patience upon his family members."
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