PREFACE
Most of the works on Sir Syed appear to echo Hayat-i Javid (A Life in Eternity), the biography written by Altaf Hussain Hali. There is no doubt that Hali did a great service by writing it, but it is not the last word, nor should it be regarded as such. It was but natural that Hali's compulsions, expediencies, likes, and dislikes influenced its writing, as did a visible at-tempt to earn the goodwill of the people.
The first two to three years after Sir Syed's death were difficult and un-certain for the MAO College. It was during this challenging period that Hali completed Hayat-i Javid. This was when people realized the importance of Sir Syed's work for the community. It was felt that it would not be easy to fill the void in the community's leadership which his demise had created. Be it distinguished persons or ordinary ones, everyone vied to pay homage to Sir Syed in their way; so much so that his opponents, out of a feeling of shame, started to recognize his services to the community. Under such circumstances, Hali could only write what he wrote in Hayat-i Javid-Shibli Nomani terms it as mudallal middahi, projected praise with arguments; it was what the time demanded, and it was Hali's compulsion.
Hali presents his hero as a liberator of the community and a saviour of the religion. So engrossed was he with the task of judging Sir Syed's services to the faith and community, of proving that the latter was on the side of the truth, that he did not realize when he lost touch with the real Sir Syed. That was how the need arose to peep into those aspects of Sir Syed's private life which seem missing in the life of Hali's hero.
Ecolog, generally means a study of a living being in the context of its environment. Here, I too have attempted to present the private life of Sir Syed such that we can see and judge him in the context of his relatives and friends, supporters and opponents, officers and subordinates, successes and failures, joys and sorrows, the social values of his age, and the changing relations and demands of his society. This is necessary to know how Sir Syed played a valuable and positive role in the community, despite all his difficulties and inspirations, while leading his life as a helpful member and conscious citizen of society. In these terms, the present work may well be termed as an 'ecological study of Sir Syed.
I am indebted to Abul Kalam Qasemi, editor of Tahzib ul-Akhlaq, who published this work in instalments in his journal for about two and a half years and thus introduced it to the general public, giving them a chance to ponder over it. I am also grateful to Mehboob Alam, chief editor of Nawa-i Akhlaq, Islamabad, who also published this work in instalments in his journal, with due acknowledgement to Tahzib ul-Akhlaq, and thus introduced it to Pakistani readers. I also thank my senior, Masood Husain Khan for his valuable suggestions, and Asad Yar Khan, who offered to bring out the work in book form and creditably discharged his responsibility. Last but not least, I thank my wife, Parvin Alam, who shared the arduous task of preparing the manuscript for publication.
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